The People, etc.

MINERS' HOSPITAL.

LAWS 1881, P. 82; MAR. 14, 1881.

AN ACT to provide a State hospital and asylum for miners.

SEC. 1. There shall be erected, as soon as conveniently may be, upon some suitable site, to be determined and obtained as is hereinafter provided, a public hospital and asylum, for the reception, care, medical and surgical treatment, and relief of the sick, injured, disabled, and aged miners, which shall be known as the "California State Miners' Hospital and Asylum."

SEC. 2. The governor shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appoint five persons to serve as trustees of the said institution, who shall be a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of the "Trustees of the California State Miners' Hospital and Asylum," and shall manage and direct the concerns of the institution, and make all necessary by-laws and regulations, and shall have power to receive, hold, dispose of, and convey all real and personal property conveyed to them by gift, devise, or otherwise, for the use of said institution, and shall serve without compensation. Of those first appointed, two shall serve for two years, and three for four years; and at the expiration of the respective terms, each class thereafter shall be appointed for four years. A vacancy in said board, from any cause, shall be filled by apppointment by the governor for the unexpired term.

SEC. 3. The said trustees shall have charge of the general interests of the institution; they shall appoint the superintendent, who shall be a skillful physician and surgeon, subject to removal or reelection no oftener than in periods of ten years, except by infidelity to the trust reposed in him, or for incompetency.

SEC. 4. The trustees, by and with the consent of the governor, shall make such by-laws and regulations for the government of the institution as shall be necessary; they shall appoint a treasurer, who shall give bonds to the people of the State of California for the faithful discharge of his duties; and they shall fix the compensation of all officers, assistants, and attachés, who may be necessary for the just and economical administration of the affairs of said institution.

SEC. 5. Indigent miners shall be charged for medical attendance, surgical operations, board, and nursing while residents in the hospital and asylum, no more than the actual cost; paying patients, whose friends can pay their expenses, and who are not chargeable upon townships and counties, shall pay according to the terms directed by the trustees.

SEC. 6. The several boards of supervisors of counties, or any constituted authority in the State having care and charge of any indigent, sick, or aged person, or persons, if satisfactorily proven by them to have been miners, shall have authority to send to the "California State Miners' Hospital and Asylum" such persons, and they shall be severally chargeable with the expenses of the care, maintenance, and treatment, and removal to and from the hospital and asylum of such patients.

SEC. 7. The trustees shall, annually, at such time as the governor may designate, report to him, for transmission to the legislature, such a statement as he may require as to the management of the said hospital and asylum.

SEC. 8. This act shall take effect immediately.

MINERS' LICENSE.

FOREIGN MINER'S LICENSE.

LAWS 1850, P. 221; APR. 13, 1850.

AN ACT for the better regulation of the mines, and the government of foreign miners.

The People, etc.

SEC. 1. No person who is not a native or natural born citizen of the United States, or who may not have become a citizen under the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (all native California Indians excepted), shall be permitted to mine in any part of this State, without having first obtained a license so to do according to the provisions of this act.

SEC. 2. The governor shall appoint a collector of licenses to foreign miners for each of the mining counties, and for the county of San Francisco, who, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall take the oath required by the constitution, and shall give his bond to the State with at least two good and sufficient sureties, conditioned for the faithful performance of his official duties, which bond shall be approved by the governor, and filed in the office of the secretary of state.

SEC. 3. Each collector of licenses to foreign miners shall be commissioned by the governor.

SEC. 4. It shall be the duty of the comptroller to cause to be printed or engraved a sufficient number of licenses, which shall be numbered consecutively, and shall be in form following, to wit:

"Number

"A. B., a citizen of

age

years, complexion

is hereby licensed

to work in the mines of California for the period of 30 days.' The comptroller shall countersign each of such licenses and shall transfer them to the treasurer, keeping an account of the number so transferred.

SEC. 5. The treasurer shall sign and deliver to each collector of licenses to foreign miners so many of the licenses mentioned in the preceding section as he shall deem proper, and shall take his receipt for the same and charge him therewith. Such collector and his sureties shall be liable upon his bond for the number so furnished him, either for their return or the amount for which they may be sold; and the moneys collected, as herein provided, shall be paid into the treasury as prescribed in this act. SEC. 6. Every person required by the first section of this act to obtain a license to mine shall apply to the collector of licenses to foreign miners, and take out a license to mine, for which he shall pay the sum of $20 per month; and such foreigners may from time to time take out a new license, at the same rate per month, until the governor shall issue his proclamation announcing the passage of a law by Congress, regulating the mines of precious metals in this State.

SEC. 7. If any such foreigner or foreigners shall refuse or neglect to take out such license by the second Monday of May next, it shall be the duty of the collector of licenses to foreign miners of the county in which such foreigner or foreigners shall be, to furnish his or their names to the sheriff of the county, or to any deputy sheriff whose duty it shall be to summon a posse of American citizens, and, if necessary, forcibly prevent him or them from continuing such mining operations.

SEC. 8. Should such foreigner or foreigners, after having been stopped by a sheriff or deputy sheriff from mining in one place, seek a new location and continue such mining operations, it shall be deemed a misdemeanor, for which such offender or

offenders shall be arrested as for a misdemeanor, and he or they shall be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three months, and fined not more than $1,000.

SEC. 9. Any foreigner who may obtain a license in conformity with the provisions of this act shall be allowed to work the mines anywhere in this State, under the same regulations as citizens of the United States.

SEC. 10. It shall be the duty of each collector of licenses to foreign miners to keep a full and complete register of the names and descriptions of all foreigners taking out licenses, and a synopsis of all such licenses to be returned to the treasurer.

SEC. 11. Each license, when sold, shall be indorsed by the collector selling or issuing the same, and shall be in no case transferable; and the collector may retain, out of the money received for each license, the sum of $3, which shall be the full amount of his compensation.

SEC. 12. Each collector of licenses to foreign miners shall, once in every two months and oftener, if called upon by the treasurer, proceed to the seat of government, settle with the treasurer, pay over to that officer all moneys collected from foreigners not before paid over, and account with him for the unsold licenses remaining in his hands. SEC. 13. If any collector shall neglect or refuse to perform his duty as herein provided, it shall be the duty of the comptroller, upon receiving a notice thereof from the treasurer, to give information thereof to the district attorney in whose district said officer may have been appointed, who shall bring an action against such collector and his sureties upon his bond, before any court of competent jurisdiction; and upon recovery had thereon, the said district attorney shall receive for his services 10 per cent upon the amount collected, the balance to be paid by him into the treasury in the manner provided by law for like payments.

SEC. 14. It shall be the duty of the governor, so soon as he shall have been officially informed of the passage of a law by the United States Congress, assuming the control of the mines of the State, to issue his proclamation, requiring all collectors of licenses to foreign miners to stop the issuing of licenses.

SEC. 15. It shall be the duty of the secretary of state immediately after the passage of this act, to have 2,000 copies each, in English and Spanish, printed and sent to the mining districts for circulation among the miners, and also to have the same published for 30 days in the Pacific News at San Francisco, and in some newspaper at Sacramento City and at Stockton.

ANNOTATIONS.

MINERS' LICENSES.

1. CONSTITUTIONALITY OF STATUTE.
2. APPLICATION TO PUBLIC LANDS.

3. COLLECTION OF TAX.

4. PARTNERSHIP LIABILITY.

1. CONSTITUTIONALITY OF STATUTE.

The statute requiring foreigners, in order to entitle them to the privilege of mining in California, to procure a license for that purpose, and prohibiting all foreigners who had not such license from working mines in that State, is valid and constitutional; and it can not be deemed a rule or regulation respecting the public lands from the fact that it may affect them indirectly and may, to a limited extent, operate to prevent the working of them and thereby diminish the revenue which might otherwise be derived from them by the United States.

People v. Naglee, 1 Cal. 232, pp. 233-239, 52 Am. Dec. 312n (1850).

A law requiring foreigners to obtain a license and to pay a license fee for working mines in the State of California is in effect a tax law upon mining and such a law is constitutional where a tax law would be constitutional.

People v. Naglee, 1 Cal. 232, p. 242 (1850). 52 Am. Dec. 312n.

This act by necessary implication gives whatever right the State may have in the mineral in the soil and the right to mine the same to all native born or naturalized citizens of the United States who may wish to toil in the gold placer.

McClintock v. Bryden, 5 Cal. 97, p. 99 (1855). 63 Am. Dec. 87n.

See Merced Min. Co. v. Fremont, 7 Cal. 317, p. 324 (1857). 68 Am. Dec. 262.

The foreign miners' license tax is a special contribution laid on a certain class of foreigners for the support of the Government and created by special act of the legislature.

Attorney General v. Squires, 14 Cal. 12, p. 18 (1859).

2. APPLICATION TO PUBLIC LANDS.

This was the first statute in California respecting mines and provides for the issuing of licenses to foreign miners; but there is nothing in the act restricting in express terms the license to mine the public lands, but such was evidently the intention of the legislature as shown by the fourteenth section of the act, providing that the governor as soon as he shall be officially informed of the passage of a law by Congress assuming control of the mines of the State to issue his proclamation that collectors of licenses of foreign miners shall stop the issuance of such licenses; the legislation anticipated by this manifestly had reference to the public lands.

Boggs v. Merced Min. Co. 14 Cal. 279, p. 377 (1859).

This act in so far as it relates to the question of a license from the State to mine or to work in a mine refers to mines and working in mines in the public lands alone, and has no reference to mines or to working in mines on private property.

Boggs V. Merced Min. Co., 14 Cal. 279, p. 379 (1859).

See Henshaw v. Clark and 103 Chinamen, 14 Cal. 460, p. 464 (1859).

Notwithstanding the broad terms of this act, yet the legislature must have intended the prohibition against mining without a license to apply only to mining on public lands as this intention is evident from the fourteenth section of the act.

Ah Hee v. Crippen, 19 Cal. 491, p. 498 (1861).

The acts authorizing licenses from foreign miners subsequent to this original act do not contain the express provision as to mining on the public lands; but in their passage the legislature only adopted a municipal regulation to govern the conduct of a certain class of persons for the purpose of raising revenue from them and did not undertake to dispose of any proprietary interest which the State possessed in the mines Boggs v. Merced Min. Co., 14 Cal. 279, p. 378 (1859).

3. COLLECTION OF TAX.

The service or duty of collecting foreign miners' license taxes did not originally belong to the sheriff or his office, but was attached to the office of tax collector by legislative act and by the same authority it may be detached.

Attorney General v. Squires, 14 Cal. 12, p. 16 (1859).

The general bond of a sheriff covers his liability as tax collector, but it does not cover his liability as collector of taxes on foreign miners' licenses.

Attorney General v. Squires, 14 Cal. 12, p. 15 (1859).

4. PARTNERSHIP LIABILITY.

An individual partner, and not the partnership, is alone liable for the license tax, where he personally employs a foreign miner, subject to a license tax, to work in mines which were partnership property.

Meyer v. Larkin, 3 Cal. 403, p. 405 (1853).

32857°-18-Bull. 161-4

REPEALING ACT.

LAWS 1851, P. 424; MAR. 14, 1851.

AN ACT to repeal "An act for the better regulation of the mines, and the government of foreign miners" approved April 13, 1850.

The People, etc.

SEC. 1. That the act entitled “An act for the better regulation of the mines, and the government of foreign miners," approved April 12 (13), 1850, be and the same is ereby repealed.

LAWS 1852, P. 84; MAY 4, 1852.

AN ACT to provide for the protection of foreigners, and to define their liabilities and privileges: Whereas, great prejudices exist in the mining districts in relation to the propriety of foreigners being permitted to work placer and quartz diggings, inasmuch as they are not liable to the same duties as American citizens whilst they enjoy the same privileges; and whereas these contests produce great expenditure by the State in the maintenance of order, and whereas, in consideration of the protection and privileges extended and secured to them by the constitution and laws of our country, therefore,

The People, etc.

NOTE. This act is combined with the act following. The section numbers and the changes and amendments of this act are in parentheses.

LAWS 1853, P. 62; MAR. 30, 1853. (COMPILED LAWS 1850-1853, P. 218.)

AN ACT to provide for the protection of foreigners, and to define their liabilities and privileges. The People, etc.

SEC. 1 (1). That from and after the 1st day of June next, and until the Congress of the United States shall by law assume control of the mining lands of California (passage of this act), no person not being a citizen of the United States (California Indians excepted) shall be allowed to take gold from any of the mines of this State, unless he shall have a license therefor as hereinafter provided.

SEC. 2 (2). It shall be the duty of the comptroller of state to procure a sufficient number of blank licenses, which shall be substantially in the following form and numbered consecutively, and a record thereof be filed in his office. He shall deliver said licenses to the treasurer of state, and take his receipt for the same, upon the books of his office.

(Every subsequent license after the first shall be dated from the expiration of the former license issued by the sheriff or his deputy to any foreign miner who shall have been engaged in mining, from the expiration of such former license.) (Amended. See page 40.)

Sec. 3 (3). The sheriff of each county shall be the collector of license tax, under the provisions of this act, who, before entering upon the duties herein provided for, shall enter into bond to the State, with two or more sureties, to be approved by the board of supervisors, if any such board exists in his county; if there be no such board, then by the county judge, in the sum of $15,000, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties required of him by this act, which bond shall be filed in the office of the clerk of said county.