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diff --git a/old/50581-0.txt b/old/50581-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1f63567..0000000 --- a/old/50581-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3352 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Remarks on the production of the precious -metals, by Leon Faucher - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Remarks on the production of the precious metals - and on the demonetization of gold in several countries in Europe - -Author: Leon Faucher - -Translator: Thomas Hankey - -Release Date: November 30, 2015 [EBook #50581] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REMARKS--PRODUCTION--PRECIOUS METALS *** - - - - -Produced by deaurider and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - REMARKS - ON THE PRODUCTION OF THE - PRECIOUS METALS, - AND ON THE - DEMONETIZATION OF GOLD - IN SEVERAL COUNTRIES IN EUROPE. - - BY - MONSR. LEON FAUCHER. - - TRANSLATED BY - THOMSON HANKEY, JUN. - - SECOND EDITION, REVISED. - - LONDON: - SMITH, ELDER, & CO., 65, CORNHILL. - 1853. - - - - -TO MONSR. LEON FAUCHER. - - -MY DEAR SIR, - -I have fulfilled the promise I made you a few weeks since, by -translating, I hope intelligibly, your remarks on the subject of the -Production, &c., of the Precious Metals, which I read first in the -August number of the “_Revue des Deux Mondes_,” and which have been -subsequently published, somewhat amplified, in the reports of the -“_Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques_.” Since the date of your -remarks, the production of gold in Australia has been greater than you -anticipated; recent reports estimate the amount shipped, or ready for -shipment, from thence, at not less than £8,000,000 sterling; at which -figure, I think, we may safely place the produce of 1852. - -A gentleman who was with me a few days since, just arrived from -Victoria, told me that the gold diggings at Bathurst were nearly at an -end, and that he did not believe that any more gold would be shipped -from Sydney. Although Sydney is only one of the ports of Australia -from which gold has been shipped, this would appear to confirm your -views, that the first gatherings cannot fairly be assumed as data -on which to found estimates of future production: at the same time -when we hear of so great an increase of production in other parts of -Australia, I can hardly agree with you, that there is so little ground -for alarm as to a depreciation in the value of gold, in consequence -of these late discoveries. The effects of the production in Australia -can hardly be felt at present, considering that the export of English -gold coin has been, up to this date, I think, equal to the amount of -gold we have received thence; but when the sovereigns lately shipped -are found to be in excess of the wants of the community in Australia, -and are re-shipped to this country, together with the produce of the -gold workings between this and next summer, I cannot but believe that -the supply in the market of the world will be found in excess of the -demand, and that ultimately a considerable and general alteration in -prices will ensue. - -I shall be very glad if I find that by this translation I have in -any way contributed to increase the circulation of your remarks in -this country. The subject is one of considerable interest, and I -hope that you will, at no very distant period, give us some further -observations, and let us know how far your first impressions have been -then influenced by events which may have occurred subsequently to the -present time. - -I am, my dear Sir, - -Yours very faithfully, - -THOMSON HANKEY, JUNR. - -_London, 30th November, 1852._ - - - - -_The Foreign Weights and Monies have been converted into English, at -the following rates._ - - - Dollars and Piastres, at 4s. - - Thalers ” 3s. - - Florins ” 1s. 8d. - - Francs ” 25 to £1 sterling. - -A kilogramme weighs nearly 2 lbs. 8 oz. 3 dwt. 2 grs. or nearly 15,434 -grs. Troy. - -Do. of gold at the standard value, viz. 77s. 9d. per oz. is worth about -£125. - -Do. of silver at 5s. per oz. is worth about £8 0s. 9¼d. - -Do. of quicksilver weighs 2·2055 lbs. avoirdupois. - -Do. Do. is worth about 5s. 1¾d. or 2s. 4d. per lb. - -A Spanish marc weighs 7 oz. 7 dwts. 22½ grs. - -Do. of gold at 77s. 9d. per oz. is worth £28 15s. - -1 lb. of gold is equivalent to 46²⁹⁄₄₀ sovereigns. - -A poud is equivalent to 36 lbs. English, and worth about £1679. - -The weights and measures not enumerated here are explained at the foot -of the page in which they occur. - - - - -REMARKS ON THE PRODUCTION OF THE PRECIOUS METALS, &c. - - -From the commencement of the 19th century, gold appears to have been -always esteemed in Europe above the price at which it has been legally -fixed in relation to silver; the commercial value of the metal has -remained on an average about 1 per cent. above its legal value. In -England alone gold circulates as money: in those countries which have -maintained a double standard, gold, rarely coined, became immediately -an article of merchandize, and disappeared from circulation. Gold -regions were discovered without restoring the equilibrium of value -between the two metals. Civilization, in its development from -historical times, has but realized the legends of ancient fables. Gold, -from its importance and constancy of value, appeared likely to remain -for ever the symbol and the essential agent of wealth. - -In this regular course of the progress of the precious metals, a -pause, or rather a deviation, appears to have occurred. Gold seems -to be tottering in its monetary supremacy; the fortress appears to -have succumbed in a paroxysm of alarm. Ten years ago, every one was -frightened at the prospect of the depreciation of silver; during the -last eighteen months, it is the diminution in the price of gold that -has been alarming the public. Some countries, which, but a short time -since, were but too anxious to attract and retain gold in circulation, -even at great sacrifices, have already shown a feverish anxiety to -banish it altogether. - -Holland took the lead in this movement, and in July, 1850, demonetized -the gold 10-florin piece and the Guillaume. Portugal has partially -followed this example, by prohibiting any gold to have a current -value, except English sovereigns. Belgium, which in order to increase -its gold circulation, had given a legal value to our 20 and 40-franc -pieces, and had struck, in 1847, a mixed coinage of gold and base -alloy, has demonetized its gold circulation, both home and foreign. -Russia, by a ukase of 29th December, 1850, wishing to maintain the -former equilibrium, has prohibited the export of silver. The French -Government itself, struck with the novelty, and the sudden change, -issued a commission for the purpose, as the Minister of Finance stated -in his minute of the 14th December, 1850, of examining the questions -connected with the simultaneous use of the precious metals, gold and -silver, as a circulating medium of value. - -From public authorities, alarm has spread to private interests, and -the price of the precious metals has experienced in European markets a -very sensible disturbance in value. In the space of only a few months, -the premium of gold has given way to a reaction, only checked by the -tariff. From 1st July to the 25th December, 1850, the price of English -sovereigns in Paris has fallen about 2 per cent. On the Amsterdam -Exchange, the fall in the price of gold, in the same year, amounted -to 4 per cent.; at the same time silver rose in London almost as much -(from 4s. 11½d. the ounce, to 5s. 1⅝d.); the relative value of gold -to silver, which our laws had fixed at 15½ ounces of fine silver to -one of pure gold, and which the constant premium on gold in Europe had -raised in the Spanish tariff to 15¾, fell to 15¼ in Holland, Belgium, -and Hamburg; in all places where gold, from having been demonetized, -had become a mere article of merchandize; almost realizing, in fact, -the tariff of Russia, a country where the abundance of gold and the -scarcity of silver had induced a legal relative value of 15 to 1. - -However great the present depreciation of gold, the depression appeared -likely to increase still further, and the gloomy forebodings of the -press have added to public alarm. Newspapers of all parties, and -of all countries, prophesied that, under the combined influence of -California and Siberia, the value of gold would soon fall to nine -times that of silver. Whilst crowds of emigrants were forcing their -perilous way across the Rocky Mountains, or doubling, for economy, Cape -Horn, or, in their impatience, taking the shorter but dearer passage -by Panama, hurrying on to the capture of the golden fleece, this very -treasure which they were unduly _appreciating_, was becoming as unduly -_depreciated_ in Europe; the article, which but six months before bore -the greatest fixity of value, seemed rapidly undergoing an important -change, and to the _Auromania_ of ages, an _Aurophobia_ appeared to -be succeeding. England alone has shown no sign of fear. During the -period of continental alarm, the Bank of England was not afraid even -to check the export of its gold; as in the beginning of 1851, the -directors raised the rate of discount from 2½ to 3 per cent., and -almost immediately the exchange turned. The pound sterling, which fell -for a short time to 24 fr. 70 cents., equal to a fall of 2 per cent., -rose in a few days to 24 fr. 95 cents.; it oscillates now between 25 -fr. 35 cents., and 25 fr. 45 cents., which is equal to a premium of -½ to ¾ per cent. upon gold. Again, the mint of Paris, which received -gold by millions in December, 1850, and January, 1851, has seen this -influx slacken until its weekly receipt now scarcely equals its former -daily supply. At the present moment, the oscillations of the market -seem to have terminated; a calm has succeeded the storm, and the value -of the precious metals seems to be in almost a normal state. The -present moment, then, appears to be a fitting one to examine if the -late disturbing causes were of an ephemeral nature, or whether they are -likely to be permanent in their effect. - -On this important subject, the French Government, which at first -appeared ready to attempt an immediate solution of the question, did -not hesitate to recognize the necessity of more profound examination. -In the _Moniteur_ of the 15th January, 1851, it is stated, “that the -commission of 14th December, presided over by Mr. Fould, Minister of -Finance, for the examination of the subject of money, is of opinion, -that the late depreciation in the value of gold has been produced by -causes of an accidental nature, which are beginning to be less sensibly -felt; that influences of a permanent character bearing upon this -depreciation cannot at present be sufficiently ascertained; and in such -a state of affairs it is necessary to have precise information as to -the production of the precious metals in California and in Russia; and -that with its present knowledge of facts, the Commission is of opinion, -that there is no ground for a modification in our monetary system.” - -This determination was a wise one, and subsequent events have justified -it; while on the one hand gold has again risen to nearly its former -value, and on the other, the discovery made in 1851 of rich deposits of -gold in Australia, renders the subject worthy of further investigation; -the present seems a suitable opportunity for the renewal of a -controversy by no means exhausted. - -In default of official documents, we have the stories of the -adventurer, and the statistics of commerce. Sufficient light appears to -come from the north, the south, and the west, to enable us to form some -opinion of the results of the general movement regarding the precious -metals. I would add, that we can approach the subject now, freed from -some of the questions which appeared to encumber it; the trade in -the precious metals appears to be again in its natural channels. The -phantom of rise or fall does not appear to be materially affecting -trade: quite lately, to prevent the export of gold, the Bank of France -raised the premium for purchase. In London and in Paris, the metallic -reserves are full. The Bank of England has above [1]500,000,000 francs, -and the Bank of France above [2]600,000,000 in their vaults. The import -of the precious metals goes on but slowly. Nothing opposes, then, such -a patient and careful examination of the subject as can alone satisfy -the inductions of science. - - - - -I. - - -The value attached to the precious metals in their character of money, -is not of an arbitrary nature. Neither governments nor councils can -change it at their will and pleasure. The power publicly possessed -in this respect is but the organ of facts, which it submits to and -proclaims as law. The head of the Government stamped on the coin -creates a value only by the declaration of its intrinsic weight and -fineness; but the price of the gold and the silver is exactly that of -their commercial value in exchange. In this consists the stability and -the regularity of the circulation of money. - -The cause which determines the value of the precious metals is the same -as that which affects the price of every other article of merchandize; -the supply and the demand--the comparative abundance or scarcity of -gold or silver in the market. The larger the metallic supply, the -smaller value will it bear; its commercial value will vary in exact -proportion to the increase in quantity. On the other hand, the smaller -the quantity of money in circulation, the larger will be the value -attaching to each separate piece; a smaller quantity of such money -will then suffice to buy a larger amount of goods, and goods are said -to be cheap--or what if in effect the same, money,--may be called -dear. This money, in the time of Charlemagne, possessed a power eleven -times greater than at present--that is to say, it was eleven times more -scarce. It is well-known that the discovery of America, in overpowering -with a fresh supply of the precious metals the metallic circulation of -Europe, brought about a sudden and large depreciation of their value, -which, notwithstanding a variety of oscillations, has been generally -maintained to the present time. Not only does the state of the market -mark the value of _gold_ and _silver_ with reference to other articles; -but there is positively no other base on which the comparative value -between the two metals can be determined, but the _abundance_ or -_scarcity_ of either. - -The relation between gold and silver is variable in its nature. In vain -has Garnier, the commentator on Adam Smith, attempted to establish -his position, that the value of gold in ancient times differed little -from its value in our days; and that it then represented, according -to Herodotus, and under Darius in Persia; and again, during the time -of Plato, in Greece, weight for weight and purity for purity, about -fifteen times the value of silver. Criticism has not failed to demolish -entirely this ingenious but frail hypothesis. It has been clearly -demonstrated that silver did not hold in ancient days, the important -place it has obtained in ours, and which has subsequently rendered it -the all-powerful agent of circulation. - -When we seek to examine minutely the various monetary changes which -have occurred, and to lay hold upon some principle to guide our -inquiry, we quickly recognize the fact, that the difference in value -between gold and silver increases in proportion to the development of -civilization and industry. It is not without some show of reason, that -mythology, transporting the analogy of the physical into the moral -world, made the age of silver succeed that of gold. Historically, in -fact, the discovery of and the working of gold preceded that of silver. -Gold is almost always found either pure or mixed with silver. In -searching the beds of rivers and streams, it has been obtained by the -mere process of washing. This work is within the reach of the rudest -state of society. It appears like a treasure spread over the surface -of the earth, under the very feet of the first occupier of the soil. -Silver, on the contrary, is embedded in rocks of primitive formation, -and is seldom found near the surface of the earth; its extraction -requires a combination of science, machinery, and capital. It is -the work of a state of civilization already far advanced and firmly -established. - -In almost every age, whatever its social position, the use and the -value of gold has been known. From India to Iberia, and from Ethiopia -to the Poles, there is not a race which has not attempted to discover -this source of wealth on its surface. What country has not had its -Pactolus! What Prince or Satrap has not been a gold collector, like -Midas or Crœsus! The luxuries of ancient monarchs appear to prove an -abundance of metallic treasure, which has been subsequently unequalled, -but the sources of the supply have faded away in their turn. Dureau de -la Malle observes, that from the death of Alexander, the golden sands -of Asia and Greece appear to have been exhausted; those of Gaul and -Spain seem to have been abandoned after the fall of the Roman Empire. -Gold has long since disappeared from the surface of the older inhabited -countries; there is only now to come, in quantities of appreciable -amount, or capable of affecting the circulation, the produce of those -countries which have been unknown to European commerce, or which have -been discovered in modern times. - -Referring to history, we find that the employment of silver as money -is of no very ancient date, and that it was introduced as a medium of -exchange, not by conquerors, but by people of industry and of commerce. -It would be sufficient to cite the Phœnicians, those planters of -colonies,--the Athenians, and the Carthagenians. On the first discovery -of America, silver money was found in use amongst only two nations -holding any political position--Peru and Mexico. And again, if silver -at a later period has taken the place of gold in circulation, it has -been maintained with more regularity and permanence. The mines--from -wherever it has been extracted, penetrating into and ramifying -throughout the bowels of the earth,--are almost inexhaustible. It -is thus shewn that the production of silver is found to continue -where that of gold is at an end, and hence the variations which past -experience has shown to exist in the relative position of the precious -metals. - -The learned researches of Boeckh, Letronne, Humboldt, Jacob, and Dureau -de la Malle have thrown much light on the causes, and on the importance -of these monetary oscillations. They agree in the admission, that -originally the value of silver in some countries has equalled, if not -exceeded, that of gold. The laws of _Manon_ state a value of gold as 2½ -times that of silver. M. Dureau de la Malle considers that between the -fifth and sixth century before our era, everywhere, excepting in India, -the relative value of gold to silver, had been 6 or 8 to 1, as it was -in China and in Japan at the end of the last century. It has been found -to have been as 10 to 1 in Greece, in the time of Xenophon, 350 years -before the Christian era; and even 100 years later, the treaty between -Rome and Etolia proves a similar ratio. - -In the present day, the discovery and the working these new metallic -stratifications are the only causes which can materially change the -relative value of the precious metals. Formerly, conquest, by which one -nation became rich at the expense of another, or the pillage of those -great reservoirs of money called public treasures, throwing suddenly -vast sums of money into circulation, could not fail to depreciate -either one or other, if not both, of the precious metals. It was -thus that the conquests of Alexander, opening the gates of the East, -inundated the Greek world with the precious metals, which were lowered -in value by their abundance, and dissipated from their very excess. -After the capture of Syracuse by the Romans, silver, the foundation -of the treasure they had seized, fell suddenly in price, so that -seventeen pounds of silver were valued at one of gold. A little later -the relative price was as 12 to 1, when Cæsar, having plundered the two -milliards contained in the public chest, so reduced the value of gold, -which then predominated, that the proportion fell to 9 to 1. Under the -Roman Emperors, the production of gold began to slacken,--the progress -of mechanical science, on the other hand, gave a constant impetus -to the working of the silver mines of Asia, Thrace, and Spain. The -comparative value of the two metals again changed; it was as 18 to 1 in -the time of Theodosius the Younger, 412 years after the birth of Christ. - -At the commencement of the fall of the Roman Empire, in the 4th -century, the value of the precious metals approached that of our own -days. The invasion of the barbarians, in dispersing and dissipating the -accumulated treasures of the West, destroyed for a time the industry -required for their renewal. Money, on account of its scarceness, -acquired an extraordinary power; the price of every article fell, -or, in other words, the value of silver rose to a most extraordinary -degree. Not only did the value of money and of the precious metals -increase in that long dark night of the middle ages, but the relative -value between silver and gold, which had been established by the -progress of industry, again changed. The value of gold, in relation -to other commodities, was preserved longer than that of silver, owing -to its greater general value, and to its being the less destructible -metal; and also because its supply was fed by the washings of the -golden sands; a fit occupation for the knowledge and tastes of an -ignorant people. The working of the silver mines, on the other hand, -being a work befitting a civilized and scientific people, was naturally -interrupted, and languished during a period of spoliation and endless -warfare. Hence, as we may suppose, arose the scarcity, both relative -and absolute, of silver; the comparison with gold remained at 11 and -12 to 1 from the 9th to the middle of the 16th century. It required -the excessive and sudden abundance, springing from the working of the -mines of Potosi, and in Peru, and of Zacatecas in Mexico, to reduce -the proportion to 14 and 15, the average rate at which it remained in -Europe until the end of the last century. - - - - -II. - - -A change in the relative production of the precious metals does -not necessarily alter their monetary value. In order to create -an alteration in the relative values of gold and silver with the -quantities annually produced, the disturbing cause must be of a -somewhat permanent nature. Moreover, it is necessary to examine, in -connection, either with a greater or less production, the causes which -might add to or diminish these results; such as expenses in working, -the varied wants of consumption, and the greater or less destruction of -coin by wear and tear, &c. - -Monsieur de Humboldt remarks, that during the ten years, from 1817 -to 1827, there was coined in Great Britain, above [3]1,294,000 -marcs of gold; that is nearly one milliard of francs, and more than -[4]100,000,000 francs per annum, without any influence having been -produced by such extensive purchases on the relation of gold to silver: -the proportion, which was as 1 to 14·97, never exceeded 1 to 15·60; or -shewing a rise of not more than 4²⁄₁₀ per cent. Such was the case when -England, which for above twenty years had had only a paper circulation, -re-established a metallic currency, and attracted the coin and the -bars of gold dispersed throughout Europe. During these ten years she -absorbed, or nearly absorbed, an amount of gold which perhaps equalled -the production of the whole world, and certainly exceeded the import of -gold, during that period, into all the great commercial depots in the -civilized world. It would not enter into our subject to examine at what -sacrifices England made this monetary revival; but the equilibrium once -restored, and the empire of Britain having placed herself in harmony -with the rest of Europe, it does appear wonderful that it did not -cost more than a premium of 4 per cent. to have attracted a quantity -of gold, probably equal to the half or one-third of that possessed by -the whole of Europe. And the wonder increases when we remember, that -the Mint of London, which in 1814, 1815, and 1816, had not coined a -single sovereign, issued at once, in 1825, £9,520,758 sterling (about -240,000,000 of francs), which must have been consequently abstracted -from trade in the course of a few months. Political commotions brought -about other variations in the price of the precious metals. It is well -known, that on the news of the landing of Napoleon in 1815, gold rose -10 per cent. in London. - -To explain how this sudden collection of gold, effected by Great -Britain with as much perseverance as vigour, did not bring about a -general crisis; it has been said, and not without reason, that the -quantity of the precious metals now existing in the shape of money, -rendered the oscillations in its production and supply as money, less -sensibly felt. It should be recollected, that if the metallic values -were so greatly depreciated by the discoveries of America, this state -referred to the existing condition of Europe, exhausted both of silver -and gold. The difference thus exhibited between the two periods is -very evident; but it does not appear to be sufficient to account for -the facility with which the circulation may increase in the present -day, without affecting the price of silver or gold. It may be as well -to add, that this movement, which appears to convey life throughout -every artery of commerce, is not fed now solely, as in olden times, -and during the middle ages, by the precious metals. Metallic money now -forms but a small portion of the total circulation, if we take into -account the mass of bank notes, bills of exchange, drafts and bankers’ -cheques, which complete the amount of a circulating medium of exchange; -this, at the present day, taken as a whole, is something almost -indefinite: it appears to defy all calculation; and we might almost -say that the excess in the production of gold and silver now need not -necessarily produce more influence than the waves of the sea on the -permanent level of the ocean. - -At the same time that the depreciation of gold and silver under -any general form becomes less probable, the increasing facility of -communication, and the greater mutual dependence of nations in matters -of credit, renders any great local difference in the value of money -more improbable. Whenever the precious metals become in excess in -one country, the surplus quickly reaches its neighbour. Let a sudden -scarcity of food, or any other cause, create a drain of specie, the -consequently increased value of money will soon draw back that which -has been exported. The cost of transport, and the premium of insurance -of gold, are the limits of the variations in the rates of exchange; and -the charges are being diminished every day, thanks to railroads and -steam communications. Before the wonderful progress in the development -of industry from the commencement of the nineteenth century, we have -seen the changes occurring at different periods, in the relative -production of the precious metals, without any corresponding alteration -in their relative values. At the close of the fifteenth century, it is -true, that America, furnishing nothing but gold, and this metal having -accumulated in Spain, Queen Isabella of Castile was forced to alter -the relative standard of gold and silver. After the first half of the -16th century, the production of gold having ceased to preponderate, and -silver being imported in great abundance, the value of the inferior -metal underwent such a depreciation, that the governments of Europe, -yielding to the force of circumstances, changed its relative legal -value; but with these two exceptions in the monetary laws, one purely -local, and the other European, we observe the production of each metal -extend and diminish alternately, without any relative alteration in -value of sufficient importance to attract public attention. - -“From the year 1645 to the commencement of the 18th century,” says -M. Michel Chevalier, “silver took the lead in a most remarkable -manner. Then occurred the bright days of the mines in Potosi, and the -production of silver exceeded that of gold, weight for weight, in the -proportion of 60 to 1; after that, and without any diminution in the -produce of silver, came the glorious time for the Brazilian gold mines. -Simultaneously appeared the auriferous regions of Chico, Antioguia, and -Pepayou. The commercial world received from America 1 kilogramme [5]of -gold for every 30 kilogrammes of silver. Thus passed the middle of -the 17th century. Then the silver mines of Mexico put forth all their -splendour, and the proportion increased to 40 to 1. The Brazilian mines -began to diminish, whilst those of Mexico continued to increase in -production; and, at the beginning of the next century, silver exceeded -gold in the proportion of 57 to 1. In 1846 the production of silver -still continued to predominate, and we are now at the proportion again -of about 40 to 1.” - -Humboldt’s calculations differ but little from those of M. Michel -Chevalier. This great authority considers that the import of gold until -the first years in the 18th century, bore the proportion to silver of -1 to 65. Let either of these suppositions be true, there can be little -doubt, that the relative weight of supply of the two metals varied -by one half, without any serious alteration in their relative price; -which surely proves that gold was essentially required, and that the -increase of production did but fill up the gap, which, as far as the -18th century, the progress of civilization and of luxury had created, -without an adequate means of supply. - -In ancient times, the relative value of the two metals appears to -have been almost entirely governed by the quantities produced and -brought to market. A pound of gold was worth eight or ten pounds of -silver, according as the quantity brought to market varied in the -like proportion. The simplicity of commercial interests, in a state -of society when neither luxurious arts or industry were thought of, -offered no inducements for the collection of gold or silver for their -use as money, excepting on account of their relative scarcity; but when -fighting ceased to be the principal occupation of mankind, and labour -began to be held in some estimation, an end was put to this patriarchal -state: if the people lost their primitive simplicity, the relation of -supply and demand no longer depended exclusively on the proportionate -production of the two metals; other causes affecting a rise and fall -began to operate on prices. - -When the precious metals were nearly absorbed in the supply of money, -their commercial value had no other element to influence an alteration -than the requirements of circulation; the monetary value governed the -commercial price. But, at the present time the contrary is the case: -the greater the degree of civilization, and the greater the increase -of a taste for luxuries, the more does the demand for the precious -metals for other objects exceed the want of them for coin. Mr. Jacob, -whose work on the precious metals appeared in 1831, places a value of -[6]149,000,000 francs on the gold and silver annually used for articles -of jewellery and plate in Europe and America. - -During the last twenty years the progress of luxury amongst the -industrious and commercial nations of the world has been enormous. -The moveable wealth of France and England has made prodigious -accumulations. What family is there so poor as not to have some article -of plate? Gilding is no longer confined to the decorations of temples -and palaces; it is found in the most humble cottage. To what a length -may it not reach if the taste should increase for gilding the dresses -of ladies, and for covering the uniforms of our men with gold or silver -lace? - -On the whole, then, it appears that the demand for gold and silver, as -articles of commerce, is likely to exceed the demand for the precious -metals solely for use as money. This is a new point; and we must not -lose sight of it in endeavouring to appreciate the effect which an -increase or diminution in the production of the precious metals may -have, both on their price and on their relative value. - -Without noting the variations which have occurred from one century -to another, in the production and in the importation of gold and -silver, in order to recapitulate the quantities of the precious metals -which America has poured into the European markets in 318 years, -from the discovery of Hispaniola to the revolution in Mexico, M. de -Humboldt considers the production of gold to have been [7]2,381,600 -kilogrammes, and that of silver [8]110,362,222 kilogrammes: making a -total value of about [9]32 “milliards” of francs: the weight of gold -imported represents about ¹⁄₄₇th of that of silver. It does not appear -probable, that the produce of gold in other parts during these three -centuries has materially altered these proportions. Admitting that -when first the Mexican revolution retarded the working of their silver -mines, the amount of coined money throughout Europe represented a value -of [10]8 “milliards” of francs, of which [11]6 “milliards” were in -silver, and [12]2 “milliards” in gold, the relative quantity in weight -would still have been as 47 to 1; and yet the relative monied value, -thirty years since, varied in Europe between 1 to 14½, and 1 to 15¾. -Thus, in the value of the precious metals, the difference was three -times less than in their weight. - -Nothing is more difficult in matters relating to money than to present -statistics which may be considered as an approximation to truth. It -would appear that as gold and silver are used as the denominators of -value, generally, throughout the world, all the phenomena connected -with their production and circulation ought to be noted with the -greatest precision: they ought to be the points to which the attention -of statisticians should be “_par excellence_” directed. What can be -more important, in an economical point of view, than to establish a -regular scale, indicating the rapidity of every movement connected with -the subject, and acting as a gauge of its extent? - -Divers causes appear, however, hitherto to have prevented such a -desideratum. In the first place, gold and silver producing countries -have generally been in a rude state of civilization; and as unable to -apply rules for the public weal, as to employ machinery to aid their -industry. Thus, even in the registry in Mexico under the Spanish -rule, of all the money coined at their mint, and for ascertaining -the amount produced in the mines by the proportion of the tax due to -government, which ought to be levied thereon by the hundred-weight,--it -is absolutely necessary to take into account all that quantity which -escapes the vigilance of the tax-collector, and which is either sent -into the interior, or exported clandestinely. - -What is the sum of the precious metals really produced at any given -time? What is the proportion of such production which, when exported, -acts as a regulator of the prices in Europe? How are the channels -formed which sometimes direct the stream of commerce towards the east, -and sometimes towards the west, in the distribution of the metallic -wealth of the world? All such problems, as regards the past, must -probably remain unsolved. The enquiry becomes more easy when referring -to our own times; but even then large allowances for incorrectness of -data must necessarily be made. - -At the beginning of this century, according to M. de Humboldt, -gold and silver were imported annually into Europe in the relative -proportions of about 1 to 55; that is, [13]15,800 kilogrammes of gold -to [14]869,960 kilogrammes of silver. M. Michel Chevalier, stating, -not the import but the production, calculates it at [15]23,700 -kilogrammes of gold against [16]900,000 kilogrammes of silver, or in -the proportion of 1 to 38; but the gold of Africa and Asia, comprised -in this statement, never really found its way into European markets -except in the smallest quantities, and in such amounts as could have -no appreciable influence on the commercial prices of the metals. From -1810 to 1830, according to Mr. Jacob, the produce of America diminished -by one half. As the reduction refers principally to silver, that is -to say, to those mines which required both capital and labor, it is -fair to assume that, at least during the first part of this period, -the relative proportion of gold to silver would have increased; but we -have no means of verifying figures which appear to justify what would -otherwise rest solely on the analogy of the case. - -In 1847, when the general working of the auriferous region of the -Oural Mountains was at its meridian, M. Chevalier considers the annual -production of gold throughout the world to have been [17]63,250 -kilogrammes, and that of silver [18]875,000 kilogrammes. This would be -[19]25,000 kilogrammes _less_ of silver, and [20]30,000 kilogrammes -_more_ of gold, than at the beginning of the century. At these figures -gold stands in reference to silver as 1 to 14. The return from these -gold regions appears to have been greatly over-estimated. I find in a -table, published in the “_Times_” of May, 1852, statements which appear -to be founded on correct data, and which bring the production of gold -up to 42,800 kilogrammes--that is, to [21]147,400,000 francs. - -This result, then, is remarkable. The 17th century produced 1 lb. of -gold to 60 lb. of silver. In the 18th century the production was as 1 -lb. to 30 lbs. At the beginning of the 19th century silver was again -abundant, and appeared in quantity as 1 to 50. Towards the year 1847 -the production of gold again increased, and the relative proportions -were as 1 to 20. The development of the Siberian mines, which has -so materially changed the relative production of the two metals, has -produced no sensible alteration in price. Will it be the same with -the wonderful discoveries in California and Australia? To solve this -question, it will be desirable to examine accurately the actual state -of the production of gold and silver throughout the world. - - - - -III. - - -Before entering into this inquiry, it may be worth while to examine -a circumstance of late occurrence, relating to monetary statistics, -which has given rise to some discussion, but which has not yet -been explained; I allude to the fall in the price of gold, and the -corresponding rise in that of silver, throughout Europe, towards the -end of 1850 and the beginning of 1851. - -At that period Russia had rather less gold than usual to exchange -against the produce of the West; and since 1847 the working of the -Altai mines had been on the decline: at all events, the government did -not appear inclined to allow gold to be exchanged; for in 1848 and -1849 its export had been forbidden. In 1850 the state of the exchanges -did not admit of an export of gold, and a part of the 4½ per cent. -loan, contracted at that period by the Cabinet of St. Petersburg, was -remitted to Russia, both in gold and silver, from England. Doubtless, -in spite of the prohibition, Russian gold found its way into other -parts of Europe; it was calculated that between 1849 and the first few -months of 1850, the great commercial towns in Western Europe must have -received from [22]60,000,000 to [23]70,000,000 francs from Russia; but -this was not equivalent to the large sums paid for grain imported from -Odessa and Riga during the famine of 1846-1847. There could have been -no real increase in the metallic reserves of Western Europe during that -period. - -The same remark will hold good towards America. The import of gold -thence in 1849 and 1850 could not have done more than replace the gold -coin exported to the United States two years earlier, in payment of -bread stuffs and salt provisions. A proof of this will be found by -examining the official reports of the mints of the United States. These -mints, which from the year 1834--that is, since the working of the gold -fields of Carolina, had coined gold at the average rate of 2,500,000 -dollars ([24]13,500,000 francs) per annum, in 1847 put into circulation -about 20,000,000 dollars ([25]104,000,000 francs). At that time -Californian gold was unknown: the rich “_placers_” of that country did -not begin to kindle the gold fever, first in America, and subsequently -in Europe, until 1848. Californian gold, before it found its way to the -Old World, had to supply the wants of the New. It is exported thence -in the shape of eagles and double eagles, bearing the stamp of the -Republic. In 1848 the coined gold in the United States did not amount -to [26]4,000,000 dollars, and it did not exceed [27]9,000,000 in 1849. -With this small supply an export could not be expected. In 1850 the -Californian stream began to flow, and the mint of the United States, -having received gold dust and bars to the extent of [28]40,000,000 -dollars, coined [29]32,000,000 (about 171,000,000 francs.) Supposing -that the bulk of this coin had been exported to Europe, such a supply -would but have restored the loss in the circulating medium which had -occurred in 1846. We had exchanged our gold against grain; it was -returned to us against the silks, wines, and other articles from -France. The monetary disturbance of 1850 must not therefore be set down -to the score of an excess of imports: the rich supplies from Siberia -and California could then only have acted prospectively. The real cause -is to be found in the measures hastily and somewhat rashly adopted by -various European governments. To prevent future evil they created -immediate mischief; and, in order to shelter themselves from the risk -of a future depreciation of gold, they directly produced it. - -The crisis of 1850, thus examined, explains itself. On the one hand, -silver, being annually taken out of the market by circulation, was not -to be met with for other demands; on the other hand, gold, excluded -by some governments from their circulation, flowed to those countries -where it was still used as legal coin, and produced there, at least, a -temporary superabundance. Then occurred the fall in the price of gold, -and the rise in the price of silver; which together shewed a divergence -of 8 per cent. between their former relative prices. - -The explanation we have endeavoured to give appears to become clearer -as we investigate further into the subject. Let us first examine the -facts relating to the scarcity of silver. England, the principal -market of Europe for the precious metals, witnessed, in 1850, a -reduction of about [30]27,000,000 francs in the ordinary import. This -applied principally to silver. Remittances from India, generally about -[31]20,000,000 fr., were almost completely stopped; those from Turkey -and Spain were materially diminished. At the same time about £1,000,000 -sterling was required to be shipped to India, and remittances were made -by Messrs. Baring to St. Petersburg of [32]8,000,000 to [33]10,000,000 -francs more, in silver. Germany and Holland required more than their -usual supply. The Société Maritime of Berlin had imported silver -to the extent of [34]3,000,000 or [35]4,000,000 thalers; so that, -altogether, the import into England, having diminished in 1850 to the -extent of about £1,000,000 sterling, the export had been in excess -by about double that amount; reducing the metallic reserve by about -[36]75,000,000 francs. In addition to which, Spain and Russia, having -prohibited the export of silver, the exchanges with those countries -could hardly be operated upon effectively by the transmission of -this kind of specie. It is easy, then, to conceive, that where no -modification of the monetary laws had taken place, the premium on gold -passed to a premium on silver. - -This will explain the reason for at least a temporary abundance and -depression in the price of gold, especially on the gold market of -Paris. There is no ground for imputing the change to California, from -whence the supplies were of little moment, until the end of December, -1850. England so far had only received silver from the United States, -and the Californian gold, which had found its way by Panama, during -the year, did not exceed, according to official returns, £682,000, -or 17,050,000 francs. The Mint in London did not coin gold to a -greater extent in 1850 than £1,492,000, or 37,300,000 francs, which is -conclusive against any very large importation. - -The market of Paris might have experienced a superabundance of gold, in -consequence of the demonetization of gold coin in Spain and Portugal, -and by the influx of Belgian and other foreign gold coin which had been -circulating in Belgium; and it should be added, that England imported -into France, for the payment of railway shares, probably to the extent -of £1,000,000 sterling; but the predominating cause of the depreciation -was undoubtedly the demonetization of gold in Holland, for that step -had the immediate effect of cancelling at once the value of the gold -coin there in circulation, and of throwing simultaneously an amount of -gold on the commercial market, almost equal to the whole of the annual -quantity of gold produced in California. - -From 1816 to 1847 Holland had followed the example of France in -admitting a double monetary standard. Gold and silver were both -received in legal payment. The law of November 26th, 1847, altered this -state of things; one standard only was allowed, and the silver florin -of 3 grammes 450 milligrammes fineness, became the monetary unit: this -simplification of the national coin, however, was adopted in theory -only; the application of the system was postponed. - -The article 23 of the law decreed, that before December 31st, 1850, -other legislative arrangements should be enacted concerning the gold -coins of five and ten florins, but that till these new arrangements -were carried out, the gold coin should continue in legal circulation. -The Dutch government might, therefore, retain the legal circulation of -the gold coin, by applying to the States-General to prolong the period -of the law of November 26th, 1847; but it preferred to carry out the -system to its fullest extent. On August 6th, 1849, the government laid -before the Assembly, the scheme of a law to “demonetize” the pieces -of five and ten florins, and leaving to the administration the moment -for its execution. At the same time the government demanded authority -for the issue of notes to the amount of [37]30,000,000 florins, to buy -in the gold coin, which although not in legal circulation, might yet -continue to serve as payment at its conventional value. - -In the “_Exposé des Motifs_,” the Minister of Finance, M. Van Hall, -acknowledged that the depreciation of gold would not be immediate. “We -must examine the question,” he said, “in order to know whether the -proportionate value of gold and silver has undergone much variation in -consequence of the discovery of the Californian mines. The government -is of opinion that as yet this is not the case. In fact, a document -communicated to the Assembly proves that the proportion between gold -and silver of 1 to 15·60 has been found to exist but once. Sixty-eight -quotations of the Exchange of Paris mark the price of gold higher, and -only four lower than this proportion; at the Exchange at Amsterdam, -we find fifty-five quotations above, and fifteen only below. For the -present there is no fear of too much gold being imported for the -purpose of exporting silver. It should also be observed, that the high -price of gold in France has latterly been occasioned by political -events. - -“It is well known that the price of gold in Holland is regulated by -the exchange on London. If England sends more gold to the Continent -than she receives from it, then the rate of exchange on London rises, -and gold is obtainable only at an agio. On the contrary, if England -receives from the Continent more gold than she exports, the exchange on -London is low in Holland, and gold is plentiful. Peculiar circumstances -may of course modify these general rules; for instance, it is possible -that England may have payments to make in Holland greater than Holland -has in England, while the case is the reverse between England and -the other countries of Europe; then the state of exchange in those -countries would naturally react upon ours. - -“It often happens that other circumstances occur seeming to contradict -these principles. Thus in August last (1849), pieces of ten florins -were in demand in Holland for foreign remittances, although the price -of bar gold was only at 1¾ per cent. agio. Again, the influence of the -state of exchange on the importation of gold may recently have been -observed; not long ago, gold was exported from England to the United -States at the very moment that gold was supposed to be arriving from -America in great quantities.” I have repeated at full length these -remarkable admissions, to prove that the Dutch government was not -arming itself against a pressing or even nearly approaching danger, -and that their precautions were not even taken with foresight. -To theoretical errors were added practical faults; the Minister -of Finance had not measured the importance of the operation with -sufficient accuracy; he estimated the amount of gold coin in Holland at -[38]96,500,000 florins; it proved to be [39]172,000,000 florins. - -The law was voted on September 17th, 1849, and the government received -the full power they had demanded. A royal command appeared on June -9th, for the execution of the measure. The following are the principal -articles: “1st. The pieces of ten and five florins shall cease to be in -circulation as legal payment from Sunday, June 23rd, 1850, but they may -continue to be employed in commerce: that is to say, that these coins -may be accepted in payment at a conventional value. 2nd. These coins -shall be received in payment by government, and by the collectors of -the revenues of the kingdom, at their nominal value, till July 31st, -1850, inclusive.” - -At the time this notice was published, it appeared that the exchange -of gold for bank-notes would take place under the most favourable -auspices. Gold was at a tolerably high premium in the market of -Amsterdam, bills of exchange on foreign countries were scarce, and -consequently the payments of international commerce could very -advantageously be made in the precious metals. Moreover, the government -treasury was full, and the Netherlands bank declared itself ready to -assist efficiently in the operation. But all these chances of success -were destroyed by the precipitancy of the government. A complete panic -was occasioned by the short period granted to the holders of gold coin: -the people hastened to pour their gold into the state treasury, (which -could not receive it all) or else to send it abroad. The government -had imagined that the sum likely to be exchanged, would no exceed -[40]30,000,000 florins: they had miscalculated by two-fifths; for the -sum amounted to [41]50,000,000 florins. The 30,000,000 of paper money -that they had been authorized to issue, together with the money in the -treasury at their disposal, not being sufficient to pay for the amount -of gold presented, they were obliged to have recourse to the bank of -the Netherlands, and to borrow a sum of [42]6,500,000 florins, at an -interest, moderate it must be admitted, of 2½ per cent. per annum. - -The exchange being effected, it was necessary for the government to -find a means of disposing of the gold withdrawn from circulation. It -could be sold only in foreign markets; and there, private industry -had forestalled the government, and the price of gold had fallen in -consequence of the number of Guillaumes brought for sale. At first -the Dutch government suffered only a small loss, owing to a momentary -reaction in favour of gold coin; but the first sales having increased -the depreciation, they were obliged, for fear of greatly adding to -their loss, to stop after having disposed of [43]21,836,000 florins: -the loss then amounted to [44]244,446 florins, being about 1¹²⁄₁₀₀ -per cent. By the middle of October, gold had fallen in value 2½ per -cent. below the legal price, and by the middle of December, 4 per -cent. At this period, the pieces of five and ten florins, banished -from Holland, were scattered about in the different markets of Europe: -London had received them to the amount of £600,000; Paris to the amount -of [45]63,000,000 francs; Germany had absorbed the rest: excepting from -[46]28,000,000 to [47]29,000,000 florins, still lying unsold in the -treasury of the Netherlands. - -The Guillaumes have continued to be melted and coined, in Paris, into -20 and 40 franc pieces; for I find in an official record furnished me -by the President of the Mint, that Dutch coin was exchanged at Paris in -the last six months of 1850, to the amount of [48]40,934,053 francs; -and in the first six months of 1851, to the amount of [49]70,901,597 -francs,--altogether [50]111,835,650 francs. - -The gold coinage of Holland, from 1816 to 1847, was 172,583,955 -florins, equal to [51]362,000,000 francs. Supposing that of this only -two-thirds was in existence in this shape of coin in 1850, there -would be 115,000,000 florins, or [52]236,000,000 francs, all at once -withdrawn from circulation, and thrown upon the gold market: is it -possible that the price of gold could be otherwise than affected? -The gold thus suddenly demonetized equalled at least twice the annual -produce of the world, previous to the discovery of California. The -Mint of Paris alone, which had not struck above [53]27,000,000 francs -in gold during the year 1849, coined [54]85,000,000 in 1850, and -[55]269,000,000 in 1851. - -Fortunately, the crisis was of short duration; the gold coined in Paris -rapidly flowed either towards Piedmont, to pay the first instalment -of their loan, or to Milan to pay for silks bought by Lyons and St. -Etienne. Credit is at a low ebb in Italy, there is little paper -circulation, tending to simplify accounts, and taking the place of -specie in the adjustment of debts; gold is therefore always in demand, -and the supply was speedily absorbed. Certainly, the apprehensions of -the Dutch Government have proved hitherto groundless, and the desired -object has been but partially attained: silver, having become the -sole standard, has found its way (somewhat in excess) throughout the -country, but the loss of gold coin has given rise to a small note -paper-circulation: there is now a paper money of 10 and 5 florins (21 -francs and 10½), which, although at first but provisionally issued, -will probably become permanent circulation. Holland is following the -steps of Prussia and Austria. The Dutch Government supposed that, -notwithstanding the demonetization of gold, the coinage might remain -in circulation, and be voluntarily accepted for its _intrinsic_ value. -This was a misconception of the nature of money, which is accepted as -a circulating medium only on account of its _positive_ value. As might -have been anticipated, gold has ceased to circulate in Holland, and -paper has taken its place. It is doubtful whether the nation has gained -by the change. - -We think we have sufficiently considered the subject of the fall in -price of gold in 1850. During the last eighteen months the production -of this metal has made immense progress. The crisis, which was then -imaginary, may have taken a more serious turn, and may become hereafter -a reality. This we will now examine. - - - - -IV. - - -The three great gold districts, which have lately grown into -importance, are, the chain of the Oural and Altai Mountains, -California, and its extensions to Sonora and Oregon, and the eastern -and southern districts of Australia; let us consider each in its order. - -The washings of the Russian streams first aroused public attention -from the languor into which the question of gold-working had fallen. -The deposits of the Oural, where the first discoveries were made, -never gave any extraordinary results; the workings appeared almost -impracticable above the 60th degree of latitude, and although begun -on a great scale above half a century ago, they have remained almost -stationary for the last fifteen years; the annual returns, divided -about equally between the government and private individuals, scarcely -exceeded [56]5,000 kilogrammes. - -The Altai gold district was in a very different position; in spite of -the rigour of an inhospitable climate, and the difficulties experienced -from any work of labour with a scanty population, the development of -produce was extremely rapid. Begun in 1828, the result, after the first -eight years, was [57]1,722 kilogrammes, but from that time it increased -in a geometrical proportion; it rose to [58]4,000 kilogrammes in 1840, -to [59]10,000 in 1842, and exceeded [60]20,000 in 1847. - -The year 1847 appears to have been the culminating point of the -position of gold in Russia. The “_Administration des Mines_” report -a produce of [61]1744 pouds, or [62]28,521 kilogrammes, as the combined -working of the Oural and Altai; admitting that one-fifth of the produce -escaped the government tax, the result of the gold produce of 1847, -would be at least [63]110,000,000 francs. From that time the decrease -has been continuous. The official reports of 1848, give the figures -at 1,726 pouds, or [64]28,252 kilogrammes; 1592 pouds, or [65]26,077 -kilogrammes in 1849; 1485 pouds, or [66]124,324 kilogrammes in 1850; and -1,432 pouds, or [67]78,000,000 francs in 1851. It is to be observed -that the reduction refers exclusively to Siberia, east and west; not -only has the activity of the workings in the Oural been undiminished, -but it has slightly increased: the produce of 1849 was 342 pouds, being -[68]244 kilogrammes more than in 1845. - -The decrease of production appears to have been principally caused -by excessive taxation. The working of the Siberian gold districts is -divided between the Government and private owners, and in the division, -the eastern side of the mountains has been retained by the former, -whilst the latter have worked the western. The result has been an -immense loss to the public treasury, for whilst two-fifths of the -washings of the Oural are from the government reserves, the Altai -districts do not yield above 5 to 6 per cent. of this produce. The -Russian government has endeavoured to collect by taxation what is lost -either by abstraction or the washings. The tax was at first one-tenth -of the net produce; it was then raised to 15 per cent., and has since -been further increased. The new tax, however, only applies to Siberia, -east and west. It is a progressive rate, divided amongst ten classes, -the rate varying from 5 per cent. on the raw produce, when the working -was from one to two pouds, up to 32 per cent. when the working amounted -to 50 pouds per annum. The whole tax, however, was, in addition to -another tax called “minier,” also progressive, and varying, according -to class, from four to [69]ten roubles per pound of gold. - -These exorbitant taxes may have acted in two ways, either as an -encouragement to fraud, or as a discouragement to production. At the -distance at which we live from Siberia, a country where the light of -public opinion has penetrated even less than the rays of the sun, it -is difficult to decide between these two consequences, both perhaps -equally probable. But the fact of the decrease remains undoubted, and -this decrease has been to the extent of one-seventh in three years, or -about [70]4,000 kilogrammes. - -The working of the gold regions of Siberia has not been of the -democratic character which it has assumed in California and Australia. -There the first comer, provided he were furnished with a pickaxe, a -bowl, a cradle, and a small store of provisions, might, without further -capital, pitch his tent over some square yards of land, and dig until -he has made his fortune. With a license costing 60s. in Australia, -and with a tax of 20 dollars a year in California, he may go where he -pleases. It is not the government which fixes his boundary, but the -regulations of the republic of miners, forming a community along the -banks of a river, or at the foot of a hill, forbidding one man to usurp -a greater space than he can work with his own hands; the miner himself -possessing nothing, and therefore, risking nothing, may dispense with -all calculations of profit and loss. If the spot he has selected does -not answer his expectations, he shifts his ground, or his occupation. -Under any circumstances, the tax, not bearing upon capital, and being -moderate in amount, is easily paid; a few days work is sufficient for -it; the remainder of his time during the year with his bad or good -luck, is at his own free disposal. Such is not the case, in the Altai, -where the aristocratic forms attaching to all industry, either at the -will of the state, or from the force of circumstances, have exerted -their influence over the first commencement of working the mineral -districts. By the terms of the imperial decrees, concessions are only -obtained on special application, and for a term of twelve years, and -the portion assigned to each person never exceeds 100 sagenes (about -[71]250 metres) by five wersts, (about 5335 metres); the same person -may, however, take several lots, provided they are separated by a -distance of five wersts. These contractors engage a certain number -of workmen, whom they provide with utensils and machinery, besides -feeding them and paying them high wages. Everything connected with the -arrangements entails considerable advance of capital, and when the -chance of a small return, or sometimes of no return at all, is added to -the heavy deduction to be paid to the state, out of the raw material, -is it surprizing that members of this community are frequently -unwilling to extend their operations, and almost always anxious to -conceal the magnitude of their working? - -It is said, that in keeping up the amount of the tax, the Russian -Government has had less in view the advantage of a larger participation -of interests than a desire to check a kind of industry very -demoralizing in its nature. If such is really the motive, it might be -less critically censured. Whatever the reason, so long as the Russian -Government considers it advisable to keep up the present taxation, -it is not likely that the increase of production of gold will be -considerable; it appears to be limited for the present to an amount -probably not exceeding [72]90,000,000 to [73]100,000,000 francs per -annum. - -The Spaniards--those indefatigable treasure-seekers--who discovered the -hidden riches of the Cordilleras, had been in possession of California -for above two centuries. From the year 1602, Sebastian Viscaino, the -founder of Monterey, had learnt from the Indians, dispersed throughout -that country, that it abounded in gold and silver. Nevertheless, -instead of planting a colony of miners to examine the soil, the -Spaniards sent thither a body of missionaries, who proclaimed the -gospel, and at the same time instructed the natives in the rudiments of -civilization and of agriculture. - -In 1846 there was scarcely 10,000 of the original Spanish creoles, -when a body of some hundreds of adventurers from the United States, -under General Taylor, invaded and took possession of the country. The -Government of the Union, in demanding its cession from Mexico, thought -chiefly of an aggrandisement of territory; they wanted ports on the -Pacific and a rival colony to Oregon. Little was it expected that in -the valleys which descended from the Sierra Nevada would be found mines -of gold likely to become the principal attractions to colonization, -and a district whose exuberant products would be shortly disseminated -throughout the markets of Europe, as well as of America. - -The extension of the population of California which so speedily -occurred, is greatly due to the truly fabulous success of the first -washings; the miners naturally first planted themselves on the richest -“placers,” they rather culled the produce, than exhausted it; they -frequently discovered “pépites” weighing several ounces, if not pounds -of gold; a clever workman made his fortune in a few days. - -In June, 1848, Mr. Larkin, Consul of the United States at Monterey, -valued the day’s work of a gold seeker at an average of 15 to 25 -dollars ([74]133 to 267 francs). Colonel Mason, in his report of -August, considered the produce of a day’s work of 4,000 European or -Indian miners at [75]30,000 to 40,000 dollars, giving an average of -about 10 dollars [76](53 francs) to each workman. Captain Folson writes -about a month later, “I do not think that there can exist richer -deposits in the world. I have myself ascertained that an active workman -can collect from [77]25 to 40 dollars per day, valuing the gold at 16 -dollars the ounce.” Mr. Butler King, whose report is of still later -date, places the average day’s work per man at about 16 dollars, or one -ounce of gold. - -During the second period of working, when the miners flocked to the -“placers,” and disputed every inch of the golden soil, the yield -began to diminish in a very marked degree. A local mining journal, -the “_Placer Times_,” of 26th October, 1850, giving a _resumé_ of the -proceedings of the season, including the encampment from the River -de la Plume to the River Consumnes, covering an extent of about 100 -miles, and occupied by 60,000 gold-seekers, estimated the mean result -of a day’s work at from six dollars on the River de la Plume, to four -dollars on the l’Yuba and Ours, and five dollars on the American Fork. -The information collected by our consuls at the beginning of 1850, -gives a result of one to two ounces per day in the Valley of the -Sacramento, and from one to four in the newer regions of St. Joaquim. -The diminishing produce, comparing one year with the other, was not -without some compensation. If the miner gained less, he did not spend -as much. The extravagant rise on all sorts of provisions, clothes, -and tools, had been brought down to a more reasonable limit:--they no -longer paid [78]one dollar for a pound of bread; [79]eighty dollars -for an outer covering; [80]fifty dollars a-day for the use of a cart -with two oxen, or [81]5000 dollars for a cask of brandy. An artizan -could no longer command sixteen dollars for a day’s work. Europe, the -United States, and other nations, shipped to California cargoes of -provisions and of manufactured goods; competition soon lowered the -prices. Roads were made from the “placers” to San Francisco; bridges -were thrown over the rivers; they established stores of provisions -and merchandize at every canteen. Towns sprung up like mushrooms, and -in 1850 San Francisco numbered 50,000 inhabitants. The production of -gold in California appears to have now arrived at its third period. -The miners have acquired a certain experience, their modes of working -are less primitive, and they are more settled. The want of order is -diminishing, and the average produce is increasing. The accounts from -San Francisco in April, 1852, mentioned “placers” in the valley of the -Sacramento, where a day’s working yielded from [82]fifteen to twenty -dollars, and others on the frontier of Oregon, where the average was -from [83]five to ten. On the frontier of Sonora the washings of the -auriferous clay yielded [84]seven to eight dollars a day with the -roughest description of work; all agreed that eight hours hard work -should produce everywhere from six to [85]eight dollars, if the plain -be rich; and as the miner could live on from [86]two to three dollars -a day, he might reckon on a gain of from [87]400 to 500 dollars during -the season. However, by the latest accounts, it would appear that the -“placers” are beginning to be exhausted. 100,000 miners turning over -continuously for three years the alluvial sands, (already successfully -explored by the first comers in 1848 and 1849,) could hardly fail to -extract everything of value. It remains now to explore the auriferous -quartz veins which may extend to the centre of the Sierra Nevada. This -new work, however, requires large capital, and extensive combinations. -The success of such operations has hitherto been but moderate. - -The auriferous richness of the quartz rocks in California appears -sufficient to remunerate the speculator; and foreign capital is not -deficient at St. Francisco. Whence is it, then, that the quartz mines -have hitherto been but slightly attractive? It has arisen from the want -of the requisite and essential conditions for the progress of such -undertakings. - -Property in “placers” or in mines is not yet sufficiently secure; it -is neither yet placed fully under the safeguard of law, nor is it -protected by police regulations. Anarchy still reigns in this new -country;--not only have the miners to defend their persons and their -acquisitions against the incursions from Indian tribes; not only are -crimes and offences common (lynch law maintaining a permitted existence -instead of laws and police); but every one appears to hold his property -by right of first comer: a miner chooses the spot he likes best; a -strong arm and a carbine, with a steady eye, are his title deeds. To -seize upon a rich “placer” from a miner too weak to resist, is called -in the slang of the district, to “jump a claim.” The President of the -United States himself, stated in his last message, that “The mineral -lands should remain free to every citizen;” and the Secretary of State -has added, “that the right of occupancy should be submitted only to -such laws as the miners themselves thought fit to make.” - -The continuous flow of emigration, and the continuous working of the -gold districts, appear to indicate, that in spite of many reverses -and sufferings, the mass of emigrants consider the result as likely -to be profitable. Without approaching to the fabulous accounts of the -early adventurers, these results have certainly largely exceeded in -magnificence those of any former period in history; let us endeavour to -particularize some of them. - -Mr. Butler King, in his report to the Secretary of State, in 1850, -after a careful examination of California, values the washings and -gold working of the two years, 1848 and 1849, at [88]40,000,000 -dollars. The basis of this calculation, the first officially presented, -was a produce of 1000 dollars ([89]5350 francs) per miner, per annum. - -According to Mr. Butler King, American emigration hardly began to -flow towards California until September, 1849; up to that period, -foreigners, principally from Mexico and Oregon, had reaped all the -profit of the washings. The _San Francisco Herald_ estimated, that at -the end of 1850, the gold produce of California, for the twenty-one -months between 1 April, 1849, and 31 December, 1850, at the sum of -68,587,591 dollars (nearly [90]367,000,000 francs). According to the -documents published in France by the Minister of Commerce, which appear -to have been derived from local statistics, the produce was rather less -than the above. From 1 April, 1849, to 31 March, 1851, in two years, it -was raised to [91]329,000,000 francs. - -Monsieur Emilie Chevalier, who has just returned from a government -mission to Panama, in a report to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, -considers the result as having been much larger. The gold brought as -freight by steamers in 1850, he estimates at [92]50,306,525 dollars. -The author of the report adds, on the testimony of a person whom he -considers as competent to give a sound opinion, that the sums carried -by passengers are not less than three fourths of the amounts brought -as merchandize; and thus he arrives at the extraordinary figures of -88,000,000 dollars (more than [93]470,000,000 francs) for a single -year. At St. Francisco, where they are able to form probably a more -correct estimate on a subject so difficult to trace accurately, -they do not value the amount of gold carried by passengers at above -one-fourth the amount taken in freight. Even on this supposition there -will be a sum of 25,000,000 dollars, or above [94]133,000,000 francs -to be deducted; but it appears to me very doubtful, if the produce of -1850 exceeded this figure of [95]329,000,000 francs, according to the -French documents already referred to. We have more valuable documents -of another kind to rely upon, in the quantities of gold coined at the -United States’ Mint; the following are the official figures:-- - - SENT TO THE MINT. COINED. - - 1849 12,243,175 dollars £2,448,635 9,007,761 dollars £1,801,552 - 1850 38,365,160 ” 7,673,032 31,981,737 ” 6,396,347 - 1851 56,867,220 ” 11,373,444 62,812,478 ” 12,562,496 - ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- - Total, 107,475,555 ” £21,495,111 103,801,976 ” £20,760,395 - ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- - -All the gold sent to the Mint did not, however, come from California. -A part consisted of specie sent from Europe, in exchange for American -stocks or merchandize. The treasure found in 1848 in the Valley of the -Sacramento, belonged, as it has been stated, principally to foreigners. -Up to the month of March, 1850, the United States’ Mints had not -received above 11,000,000 or [96]12,000,000 dollars of Californian -gold. At the end of August in that year the amounts paid in did not -exceed [97]24,500,000 dollars. A year later, the mints had received in -gold from that source [98]80,000,000 dollars. - -The United States have naturally sent the larger number of the -emigrants to California. It is with the United States principally that -the trade is carried on. It would appear, then, to be natural that -the principal flow of gold from the Sierra Nevada should take that -direction. Doubtless a portion of the gold found annually in California -will remain there, and form the circulating medium. Considerable -amounts also will have been spread throughout South America, and -amongst the various commercial countries of Europe, either in payment -of goods shipped, or as the free capital arising from the accumulations -of labor. I shall not be exaggerating, however, in supposing, that -seven-tenths of the gold annually produced is coined in the United -States, and that one-tenth of the produce only is shipped directly to -Europe. Thus, then, the United States having received from California -[99]100,000,000 dollars up to the end of 1850, the total produce of the -four years, including 1848, (during which year there did not appear to -have been any coinage from Californian gold), ought to have been from -[100]750,000,000 to [101]800,000,000 francs. - -The gold exported from California in 1851 is estimated by the Custom -House returns at [102]56,000,000 dollars. According to the calculations -of the _St. Francisco Herald_, for the first three months of 1852, -the total produce amounted to [103]14,656,142 dollars; at this rate -the produce of the year 1852 would not be less than [104]62,000,000 -dollars. The export of April is estimated at St. Francisco, at -[105]3,422,000 dollars, rather more than [106]18,000,000 francs. The -produce of the “placers,” according to the latest reports, although -still abundant, is decreasing; nevertheless, if Australia does not -attract the most experienced and the most greedy of the work-people, -the mines of California appear likely to yield this year not less than -about [107]300,000,000 of our money; that is six times the amount of -the production of gold at the beginning of the century, throughout the -civilized world. It is twice the amount of the production of gold in -1847. It is hardly needful to exaggerate these figures, as many writers -on both sides of the Atlantic have already done, in order to prove that -a change is occurring in our monetary values, and that the _status -quo_ which has lasted for above half a century, is not necessarily to -continue for ever. - - - - -V. - - -Of the three great gold-producing countries of modern times, New South -Wales is the one now most attracting public attention. This country -enjoys several advantages over the others. - -The climate is mild and healthy, the land is neither occupied by savage -tribes nor infested with wild beasts. In a country where drought is -the principal obstacle to successful cultivation, the gold regions, -situated on the slopes of the highest mountains and near the sources -of the principal streams, are naturally the best watered. They appear -to extend from north-east to south-west, following the direction of -the Murray, the largest river in Australia, and over an extent of 1,400 -miles, [108](2,452 kilomêtres) by 400 miles (643 kilomêtres). This -surface is larger, by four times, the extent of California, and five -times larger than Great Britain. - -The effects of the Californian gold have been principally felt at a -distance from the producing country. The valleys of San Joaquim and -the Sacramento were, before the extraordinary discoveries of 1847, but -a desert, with but an occasional “oasis” of cultivation; California -had neither population, agriculture, commerce, or industry. The -“rancheros,” half farmers, half hunters, raised cattle for no other -purpose than for the value of their hides; the discovery of gold could -hardly disturb any existing trade. The production itself was then the -cause or the motive power, creating a new state of society, a new order -of things. - -In Australia, on the contrary, and long before the consequences of the -discoveries could be appreciated in Europe, the working of the mines -was of itself a revolution. The first washings occurred in May, 1851; -at that time the English colonists in that part of the world were in a -flourishing position. The population of European origin did not exceed -400,000 in the whole Australian group of islands. New South Wales, in -which division Victoria was included, recently elevated into a separate -colony, numbered more than two-thirds of this total, and formed the -chief seat of its industry and wealth. The inhabitants, principally -the descendants of convicts of the last century, obtained, in 1850, a -representative form of government, and now make their own laws. They -have upwards of fifty-one newspapers, and they have also public schools -and banks. Their principal harbours are on a large scale, and the -inter-communication by steam-boats and roads excellent. Their principal -cities are Sydney, with its 50,000; and Melbourne, with its 35,000 -inhabitants, which are lighted with gas, and have an organized police, -as in London. - -The luxury of living and of dress defies comparison, and affords large -profits to tradesmen; they have already begun to make two railroads. -Australia has its commercial fleet, which entered into competition -for the supply of flour to California in 1850. The trade with England -is of twice the magnitude to that which existed between England and -her American colonies at the time of their separation. The colonial -revenue, exclusive of the sale of the Crown lands, which forms the -foundation of the emigration fund, nearly amounts to £1,000,000 -sterling, per annum. - -Australia produces wheat, Indian corn, and barley, in abundance; they -have planted vines, from which they are making good wine; tobacco is -successfully and extensively cultivated; but the principal source of -wealth is derived from the growth of wool, for the production of which -the lands watered by the tributaries of the Murray are as well adapted -as the valley of the Mississippi is for the production of cotton. -Australia takes a prominent position with respect to civilization, in -the midst of the pastoral employment of her population. It is a vast -arcadia, the poetical side being cast into shade by the industrial -occupation of its inhabitants, and perhaps somewhat damaged by a very -natural corruption of morals. It has been called a mine of wool and -tallow; 20,000,000 of sheep are said to be pastured on its plains. -In England the use of Australian wool has almost entirely superseded -that of Germany and Spain, and the Yorkshire manufacturers cannot now -dispense with it. In 1850 Australia exported 137,000 bales, and in -1851, 130,000; 130,000 bales are worth about [109]65,000,000 francs. -The mother country receives, then, from Australia about £3,000,000 -sterling of raw material in exchange for £3,000,000 of English -manufactures; the result is most profitable for capital and labor; it -is to this beneficial and flourishing trade that the sudden appearance -of gold has threatened a most unexpected and alarming interruption. - -Sir Roderick Murchison, whose opinions are considered as of high -authority, commenting on the writings of Count Strelecki on the geology -of New South Wales, announced, in the year 1845, that gold would be -found in the sides of those great chains of hills, which may be called -their Alps or their Pyrennees. At different times, fragments of the -precious metal had been brought either to Sydney, or to Melbourne, -without having excited the belief in the minds of the public that they -were really the product of their own soil. In the month of March, -1851, a person, less incredulous than his neighbours, a Mr. Hargraves, -struck with the similarity of the geological features of the country to -California, whence he had lately arrived, made up his mind that gold -must be to be found in New South Wales, and set himself resolutely to -work to hunt for it at the foot of the mountains, and in the beds of -the adjacent rivers. Having found some small portions, he followed the -pursuit until he had satisfied himself of the existence of gold in a -great number of places. He then went to Bathurst, an advanced post in -the country, called a public meeting, openly announced his discovery; -and in order to give practical proof, took many of his hearers to the -seat of his own exploits, in a little valley at the foot of Mount -Sumner, where he employed nine miners to dig actively, and to wash -the earth. Four ounces of the purest gold were brought to light, as -the produce of three days’ labor; each man had gained £2 4s. 4d. (61 -francs) per diem; but this was not considered by Mr. Hargraves as above -the half of the probable gain to be obtained by an experienced workman, -and with proper implements. - -This happened on the 8th May, 1851. The result of the experiment was -immediately blazoned forth: three persons started for the washings, and -returned in a few days with several pounds of gold. At the same time -a geologist, ordered by the local government to attest the statements -of Mr. Hargraves, at once stamped an official authority on the actual -existence of gold mines. This news created an immense sensation, not -only in Bathurst, but beyond, and in the capital of the colony. On -the 19th May, there were 600 miners at the “_placers_;” an enormous -immigration to a district where the population was but thinly scattered -over an almost indefinite extent of land. On the 24th, some of the -people wrote to their friends, that they were collecting from £3 to -£4 per day. One party of four miners had in one day, obtained thirty -ounces of gold, and had found a “nugget” weighing one pound. In three -weeks time, one workman alone amassed £1,600 sterling. - -We would remark, in running hastily over the account of these early -experiments, that from the first, the inhabitants of Australia -foresaw the serious consequences of the revolution about to occur. -The colonial journals were filled with lamentations and direful -forebodings, and cursed, both in prose and in verse, the mania for -gold. The solitude of the towns, at the expense of which the deserts -were peopled, the abandonment of labour, the disruption of all social -ties, flocks left without shepherds, and crops destroyed for lack of -harvestmen: in short, every kind of misfortune from which the colonies -are now suffering, were seen in perspective. The greediest seekers -for gold might well take alarm; the epidemic, however, stopped not, -and soon spread in all directions. The Government took the lead, by -largely rewarding Mr. Hargraves, and appointing him the “explorer of -the mineral districts.” A proclamation immediately appeared, claiming -the precious discoveries as Crown property, and announcing a rate of -license for working gold mines at 30s. per miner per month. A wild -spirit of speculation soon sprang up in every direction. The municipal -authorities everywhere followed the example of the Government. -From the Bay of Newton to the Gulph of St. Vincent, over an extent -of 2,000 miles of shore, there was no town or village without its -sought-for neighbouring “placers.” In many districts, associations were -immediately formed, offering premiums for the earliest discovery of -gold. - -The locality of the first operations was situated at the junction of -two little valleys, whose water-courses fell into the River Macquarie, -a tributary of the Murray, and which soon received the scriptural -name of Ophir. The early successful workings in these “placers” were -soon cast into shade by the more brilliant result of the works on the -Turon, and its tributaries; here gold was found not only in scales, -but in pépites or nuggets. Whilst the Ophir digger was making his 15s. -or 20s. on an average day’s work, the people at Turon were counting -their gains by ounces. The more primitive process of washing had given -way to the more philosophical system by amalgamation. The operation -was sufficiently remunerative to repay a simple mechanic at the rate -of 20s. a day in addition to his keep; but the miners no sooner -obtained money enough to buy a license, and some implements, but they -set to work in a more business-like manner. They formed themselves -into parties of three or six, the day’s work of each party sometimes -producing several ounces of gold. The weight of the pépites varied from -one-fifth of an ounce to many ounces. - -Towards the middle of July, Doctor Ker found in the valley of Meroo, a -few miles from Wellington, a lump of quartz weighing 3 cwt., containing -more than 100 pounds of gold. Later, again, they found three “nuggets,” -each weighing from 26 to 28 pounds. In the month of August, the export -to England commenced; the first remittances of gold dust amounted to -£50,000 sterling. The washings at the Turon and Mount Ophir were then -producing £10,000 to £12,000 sterling per week. - -The treasure of Doctor Ker, exhibited first at Bathurst and then at -Sydney, soon drove everybody wild. The very newspapers which had first -maligned the discovery, now sounded the trumpet in praise of this -wonderful piece of good fortune. “The news,” says the _Morning Herald_ -of Sydney, “will astonish Australia, will astonish England, Ireland, -and Scotland, will astonish California, and will astonish the whole -world. On the arrival of the packet in England, when every newspaper -throughout the United Kingdom shall have repeated the news of the -discovery as the wonder of our age, the sensation will be profound, -and will exceed anything hitherto talked of, or thought of; from the -queen on the throne to the peasant in the fields, there will be but one -united exclamation of surprise and astonishment; from the palace to the -cottage, from the drawing-room to the stable, from the schoolboy to the -philosopher and the statesman, there will be one universal talk of this -mass of gold, and of the country whence it came; from all the ports in -Great Britain and Ireland, ships will be freighted with passengers and -goods--population and wealth will rush to Australia like a torrent. -Port Jackson will be the best filled and the most flourishing harbour -in the world, and Sydney will take its rank amongst the most opulent -cities. New South Wales will be looked upon in England as the queen of -her colonies.” - -Waiting the impression to be produced in the mother country by the -news of the “golden land,” to use again the expression of the _Morning -Herald_, the population of Sydney flocked to the diggings; the numbers -who left were about 400 a day. Sailors deserted their ships in the -harbours. Government, on account of the dearness of provisions, -doubled the salaries of their officials. In every direction there was -a general hunt in quest of new “placers;” and the districts South and -West of Sydney were explored by miners to the extent of 200 miles. -Auriferous deposits were discovered in the counties of St. Vincent, -Argyle, Dampier, Wallace, and Wellesley, as well as in the basins of -Murrumbedgee Shoalhaven, the River Hume, the River Peel, and the Snow -River. At the extreme north of New South Wales, in the district of -Moreton Bay, the diggings are in full work at the several branches of -the River Condamine. Nearer to the capital, in New England, gold has -been found in abundance in the basin of the River Macdonald. 200 miles -south of Sydney, at Braidwood, one miner realized £30 sterling in five -weeks; another £42 sterling in fifteen days; and a party of three £200 -sterling in one week. Nothing was more common than a produce of two -ounces per man per day; and not unfrequently it reached as much as one -pound. Women also set to work. One widow and her two daughters are -said to have collected an average of two ounces a-day. - -The district of Turon did not lose its repute. Such was the attraction -for gold hunting, that a labourer at Meroo would not undertake to work -for hire at a lower rate than £3 a-week, in addition to his food. Up -to October, 1851, the Government had given out 8,637 licenses; 10,000 -miners were at work in the province of Sydney, and £215,866 sterling, -(about 5,500,000 francs) had already been shipped to England. - -In December, the yield of the “placers” averaged £40,000 sterling per -week, a sum equivalent, after deducting the stoppages during extreme -drought and rain, to £2,000,000 sterling per annum. - -These results, however brilliant they appeared, were soon eclipsed by -the accounts from the province of Victoria. Gold was first discovered -at Ballarat, where it was found at some considerable depth from the -surface; then at Mount Alexander, where it was dug up merely by the -pickaxe, almost on the ground; at Caliban, fifteen miles further, at -Albany, on the Murray, and on the east coast at Gipp’s Land. - -It is asserted that the chain of hills which separates the province -of Victoria from Sydney, and which are known by the name of the Snowy -Mountains, is one vast mine of gold. Every day announces some new -discovery, and that of yesterday is almost always surpassed by that of -to-day. The mines of Mount Alexander are in extent about ten miles, -and the earth is said to be full of gold; they find the precious metal -in a gravelly clay, and in the interstices of a slatey formation. It -is sufficient to dig six inches of soil; and already, in the month of -December, 1851, there were 15,000 miners at work, and the deposits -appeared inexhaustible. - -Here occurred the most extraordinary events. Amongst ordinary cases, -seven workmen were cited, who amassed 500 ounces of gold in three -weeks, which at £3 sterling per ounce, the then current value of gold -in the colony, was about [110]260 francs per day each; at another -time, two miners, in the same space of time, collected 400 ounces, or -[111]735 francs per day each. One carman, who had never even removed -the earth, made up a bag of £1,500 sterling in five weeks. A convict, -but just freed, made £150 sterling in sixteen days. A workman, who had -never exercised any trade but that of shoeing horses, was somewhat -less fortunate, but brought home £100 sterling, clear, after paying -all expenses, and working five weeks. A boy of fourteen, in less time, -collected £400 sterling; and another of the same age, £120 sterling; -but the ambition of the workmen knew no bounds; there was scarcely a -man who set to work digging a hole who did not expect to come home at -night with £40 or £50. These expectations were kept up by some most -wonderful instances of fortune, the recital of which, repeated from -group to group, amongst the diggers, soon became matters of history. -One spot of a few feet square produced [112]45,000 fr.; four sailors, -after six weeks’ work, loaded their cart with a case containing -two hundred pounds of gold, about [113]260,000 francs; four other -workmen, after two months’ labour, divided [114]1,000,000 francs. -One workman was spoken of who gathered twenty-five pounds in two or -three weeks, and another was known to have amassed eleven pounds in -forty-eight hours; another, in less than one hour, made up a package -weighing thirty pounds, worth at least [115]38,000 francs. It was said -that the miners would no longer pick up gold-dust, it was not worth -while; anything smaller than a pin’s head was thrown aside as too -insignificant for notice. There must have been fine gleanings from -these fastidious reapers. - -In the “placers” of Mount Ophir, and of the Turon, where the profits -and the workings were on a more moderate scale, there was less -difficulty in preserving order and good behaviour. Captain Erskine, -of the Royal Navy, who was there about the end of July, 1851, reports -most favourably in this respect. The miners received him with the most -perfect civility; order and good feeling was the general rule. Captain -Erskine only saw one man drunk on the placers. The sale of spirituous -liquors was forbidden, and the Sundays religiously observed. There even -appeared some traces of regular industry. The neighbouring “placers” -of Port Philip presented a perfectly different scene. There, mining -appeared to be considered as a complete lottery. The coolest heads soon -grew as wild as the steadiest--passions and extravagance broke loose in -all directions. The consumption of wine, beer, and spirituous liquors -was enormous; gambling tables, quarrels, and prize fighting, desecrated -the Sundays. One man was quoted who placed a £5 note between two pieces -of bread and butter, and ate it as a sandwich. Another rolled up two £5 -Bank notes, and swallowed them as a pill. A third went into a pastry -cook’s shop to eat a cake, threw down a Bank note, and refused to take -up the change. The miners appeared to have no idea of the value of -money; they bore their losses with the most perfect philosophy. One -man, who had had a draft of [116]3760 francs stolen from him, and on -enquiring at the bank, finding it had been already cashed, exclaimed, -“Bah! there is no want of money now.” - -A “_placer_” in the colony of Victoria presented the appearance of an -immense encampment, with thousands of tents of all sizes, colours, -and shapes; the bivouac during the night was illuminated with fires -in all directions, and noisy with the discharge of guns and pistols; -every miner was armed to the teeth, and could only trust to himself -for the protection of his booty and his life; every one kept himself -on the _qui vive_, and took even the precaution of daily discharging -and reloading his firearms every evening at sunset. Government offered -a weekly transport to Melbourne at a charge of 1 per cent.; but as, -notwithstanding so exorbitant a charge, this transport was without -any guarantee against robbery, the miners formed themselves into -parties, when tired with making their fortunes, and escorted their own -treasures. The bandits from Van Dieman’s Land came down like birds of -prey, and fell upon the miners, and in such numbers and with such fury, -that when a murder was committed the local police were not unfrequently -afraid to go amongst them to seize the murderer. The authorities of -Melbourne were unable to give effectual aid under such circumstances; -for their own city police, with the exception of six, had all gone off -to the diggings. A cry of despair and indignation was universally -raised. “The imbecility of our Government,” says the _Argus_, “has -compelled us to take the police into our own hands, and to make lynch -law the rule of action.” The _Morning Herald_ says, “The Government -must act with energy, and without loss of time, or we shall become a -second California, with mutiny and lynch law established, and crime in -its naked deformity.” The Governor, Sir G. Fitzroy, responded to this -appeal by sending home for more troops, and by recruiting his police -by discharged soldiers. Will it be sufficient for the preservation -of this community, scarcely yet formed, from the threatened danger -of disorganization, to send a vessel of war to the station of Port -Jackson, and to Port Philip, and to reinforce the garrisons of -Australia, as Sir John Packington proposes, with some 400 or 500 -soldiers? - -Fortunately, such a state of disorder is not likely to become chronic; -when public authority, which ought to suppress it, is declared -incompetent, society, alarmed for its own existence, steps in and -at all hazard gets rid of turbulent characters. What is to be as -much feared, especially in a community of such recent formation, is -the attraction to a spirit of gambling, from fortunes thus suddenly -acquired. Men, fascinated by such a magnet, abandon all productive and -useful employment. Neither their ordinary vocations or their known -duties will retain them in their ordinary habits; no rates of pay can -follow the progressive chances of the miner with his pickaxe; the -trade of gold-seeking supplants every other occupation; a whole people -are bowed down to the earth, and absorbed in a work which brutalizes -them, and they abandon to others all the cares of and attention to the -cultivation of the soil. - -From the beginning of November last, the towns of Melbourne and -Geelong were forsaken. Out of this numerous population the women alone -remained stationary. The proximity of the “placers” at two or three -days’ journey rendered the access easy. It was not necessary, as at -Sydney, to equip for a long journey, or to lay in a stock of provisions -and money. Men deserted, in crowds, flocks, farms, ships, workshops, -counting-houses, and shops; no wages would induce them to remain. They -flocked in from Sydney, Van Dieman’s Land, South Australia, and even -from California. Vessels arriving could not discharge their cargoes -for want of hands; goods perished on the quays, where they had been -piled up. In many districts of the colony business and cultivation -were suspended; hands were wanted everywhere. When shearers were to be -met with, they asked the enormous price of 3s. 6d. for twenty fleeces. -A month later, and Adelaide, the capital of Australia, realized the -picture of the “Deserted Village.” Traders, artizans, proprietors, and -capitalists, all were either ruined or had emigrated to Port Philip, -to escape from inevitable ruin. The shares in the celebrated Burra -Burra Copper Mine, which had been sold for above £200, found no buyers -at £60, and their 700 workmen had disappeared; prices of all goods and -wages rose in a frightful degree. - -We read, in a letter from Melbourne, of the 17th January, 1852:--“In -the Banks and at the Post Offices, the clerks work double tides; other -public services are at a stand for want of hands. There are no male -servants to be found, even at exorbitant wages, and women will not -remain, unless at considerable increase of pay. I requested first the -waiter, and then the maid, at the hotel where I was stopping, to send a -small parcel of linen to be washed. They told me that they could find -no one who would wash. I was obliged to go to a shop and buy some new -things. If you want a pair of boots, you must pay £2 10s. (63 francs). -A pair of shoes cost 20s. (25 francs).” - -Another letter, of the 1st January, adds again to the picture:--“In my -opinion, this town is threatened with complete ruin. Last night, two -men arrived, announcing a discovery of gold deposits in the district -of Gipp’s Land; they had brought £10,000 sterling in gold, and said -there was enough there for all the world. What shall we do for want of -labor? Suppose that 100,000 immigrants were to arrive here next year, -would one of them remain in the towns or at the farms, earning a few -shillings per week, when they can go to the diggings and gather £50 -in one day? At this very moment I cannot find one man in Melbourne who -can mend a pair of boots at any price. I get bread from Collingwood, as -a great favor, and the baker will not engage to supply me regularly. -I pay 5s. for two buckets of water, and 30s. for as much wood as a -horse can carry. One can hardly find a man with a handbarrow to carry a -portmanteau, even at any price he chooses to ask. The servants of the -Judge have all left him, and he cannot use his carriage; his sons clean -the knives and shoes, and drag their invalid father to the court in a -wheel chair.” - -An inhabitant of Melbourne, himself reduced to the necessity of looking -after his horse, whilst his wife attended to cooking the dinner, -writes:--“One of the members of our club, a large sheep-owner, and who -cannot obtain shearers, is gone to the diggings to try and hire some -men. He asked them what wages he should pay them, they replied that -they must have all the wool; and, as he was leaving them, they called -him back to say. ‘We are in want of a cook; we will give you £1 a day -if you like to take the place yourself.’” - -At the “placers,” a mechanic is worth at least £1 a day. The people who -return to the towns with their little fortunes will no longer work, and -consider that they have a right to live on in idleness. All provisions -are dear. At Mount Alexander, flour was sold at 5d. a pound (which is -equal to [117]60 centimes the demi-kilo.); oats at 18s. the bushel, -or [118]64 francs the [119]hectolitre. In August last, wheat was not -higher than 3d. a pound, and oats 4s. the bushel, in the Sydney market, -a higher price than in any famine year in the European markets. - -Two causes have been acting simultaneously in creating this great rise -in the price of all the necessaries of life, in those countries where -the gold finders have become suddenly enriched by the discoveries of -these “placers.” In the first place, population increasing more rapidly -than the supply of food, has necessarily caused a rise in price, and -this consequent increase in price, is out of all proportion to the -deficiency of supply. Who does not know that a deficiency of one-sixth, -or even of one-tenth of the crop of grain, frequently doubles, or even -trebles, the price during the famine. Such was the case in France and -England in 1846; and without facilities of communication, and the -cheapness of carriage, the result, even at that period, would have been -much more calamitous. Can we be astonished, then, that in a country -where civilization is but just established, where roads, canals, and -railroads are wanting, the evils must be felt in a greatly increased -degree? - -Another cause is the very abundance of the precious metals. Gold, -when amassed by handfuls, instead of being collected in very small -quantities, and with great labour, must necessarily lose a large part -of its value. The diminution of the price of gold and silver is, -generally, only shewn by the increase in the price of every other -article. The nominal value of the monetary sign remains the same, but -its power diminishes in proportion to its increase in quantity, unless -some counteracting cause, such as an excessive supply of provisions, -&c., should step in and re-establish the equilibrium. - -Up to the present time, every progress in mining in Australia is -retarding the proper care and attention to the breeding of cattle. Van -Dieman’s Land, which produced food for other districts of Australia, is -likely, it is said, to require an import of food for her own people. It -was true that the crops at the end of 1851, presented every appearance -of a magnificent harvest, but how could a harvest be got _in_ on an -island inadequately supplied with labour, and where the people are -deserting daily for other places? - -The position is certainly critical; with any other people than those -of Anglo-Saxon race, it might be desperate: a few months more delay, -and the wool shearing will be lost; for the flocks, no longer watched, -will have strayed away, and possibly will have perished. It was the -work of a quarter of a century to have accumulated the capital employed -in Agriculture in Australia; without an immense immigration, not of -gold seekers, but of shepherds, and persons accustomed to a pastoral -life, before the end of 1852 all this capital will be inevitably -destroyed. England has awakened rather late to the danger, but she -has now to work in good earnest to apply the remedy. The Governor of -Australia witnessed the daily arrivals of emigrants with alarm, so -long as they added only to the crowds of miners, and who by their -competition still further increased the price of provisions; he even -pressed the Colonial Secretary to try and turn the stream of emigration -to other colonies. But independent of Government emigration, voluntary -associations for the same object have not been inactive. Liverpool -alone has been shipping at the rate of 2,000 a month for Sydney or -Melbourne. Ships are wanting in all the ports of Great Britain and -Ireland, for the transport of emigrants. Shipbuilding yards are all in -the greatest state of active employment. - -Nor has this want of an agricultural population in Australia been -overlooked. The islands to the north and west and the Highlands of -Scotland, contain a population far too numerous for their means of -adequate support, so that in spite of hard and constant work, there -is frequent mortality from famine in this poor and barren country. -Twenty or thirty thousand of these labourers, engaged for agricultural -occupations in Van Dieman’s Land, and for sheep tending in New South -Wales, would cease to be a burthen on English charity, and would avert -the ruin of Australia. Subscription lists are opened in England for -this object, and the colony itself is in a position to lend its aid, as -Sir John Packington informed Sir G. Fitzroy that the government would -place at the disposal of the local legislature the revenues which might -accrue from the workings of these gold regions. At this time the port -of London contains a fleet of vessels ready to sail for Australia, -capable of conveying 23,000 persons and 30,000 tons of merchandize. -It is clear, that by abandoning all the rights of the Crown to the -treasures of the “placers,” the British Government has saved Australia. -By this arrangement, the Colonial revenues have been almost doubled; -30s. a month levied on 60,000 miners, working eight months in the year, -would produce [120]18,000,000 francs. A tax of 60s. which was attempted -to be established, but which the miners resisted, might have produced -[121]36,000,000 francs. In default of English labourers, the expenses -of whose voyage must necessarily be great, and whose willingness to -work could not be depended on, there would be funds enough to import a -whole population of Indians or Chinese. - -The production of these gold regions in Australia does not appear to -have exceeded £1,500,000 sterling in 1851, from all the “placers” then -worked; but we know that the working in the province of Sydney did not -begin until the middle of May; and in Victoria, not until the end of -September. In January, 1852, they reckoned 10,000 miners in the Sydney -gold districts, the produce of which oscillated between 12,000 and -15,000 ounces per week. For eight month’s work this would give about -[122]31,000,000 francs at the Colonial price, and [123]35,000,000 at -the English price of gold; but the population will certainly have -increased in 1852, and it will be a moderate calculation to estimate -the produce of this province at [124]40,000,000 to 50,000,000 francs -during this year. - -In the province of Victoria, 30,000 miners were at work at the -“placers,” at the end of December; and the number was daily increasing. -They probably would have received, by the spring of this year, a -reinforcement of 10,000. Mineral working is a lottery, in which very -few gain the great prizes. A letter from Sydney, dated 4th February, -thus sums up the result of the work, and of its uncertainty and -irregularity. “They calculate, that out of every ten speculators who -hire workmen for the gold-washings, only one repays his expenses, -and of those who work on their own account, the proportion who are -successful is about one in five.” It is not to be expected, then, -that the quantity of gold collected by so many miners should equal -the brilliant, the extraordinary, profits made by many of the first -adventurers. It is a liberal calculation to suppose that the 40,000 -miners of the province of Victoria might obtain on an average 10s. or -12s. each for their daily work. At 200 days’ work this could give about -[125]3,000 francs each, or about 120,000,000 francs per annum. Thus, -these two provinces would yield a produce in 1852, of [126]40,000,000 -for Sydney, and [127]120,000,000 for Victoria, together about -[128]160,000,000 francs. - -In following the scale of progress of California, these results might -be doubled the third year: but it should be remarked, that up to March -last, notwithstanding the immense increase of the workings carried on -for nearly a year in Sydney, and for six months in Australia-Felix, -the colony had not shipped, of all the gold it had collected, above -£819,000 sterling (20,537,000 francs) to England. - -Uniting the products of the three great gold regions, we find that -Siberia, California, and Australia, are expected to supply in 1852, -about [129]600,000,000 francs: a mass of gold equal to about 175 tons -in weight. It should be borne in mind, that China and Japan have -also their mines of gold and silver in full work; the produce of -which does not appear, however, to leave those countries. The Chain -of the Himalaya possibly contains mineral wealth equal to that of -the Cordilleras, the dorsal division of South America, from Chili to -Oregon. It is also said, that the inhabitants of Thibet have begun -to work their golden alluvial deposits. All the mines in the world, -therefore, are not yet fully worked; and there will, probably, be -an ample supply for some generations to come. The gold supplied by -America, independently of California, can hardly be estimated at -above [130]8,000 kilogrammes per annum. Hungary is the only country -in Europe, excepting Russia, which is producing about [131]2,000 -kilogrammes of gold. The quantity from Africa is very small; and -[132]3,000 or 4,000 kilogrammes is the whole of the known produce of -the washings in the Straits of Sunda, and in the peninsula of Malacca. -From all which sources united, an approximative value may be fixed at -from [133]40,000,000 to 50,000,000 francs. To sum up the whole, then, -it would appear that the gold production of 1852 may be estimated at-- - - For California 300,000,000 francs = £12,000,000 - ” Australia 160,000,000 ” 6,400,000 - ” Oural and Altai 90,000,000 ” 3,600,000 - ” rest of the world 50,000,000 ” 2,000,000 - ----------- ----------- - Making a total of 600,000,000 francs = £24,000,000 - -It has been already stated, that California produced [134]750,000,000 -francs during the four years 1848 to 1851. Russia, during the same -period, at the rate of [135]100,000,000 fr., will have produced -[136]400,000,000, and the other gold districts [137]200,000,000. Thus, -in the five years ending with 1852, the total production including -Australia, will probably amount to nearly [138]two milliards of francs: -a result unexampled in history; gold has never previously flowed from -such numerous channels, and from such abundant sources. - - - - -VI. - - -What will be the effects produced by this expansion of gold on those -countries where the discoveries and working have occurred, and on the -great centres of wealth and industry, where competition is in active -operation, and where the gold may, when in the shape of coin, fix a new -value on commodities? First, as regards the gold-producing countries -themselves. It is clear that the attraction to the “diggings” must -retard, if not put a temporary stop, to really productive labour, that -of the cultivation of the land: but this demoralizing influence may -not be of long duration. The “placers” will become exhausted, the gold -of alluvial deposit, that which the rains and other causes have spread -over the surface of the soil, has hitherto been the chief feeder of -the supply. The thousands of miners working at the various sources, -and turning over and over again every part of the surface, will soon -have picked out every particle of the metal. The remainder of the gold -must then be sought for in the quartz; whence it can be obtained only -by the aid of scientific processes, and effectually extracted only -by the application of capital: which is hardly likely to be supplied -to an adequate extent, excepting by companies, in the same way as -has been the case in the working of silver mines. Then individual -enterprize will be again directed to the cultivation of the soil. Out -of the crowds of emigrants in Australia and California, now attracted -to the “diggings,” the number required for agricultural purposes will -no longer be deficient. Amongst the adventurers who are expatriating -themselves to seek fortunes in new countries, there will be numbers -of poor families who will consider themselves adequately repaid by -being able to obtain in a distant land, a fair remuneration for their -services, and the ownership of land, with the means of a comfortable -livelihood. - -The Spaniards, in the early days of conquest in South America, began -by abandoning all other pursuits than the search of gold and silver; -they ended however, by building cities, forming harbours, constructing -churches, planting the land, and rearing flocks. After the soldiers -came the miners, after the miners came the colonists: swords were -turned into plough-shares. That which occurred in the 17th century -will recur in the 19th. Australia, California, and the colder regions -of the Altai, will be covered with people. It may readily be believed -that Providence, in the accumulation of treasures like loadstones in -the hearts of the mountains and in the depths of the valleys, has -contemplated the attraction of a superabundant population, and of the -genius of colonization throughout the civilized world. - -Thus much for the producing country itself. Let us now consider the -effect of this superabundance of gold on the importing countries. The -first and most important question is, whether the relative proportions -in value between gold and silver is likely to be materially disturbed. -We have been considering the present production of gold, let us now see -how the case stands as regards silver. - -Mons. de Humboldt estimates the amount of silver annually produced -at the commencement of this century at 870,000 kilogrammes (about -[139]193,000,000 francs). In 1847, M. Michel Chevalier, considered the -annual production to be 775,000 kilogrammes, (about [140]172,000,000 -francs), but there is reason to suppose that this writer -under-estimated the returns of the Mexican mines, which he placed at -[141]18,500,000 piastres, and in a later work, the same authority -states the production at [142]900,000 kilogrammes. The English paper, -_The Economist_, estimated the return of 1850 at [143]191,772,000 -francs; the actual production, however, appears to have been much -larger. It cannot be placed at a lower figure than 1,000,000 of -kilogrammes for 1851, or at about [144]230,000,000 francs. The -following is the table of details: - - Mexico 133,000,000 francs = £5,320,000 - Chili 22,000,000 ” 880,000 - Peru 25,000,000 ” 1,000,000 - Bolivia and New Granada 12,000,000 ” 480,000 - Russia and Norway 5,000,000 ” 200,000 - Saxony, Bohemia, - Hungary, &c., 12,000,000 ” 480,000 - Spain 16,000,000 ” 640,000 - The rest of Europe 5,000,000 ” 200,000 - ----------- ---------- - Total 230,000,000 ” £9,200,000 - =========== ========== - -We do not think we shall be exaggerating in supposing that the -production will have reached [145]250,000,000 francs in 1852, and that -it will consequently have exceeded [146]1,100,000 kilogrammes. At this -rate the accumulated value of the precious metals produced in 1852 will -have reached the figure of [147]850,000,000 fr., of which silver will -represent the proportion of about 30 per cent; the weight of gold will -then be in the proportion of 1 to 6³⁄₁₀ to silver. - -In estimating a gradual increase in the production of silver, we -have some data for our supposition. In 1843, there was scarcely -[148]16,000,000 piastres from Mexico; in 1849, the silver coined -at the Mexican Mint amounted to [149]20,000,000 dollars, without -reckoning that portion which escaped duty, and which probably amounted -to [150]3,000,000 or 4,000,000 more; [151]we are certainly quite -within the mark, it is even more probable that the production this -year may again reach the sum of [152]27,000,000 dollars, to which -it had attained in 1805, under the Spanish Government. In Chili the -progress has been still more rapid, the mines which in 1841 produced -[153]821,000 piastres, and in 1845, [154]1,534,000, having in 1849 -given [155]3,343,000, and in 1850 [156]4,070,000 piastres. - -One cause of a purely local nature has contributed to this result. -It is known that the process of amalgamation is almost the only one -employed by the miners in extracting the ores of Chili, Peru, and -Mexico. To obtain 1 cwt. of silver it is necessary to employ 1½ -cwt. of quicksilver; it is evident, therefore, that the price of -quicksilver must have a great influence on the cost of extraction. -When it has become too dear, the working has been confined to the -richest mines; when it has fallen the increase in the working of the -poorer ores has soon followed. Before the war of independence, the -Crown of Spain, preserving the monopoly of the sale of quicksilver, -gave it out at all their depots in Mexico at [157]35 to 40 piastres the -cwt.; thence arose the immense increase in the workings of the silver -mines, notwithstanding the coarseness of the ores. Since the Spanish -Government, however, has, pressed by the miserable position of its -finances, farmed out the produce of the Almaden mines, the lessees who -had agreed to pay a very heavy rent, and who had no competition to fear -for a long period of time, raised the price of the quicksilver beyond -all bounds. A few years since the price at Guanaxuato rose to [158]150 -piastres the cwt. In 1850 the agent of Messrs. Rothschild fixed the -price at [159]103 piastres in Vera Cruz, and at [160]105 at the depot -in Mexico. At the same date the price was [161]120 at Mazatlan. The -cost price of the quicksilver at Almaden is [162]18 dollars the cwt., -and it is sold at the rate of [163]45 dollars for extraction of the -ores in Spain. - -The high price will cease with the monopoly. Spain has no longer the -exclusive privilege of furnishing quicksilver for the mines in the New -World. California possesses mines of cinnabar in abundance, and they -are now in full work. Those of New-Almaden, situated at some leagues -from San Francisco, are now producing [164]400 kilogrammes a day. At -300 day’s work this could give a provision of [165]120,000 kilogrammes, -sufficient to work at least [166]80,000 kilogrammes of silver. At -the mine itself this quicksilver is worth [167]25 piastres the cwt.; -brought to Fresnillo, near the rich veins of Sombrerete, and on the -backs of mules from the port of Mazatlan, it has been sold at [168]93 -piastres in 1850. The proprietors of New-Almaden undertake to reduce -the price whenever the price of Spanish quicksilver shall be lowered. -They have sent some of it to Chili, where silver-mine working has -taken a fresh start. They can sell it advantageously in Peru, for the -quicksilver of Huancavelica cost at Pasco in August, 1850, [169]104 -piastres the cwt. The mine of New Almaden is not the only one being -worked in California; cinnabar is met with in several directions, and -hereafter it is probable that California may be looked to as a country -producing quicksilver as well as gold. - -The news of the discovery of quicksilver mines in Mexico, in the -neighbourhood of San Luis de Potosi, was confirmed by accounts received -in London in March last. Are they old mines formerly abandoned on -account of their poverty, or have they really discovered an ore which, -as at New Almaden, yields a produce of 50 per cent. of quicksilver? -This is a point yet to be cleared up. In the meantime the price of -silver has fallen in the district of Guanaxuato to [170]40 piastres -the hundred weight, and it is now varying between a price of [171]55 -and 56 piastres. In short, one of the conditions connected with silver -mining has materially changed. An economy of [172]60 or 70 piastres per -hundred weight in the cost of amalgamation can hardly fail to kindle a -fresh spirit of enterprize. - -Another cause will necessarily act on the production of silver, and -that is the very abundance of gold. When silver is found to be more in -demand, fresh activity will ensue, both in reopening old galleries, -which have been closed as not sufficiently remunerative, and in pushing -on the work in those actually in operation. If the mines, feeding the -present supply, are becoming exhausted, and other sources are not -forthcoming, in a few years silver will reach the price of gold, or -the value of gold will descend to that of silver; but as the limits of -silver working are but the price of labour, the power of machinery, and -the application of science, so, every increase in the quantity of gold -which is not caused by accidental circumstances, or by an extraordinary -demand, must produce a corresponding increase in the production of -silver. Is not this a fact which we have been witnessing since 1850? -Who can venture to affirm that Californian gold has had no influence in -stimulating the workings of silver in Mexico and Chili? Besides this, -the extraction of gold is generally accompanied with a production of -silver. Silver mines are not always auriferous, and the richest in gold -contain but a small quantity of it, but gold mines are almost always -argentiferous. The proportion of silver in a “nugget” of gold is about -⅛th in California, ¹⁄₁₀th in Siberia, and ⅕th in New South Wales. So -that for every [173]four kilogrammes of gold in Australia, there is -about one of silver. This is an important fact resulting from chemical -analysis. - -The production of silver is in the course of increase. Will that of -gold be kept up? It is reasonable to entertain considerable doubt -on this point. In Siberia we have seen it retrograde since 1847. -The extraction appears stationary--perhaps rather on the decrease in -California. Australia alone, with gold fields yet unexplored, appears -likely to produce much more than heretofore. Auriferous strata may be -discovered elsewhere, and add to the general stock. Combining these -various circumstances, we incline to the opinion that the quantities -now forming the annual production of gold will not be diminished for -a certain number of years; but when the miners have exhausted the -gatherings from the alluvial deposits, and it becomes necessary to seek -the golden ore in the rocks and mountains, in which nature appears -during the various revolutions and convulsions of the world, to have -deposited it; then the working of the mines will depend upon the amount -of capital and the degree of science, which may hereafter be brought to -bear on that description of enterprize. - -In a paper read in 1848, before the Royal Institution of London, Sir -Roderick Murchison remarks that the principal deposits of gold are -found in auriferous “detritus,” and that the same degree of success -must not be expected to ensue from exploring the veins, which are -ramified through the quartz rock. The result hitherto shown in -California fully confirms this theory, as is shown in the following -letter from an engineer at St. Francisco, dated 4th April last, after -an expedition amongst the localities occupied by the gold diggers:-- - -“I send you the result of experiments made upon fragments of rock. In -each we have operated upon three tons of quartz, reduced to powder, and -carefully worked by amalgamation. We have made five experiments upon -as many veins in the county of Bath, which is situated between l’Yuba -and the River de la Plume. No. 1 has produced [174]3 dollars 53 cents -per ton; No. 2, [175]9 dollars 50 cents; Nos. 3 and 4, [176]11 dollars -each; and No. 5, [177]17 dollars. - -“In the county of Nevada, experiments have been made on four different -points. The first has given [178]15 dollars per ton; the second, -scarcely any gold; the third, [179]14 dollars per ton--this mine, upon -which a company had established works, has been abandoned;--and the -fourth has given [180]59 dollars, the vein being of an extraordinary -richness, and having yielded large returns to the proprietors. - -“In the county of Eldorado, three different veins did not give a larger -return than [181]17 dollars per ton; a fourth equalled the richness of -No. 4, in the adjoining county. - -“In the county of Mariposa, out of eight experiments, three veins -gave hardly [182]3 to 7 dollars per ton; three more gave [183]7 to 20 -dollars; one gave [184]24 dollars; and one more, [185]38. The two last -veins have attracted miners, who are going to work them. No enterprize -requires a more careful and a more expensive examination than an -auriferous quartz mine. A good vein, yielding [186]36 dollars per ton, -may be considered, by moderate people, as worth working; sometimes they -are found much richer; but out of all the quartz-crushing mills which -have been set up in California, I do not think that one-third are used -for mines which are yielding, for any continued period, [187]30 dollars -the ton; so that one-half of the works of this nature are suspended.” - -From the above account, it would appear that a vein of quartz, to be -considered productive, should give 36 dollars, or [188]192 francs -per ton. This return represents a weight of 55 grammes upon 1000 -kilogrammes, or 5½ parts of gold out of 100,000 parts of quartz. -Mineral of iron stone will give 10 to 15 of metal per 100; and the -production by melting is infinitely less troublesome or expensive than -the extraction of gold. In Australia, it was at first supposed, after -an analysis of some ounces of quartz, taken from Mount Ophir, that -the ton would yield more than £1100 sterling; but these experiments, -made on so small a scale, are of little value. It is not likely that -Australia, when the miners find themselves reduced to the necessity of -working the quartz rocks, will show any considerable increase of yield -over California. - -The extraordinary abundance of gold, then, does not appear to be of -permanent duration. It is a sudden outbreak which we, accordingly, -have to meet. It does not appear to be, as far as we can now form -any opinion, a reign of one metal, which is likely to take the place -of some other; nevertheless, there will most infallibly be a very -marked fall of gold in comparison with silver, unless met by a most -extraordinary activity in working the silver mines; other causes, -however, although secondary in themselves, appear, concurrently, likely -to neutralize part of the effect of this superabundance. - -It is of little importance to ascertain the amount of the annual -production of the precious metals, unless we investigate the -proportions in which they are distributed between the two hemispheres. -Silver gives rise to a regular trade, and, coming from sources -long open, it is sent almost exclusively to Europe, as an article -of exchange, against the produce of her soil, or of her industry. -Gold in California, on the contrary, a source of unexpected wealth, -starting up in a new country, is first absorbed by the wants of a local -circulation. A new society, formed in the midst of a desert country, -necessarily requires some medium of exchange: some money. Next to -the immediate necessities of California come the wants of the United -States. These States have, for some years past, been endeavouring to -introduce a greater amount of the precious metals into their monetary -circulation. The gold of California has powerfully contributed to -effect this object. Silver coin now circulates, but in small amounts, -throughout the Union. They have coined gold pieces of 20, 10, 5, and -even of one dollar. Out of [189]400,000,000 to 500,000,000 francs, -brought in during the three first years, not more than [190]70,000,000 -or 75,000,000 have found their way to Europe. The import of 1851 has -been more sensibly felt. According to the returns of the American -newspapers, the quantity of gold shipped to Europe from New York and -New Orleans, was, during last year, [191]200,000,000 francs. - -The like result is obtained from other channels of information. The -Mint of London, which ordinarily coins gold at the rate of about -£2,000,000 sterling per annum; and which, in 1850, had not coined -more than £1,492,000 sterling; in 1851, increased their operations -to the extent of a coinage of £4,200,000 sterling (above 105,000,000 -of francs). The moiety of this gold must have come from California. -In the same year, the mint of Paris coined in gold [192]269,709,570 -francs, of which about half was supplied by the conversion of -100,000,000 of Dutch Guillaumes into French money. In the accounts of -the German Mints, we find about [193]200,000,000 of Californian gold. -If we are to judge from the operations of our own mint, the import -of 1852 will be smaller than that of 1851; for we have coined but -14,000,000 pieces in gold during the first three months of this year. - -Australia sends regularly large amounts of her gold to England; but -a part of the export of gold dust, or “nuggets,” is returned in gold -coin. Many vessels have lately cleared from London with £200,000 -sterling; and this at a time when England had barely received £800,000 -sterling, from Sydney and Melbourne. Considerable amounts will likewise -be imported in plate and jewellery. The more wealth increases in -the colony, the more gold will be employed both for circulation and -for luxuries. The producing country will be most certainly, _par -excellence_, the country of consumption. Europe contains 200,000,000 -inhabitants, of whom not one-half are adequately supplied with metallic -money. It would require, certainly, an addition of many milliards of -francs to the quantity of the present metallic circulation, to put many -of these countries in an equally favourable position in this respect -with France, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, and Great Britain. We -know, that only nations of industrious habits are in want of a larger -supply of gold and silver because they alone carry on trade to any -extent. Abundance of production precedes and gives rise to a demand -for money. Wealth must exist in a country before the sign of that -wealth is required; but, at the same time, it cannot be denied that -the circulation of the precious metals stimulates, to a great degree, -the creation of richness; it acts like roads, canals, or other modes -of transport, which, by opening the means of reaching markets, extend -the radius of operations, and give additional value to commodities. One -half of Europe has a trade of inconsiderable importance, and derives -but a small part of the benefit of the produce of its own soil. It has -neither industry nor credit. In many countries now, gold and silver are -replaced by the use of paper-money, often discredited in its own, and -in all cases valueless out of its own country. - -Austria has just made, partly in London, and partly in Frankfort, a -loan of £3,500,000, intended principally to restore the credit of her -paper money. This will be the first step towards the restoration -of metallic money, which had disappeared to such an extent, that -the smaller notes were often divided into four, to use for change. -Prussia, Poland, Russia, and Turkey, have experienced, in different -degrees, the like embarrassment. Before these various markets are -all superabundantly supplied with gold and silver, the treasures of -Siberia, Australia, and the two Americas, may be diffused for many -years over the continent of Europe. - -The scarcity of gold had restricted its use; in France, for example, -the smallest gold coin was [194]20 francs. Since it has become more -common, the Mint have coined pieces of [195]10 francs, which are much -liked, and are convenient for use. These smaller coins appear likely -to take the place of a portion of our silver, which is needlessly -cumbersome. It is supposed that the use of Bank-notes of [196]200 and -100 francs has economised the use of several hundreds of millions of -the precious metals. The 10-franc pieces, when more generally used in -circulation, will take the place of, and drive out a portion of silver -coin. The demand for silver then will diminish, whilst that for gold -is increasing. Silver will be used as change for gold--as gold is for -bank-notes. This is the case to such an extent in England, where the -silver circulation is small, that the Mint in London, which coined -£1,492,000 sterling in gold, in 1850, only coined £130,000 sterling -in silver in the same year, whilst, in the same year, [197]86,000,000 -francs in silver were coined at the Mint in Paris. It must not be -forgotten that the use of the precious metals is not confined to the -limits of Christian civilization. The Chinese import Peruvian and -Mexican dollars in exchange for their silks and teas; they attract -by their trade the gold produced in the neighbouring Islands, and in -the Straits of Sunda. This industrious nation has sent its contingent -of labourers and traders both to California and Australia. A portion -of Californian gold has already gone to China, but Australia appears -better situated for the purpose of supplying the eastern regions and -the southern portions of Asia with the precious metals. The Australian -gold, however, sent there will be as so much lost treasure; for whilst -the precious metals which are thrown into circulation in Europe -continue in use as coin for a long time, that which is sent to China, -or India, or Africa, altogether disappears; it is not required for -circulation, but seems to be consumed. - -Nothing appears more likely to restore the confidence of those who -have taken alarm at the abundance of gold than the consideration of -the almost unlimited extent of its market. What people, civilized -or uncivilized, agricultural or manufacturing, do not enter into -competition for a supply! What are the millions of francs extracted -from the Cordilleras when compared with the capital created by the -labour of the inhabitants of the whole globe? - -The combined washings of the Altai, California, and Australia, during -a quarter of a century, would be required to produce a sum equal -to the annual revenue of England alone. This unexpected harvest of -the precious metals is but an addition to a common fund of wealth; -it cannot produce a deep or a durable impression on the almost -incalculable mass of wealth already existing in the world. - -After all, Europe herself does not preserve gold and silver as -relics. Money is used by wear and tear to such an extent that it must -from time to time be recoined, and the consequent loss falls on the -community at large. The use of silver and gold plate, of gold work and -jewellery, is increasing every day, as a distinguishing mark of the -rise of the middle classes; the manufacturers of France, England, and -Switzerland are at work for all the world. English statisticians have -estimated the loss, from use, disasters at sea, and export without -return of the precious metals, in the United States and Europe, at -more than [198]125,000,000 francs a-year. A more moderate estimate -reduces this sum to [199]75,000,000 francs. As to articles of luxury, -the sums of gold and silver employed therein annually, have been -estimated by Mr. Jacob, at [200]148,000,000 francs, without including -the consumption of the United States of America. Mr. M’Culloch, who -embraces the United States in his calculations, puts the amount at -[201]150,000,000. France, herself employing upwards of [202]30,000,000 -francs, it may be admitted, without fear of exaggeration, that the -sum of [203]125,000,000 of gold is used for domestic purposes. Here, -then, we have an annual consumption of [204]200,000,000 francs; the -proportion borne by gold in this absorption of the precious metals -is every day becoming more important. What remains, at the present -time, of the enormous masses of the precious metals which Mexico and -Peru have poured forth during the last three centuries? The amount -of gold and silver now in the form of circulation would scarcely -equal the produce of the mines during the last fifty years. The 30 -milliards which America sent to Europe, from the Spanish Conquest to -the beginning of the 19th century, has almost entirely disappeared. It -would appear as if industry, in its contact with gold and silver, must -have volatilized it. France converted into coin a large amount of the -precious metals; but when coined, it did not remain there. Exportation -appears constantly to produce the effect of banishing it from the -country. Thus, in twelve years, from 1840 to 1852, we have imported -[205]123,012 kilogrammes of gold, and we have exported [206]71,217 -kilogrammes; the difference in favour of the import being [207]51,795 -kilogrammes, equal to [208]181,138,000 francs, showing an average of -[209]15,000,000 francs per annum. Jewellery, goldsmith’s work and -gilding, employ, annually, in France, quantities of gold exceeding -that sum in amount. The excess, then, is taken from the coinage, which -accounts for the ordinary premium on gold in our market. The average -would be considerably reduced if we except the year 1851, during -which the import has exceeded the export by [210]34,503 kilogrammes; -but the results of 1851 may be considered as exceptional. Already, -the greater part has disappeared; gold finds its way from France to -London. The Bank of France, whose metallic reserve in 1851 included -an amount of [211]100,000,000 francs of gold, now does not hold above -[212]15,000,000 to 20,000,000. French gold coin, common enough in -Paris, is scarcely seen in the provinces. - -From 1840 to 1852, French commerce imported [213]10,175,312 kilogrammes -of silver, and exported [214]3,688,279 kilogrammes. The excess of -import, [215]6,487,033 kilogrammes, represents a sum of 1,303,893,633 -francs, or 108,657,802 francs a year. Admitting that [216]15,000,000 -are annually absorbed in the demands for articles of luxury, and -[217]10,000,000 or 12,000,000 for wear, our monetary reserve of silver -would have increased at least [218]1,100,000,000 since 1840. This -leaves a large margin in the circulation of France for the displacement -of silver by gold coin. When the import of gold shall have exceeded -the export by an amount equal annually to [219]200,000,000 francs, -with this accumulated reserve of [220]1,100,000,000 and with an annual -excess of [221]80,000,000 to 90,000,000 francs over the import and -consumption of silver, it will require at least ten years to restore -the equilibrium between the two metals, to the state in which it was in -1840. - -No subject has given rise to more rash and speculative opinions -than that connected with the trade in gold and silver. Amidst the -great variety of conflicting phenomena, statistics appear almost -valueless; but so long as gold continues to bear a premium, in spite -of the apparent superabundance, and notwithstanding its partial -demonetization, it may well be considered doubtful whether the relative -proportions, established by law between gold and silver in so many -countries, will be materially affected for at least some years to come. - -Various remedies have been proposed by alarmists, to prevent the evils -of the influx of Californian and other gold. Some have desired that -government should limit the quantity of gold to be annually coined. -This expedient, in the event of a depreciation in value, would be of -little avail, for the quantity imported and kept in the shape of bars, -would equally augment the general stock, and weigh down the price. -Others have thought of altering the legal value, but this plan would -be useless as long as gold remained at a premium. If gold became -depreciated it would be injurious only until the fall was ascertained, -and considered durable; this once determined, things would go on as -before. - -Then comes the question as to the demonetization of gold; doubtless no -point is of greater importance for a standard of circulation than a -fixed value. It is a fact that in all those countries where a double -standard of gold and silver is established, one or other has always -obtained the ascendancy, and maintained a premium, and has ceased to -appear in the shape of money; logically, it would appear quite enough -to regulate all prices by the value of one metal, without exposing -trade to the uncertainty of an alteration in value of two. In the -adoption of one only, however, it is desirable to examine which of -the two has, over any given period of time, been subject to the least -variation. Before the discovery of California, silver would certainly -have had little chance of being selected. Even now it appears to me -that the question has not so materially changed as might at first sight -be supposed. - -It should be remembered also, that it is not so easy for all countries -who may have adopted the double standard to exclude one from their -monetary code. The example of Holland has proved that gold, having -lost its character as legal money, will no longer be used as a token. -To demonetize gold is to exclude it from the market. For a great -commercial country like Holland, living in the greatest freedom, and -carrying on its trade by exchanging and carrying the products of all -the countries in the world, to exclude one of its habitual means -of exchange, may not be attended with great risks. England, though -little disposed to imitate Holland at present, might perhaps do so -with less danger, from having the commerce of the whole world in its -hands. France, unless under pressing necessity, could not demonetize -her gold without exposing herself to a complete disturbance in all -her relations, both at home and abroad. Our trade is tied up by -a completely protective system, without alluding to those direct -prohibitions which disgrace our customs’ tariffs; almost all the duties -which affect articles of primary consumption are, in short, disguised -prohibitions. In exchange for the products of our own country, which -we have to sell to the foreigner, we can hardly purchase in return -anything but raw materials. Thus, bar and pig-iron, those articles of -primary importance, have been subjected to duties at the rate of 100 -per cent. on their value. In those countries enjoying a legislation -attentive to the wants of trade, and where the custom-houses are only -for the objects of revenue, the imports and the exports will show an -even balance. In our country, where we have been desirous of opposing -a barrier to the free course of exchange, goods exported have always a -preponderance in value over those imported. In 1850, for example, the -imports represented a value of [222]790,000,000 francs, and the exports -[223]1,068,000,000 francs, showing a difference of [224]278,000,000. -England and the United States, together, receive of our products an -excess of [225]236,000,000 above the exports we receive from them; -and as those countries with which we trade cannot pay us in goods, -they must make their return in gold and silver. This was the reason -of the import of [226]220,000,000 francs in coin in 1850, as shown -in our official returns. So long as the system of protection is the -ruling policy of France, so long will it be impossible to deprive gold -of its value as money; to attempt it would be to withdraw from trade -one of its most useful means of exchange. It would check, if not stop, -all intercourse with those countries who can only pay in gold, or who -can only sell us those commodities which we endeavour to exclude by -our tariffs. Gold flows naturally only to those countries where it is -marketable; and it is only so where it is in use as coin as well as in -commerce. A profit of half per thousand is sufficient in the present -day to turn the current of the precious metals. This circumstance ought -not to be lost sight of in the consideration of monetary legislation. - -In fact, the change in the relative value of gold and silver, which -was so strongly anticipated, appears anything but imminent; if any -great change is now taking place, it appears rather to be that of a -simultaneous depreciation in the value of both metals. Deep thinking -persons are not content with expressing their fears; they are already -providing themselves with the means of averting the evils which they -anticipate. This is one of the causes which have raised the value -of railroad stocks, and of landed property; and this explains the -comparative abandonment, not of speculation, but of capital ordinarily -seeking investment in government stocks. Alarm is felt at placing money -on security, of which both the capital and the interest may remain -at a fixed value; these may be the more sensibly affected, if the -value of the precious metals is altered; whereas the shareholder of a -railroad would have a chance of having his income increased; and the -landed proprietors that of having their capital augmented in the same -proportion in which the value of money would be depreciated. - -In dwelling on these facts, I have no idea of setting myself up as a -prophet. I would confine myself to the wish to indicate some of the -symptoms of the present position of these matters; the danger, if any -exists, is certainly not very near at hand. We have already seen the -use of bank notes in France increased to an extent which, owing to the -stability of their value, has largely taken the place of specie. It -is but reasonable to suppose, that the present abundance of gold and -silver will make no greater disturbance within a short time, than has -the great increase of paper money. - -The influx of the precious metals has been, in a certain sense, a -providential occurrence during the revolutionary state of Europe. -Credit had either disappeared, or had at least become stagnant. -Everywhere, amidst the tempest of the times, both past and -prospective, business had been suspended, or carried on only for -ready money. Affairs had assumed an aspect of a primitive state of -exchange. An increase of metallic circulation might again restore -confidence, and calm agitation. The average excess of money imported -over that exported, which, before 1848, was not above [227]80,000,000 -to 100,000,000 francs, amounted in 1848 and 1849 to nearly -[228]300,000,000 francs for each year. Specie in these times supplied -the wants of trade, and maintained prices; but, in more easy times, -when used not alone, but concurrently with paper money and bills of -exchange, for the purposes of circulation, gold and silver would -naturally be in use in proportion to the movements of trade. The reason -why [229]600,000,000 of francs in coin now encumbers the vaults of -the Bank of France, is, because capital is only employed in the stock -markets, and that the restoration of trade on a large scale is still -confined to a sort of anticipation; but let the industry of the country -experience a complete restoration of confidence in the future, and we -shall soon see the metallic reserve of the bank diminish; and, as a -natural consequence, our market will attract an import of the precious -metals from abroad. In short, gold and silver will then be wanted; the -state of trade will improve, and we shall have to seek for an increased -supply. - -Let us not then either despair or be too confident; the world is not -entering on an Eldorado, nor is it on the eve of a state of ruin. -Those who consider gold and silver as positive wealth, who confound an -abundant supply of the precious metals with an abundance of capital, -and who affirm that the gold imported from California must lower -the rate of interest, should remember that the rate of interest is -determined by the state of confidence, as well as by the general rule -of the supply and demand for loanable capital, and that confidence -depends upon the good order existing throughout the civilized world. -California itself shows the delusion of such an idea--for there, where -gold is strewing the land, interest has risen as high as from eight to -ten per cent. per month. Those on the contrary, who, at the idea of the -galleons seeking freights in the western continent, dream only of ruin -and catastrophes--who anticipate that the day will arrive that the Bank -of France will pay persons to take away her gold--should not forget -that she sells it now without difficulty even at a small premium, and -that this increased trade in gold has not hitherto ruined anybody. - -PARIS, _August, 1852_. - - - - -FOOTNOTES - - -[1] £20,000,000 - -[2] £24,000,000 - -[3] lbs. 797,629=£37,209,423 - -[4] £4,000,000 - -[5] A kilogramme is equal to about 2 lbs. 8 oz. 3 dwts. 2 grs., and is -worth about £125; 30 kilogrammes would therefore weigh about 80 lbs. -3oz. 20 dwts. 12 grs., and would be worth about £3750. - -[6] £5,960,000 - -[7] lbs. 6,381,530=£297,700,000 - -[8] lbs. 295,717,106=£887,151,318 - -[9] £1,280,000,000 - -[10] £320,000,000 - -[11] £240,000,000 - -[12] £80,000,000 - -[13] lbs. 42,336=£1,975,000 - -[14] lbs. 2,331,070=£6,923,210 - -[15] lbs. 63,504=£2,962,500 - -[16] lbs. 2,411,562=£7,234,686 - -[17] lbs. 169,479=£7,906,250 - -[18] lbs. 2,344,574=£7,033,792 - -[19] lbs. 66,989=£200,967 - -[20] lbs. 80,386=£3,750,000 - -[21] £5,896,000 - -[22] £2,400,000 - -[23] £2,800,000 - -[24] £540,000 - -[25] £4,160,000 - -[26] £800,000 - -[27] £1,800,000 - -[28] £8,000,000 - -[29] £6,400,000 - -[30] £1,080,000 - -[31] £800,000 - -[32] £320,000 - -[33] £400,000 - -[34] £450,000 - -[35] £600,000 - -[36] £3,000,000 - -[37] £2,500,000 - -[38] £8,041,666 - -[39] £14,333,333 - -[40] £2,500,000 - -[41] £4,166,666 - -[42] £514,583 - -[43] £1,819,666 - -[44] £20,370 - -[45] £2,520,000 - -[46] £2,333,333 - -[47] £2,416,666 - -[48] £1,637,362 - -[49] £2,836,064 - -[50] £4,473,426 - -[51] £14,480,000 - -[52] £9,440,000 - -[53] £1,080,000 - -[54] £3,400,000 - -[55] £10,760,000 - -[56] lbs. 13,397=£625,000 - -[57] lbs. 4,614=£215,250 - -[58] lbs. 10,718=£500,000 - -[59] lbs. 26,795=£1,250,000 - -[60] lbs. 53,590=£2,500,000 - -[61] A poud is equal to about 36 lbs. English; and is worth about £1679. - -[62] lbs. 76,422=£3,565,125 - -[63] £4,400,000 - -[64] lbs. 75,705=£3,531,500 - -[65] lbs. 69,873=£3,259,625 - -[66] lbs. 65,176=£3,040,500 - -[67] £3,120,000 - -[68] lbs. 653=£30,500 - -[69] A Russian rouble is worth about 3s. 2d. - -[70] lbs. 10,718=£500,000 - -[71] A metre is equal to 39.371 English inches, a sagene is equal to -about 7 English feet, and a werst contains 1,166⅔ yards, or 3,500 feet, -equal to about ¾ of an English mile. - -[72] £3,600,000 - -[73] £4,000,000 - -[74] £5 to £10 - -[75] £6,000 to £8,000 - -[76] £2 2s. 6d. - -[77] £5 to £8 - -[78] 4s. - -[79] £16 - -[80] £10 - -[81] £1000 - -[82] £3 to 4. - -[83] £1 to 2. - -[84] 28s. to 32s. - -[85] 24s. to 32s. - -[86] 8s. to 12s. - -[87] £80 to £100. - -[88] £8,000,000 - -[89] £214 - -[90] £14,680,000 - -[91] £13,160,000 - -[92] £10,061,305 - -[93] £18,800,000 - -[94] £5,320,000 - -[95] £13,160,000 - -[96] £2,400,000 - -[97] £4,900,000 - -[98] £16,000,000 - -[99] £20,000,000 - -[100] £30,000,000 - -[101] £32,000,000 - -[102] £11,200,000 - -[103] £2,931,228 - -[104] £12,400,000 - -[105] £684,400 - -[106] £720,000 - -[107] £12,000,000 - -[108] The kilomêtre is about ⅝ of an English statute mile. - -[109] £2,600,000 - -[110] £10 - -[111] £30 - -[112] £1,800 - -[113] £10,400 - -[114] £40,000 - -[115] £1,520 - -[116] £150 - -[117] 6d. - -[118] £2 8s. - -[119] 22 Imperial Gallons. - -[120] £720,000 - -[121] £1,440,000 - -[122] £1,240,000 - -[123] £1,400,000 - -[124] £1,600,000 to £2,000,000 - -[125] £120 each, or about £4,800,000 per Annum. - -[126] £1,600,000 - -[127] £4,800,000 - -[128] £6,400,000 - -[129] £24,000,000 - -[130] lbs. 21,436=£1,000,000 - -[131] lbs. 5,359=£250,000 - -[132] lbs. 8,038 to lbs. 10,718=£375,000 to £500,000 - -[133] £1,600,000 to £2,000,000 - -[134] £30,000,000 - -[135] £4,000,000 - -[136] £16,000,000 - -[137] £8,000,000 - -[138] £80,000,000 - -[139] £7,720,000 - -[140] £6,880,000 - -[141] £3,700,000 - -[142] lbs. 2,411,562=£7,234,686 - -[143] £7,670,880 - -[144] £9,200,000 - -[145] £10,000,000 - -[146] lbs. 2,947,465=£8,842,395 - -[147] £34,000,000 - -[148] £3,200,000 - -[149] £4,000,000 - -[150] £600,000 to £8,000,000 - -[151] According to the information of M. Rosales, the production of -Chili in 1850 should have been 4,070,000 piastres. - -[152] £5,400,000 - -[153] £164,200 - -[154] £306,800 - -[155] £668,600 - -[156] £814,000 - -[157] £7 to £8. - -[158] About £30 - -[159] About £20 12s. - -[160] About £21 - -[161] About £24 - -[162] £3 12s. - -[163] £9 - -[164] lbs. 882=£103 - -[165] lbs. 264,660=£30,875 - -[166] lbs. 214,361=£643,083 - -[167] About £5 - -[168] About £18 12s. - -[169] About £20 16s. - -[170] About £8 - -[171] About £11 and £11 4s. - -[172] About £12 or £14 - -[173] 4 kilogrammes of gold are equal to lbs. 10·7212=£500. 1 -kilogramme is equal to lbs. 2·6803=£8·0409. - -[174] About 14s. - -[175] About £1 18s. - -[176] About £2 4s. - -[177] About £3 8s. - -[178] £3 - -[179] £2 16s. - -[180] £11 16s. - -[181] £3 8s. - -[182] 12s. to 28s. - -[183] £1 8s. to £4 - -[184] £4 16s. - -[185] £7 12s. - -[186] £7 4s. - -[187] £6 - -[188] £7 5s. - -[189] £16,000,000 to £20,000,000 - -[190] £2,800,000 to £3,000,000 - -[191] £8,000,000 - -[192] £10,788,383 - -[193] £8,000,000 - -[194] Say 16s. - -[195] 8s. - -[196] £8 to £4 - -[197] £3,440,000 - -[198] £5,000,000 - -[199] £3,000,000 - -[200] £5,920,000 - -[201] £6,000,000 - -[202] £1,200,000 - -[203] £5,000,000 - -[204] £8,000,000 - -[205] lbs. 329,612=£15,376,500 - -[206] lbs. 190,827=£8,902,125 - -[207] lbs. 138,785=£6,474,375 - -[208] £7,245,520 - -[209] £600,000 - -[210] lbs. 92,451=£4,312,875 - -[211] £4,000,000 - -[212] £600,000 to £800,000 - -[213] lbs. 27,264,889=£81,794,667 - -[214] lbs. 9,882,794=£29,648,382 - -[215] lbs. 17,382,095=£52,146,285 or £4,346,312 per annum. - -[216] £600,000 - -[217] £400,000 to £480,000 - -[218] £44,000,000 - -[219] £8,000,000 - -[220] £44,000,000 - -[221] £3,200,000 to 3,600,000 - -[222] £31,600,000 - -[223] £42,720,000 - -[224] £11,120,000 - -[225] £9,440,000 - -[226] £8,800,000 - -[227] £3,200,000 to £4,000,000 - -[228] £12,000,000 - -[229] £24,000,000 - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Remarks on the production of the -precious metals, by Leon Faucher - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REMARKS--PRODUCTION--PRECIOUS METALS *** - -***** This file should be named 50581-0.txt or 50581-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/5/8/50581/ - -Produced by deaurider and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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