Page:History of the War between the United States and Mexico.djvu/572

514 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," 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.