they frequently are very rich, and in many cases have led to the discoveries of important mines, as the once far-famed Gongo Soco, of Brazil. Frequently, however, this gold is the mere concentration of many ages, by the action of water on earthy and ferruginous soils, which, for hundreds of miles contain traces of gold throughout, but so small a per-centage per ton, that by no known process of extraction can it be made available for industrial purposes. Some of the states of North America, Mexico, Vaxaca, and Brazil are so situated; the object in these countries not being to find where gold exists, but where gold exists in quantities sufficient to repay the labour expended in bringing it into a saleable condition, with a present or prospective hope of bunches.

4th. The last gold which is usually found is a portion which exists in worked diluvial and alluvial deposits, but, from imperfections in working or washing, a portion escapes, and, from its specific gravity, it soon settles in the earthy contents of the workings and the rivers, and as the earthy matter is annually washing away, whilst most of the gold remains, after a lapse of time, it is frequently found to be more or less profitable to a hardworking class, whose labour is the last vestige of the golden dream of the once famed El Dorado.

It is much to be regretted that, in this age of machinery, nothing of consequence has been done for the gold-finder in facilitating the separation of gold from earthy matter with less loss than is now generally known; the various amalgamating apparatus are too tedious for poor ores, and unnecessary for rich ones; yet, from the well-known simple affinity of mercury with gold, and its readiness of action, we trust something will be done, as earthy matter containing from 10 to 200 grains of gold, by weight, per ton of earth, unless water is abundant, will frequently not pay for washing, and the loss more than is generally supposed. A ton of earth contains, by weight, more than fourteen millions of grains; and to gather together any two pennyweights of gold out of this quantity, and a part of it in an impalpable powder, it requires no stretch of the imagination to suppose some is swept away by the action of water, and the small stones, mud, and clay.

A great mistake frequently exists in gold districts upon finding a rich spot; the whole area of the country is at once supposed to be equally rich; of course time soon shows the fallacy of this belief.

It has been generally found that, at a distance from the mountains in which the auriferous streams arise, there is a point in which the gold is nearly an impalpable dust; that, going up the stream, it sensibly increases, in laminated particles, and increases gradually in coarseness, till the gold is found with its natural roughness and points, as if fresh broken from its

matrix. Larger pieces occur, even to many pounds in weight; as also pieces are found containing portions of the matrix, thus occasionally enabling the shrewd observer to form a good guess of the neighbourhood in which to look for mines with some hopes of success.

Few, comparatively speaking, have enriched themselves by goldfinding: the very circumstance of finding money excites to extravagance, and from this cause many through whose hands much wealth has passed, have left off poor as when they com

menced.

The aupreous streams of Wicklow are in strict accordance with these remarks.

ON ACCIDENTS IN MINES.*

BY THE EDITOR.

THE fearful loss of life recorded in the columns of the diurnal and weekly press has at last aroused the sympathies of the legislature, and it is to be hoped that the day is near at hand when the collier and miner will receive that protection to which they are admitted to be so justly entitled. The legislative body in its wisdom has thought fit to interfere with the mining interest by the introduction of foreign ores duty free, and there is no doubt but that coal would be imported, instead of being exported, were we not too secure as regards our supply and demand, both at home and abroad. Lord Ashley, it will be remembered, introduced a bill into the House of Commons, which is now the law of the land, whereby females and children under twelve years of age are precluded from working underground, such being a common practice, more especially in the north; and it was then hoped that the noble lord would follow up the good work he had begun, by introducing some measure having for its object the greater security of the life of the miner and collier, and making a provision for the widows and orphans of those whose lives might be sacrificed in their daily labour. Then it was that much exertion was used to direct the attention of Government and the legislature to this important subject-petitions were presented, public meetings were held in Cornwall and Devon, many promises were made of support, and even certain members of the corporation of the city of London kindly interested themselves in the advocacy of a measure which, from the sad results of the past few weeks, has only now been forced upon the attention of the Government. It *The following are abbreviations of the terms employed in the several tables accompanying the present paper:-Exp. Explosion of Fire Damp or Carbonic Gas. F.R. Fall of Rock or Coal. Co. Colliery. F.S. Fall in Shaft or Pit. I.W. Iron Works. A.S. Accident in Shaft or Pit. Ma. Machinery. M. Mine. Ac. Accident. Qu. Quarry.

is to be regretted that public sympathy and the public voice were silent to the appeal thus made to the kindlier feelings of humanity, a want of co-operation having alone been the cause of failure. The state of the working miner and collier has oft been noticed, and their rights advocated, however feebly, by the writer of the present article, and every step taken by personal interviews and written correspondence to effect the much-desired object, but without avail. The present appears a fitting time to renew the appeal to humanity and to those who, seated at the warm hearth, are unconscious, and in some instances, we fear, regardless, of the toils and dangers attendant on the vocation of the working miner and collier. Immured from eight to ten hours in the bowels of the earth, with a dim light, exposed to fatigue and danger, he dares not remonstrate or complain lest he should lose his little earnings little as compared with the risk incurred and the injury of health sustained. The comparatively short duration of life of the miner and collier has been frequently the subject of papers read at various meetings, but with no other result than thanks being conveyed to the lecturer or contributor. It is true that in Cornwall a step has been taken whereby the position of the miner is in a great degree ameliorated by the introduction of the machine for raising and lowering miners, whereby accidents are avoided and much fatigue spared; for it is to be considered that in a mine of 300 fathoms depth there are no less than 3,600 steps to be taken in descending and ascending by means of a ladder, which at Tresavean and one other mine is now remedied. This mode of climbing is principally confined to the mineral lodes, as in the north, in Staffordshire, and all colliery districts, the collier is let down by means of the whim, or engine, and is thus saved any manual exertion, the only drawback being the possibility of the machinery or gear getting out of order, or the breakage of the rope, which we lament to say are cases of too frequent occurrence. The prejudice on the part of the Cornish miner to trust himself to a rope is universal throughout the mining districts, while on the other hand, the collier of the north smiles at the timidity displayed by the Cornish miner.

It is, however, to the frequent and more fatal occurrences of loss of life from explosions of fire-damp that we would wish to direct and rivet public attention. We have, with some care, drawn out a statement of the several accidents recorded in the columns of the Mining Journal during the past year; and when it is considered that this sad record forms but a small portion of the lives sacrificed annually, we think it requires no argumentative power or reasoning to convince the most sceptical of the necessity of parliamentary interference. That there are difficulties to contend with, and that there is naturally a feeling of jealousy manifested by the coal-owners, who do not think it proper that private property shall be interfered with, no doubt can for a

moment exist, and it is the peculiar delicacy with which the subject can be approached which renders it one of the most sensitive for legislative enactment. We can very well conceive the impracticability of legislating on a question like the present in a way which shall give general satisfaction, or, indeed, be perfect. The appointment of government officers, without especial care being observed in framing a code of rules or regulations, is one which is well calculated to excite a degree of uneasiness on the part of the mine and colliery proprietor; but it appears to us, that if a committee were appointed to take the evidence of practical men, much of the difficulty which presents itself would be overcome; and although it might be required at a future period to amend the act, yet any approximation towards the establishment of a perfect supervision of the working of mines and collieries is much to be desired. To effect this, we consider that the agents to be appointed should be resident practical coal-viewers or mining agents, that a competent engineer should also be selected, whose powers should be exercised over one district, and that in no instance should a viewer from the north of England be placed as a supervisor of a district in South Wales, any more than that one from the midland counties should proceed to the north each district has its own system, and which is peculiar in itself from local causes; hence the necessity of appointing parties who are acquainted with the modes of working adopted, and the features which the colliery or mine presents. It should be the duty of the engineer at least once a month to inspect the engines, ropes, gear, &c. The viewer, or mine-captain, should be bound to send in a report to the Museum of Practical Geology, to be placed with mining records, and it should be compulsory on all colliery and mine owners to render, from time to time, sections and plans of the workings. A book should also be kept at the countinghouse of the mine, in which should be registered all accidents, and a monthly report made thereof; and further, that in all cases where an explosion has taken place, or that the existence of firedamp is proved, it should in like manner be compulsory on the proprietors to take the necessary precautions by the use of the safety-lamp, and observing that there is a free current of air passing through the colliery by the erection of furnaces or sinking the necessary pits, with effective doorways and channels, for the admission and emission of air.

We will, however, at once proceed to give the tables from whence our deductions are drawn, merely premising that they can be considered only as a small proportion of the fatal accidents which occur, and which we lament to say are of daily occurrence.

The number of accidents during the past year, and which are embodied in the following tables, are made up from the columns of the Mining Journal, and will be found to be 403, the loss of life 567, of which 256 are from explosion of fire-damp, and those

ON ACCIDENTS IN MINES.

sustaining injury from the same cause 130, making together nearly one-half of the number.

1848.

Ex. F. R. F.S. Ma. Ac. Total. Ex. F.R. F.S. Ma. Ac. Total.

January.. 12 18 16

February

36

21 15

March

April

May

June

July

August 47

September 12

October..

10

November 34

17

7753424274

December 11

Total.. The following are the monthly returns, to which we have prefixed those for the preceding year.

256 163 70 55 23 567 130 55 13 18 23

34 26 17

443257

2

32

1

12

2

17

17

11

16

52

Accid. Deaths Injur. Total. Accid. Deaths Injur. Total.

Although there is but little to add in the way of statistics beyond the returns thus given, it may be well to examine into the causes to which this fearful loss of life is to be attributed, so that it may be seen whether some remedy may not be applied by care being enforced in the cases of fiery collieries, or where the air is known to be bad, and the strict observance of the use of proper machinery: all this the labourer has a right to expect from his employer, and the Government to impose for the security of the lives of those employed.