The legislation of Congress in regard to California has sometimes been of a very unsatisfactory character. By an act passed in 1850, the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to contract upon the most reasonable terms with the proprietors of some well-established assaying works then in successful operation in California, who should perform such duties in assaying and fixing the value of gold in grains and lumps, and in forming the same into bars, as should be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and the assayer was to fix the stamp of the United States, indicating the degree of fineness and value, upon each bar or ingot. This was a measure of convenience, and the merchants of the California ports had then ample means of paying their custom house duties. In 1852, however, Congress passed an act, creating a branch mint of the United States in California: and to this act was appended a clause, repealing the act which authorized the office of Assayer, as soon as public notice was given of the creation of the branch mint. In consequence of this legislation, the Assayer's office was abolished, and yet there was no mint for coining in the golden land. Time was required for making the necessary appropriation of money, erecting buildings, and constructing machinery, all of which had not been considered. The clause of the former act which made the stamped ingots receivable for duties was repealed. The merchants of California had no means of paying their duties at the custom house, and great excitement and confusion ensued. Finally, an arrangement was made with the Collector of San Francisco, under which uncoined gold could be received in payment of duties, and then business went on as usual. Care is one of the first essentials of beneficial legislation. The circumstance that the people of California are so far from the seat of the federal government, requires a strict attention in legislators, to prevent evils which cannot be quickly remedied. The people of California seem to be deeply interested in the construction of a great railroad from the Mississippi to the Pacific. At San Diego, several meetings have been held, and reports adopted, advocating and exhibiting the advantages of a southern route for the proposed railroad. The route which the meetings favored is to start from the Gulf of Mexico or some of its tributaries, and passing through Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico to California, and strike the Pacific at San Diego. Its entire length would not exceed sixteen hundred miles, whilst it would have the advantages, as alleged by the report, of passing through a section in which universal summer prevails, and of affording opportunities for lateral roads connecting with the cities of Mexico, through which a large trade might be obtained. The subject has been brought to the consideration of Congress, and that body has prudently appropriated a large sum for a survey of the various routes proposed. APPENDIX. APPENDIX A.