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Loc. 170.] 479
ON MINING LEGISLATION.
a
.
metals are produced, and that the protection of the iron interest
deserves to be commended to the fostering care of the Royal
College of Mines in much stronger terms, than seems to have
been done in the above-mentioned instruction.
8. The copper-mines, on the other hand, are capable of
annually producing to the public 8000 skeppund of copper,
yielding from fourteen to fifteen tons of gold, which is about one
third of what the country derives annually from its iron -mines.
Still, with respect to the works at Fahlun, which are the
most important and the noblest in the country, they ought
to be most carefully protected and cherished ; yet not at the
expense of the iron -works.
9. It is therefore my humble opinion that the Royal College of
Minesoughtnot, by the above-named instruction, to be empowered
to make a distinction and to establish exceptional rules, in favour of
one kind of mines at the expense of others, simply because the
metals they produce are called nobler, and seem to be ofa nobler
pedigree andgenealogy; that the Royal College, onthe contrary, be
instructed to have regard to the merit and importance of a work
in respect to the public good; that it ought, therefore, to take
into consideration the nobility of the work, even though its
metal may be of a lower order. But this may be placed in a
clearer light by an example : if for instance, a meagre silver
vein, which might yield annually 200 marks of silver, should
be discovered in proximity to an iron -mine which produces
annually 2000 skeppund of iron, and if, in this case, the nobler
metal should have the preference over the more common, this
would seem to be entirely uncalled for, inasmuch as the
2000 skeppund of iron would be productive, not only of 200,
but even of 1500 marks of the same fine and native silver.
10. Hence it appears doubtful whether these metals, on the
mere consideration of their being nobler, ought to have a prefer
ence, and whether the other metals ought to be neglected on
their account, as seems to be the drift of the said instruction.
Moreover it is well to be considered whether in this case
there is not a mistake made in computation and in poli
tical economy, by which the public will lose many tons of
gold, with no other compensation than that it will obtain the
eighth or ninth part back again, by working a metal which
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