[CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH]. The New Orleans Weekly Delta. New Orleans, LA, December 18, 1848. Vol. IV, No. 10. 8 folio pages on large folded sheets. Each page approximately 555 x 418 mm. Toned, edgeworn, some chipping, tears, left margins partially chipped or torn due to being excised from a book. On the fourth page (p. 76) is President James Polk’s (1795-1849) address to Congress, announcing the discovery of the gold fields in California: “... The President refers, in glowing terms, to the mineral wealth of California, and advises the establishment of a branch mint in that country. He also suggests the extension of various Federal facilities into these distant countries, and the immediate organization of Territorial governments, but thinks that Congress has no right to interfere with the question of slavery in the Territories, as this is a matter of private and individual right.”