Without such
establishments every vessel, whether of the Navy or of the merchant
service, requiring repair must at great expense come round Cape Horn to
one of our Atlantic yards for that purpose. With such establishments
vessels, it is believed, may be built or repaired as cheaply in
California as upon the Atlantic coast. They would give employment
to many of our enterprising shipbuilders and mechanics and greatly
facilitate and enlarge our commerce in the Pacific.
As it is ascertained that mines of gold, silver, copper, and quicksilver
exist in New Mexico and California, and that nearly all the lands where
they are found belong to the United States, it is deemed important to
the public interest that provision be made for a geological and
mineralogical examination of these regions. Measures should be adopted
to preserve the mineral lands, especially such as contain the precious
metals, for the use of the United States, or, if brought into market, to
separate them from the farming lands and dispose of them in such manner
as to secure a large return of money to the Treasury and at the same
time to lead to the development of their wealth by individual
proprietors and purchasers.
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