Mr. WILLIAMS. Sir, it is possible that if these gentlemen were at work at this timc'iu the mines they might not have the same opinion which they now have upon that subycct. I may be misadvised, and there may be those in the mines who are in favor of LHISlpI‘OPOSltIOI‘l. I do not profess to know the opinions of all the individual miners; but I do profess to know that those engaged in mining in that part of the country in which I reside are opposed to any scheme for selling the mineral lands. I suppose, sir, that this part. of the bill has in view 2 objects: one is to promote the interests of the Government. by increasing its revenue; and the other is to protect the inter‘ ests and rights of the miners. bill, like all others that I have seen on the subject, contemplates the extension of the surveys of the U.S. to all that portion of the country where minerals are found, including the barren. extensive plains, and the rugged and precipitous mountains upon the Pacific coast. 1 find a provision in the 4th section of the bill to the effect that certain things may take place or be lawful “ after the extension thereto, ” that is to the mining districts, “of the public surveys;” and in other parts of the bill there is an assumption that the public surveys are to be extended to all parts of this mining country. Who can estimate the expense to the U.S. of undertaking to survey this vast region of country? I will not undertake it; and I suppose nobody will venture to estimate the amount of that expense and frightful in the burdens it would impose upon the Treasury of the U.S. Moreover, this bill provides that persons taking claims such as are described in the bill may enter those claims in the land oiiicc; and ofcourse it will be necessary to create land districts in all parts of the country where this business is prosecuted. Land offices must be establilshed; and those land offices must be establilshed where they will be convenient and ac, ccssible to the miners; otherwise the system, cannot be operative; it; will be a perfect failure. There is the vast Territory of Washington, in which at this time there are 2 land offices; there are 2 in the State of Oregon; there are none in Idaho; none in Montana; none in Utah; one, I believe, in Colorado; and one in NewMexico. This vast region of country, 1000s of miles in extent, in every part of which the business of mining is now, or robubly will be, prosecuted, must be divide into land districts, and these land offices ought to be located where they can be reached by the miners without any great trouble or expense. The consequence, of course, will be thatavery large number of land offices must be establilshed; numerous officers must be appointed; and there will be in such a country very many outlays of money in the undertaking, besides the ordinary expenses which attend the creation and management of such offices. Moreover, there must. be a surveyor general. This bill contemplates that each one of these claims is to be surveyed by the surveyor general appointed by the Government, and paid either by the claimant or by the Government; and I am not able to wholly determine from the terms of this bill upon whom such expenses are to devolve; for In addition to the ordinary surveys it is provided that “the surveyor general shall receive for such service” that is, for surveying each one of these claim:“such compensation as is allowed by law, with mileage not to exceed at legal rates the amount t chargeable from the county seat of the county in which the claim may be situated to the said claim.” Is it wise for the Government to engage.in a scheme that will be attended with such enormous expenses? When you take into consideration the amounts that must be excnded in the establishment of these numerous and districts, in the surveys of this vast and broken country, and in the other expenses that are incidental to the issuing of patents, I think it is worse than folly for the Government to undertake any system of this kind with a view of increasing its income, for instead of adding anything to the revenues of the Government, it will. only impose new and grievous burdens u ator whether it is not necessary in that conn try to survey the land in order to bring that w wh is agricultural into the market., Is he I find that this, If anybody could approximate to, the sum it would be found to be enormous, pon it.