History of the State of California

Barley has been used for bread in some places in the interior, and is found to be a good substitute for flour.

Farmers are getting their lands ready for the crops of the next year, and it is understood that considerable quantities of wheat will be sown. Preparations are also being made for the erection of grist mills, and it is not likely another season will find us so dependant upon foreign supply for breadstuffs.

There was considerable excitement in California, during the latter part of December, about a supposed monopoly of flour. The article had been very scarce and high for some time, and the exorbitant rates it commanded were attributed in a great measure to an organized effort to force up prices. Indignation meetings were held in the interior, and in San Francisco several of the public prints endeavored to expose the supposed plots of the speculators. The timely arrival of cargoes from Chili and elsewhere, however, soon caused a decline, and the excitement on the subject consequently abated.

Vallejo has been made the capital of the state. It possesses many advantages of situation, and promises to be a large city. If the government should continue to have its seat there, Vallejo may prove a formidable rival to San Francisco.

At Sacramento city much alarm prevailed, in consequence of the rise of the water in the river and its tributaries. The papers say: —

The warm and unprecedented heavy rains of the last forty-eight hours have brought down upon us an avalanche of water from the snowy regions skirting the forks of the American River, and swollen the latter stream to a greater height than at any former period of the present season.

At 9 o'clock, yesterday morning, the water was even with its natural banks, and soon after commenced percolating through the unfinished embankments at the gaps of the old levee. These were speedily torn away by the force of the current, and the water, now running on unobstructed through the breach of the new levee, and so on down towards the city.

By dusk last evening, that portion of the town lying south of J and east of Fifth street, was entirely submerged, to the depth of from one to three feet. During the whole of yesterday the rain poured down in torrents, and the weather was warmer than we have known it for a month past. The American river continued to rise, up to a very late hour, and, at last accounts, was eleven and a half feet higher than on Wednesday.

It is useless to deny the fact that the highest mark has not yet been reached, for there is a great body of snow that, under the influence of the present storm, must dissolve, and find its way to the Sacramento. The latter stream also rose steadily during Thursday, but still lacks some two feet of being up to the top of the levee.

There is no danger whatever of the embankment yielding at any point in front of the city – the only danger to be apprehended is that it may not prove sufficiently high to retain the stream within its appropriate bounds.

A small breach was discovered early yesterday morning in the new levee, near Dudley's farm, but it was repaired before any damage was done.

There was a rumor prevailing last evening that Lisle's bridge had been swept away, but could be traced to no reliable source.

Every body is busily engaged in making preparations to meet the anticipated flood. Merchants and shopkeepers, and all having property on the ground floor, are raising them above high water mark – boats are moored at the doors – vehicles of every description, stock, grain, tents, hay, provisions and people, are crowded together on the public square, and every available dry nook and corner is occupied.

The Marysville Express of the 20th, says: "The water is within three or four inches as high as it was at the last flood, when it was 6½ inches higher than ever known before. The rain is still falling heavily, and when we consider the enormous, almost frightful, quantity of snow in the mountains, the most alarming fears may most reasonably be entertained. All seem to join in the belief that the present will exceed any previous flood known."

The accounts we receive from the mining districts are really heart rending; death by cold and starvation has visited many poor unfortunates, while as yet the tale of horrors is but half told. It was feared that as intelligence should be received from the mountains, we shall have to record the sad fate of many more.

Great quantities of gold are still obtained in California. The average value of the gold dust brought by each steamer of the Panama line is about $500,000. This is an astonishing production; and we are almost ready to believe the enthusiastic declarations of the first adventurers in this El Dorado, that the gold region is inexhaustible.

Emigration to California continues to be extensive. Most of those who intend to become permanent settlers proceed by the overland route, from Independence, Missouri, to Sacramento City. Late in the summer of every year, a relief train is sent from the settled portion of California, to meet the emigrants. Many persons are thus saved from death by starvation. The expense of the relief train is a consideration of little importance, when its object is borne in mind. Had the same measure been adopted soon after the gold discovery, many of those whose bones are bleaching on the plains, would have survived to become useful citizens of California.

Interesting proceedings have taken place in the United States Senate, in regard to the Tehuantepec route to California. The Mexican government has shown a disposition to prevent the construction of a road across Tehuantepec, which some senators think should be promptly rebuked. In a recent speech upon the subject, Mr. Mason, of Virginia, said that the acquisition of California and the intervening territory, placed this Government in the position of having some of its dependencies almost inaccessible. The discovery of the gold in California, made the subject of a communication with that region, of the deepest importance, and has naturally drawn the eyes of the world to the necessity of securing some safe, reliable, and speedy right of way to the Pacific Ocean. Panama has been sought, and it has been used as a place of transit, without any serious objection on the part of any government there. Mexico alone has interposed an obstacle to this desired communication with the Pacific. Mexico, from whom our territory was derived, and who is our neighbor and sister Republic, has alone refused the right of way to the world, and has not only refused the right of transit to other nations, but has also set aside an existing grant of that right. For years, enterprises have been projected to connect the two Oceans at Tehuantepec. In view of the vast importance of this connection, the minds of the people of the United States have been concentrated upon the discovery of that plan which shall be the least expensive, and at the same time the most certain and efficient, to unite the two Oceans by means of travel or transportation. Mr. Mason read a table showing the distance between New York and San Francisco by the Chagres route, to be 6650 miles; between New Orleans and San Francisco, by way of Chagres, 5675 miles; between New York and San Francisco, by the Tehuantepec route, 4970; between New Orleans and San Francisco, by the Tehuantepec, 3740 miles. The average time from New York to San Francisco, by the Chagres route, was 28 days, and the shortest 24 days. The average time by the Tehuantepec route was 19 days, and the shortest 15. From New Orleans, by way of Tehuantepec, the average time would be 14 days and the shortest 12 days.

It is believed that spirited action on the part of our government will secure from Mexico the recognition of a right of way across Tehuantepec, which, according to Senator Mason's able representation, is but a matter of justice. Mexico is at present almost ready to fall to pieces, most of its states, or provinces, being in successful rebellion. She is not, therefore, in a condition to resist a formidable foreign power. It is lamentable when a government is weak, and yet dares to be unjust. The people of California have a considerable stake in the decision of the Tehuantepec question.

The gold region is constantly being extended by new discoveries – especially in the north-eastern section of the state. In the meantime the old mines continue to yield a good profit to industrious laborers. Before the recent flood, the mining news from the Mariposa diggings was very favorable – the miners averaging from $25 to $30 a day. On Cottonwood Creek, Shosta Valley, operations were also well rewarded – one company making $100 per day to the hand. The number of persons engaged in mining and crushing the gold-bearing quartz is very large, and the yield rewards the toil.

The miners still occasionally take upon themselves the punishment of offenders. Recently, a half-breed Mexican, named John Bathus, having stolen $800 in gold dust from S. B. Star, on the Klamath, was caught, tried by the miners of the district, convicted, sentenced to be shot, and executed accordingly. About the same time, a man named Morrison, having committed a theft among the miners on Humbug Creek, was caught, and received twelve lashes on his bare back. These cases, however, occurred in wild districts, where the laws of the State are but imperfectly executed, and where summary measures can alone secure the miner in possession of his hard-earned property.

The Indians in the State are very troublesome, in spite of the strong regular force kept in vigilant service. The most recent disturbances have occurred in Trinity County, whither Gen. Hitchcock was compelled to despatch a company of United States troops. Prompt and vigorous measures being adopted, the savages were quieted. Other disturbances in that section of the country about the mouth of the Klamath, were terminated as promptly.

A late number of the Shasta Courier says, the Indians on Churn Creek, on the east side of the Sacramento river, have become very annoying to the whites. They have stolen a great many mules, and are constantly watching for opportunities to take human life. But recently, a man named Henry Welden, was pursued for several miles by a band of these Indians, and narrowly escaped with his life. In consequence of these outrages, a company of miners was formed for the purpose of driving the savages to a safer distance, or exterminating them. The company was equipped for efficient service in the mountains. The Indians fled before them, and could not be overtaken.

Several months previous the Indians on the Gila were incited to war by some reckless Mexicans. Several expeditions were sent against them from Fort Yumas, and recently the savages have been so far quieted, that the country is now considered safe for emigrants.

Among the new and most remarkable placers, are the gold bluffs, situated near the mouth of the Klamath river, about thirty miles north of Trinidad. The approach to them by land is over a plain of sand, into which the traveller sinks ankle-deep at every step. The bluffs stretch along some five or six miles, and present a perpendicular front to the ocean of from 100 to 400 feet in height. In ordinary weather the beach is from 20 to 50 feet in width, composed of a mixture of gray and black sand, the latter containing the gold in scales so fine that they cannot be separated by the ordinary process of washing; so that resort must be had to chemical means. The beach changes with every tide, and sometimes no black, auriferous sand is to be seen on the surface. By digging down, it is found mixed with gray sand, which largely predominates. The violence of the surf renders landing in boats impracticable. When the beach was discovered early in 1851, several tons of goods were landed from a steamer despatched thither, by means of lines from the vessel to the shore. The Pacific Mining Company have made good profits in working the bluffs and the sand of the beach.

Tunneling has been carried on quite extensively in the mining region. Some of the tunnels through solid rock are wonderful achievements. At Duggan's Flat, a party bored 150 feet in the solid rock before finding the gold.

Professor Forrest Shepherd, of New Haven, has made some remarkable discoveries of thermal action in California. In one place where there was nothing on the surface to attract attention, on digging down the heat increased so rapidly that at the depth of two feet he could not bear his hand in the earth, and the thermometer indicated a temperature of 130 degrees. At another place, after wandering for four days through dense thickets, he came upon a chasm a thousand feet deep, through which flowed a stream, the banks of which, on the 8th of February, were covered with vegetation. Following up the stream, the earth grew so hot as to burn the feet through the boots. There was no appearance of lava, and the rocks were being dissolved by a powerful catalytic action. From innumerable orifices steam was forced to the height of two hundred feet. The number of spouting geysers and boiling springs, on a half mile square, exceeded two hundred. The Professor, in the course of a lecture delivered at San Jose, said he did not doubt that silver, lead, and iron abounded in California.

The legislation of Congress in regard to California has sometimes been of a very unsatisfactory character. By an act passed in 1850, the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to contract upon the most reasonable terms with the proprietors of some well-established assaying works then in successful operation in California, who should perform such duties in assaying and fixing the value of gold in grains and lumps, and in forming the same into bars, as should be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and the assayer was to fix the stamp of the United States, indicating the degree of fineness and value, upon each bar or ingot. This was a measure of convenience, and the merchants of the California ports had then ample means of paying their custom house duties. In 1852, however, Congress passed an act, creating a branch mint of the United States in California: and to this act was appended a clause, repealing the act which authorized the office of Assayer, as soon as public notice was given of the creation of the branch mint. In consequence of this legislation, the Assayer's office was abolished, and yet there was no mint for coining in the golden land. Time was required for making the necessary appropriation of money, erecting buildings, and constructing machinery, all of which had not been considered. The clause of the former act which made the stamped ingots receivable for duties was repealed. The merchants of California had no means of paying their duties at the custom house, and great excitement and confusion ensued. Finally, an arrangement was made with the Collector of San Francisco, under which uncoined gold could be received in payment of duties, and then business went on as usual. Care is one of the first essentials of beneficial legislation. The circumstance that the people of California are so far from the seat of the federal government, requires a strict attention in legislators, to prevent evils which cannot be quickly remedied.

The people of California seem to be deeply interested in the construction of a great railroad from the Mississippi to the Pacific. At San Diego, several meetings have been held, and reports adopted, advocating and exhibiting the advantages of a southern route for the proposed railroad. The route which the meetings favored is to start from the Gulf of Mexico or some of its tributaries, and passing through Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico to California, and strike the Pacific at San Diego. Its entire length would not exceed sixteen hundred miles, whilst it would have the advantages, as alleged by the report, of passing through a section in which universal summer prevails, and of affording opportunities for lateral roads connecting with the cities of Mexico, through which a large trade might be obtained. The subject has been brought to the consideration of Congress, and that body has prudently appropriated a large sum for a survey of the various routes proposed.

APPENDIX

Appendix A

CONSTITUTION OF CALIFORNIA

PROCLAMATION TO THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA

The delegates of the people assembled in Convention, have formed a constitution, which is now presented for your ratification. The time and manner of voting on this constitution, and of holding the first general election, are clearly set forth in the schedule. The whole subject is, therefore, left for your unbiassed and deliberate consideration.

The Prefect (or person exercising the functions of that office) of each district, will designate the places for opening the polls, and give due notice of the election, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and schedule.

The people are now called upon to form a government for themselves, and to designate such officers as they desire, to make and execute the laws. That their choice may be wisely made, and that the government so organized may secure the permanent welfare and happiness of the people of the new State, is the sincere and earnest wish of the present Executive, who, if the constitution be ratified, will, with pleasure, surrender his powers to whomsoever the people may designate as his successor.

Given at Monterey, California, this 12th day of October, A.D., 1849.

(Signed) B. Riley,

Brevet Brig. General, U.S.A., and Governor of California.

(Official) H. W. Halleck,

Brevet Captain and Secretary of State.

WE THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA, GRATEFUL TO ALMIGHTY GOD FOR OUR FREEDOM, IN ORDER TO SECURE ITS BLESSINGS, DO ESTABLISH THIS CONSTITUTION: —

ARTICLE I

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS

Sec. 1. All men are by nature free and independent, and have certain inalienable rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.

Sec. 2. All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for the protection, security, and benefit of the people; and they have the right to alter or reform the same, whenever the public good may require it.

Sec. 3. The right of trial by jury shall be secured to all, and remain inviolate for ever; but a jury trial may be waived by the parties, in all civil cases, in the manner to be prescribed by law.

Sec. 4. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall for ever be allowed in this State; and no person shall be rendered incompetent to be a witness on account of his opinions on matters of religious belief; but the liberty of conscience, hereby secured, shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of this State.

Sec. 5. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require its suspension.

Sec. 6. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor shall cruel or unusual punishments be inflicted, nor shall witnesses be unreasonably detained.

Sec. 7. All persons shall be bailable, by sufficient sureties: unless for capital offences, when the proof is evident or the presumption great.

Sec. 8. No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime (except in cases of impeachment, and in cases of militia when in actual service, and the land and naval forces in time of war, or which this State may keep with the consent of Congress in time of peace, and in cases of petit larceny under the regulation of the Legislature,) unless on presentment or indictment of a grand jury; and in any trial in any court whatever, the party accused shall be allowed to appear and defend in person and with counsel, as in civil actions. No person shall be subject to be twice put in jeopardy for the same offence; nor shall he be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.

Sec. 9. Every citizen may freely speak, write, and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right; and no law shall be passed to restrain or abridge the liberty of speech or of the press. In all criminal prosecutions on indictments for libels, the truth may be given in evidence to the jury; and if it shall appear to the jury that the matter charged as libellous is true, and was published with good motives and for justifiable ends, the party shall be acquitted: and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the fact.

Sec. 10. The people shall have the right freely to assemble together, to consult for the common good, to instruct their representatives, and to petition the legislature for redress of grievances.

Sec. 11. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation.

Sec. 12. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power. No standing army shall be kept up by this State in time of peace; and in time of war no appropriation for a standing army shall be for a longer time than two years.

Sec. 13. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, except in the manner to be prescribed by law.

Sec. 14. Representation shall be apportioned according to population.

Sec. 15. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in any civil action on mesne or final process, unless in cases of fraud; and no person shall be imprisoned for a milita fine in time of peace.

Sec. 16. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall ever be passed.

Sec. 17. Foreigners who are, or who may hereafter become, bona fide residents of this State, shall enjoy the same rights in respect to the possession, enjoyment, and inheritance of property, as native born citizens.

Sec. 18. Neither slavery, nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this State.

Sec. 19. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable seizures and searches, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue but on probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons and things to be seized.

Sec. 20. Treason against the State shall consist only in levying war against it, adhering to its enemies, or giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the evidence of two witnesses to the same overt act, or confession in open court.

Sec. 21. This enumeration of rights shall not be construed to impair or deny others retained by the people.

ARTICLE II

RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE

Sec. 1. Every white male citizen of the United States, and every white male citizen of Mexico, who shall have elected to become a citizen of the United States, under the treaty of peace exchanged and ratified at Queretaro, on the 30th day of May, 1848, of the age of twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of the State six months next preceding the election, and the county or district in which he claims his vote thirty days, shall be entitled to vote at all elections which are now or hereafter may be authorized by law: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the Legislature, by a two-thirds concurrent vote, from admitting to the right of suffrage, Indians or the descendants of Indians, in such special cases as such a proportion of the legislative body may deem just and proper.

Sec. 2. Electors shall, on all cases except treason, felony, or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest on the days of the election, during their attendance at such election, going to and returning therefrom.

Sec. 3. No elector shall be obliged to perform militia duty on the day of election, except in time of war or public danger.

Sec. 4. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a residence by reason of his presence or absence while employed in the service of the United States; nor while engaged in the navigation of the waters of this State, or of the United States, or of the high seas; nor while a student of any seminary of learning; nor while kept at any almshouse, or other asylum, at public expense; nor while confined in any public prison.

Sec. 5. No idiot or insane person, or person convicted of any infamous crime, shall be entitled to the privileges of an elector.

Sec. 6. All elections by the people shall be by ballot.

ARTICLE III

DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS

The powers of the government of the State of California shall be divided into three separate departments: the Legislature, the Executive, and Judicial; and no person charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of these departments, shall exercise any functions appertaining to either of the others; except in the cases hereinafter expressly directed or permitted.

ARTICLE IV

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

Sec. 1. The legislative power of this State shall be vested in a Senate and Assembly, which shall be designated the Legislature of the State of California, and the enacting clause of every law shall be as follows: "The people of the State of California, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows."

Sec. 2. The sessions of the Legislature shall be annual, and shall commence on the first Monday of January, next ensuing the election of its members; unless the Governor of the State shall, in the interim, convene the Legislature by proclamation.

Sec. 3. The members of the Assembly shall be chosen annually, by the qualified electors of their respective districts, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, unless otherwise ordered by the Legislature, and their term of office shall be one year.

Sec. 4. Senators and Members of Assembly shall be duly qualified electors in the respective counties and districts which they represent.

Sec. 5. Senators shall be chosen for the term of two years, at the same time and places as Members of Assembly; and no person shall be a Member of the Senate or Assembly, who has not been a citizen and inhabitant of the State one year, and of the county or district for which he shall be chosen six months next before his election.

Sec. 6. The number of Senators shall not be less than one third, nor more than one half, of that of the Members of Assembly; and at the first session of the Legislature after this Constitution takes effect, the Senators shall be divided by lot as equally as may be, into two classes; the seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the first year, so that one half shall be chosen annually.

Sec. 7. When the number of Senators is increased, they shall be apportioned by lot, so as to keep the two classes as nearly equal in number as possible.

Sec. 8. Each house shall choose its own officers, and judge of the qualifications, elections, and returns of its own members.

Sec. 9. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties as each house may provide.

Sec. 10. Each house shall determine the rules of its own proceedings, and may with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, expel a member.

Sec. 11. Each house shall keep a journal of its own proceedings, and publish the same; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house, on any question, shall, at the desire of any three members present, be entered on the journal.

Sec. 12. Members of the Legislature shall, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest, and they shall not be subject to any civil process during the session of the Legislature, nor for fifteen days next before the commencement and after the termination of each session.

Sec. 13. When vacancies occur in either house, the Governor, or the person exercising the functions of the Governor, shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.

Sec. 14. The doors of each house shall be open, except on such occasions as in the opinion of the house may require secrecy.

Sec. 15. Neither house shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which they may be sitting.

Sec. 16. Any bill may originate in either house of the Legislature, and all bills passed by one house may be amended in the other.

Sec. 17. Every bill which may have passed the Legislature, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Governor. If he approve it, he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it originated, which shall enter the same upon the journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, it again pass both houses, by yeas and nays, by a majority of two-thirds of the members of each house present, it shall become a law, notwithstanding the Governor's objections. If any bill shall not be returned within ten days after it shall have been presented to him (Sunday excepted,) the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Legislature, by adjournment, prevent such return.

Sec. 18. The Assembly shall have the sole power of impeachment; and all impeachments shall be tried by the Senate. When sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be upon oath or affirmation; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

Sec. 19. The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney General, Surveyor-General, Justices of the Supreme Court, and Judges of the District Courts, shall be liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office; but judgment in such cases shall extend only to removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit, under the State; but the party convicted, or acquitted, shall nevertheless be liable to indictment, trial and punishment, according to law. All other civil officers shall be tried for misdemeanors in office, in such manner as the Legislature may provide.