History of the State of California Part 23

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

_Transmitting information in answer to a resolution of the House of the 31st of December, 1849, on the subject of California and New Mexico._

TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES.--I transmit to the House of Representatives, in answer to a resolution of that body pa.s.sed on the 31st of December last, the accompanying reports of heads of departments, which contain all the official information in the possession of the Executive asked for by the resolution.

On coming into office, I found the military commandant of the department of California exercising the functions of civil governor in that Territory; and left, as I was, to act under the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, without the aid of any legislative provision establishing a government in that Territory, I thought it not best to disturb that arrangement, made under my predecessor, until Congress should take some action on that subject. I therefore did not interfere with the powers of the military commandant, who continued to exercise the functions of civil governor as before; but I made no such appointment, conferred no such authority, and have allowed no increased compensation to the commandant for his services.

With a view to the faithful execution of the treaty, so far as lay in the power of the Executive, and to enable Congress to act, at the present session, with as full knowledge and as little difficulty as possible, on all matters of interest in these Territories, I sent the honorable Thomas Butler King as bearer of despatches to California, and certain officers to California and New Mexico, whose duties are particularly defined in the accompanying letters of instruction addressed to them severally by the proper departments.

I did not hesitate to express to the people of those Territories my desire that each Territory should, if prepared to comply with the requisitions of the Const.i.tution of the United States, form a plan of a State Const.i.tution and submit the same to Congress, with a prayer for admission into the Union as a State; but I did not antic.i.p.ate, suggest, or authorize the establishment of any such government without the a.s.sent of Congress; nor did I authorize any government agent or officer to interfere with or exercise any influence or control over the election of delegates, or over any convention, in making or modifying their domestic inst.i.tutions, or any of the provisions of their proposed Const.i.tution. On the contrary, the instructions given by my orders were, that all measures of domestic policy adopted by the people of California must originate solely with themselves; that while the Executive of the United States was desirous to protect them in the formation of any government republican in its character, to be at the proper time, submitted to Congress, yet it was to be distinctly understood that the plan of such a government must, at the same time, be the result of their own deliberate choice, and originate with themselves, without the interference of the Executive.

I am unable to give any information as to laws pa.s.sed by any supposed government in California, or of any census taken in either of the Territories mentioned in the resolution, as I have no information on those subjects.

As already stated, I have not disturbed the arrangements which I found had existed under my predecessor.

In advising an early application by the people of these Territories for admission as States, I was actuated princ.i.p.ally by an earnest desire to afford to the wisdom and patriotism of Congress the opportunity of avoiding occasions of bitter and angry dissensions among the people of the United States.

Under the Const.i.tution, every State has the right of establishing, and, from time to time, altering its munic.i.p.al laws and domestic inst.i.tutions, independently of every other State and of the general government; subject only to the prohibitions and guaranties expressly set forth in the Const.i.tution of the United States. The subjects thus left exclusively to the respective States were not designed or expected to become topics of national agitation. Still, as, under the Const.i.tution, Congress has power to make all needful rules and regulations respecting the Territories of the United States, every new acquisition of territory has led to discussions on the question whether the system of involuntary servitude which prevails in many of the States should or should not be prohibited in that Territory. The periods of excitement from this cause which have heretofore occurred have been safely pa.s.sed; but during the interval, of whatever length, which may elapse before the admission of the Territories ceded by Mexico as States, it appears probable that similar excitement will prevail to an undue extent.

Under these circ.u.mstances, I thought, and still think, that it was my duty to endeavor to put it in the power of Congress, by the admission of California and New Mexico as States, to remove all occasion for the unnecessary agitation of the public mind.

It is understood that the people of the western part of California have formed a plan of a State Const.i.tution, and will soon submit the same to the judgment of Congress, and apply for admission as a State.

This course on their part, though in accordance with, was not adopted exclusively in consequence of, any expression of my wishes inasmuch as measures tending to this end had been promoted by the officers sent there by my predecessor, and were already in active progress of execution before any communication from me reached California. If the proposed Const.i.tution shall, when submitted to Congress, be found to be in compliance with the requisitions of the Const.i.tution of the United States, I earnestly recommend that it may receive the sanction of Congress.

The part of California not included in the proposed State of that name is believed to be uninhabited, except in a settlement of our countrymen in the vicinity of Salt Lake.

A claim has been advanced by the State of Texas to a very large portion of the most populous district of New Mexico. If the people of New Mexico had formed a plan of a State government for that Territory as ceded by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and had been admitted by Congress as a State, our Const.i.tution would have afforded the means of obtaining an adjustment of the question of boundary with Texas by a judicial decision. At present, however, no judicial tribunal has the power of deciding that question, and it remains for Congress to devise some mode for its adjustment. Meanwhile, I submit to Congress the question whether it would be expedient, before such adjustment, to establish a territorial government, which, by including the district so claimed, would practically decide the question adversely to the State of Texas or, by excluding it, would decide it in her favor. In my opinion, such a course would not be expedient, especially as the people of this Territory still enjoy the benefit and protection of their munic.i.p.al laws, originally derived from Mexico, and have a military force stationed there to protect them against the Indians. It is undoubtedly true that the property, lives, liberties, and religion of the people of New Mexico are better protected than they ever were before the treaty of cession.

Should Congress, when California shall present herself for incorporation into the Union, annex a condition to her admission as a State affecting her domestic inst.i.tutions, contrary to the wishes of her people, and even compel her temporarily, to comply with it, yet the State, could change her Const.i.tution at any time after admission, when to her it should seem expedient. Any attempt to deny to the people of the State the right of self-government, in a matter which peculiarly affects themselves, will infallibly be regarded by them as an invasion of their rights; and, upon the principles laid down in our own Declaration of Independence, they will certainly be sustained by the great ma.s.s of the American people. To a.s.sert that they are a conquered people, and must, as a State, submit to the will of their conquerors in this regard, will meet with no cordial response among American freemen. Great numbers of them are native citizens of the United States not inferior to the rest of our countrymen in intelligence and patriotism; and no language of menace, to restrain them in the exercise of an undoubted right, guarantied to them by the treaty of cession itself, shall ever be uttered by me, or encouraged and sustained by persons acting under my authority. It is to be expected that, in the residue of the Territory ceded to us by Mexico, the people residing there will, at the time of their incorporation into the Union as a State, settle all questions of domestic policy to suit themselves. No material inconvenience will result from the want, for a short period, of a government established by Congress over that part of the Territory which lies eastward of the new State of California; and the reasons for my opinion that New Mexico will, at no very distant period, ask for admission into the Union, are founded on un-official information, which, I suppose, is common to all who have cared to make inquiries on that subject.

Seeing, then, that the question which now excites such painful sensations in the country will, in the end, certainly be settled by the silent effect of causes independent of the action of Congress, I again submit to your wisdom the policy recommended in my annual message, of awaiting the salutary operation of those causes, believing that we shall thus avoid the creation of geographical parties, and secure the harmony of feeling so necessary to the beneficial action of our political system. Connected as the Union is with the remembrance of past happiness, the sense of present blessings, and the hope of future peace and prosperity, every dictate of wisdom, every feeling of duty, and every emotion of patriotism, tend to inspire fidelity and devotion to it, and admonish us cautiously to avoid any unnecessary controversy which can either endanger it or impair its strength, the chief element of which is to be found in the regard and affection of the people for each other.

Z. TAYLOR.

WASHINGTON CITY, D.C., January 21st, 1850.

D.

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT OF CALIFORNIA, _Monterey, August 30, 1849_.

GENERAL:--I have the honor to transmit, herewith, copies of civil papers and letters issued by me since my despatch of June 30, and to continue my report on the civil affairs of this country from this date.

Accompanied by Captain Halleck, Secretary of State for California, and Major Canby, Captain Wescott, and Lieutenant Derby, of my military staff, I left this place on the 5th July for the purpose of inspecting the military posts in the interior, and of learning from personal observation the actual state of affairs in the mineral regions, and also of allaying, so far as I could, the hostile feeling which was said to exist between the Americans and foreigners who were working in the gold placers. My report on the state of the troops and a more detailed account of my tour will be forwarded with my military papers.

Pa.s.sing the mission of San Juan Bautista, we crossed the coast range of mountains near the ranche of Senor Pacheco, and struck the San Joaquin River near the mouth of the Merced; and, after visiting Major Miller's camp on the Stanislaus, we proceeded to examine the princ.i.p.al placers on the tributaries of that river and of the Tuolumne. These washings or diggings have been among the richest and most productive in California.

They are situated within a circuit of some twelve or fifteen miles, and are known as Jamestown, Wood's Creek, Sonoranian Camp, Sullivan's Creek, Curtis's Creek, French Creek, Carson's Creek, and Angelo Creek.

Some of these have become places of considerable business, particularly the Sonoranian Camp, which presents the appearance of a city of canvas houses.

Pa.s.sing the Stanislaus River in the mountains, we proceeded to Major Kingsbury's camp near the mouth of the American River, crossing in our route the Calaveras, Moquelume, Seco, and Cosumnes Rivers; all of which have rich washings near their sources, and on their bars and islands. From Major Kingsbury's camp we ascended the American River to Cullamo Hills, where the first placer was discovered by Captain Sutter's employees in the spring of 1848. From Cullamo we crossed the country to Stockton, a new town on an estero some distance above the mouth of the San Joaquin, and thence proceeded to Colonel Cazey's camp at the straits of Carquinnes; returning via San Francisco to Monterey, which place we reached on the afternoon of the 9th instant.

We found the country at this season dry and parched by the sun, the heat of which became very great the moment we crossed the coast range of mountains. The thermometer ranges as high as 113 Fah. in the shade, and above 140 Fah. in the sun. A great portion of the valley of the Joaquin is so barren as scarcely to afford subsistence for our animals, and can never be of much value for agricultural purposes.

There, however, is, some excellent land on the east side of that river, bordering its large tributaries. A considerable portion of the valleys of the Moquelume, Seco, Cosumnes, and American Rivers is also well adapted to agriculture; and the broad plains lying between them furnish abundant pasture for raising stock. But the amount of good arable land, as compared with the extent of country which we pa.s.sed over, is small, and I am inclined to believe that the richness and extreme fertility of certain localities have led to erroneous conclusions respecting the general character of the country. Certain it is, that while there may be found sufficient arable lands to support, if well cultivated, a numerous population, here is also a very great extent of rough and mountainous country and sandy and barren plains which are of little value. The great difficulty to be encountered in agricultural pursuits in some portions of California is the want of water for irrigation; but possibly this difficulty may be overcome in part by resorting to artesian wells. If so, much of the public land which is now unsaleable may be brought into market, and the settlement of the country greatly accelerated. I would, therefore, suggest whether it may not be advisable for our government to direct some experiments to be made at the public expense in sinking wells of this character, for even if unsuccessful as a means of irrigation, their construction will greatly a.s.sist in determining the geological character of the country. At present nearly all agricultural labors are suspended in the general scramble for gold; but the enormous prices paid for fruit and vegetables in the towns will undoubtedly induce many, during the coming year, to turn their attention to the cultivation of the soil. The failure on the part of Congress, at its last session, to authorize the sale of public lands in California, has proved detrimental to the agricultural interest of the country.

A large number of those who have recently emigrated to California are desirous to locate themselves permanently in the country, and to cultivate the soil, but the uncertainty which exists with respect to the validity of land t.i.tles in California, and to what actually const.i.tutes the public domain, serves as a serious check to the forming of new agricultural settlements; moreover, speculators are purchasing up fraudulent and invalid t.i.tles to large tracts of the public domain, and selling them off in parcels, and at enormous profits, to those who have recently arrived in the country, and who are necessarily ignorant of the real state of the case. All the mission lands in California were secularized, or made government property, by a law of Mexico, dated August 17th, 1833, and the territorial government of California, under the authority of the Mexican laws, leased and sold a portion of these lands and mission property. Another portion of this property, however, still remained unsold when the Americans took possession of the country, and it has since been left in the hands of government agents for preservation.

Erroneously supposing that these lands are subject to pre-emption laws, some of the recent emigrants have attempted to settle upon them.

But I cannot deem myself justifiable in permitting this, for I do not conceive that lands which have been under cultivation for half a century, and now belong to government, can be subject to the pre-emption claims of private individuals, in the same manner as the uncultivated lands of the public domain. It is, however, important for the interest of the country that these mission lands be brought into market with the least possible delay, and also that provision be made by law for the settlement and sale of other public lands in California. And as disputes are almost daily occurring between individuals respecting the extent of their several claims, and the validity of their t.i.tles, I would urge upon our government the necessity of immediately taking measures for the speedy and final settlement of these t.i.tles upon principles of equity and justice. This is absolutely essential for the peace and prosperity of the country.

For information connected with this subject, I beg leave to call attention, to the report of Captain Halleck, Secretary of State for California, which was forwarded to Washington by my predecessor, in the early part of April last.

Before leaving Monterey I heard numerous rumors of irregularities and crimes among those working in the _placers_; but, on visiting the mining regions, I was agreeably surprised to learn that every thing was quite the reverse from what had been represented, and that order and regularity were preserved throughout almost the entire extent of the mineral districts. In each little settlement, or tented town, the miners have elected their local alcaldes and constables, whose judicial decisions and official acts are sustained by the people, and enforced with much regularity and energy. It is true, that in a few instances certain local questions have produced temporary excitements and difficulties, but none of these have been of a very important character, or led to serious results. Alcaldes have probably in some cases, and under peculiar circ.u.mstances, exercised judicial powers which were never conferred upon them by law; but the general result has been favorable to the preservation of order and the dispensation of justice.

The old _placers_ are still exceedingly productive, and new ones are almost daily discovered in the smaller streams running from the western slope of the Sierra Nevada into the great valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers.

I am satisfied, however, from personal observation, that very exaggerated accounts have been sent to the United States respecting the ease with which the precious metal is extracted from the earth, and that many who come to this country with the expectation of acquiring sudden wealth, with little or no labor, will be sadly disappointed. It is true that the reward of labor in the mines is very high; but it should not be forgotten that gold _digging_ and gold washing in that climate require strong const.i.tutions and great physical exertions, and very few need expect to acquire fortunes by working the _placers_, without severe labor and fixed habits of industry and temperance. The yield of different localities is, of course, very different, some of the _placers_ being exceedingly rich, while the product of others is scarcely sufficient to pay the expenses of working. But I think the general averages per diem, for those actually employed in washing for gold, will not vary much from an ounce or an ounce and a half per man; some make much more than that sum, while those who are less fortunate fall much short of it. The actual number of persons working the _placers_ will not vary much from ten thousand. The entire population now in the mining district is much greater than that number; but many are engaged in mercantile pursuits and in transporting goods and provisions, while others employ much of their time in "prospecting," or looking for newer and richer localities.

I also found that the reports which had reached me of hostilities between Americans and foreigners, in the mining districts, were greatly exaggerated, and that, with a few individual exceptions, every thing had remained quiet and orderly. In some of the northern _placers_ a party of Americans and Europeans, urged on by political aspirants, who seem willing to endanger the peace and tranquillity of the country, in order to promote their own personal interest, have a.s.sumed the authority to order all Mexicans and South Americans from that part of the territory. Their orders were quietly submitted to by the foreigners, a portion of whom removed to the mines further south, where the American population manifested a very decided disposition to afford them protection should they be further molested. The more intelligent and thinking portion of Americans regard this measure as illegal and injudicious, and will discountenance any repet.i.tion of movements so well calculated to disturb the public tranquillity, and to create bitter and exasperated feelings, where it is evidently our policy to cultivate those of the most friendly character. Some of the English, Irish, and German emigrants, in the northern _placers_, a.s.sisted in this movement against the Mexicans, Peruvians, and Chilians, and probably exerted themselves much more than any of our own citizens to create a prejudice and excitement against the Spanish race. They were probably actuated by pecuniary interest. The great influx of people from the southern portion of this continent was diminishing the price of labor in the towns near the northern rivers, and the large number of pack animals brought from Lower California and Sonora was producing a corresponding reduction in the expenses of transportation.

For example, the price of a pack mule in some parts of the mining districts a few months ago was about $500, whereas they can now be purchased for less than $150. The cost of transportation from the princ.i.p.al landing on the San Joaquin River to the Sonoranian camp was $75 per hundred, whereas at the present time it is only about $7.

This has reduced the prices of provisions in the _placers_ one and two hundred per cent. Some of the merchants who had large stocks of goods in the mines, and those who were engaged in transportation at the prices formerly paid, have suffered by the change, and it is natural that they should feel incensed against that cla.s.s of foreigners who have contributed most to effect it.

But it is thought by others that the great majority of the laborers and consumers in the mining districts have been benefited by this change, and that it would be injurious to the prosperity of the country to restore things to their former state by the expulsion and prohibition of foreigners from the mines.

Americans, by their superior intelligence and shrewdness in business, generally contrive to turn to their own benefit the earnings of the Mexicans, Chilians, and Peruvians in this country, and any measure of exclusiveness which is calculated to diminish the productive labor of California would be of exceedingly doubtful policy.

When applied to by the different parties for my opinion on the question of expelling foreigners, I have uniformly told them that no persons, native Americans or foreigners, have any legal right to dig gold in the public lands; but that, until the government of the United States should act in the matter, they would not be molested in their pursuits; that I could not countenance any cla.s.s of men in their attempts to monopolize the working of the mines, and that all questions touching the temporary right of individuals to work in particular localities, of which they were in actual possession, should be left to the decision of the local judicial authorities.

I cannot close my remarks on this subject without again calling the attention of government to the importance of establishing a mint in California at the earliest moment.

This measure is called for by every consideration of natural policy and of justice to the mercantile mining population of California.

General Kearny, during his administration of affairs in this country, appointed, by virtue of his authority as governor of California, two sub-Indian agents, who have ever since been continued in office, and their services found of great utility in preserving harmony among the wild tribes, and in regulating their intercourse with the whites.

They have been paid from the "civil fund" very moderate salaries, which will be continued until arrivals of agents regularly appointed by the general government. Notwithstanding every effort on the part of those agents and of the officers of the army here, it has not been possible at all times to prevent aggression on the part of the whites, or to restrain the Indians from avenging these injuries in their own way.

In the month of April last, the agent in the Sacramento valley reported that a body of Oregonians and mountaineers had committed most horrible barbarities on the defenceless Indians in that vicinity.

Those cruel and inhuman proceedings, added, perhaps, to the execution of a number of chiefs some year and a half since by a military force sent into the San Joaquin valley by my predecessor, (the facts of which were reported to Washington at the time,) have necessarily produced a hostile feeling on the part of the natives, and several small parties of whites, who, in their pursuit of gold, ventured too far into the Indian country, have been killed.

My correspondence with the Indian agents and military officers established in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys will inform you of the measures taken to prevent a repet.i.tion of these difficulties.

I would respectfully recommend that at least three sub-Indian agents be appointed for this country, and stationed in the valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin.

These agents should receive ample pay in order to enable them to defray the expenses of living in that part of the country, and should be men of the highest moral character; for otherwise they would not resist the temptation to engage in illicit trade with the natives, or to employ them for the individual benefit of the agents in washing for gold.

The election called by me for the 1st instant was held on that day, and has been attended with the most happy results.