the mineral resources of the country, that the territory of California is by far the richest acquisition made by this government since its organization. All that is needed to render these resources of incalculable benefit to our people is, to discountenance from the outset the system of monopoly which proved so ruinous to the interests of Spain in Mexico and Peru; to foster individual enterprise; and to open a more direct communication with California, by a railroad across the isthmus of Panama, as is now contemplated, or some similar work. Should this be done, not many years must elapse, ere the land-locked Bay of San Francisco, admitted by an experienced navigator to be "one of the finest, if not the very best harbor in the world,"[1] will be filled with richly-freighted argosies; and the fertile intervals and slopes of California will yield forth of their abundance, to supply the wants of a numerous and enterprising population.[2]
- ↑ Wilkes' Narrative of the Exploring Expedition, vol. V., p. 157.
- ↑ Much the greater portion of the strip of land between the Sierra Nevada and the coast (ante, p. 501,) will, doubtless, ultimately be made available for agricultural purposes, — — by irrigation, where it is needed. The fertility of the soil is remarkable; eighty bushels of wheat for one is the average yield, and sometimes, though this is not usual, one hundred and twenty have been obtained. — -Wilkes' Narrative,p. 158, 159.
