CALIFORNIA.. There is, perhaps, no parallel in the history of nations to the rapid growth of a community in California. That which was almost a desert country four or five years ago is new a busy mart of commerce and mining.
The whole region pf California comprises the wide stretch of Pacific coast from Oregon in the north to Mexico in the south; but that portion which now attracts commercial atten. tion'is the river district, whereOf the outlet is at San Francisco, in 38° N. lat., 122° 'W. Here, about the time that California was as signed by treaty from Mexico to the United States, gold was first discovered—unless, in deed, as is eupposed, the were aware of its existence there some generations back. The gold is so loosely mixed up with sand and sediment in the bed and the banks of the Sacramento and other rivers, that the grains and small particles are withOut difficulty separated from the impurities. For a short time the secret was retained by a few ; bqt no sooner did the news spread abroad than a gold mania sprang up. The Mexicans, from the hitherto insignificant town of St. Fran cisco, the native Indians of the country, and the hardy trappers and backwoodsmen from the United States, all rushed to seize the golden treasure. After a time the Sandwich Islanders heard the news, and steered over the Pacific to get a share of the riches. Ves sels game to St. Francis co from different ports and the seamen, abandoning their vessels to the mercy of chance, ran off to the ' diggings ' and became gold-hunters. Soon the tidings reached the 'United States, and parties and companies set forth to El Dorado, the golden land. Some took the perilous inland route across the Rocky Mountains ; some adopted the tedious sail round Cape Horn; but the ma jority have availed themselves of the Panama route. The tens of thousands yrho thus went, having no other object than to get gold, had neither means nor inclination to grow their own food nor to manufacture their own neces saries; and hence arose a field of enterprise which the merchants of England and of the United States did not neglect. Valuable car goes were transmited to St. Francisco to be there sold in exchange for the geld-dust; and as such transactions could not be carried on without some Mini of commercial machinery, St. Francisco speedily put on those features
which distinguish a busy port.
$o rapid have been these transactions that they have scarcely yet been narrated in an authentic form. It would not be safe po say how much gold.dust has left California, nor how many adventurers have arrived there, for both have been exaggerated. St. Francisco has been nearly destroyed by fire three or four times during its brief existence ; yet it, rises from the ashes, after each conflagration, with increased vigour and importance. We may simply jot down two or three facts which servo to illustrate the present position of this remarkable place.
During one week in 1850 gold-dust to the value of three million dollars was shipped and exported from St. Francisco. In August of the same year the monthly shipment was about 8,000,000 dollars, of which gold-dust to the value of 3,000,000 dollars was trans mitted to England, the rest being consigned chiefly to the United States. On September 15, 1850, there were in that port no less than 681 vessels of 181,021 tons, belonging to twenty-one different nations ; 406 vessels be longed to the United States, 86 to England, all other countries much smaller numbers ; some of the vessels, small in size, had crossed the whole breadth of the Pacific from Aus tralia and New Zealand, with the view of ex changing their produce for gold-dust. In the first two weeks of October, in the same year, 94 vessels arrived at St. Francisco, besides the mail steamers which ply between that town and Panama, and besides 10 other steamers which now ply between St. Francisco and the smaller Californian ports. Between 40,000 and 50,000 letters now cross the isthmus of Panama every month em route from the Atlantic nations to California, and an equal number in the opposite direction.
As might reasonably he expected under such circumstances, recklessness and mad speculation have done much injury at Cali fornia; but the United States government has shown energy in establishing steady and useful lows and institutions in its newly acquired territory; and, whatever may be said of the Industry of all nations, the Commerce of all nations is likely to be instructively illus trated at California.