JOSIAH J. LECOUNT, IMPORTER AND DEALER IN FOREIGN & DOMESTIC STATIONERY, BLANK BOOKS, MISCELLANEOUS BOOKS LAW BOOKS, SCHOOL BOOKS. Nobels and Miscellaneous Works, in paper covers. POCKET BOOKS, BILL BOOKS, BANKERS' WALLETS, BLANKS, CUSTOM HOUSE, COMMERCIAL AND LAW. Checks, Notes, Drafts, Bills of Exchange, etc. BRIEF PAPERS; ACCOUNT PAPERS; BILL PAPERS; RECORD PAPERS. POCKET KNIVES, STEEL PENS, INK STANDS; ENVELOPS, plain, adhesive and cloth-lined; TRACING PAPERS, TRACING CLOTHS; DRAWING PENCILS; EXTRA FINE COLORS; SURVEYING INSTRUMENTS; FANCY ARTICLES, &c., &c., of the best Manufacture. BOOK BINDING, ETC. The BOOK BINDING, PAPER RULING, and LITHOGRAPHIC ESTABLISHMENTS are equal to any in the United States. All kinds of Work, in either Department, neatly executed at the shortest notice. Particular attention paid to COUNTRY ORDERS, and supplied at the Lowest Rates. J. J. LECOUNT, Granite Building, Montgomery Street, San Francisco. THE Zalifornia STATE REGISTER, AND YEAR BOOK OF FACTS: FOR THE YEAR 1857. PUBLISHED ANNUALLY. SAN FRANCISCO: HENRY G. LANGLEY AND SAMUEL A. MATHEWS, SACRAMENTO: JAMES QUEEN. 1857. 1861. Mar. 15 cirift of мани, м San Fransisce // blass of 18441) ENTERED according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, BY HENRY G. LANGLEY, SAMUEL A. MATHEWS AND JAMES QUEEN, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for Northern District of California. COMMERCIAL STEAM PRINTING ESTABLISHMENT, Nos. 127 and 129 Sansome Street. SALUTATORY. THE object sought to be accomplished by the publication of the STATE REGISTER, is to present, at the commencement of each year, a volume of convenient size and price, which will contain a reliable and comprehensive description of the resources of the State of California, together with such other data as will make it a useful and convenient work of reference to all classes of the community. The plan of the REGISTER will be to embrace in each volume full and reliable statistics, concerning each branch of the resources of the State, and a complete exhibit of the finances thereof, including the different county and municipal organizations, carefully prepared and arranged, from information obtained through official or other reliable sources. The Agricultural, the Mining, the Commercial, the Mechanical and the Manufacturing interests, shall each receive such attention as will best illustrate their character, importance and extent. The REGISTER will also contain such data connected with the operations of the different departments of Government, Federal and State, as will be consistent with its general plan, together with the names of the officers in charge thereof, and such reference to the history and progress of the different States as may prove attractive to its pages. The material from which the present volume of the REGISTER has been compiled, was obtained through reliable sources. Since the commencement of the enterprise, in November last, over one thousand communications have been addressed to the officers of government and the heads of departments, Federal and State, and to gentlemen engaged in developing the resources of the State. By this method and from the careful observations of reliable agents in the principal counties of the State, over four thousand pages of valuable and important information were obtained, which, together with the official reports of the different State officers, from the organization of the State Government to the present year, have formed the basis of the enterprise. Only in two instances has the editor failed to secure the desired information, though its possession has involved a considerable expenditure of time and capital, and occasionally a personal visit to distant portions of the State. In the preparation of the present volume of the REGISTER, a large amount of labor has been required to arrange and condense the extensive material thus obtained to the plan of the work. From the peculiar originality of the enterprise, many of the gentlemen whose co-operation was invited, failed to appreciate its true character, and as a necessary consequence there existed, throughout many of the most valuable contributions, a want of uniformity and completeness; this, however, has been partially remedied by the assistance of the different members of the Legislature now in session, and the prompt co-operation of numerous friends. The editor does not anticipate a similar result in his future efforts, as the form and style of the present volume will sufficiently explain the character of the enterprise in which he is engaged. The reference here made to the character of the REGISTER, and the difficulties which have been encountered in prosecuting the enterprise, are not intended to add to or detract from the merits of the present volume. Neither does the editor deem it necessary to set forth in this place any particular description of the subjects discussed in the accompanying pages, their importance and character can be only ascertained by an examination. He, therefore, submits the results of his labors to the attention and consideration of the public, and only asks that indulgence for any defects existing therein, which he has a right to expect, after a careful consideration of the numerous difficulties usually attendant at the commencement of similar undertakings. The thanks of the editor are respectfully tendered to the officers of State and the heads of departments, Federal and State, and to his numerous contributors and correspondents throughout the State, for important and valuable information. He would express his obligations particularly to His Excellency, J. Neely Johnson, Hon. M. S. Latham, Brig. Gen. John E. Wool, U. S. A., Hon. David F. Douglass, Hon. John A. Brewster, Major Hartman Bache, U. S. A., James Alden, U. S. A., Hon. Samuel Purdy, Hon. Andrew J. Moulder, Hon. Paul K. Hubbs, John Ferguson, Esq. and L. Ransom, Esq. To Henry Gibbons, M. D., for the valuable series of meteorological tables on the climate of San Francisco, and L. Hubbard, M. D., for his interesting paper on earthquakes and volcanoes, the editor is indebted for two of the principal features of the work. He would also express his thanks to Messrs. S. D. Valentine & Son, to whom the typographical department was intrusted and to whom the work is much indebted for the exceedingly attractive appearance which it presents. The editor of the STATE REGISTER hereby invites the correspondence of those who may be friendly disposed towards the enterprise in which he is engaged. Their correspondence shall at all times receive his most respectful attention, and any suggestions which they may deem it necessary to make, relative to this or future volumes of the work, will be promptly considered. Communications to be addressed "Editor of the STATE REGISTER, San Francisco, Cal." The REGISTER for 1858 will be issued early in January next. SAN FRANCISCO, April 27, 1857. |