صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

MEMORIALS AND RESOLUTIONS.

A JOINT MEMORIAL

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE United StateS, ASKING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MINING BUREAU WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE TERRITORY OF COLORADO.

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled:

We, your memorialists, the council and house of representatives of Colorado territory, would most respectfully represent that a large proportion of our prospectors and miners are men who are in moderate pecuniary circumstances, and the exorbitant demands made by assayers for services in assaying minerals of various kinds found among our mountains and gulches, render it almost impossible for them to obtain justice through these channels, thereby retarding the practical development of the rich mineral deposits, delaying the advancement of the mining interests of Colorado, and giving to capitalists great and dangerous advantages over the laboring class, who have labored. unceasingly for the development of our rich mineral resources, which are distributed along the Rocky Mountain Range, upon which thousands of hard-working men are employed in exhuming the precious metals for the benefit of the world at large; therefore, we, your memorialists, would respectfully ask that your Honorable Body establish, or cause to be established, a mining bureau, at some convenient place within the territory of Colorado, where all, who desire, may deposit their minerals for assaying, and receive therefrom reliable certificates of such assays, as in duty bound your memorialists will ever pray, &c., &c.

Be it resolved by the Council and House of Representatives of Colorado Territory: That copi of the foregoing joint memorial be!

forwarded by His Excellency, Governor Alexander Cummings, to the president of the senate and speaker of the house of rep resentatives, and our delegate to congress, Hon. Allen A. Bradford.

Approved January 24th, A. D. 1866.

JOINT RESOLUTIONS.

WHEREAS, The miners of the territory of Colorado have heard that an attempt was being made in congress to destroy their rights to mining property, which they have held and pos sessed for five or six years, by the consent of the government and the approval of the executive of Colorado territory, appointed by the government, and

WHEREAS, We, the council and house of representatives of the territory of Colorado, believe the mining interest here to be the great leading interest, and that its interruption and destruction, as would follow by the passage of the bill in congress, known as the Sherman Bill, would inevitably result in the depopulation of our territory, therefore,

སྨཱ ཏི

Resolved, by the House of Representatives, the Council concurring:

1st. That we very heartily concur in the resolutions unanimously adopted in mass convention in Central City, Gilpin county, January 8th, A. D. 1866, of which the following is a true' copy:

i

RESOLUTIONS SUBMITTED TO THE PEOPLE OF COLORADO IN CONVENTION, January 8th, A. D. 1866, and Unanimously ADOPTED.

[ocr errors]

1st. Resolved, That the immemorial title of the government of the United States to the public domain is only that of trustees, for the use and ownership of the people, and that individuals purchasing lands from the federal government, or settling upon the public domain, acquire absolute ownership.

2nd. Resolved, That the uniform experience of sixty years in the disposal of the public domain, has developed a wise and equitable system, and any departure therefrom, based upon a variety, in its productions, is highly impolitic. This system, slowly erected and matured, has proved so effective in stimula ting the energies of our people and developing the resources of our country, that it should not be departed from.

[ocr errors]

3rd. Resolved, That in the words of the annual report of the commissioner of the general land office, "the miners' system of laying off, distributing and limiting claims, is one of the best,

if not the only practical and equitable one that can be devised; it is adapted to the formation, takes hold of and deals with the precise property, follows the line of deposit, and limits the ac quisition to a reasonable extent."

4th. Resolved, That the miners' laws, as generally adopted by. the first territorial legislature, and sanctioned by a governor appointed by the general government, have proved sufficient for the wants of our mining communities during a period of five years.

5th. Resolved, That a reasonable charge by the general government upon all future pre-emptions of newly discovered lodes analogous to the charges made by act of 1861, upon other preemptions, would be, in the opinion of this convention, equitable and just.

6th. Resolved, That Mr. Kasson's suggestion, giving to the discoverer one thousand (1,000) feet, is deemed expedient, Provided, That pre-emptions shall hereafter be limited to discoverers; but that there is, in our opinion, no ground for exempting them from a reasonable payment upon the receipt of the usual patent or governmental title.

1

7th. Resolved, That the hardy and enterprising class of men who have preferred the pursuit of mining to that of agriculture, cannot be expected to take a title inferior in dignity or certainty to that enjoyed under the homestead laws by their fellow citizens, engaged in agriculture, and that any attempt to permanently subject the inhabitants of the future mining states of this great republic, to any system of laws different from those by which the agricultural states are governed, must, in the end, prove subversive of liberty.

8th. Resolved, That owing to a general misapprehension of the peculiar condition of our people, and a want of knowledge of the intricacies of mining industry, (which render a personal examination of our immediate situation necessary to a full understanding of the difficulties that surround us,) great injustice may be done our citizens, and a mortal blow inflicted on our prosperity by hasty legislation in regard to mining titles.

9th. Resolved, That the great distance of these mining regions from the more populous parts of the country, and the dif ficulty, expense and delay in transportation, whereby all commodities are raised to an excessive price, as well as the privations incident to our isolated condition, coupled with the fact that our mineral lodes can be developed, and the precious metals separated only by a great outlay of labor and capital, much of which has been, in all likelihood, and will be expended in necessary experiments, in themselves not remunerative, entitle us to the most favorable consideration of the government.

[ocr errors]

10th. Resolved, That whatever wicked or oppressive measures: may be suggested by individuals, the people of Colorado have an abiding faith in the justice of the representatives of the peo ple, as a body, as well as the vast governmental experience and patriotism of the president, and that they feel confident that his approval could never be obtained of any measure depriving them directly (as proposed by bill offered in the senate, or indirectly by the resolution offered in the house of representatives) of their vested property, which, without their individual exertions, might have continued unknown to mankind..

11th. Resolved, That in view of the hardships and privations experienced by the people of Colorado, during a period of five years, they cannot, at this time, patiently submit to any measure depriving them of rights and property acquired under conditions, in all respects similar to those giving title to settlers upon the agricultural section of the public domain.

12th. Resolved, That we unqualifiedly endorse the sentiments expressed by governor Cummings in his late message to the legislative assembly of Colorado, in regard to our mining titles and the legislation of congress thereon.

13th. Resolved, That this meeting looks on the recent report of Hon. J. M. Edmunds, commissioner of the land office, as a full and fair, exposition of the question of the public mines, and would gladly co-operate in the enforcement of laws made in accordance with its spirit and recommendations, and that we heartily thank that official for the pure and patriotic spirit he manifests in regard to both national and individual interests.

14th. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, signed by the presiding officer of each branch of the legislature, be forwarded by the secretary of the territory to the president and head of each department at Washington, and to our delegate to the congress of the United States.

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

Approved January 26th, A. D. 1866.

JOINT RESOLUTION AND MEMORIAL

OF THE COUNCIL AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF COLORADO TER

RITORY.

To the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled

Your memorialists, the council and house of representatives, of Colorado territory, most respectfully represent to your Honorable Body, that a large and densely populated portion of the territory of Colorado and New Mexico, located in the country

« السابقةمتابعة »