mentioned. The proprietors of mines (mineros) send their representatives to the provincial councils, and the two general deputies who reside at Mexico, are chosen from among the deputies of the districts. The body of miners of New Spain has besides, apoderados or representative proprietors at Madrid, for treating immediately with the ministry, as to the interest of the colonies, in whatever respects the mines. The students of the colegio de mineria, instructed at the expence of the state, are distributed by the Tribunal among the head towns of the different diputaciones. It cannot be denied that the representative system followed in the new organization of the body of Mexican miners, possesses great advantages. It preserves public spirit in a country where the citizens, scattered over an immense surface, do not sufficiently feel the community of their interests; and it gives the supreme council a facility of collecting considerable sums, whenever any great or useful undertaking is proposed. It is to be desired, however, that the director of the tribunal should possess more influence on the progress of the operations in the provinces, and that the proprietors of mines less jealous of what they call their liberty, were more enlightened as to their true interests.

The Supreme Council possesses an income

of more than a million of livres tournois*. The king granted it on its establishment two thirds of the royal right of signiorage which amounts to a real de plata, or the eighth part of a double piastre per marc of silver delivered in to the mint. This million of revenue is destined for the salaries† of the members of the tribunal, the support of the school of mines, and to a fund for assistance or advances (avios) to the proprietors of the mines, These advances as we have already observed have been given with more liberality than discernment. A miner of Pachuca, at one time obtained 170,000 piastrest; and the share holders of the mina de agua of Temascaltepec, received 214,000 piastres; but this assistance never produced any thing§. The tribunal during the last years of the war of Spain with France and England, was compelled to make a gratuitous present to the court of Madrid, of two millions and a half of francs, and to lend it fifteen millions besides, of which only six

*£40,816 Sterling.

+ These salaries amount to 25,000 piastres (£5250 Sterling. Trans.) The director general has only 6000 (£1260); and the seminary or school of mines, in which the Creole Spaniards and noble Indians are educated, consumes only 30,000 piastres (£6300 Sterling. Trans.) per annum.

£35,700 Sterling. Trans.

See the account rendered to the electors, published under the title of Estado general que manifiesta a los vocales los caudales del Tribunal de Mineria desde 1777 hasta 1788.

millions have ever yet been repaid. To support these extraordinary expences, they were compelled to have recourse to borrowing; and at present the half of the revenues of the supreme council of mines is employed in paying the interest of that capital. They have increased one half the signorial impost, till the period of the liquidation of the debts contracted by the tribunal; and in place of eight grains, the miners are obliged to pay twelve* per marc of silver. In this state of things, the tribunal can no longer make advances to the miners, who for want of funds are frequently unable to carry on useful undertakings. Great capitals formerly employed in mining, are now destined to agriculture, and the proprietors of mines would again require those establishments (bancos de plata, compañias refaccionariast ò de habilitacion y avios) which advanced to the miners considerable sums of money at a large interest.

All the metallic wealth of the Spanish colonies is in the hands of individuals. The government possesses no other mine than that of

* Ocho granos de Señoreage, y quatro granos temporalmente impuestos. At Lima the tribunal receives a real per

marc.

+ Real cedula sobre la compañia refaccionaria propuesta por el Genoves Domingo Reborato, del 12 Marzo 1744.Don Josef Bustamente, Informe sobre la habilitacion de los Mineros, 1748.

Huancavelica in Peru, which has been long abandoned; and it is not even proprietor of the great levels, as several sovereigns of Germany are. The individuals receive from the king a grant of a certain number of measures on the direction of a vein or bed; and they are only held to pay very moderate duties on the minerals extracted from the mines, which have been valued at an average for all Spanish America, at 11 per cent of the silver, and 3 per cent of the gold*.

In New Spain the proprietors of mines pay the government the half of the fifth or tenth, the duty of one per cent (derecho del uno por ciento) and the duty of coinage, called derecho de monedage y señoreage. This last duty established in 1566 by a law of Philip II. and increased at the end of the 17th century†, now amounts to 3 reals per marc, of silver, 68 reals being computed in the marc with half a real of expences, and the proprietor of the silver only receiving back 64 reals. Of this 31 reals, 2 are accounted derecho de monedage and 1 real derecho de señoreage.

The revenue which the crown derives from

*Bourgoing, T. ii. p. 284.

+ Recapilacion de leyes de Castilla, de 1598, Lib. v. Tit. xxi. n. 9-Ley 8. Tit. xxiii. Lib. iv. de Indias-Real cedula dirigida al Virey Conde de Moctezuma, y dada en Madrid à 26 de Junio, de 1698.

nearly 16 per cent. In discounting the profit of government under the title of coinage or the totality of the duty, we find that the duties paid by the proprietors of mines, only amount to 15 per cent. To give a more detailed explanation of the duties levied by the government, we must distinguish agreeably to information procured by me during my stay at Guanaxuato, the pure silver from that which is mixed with gold; for if the silver contains less than thirty grains of gold per marc of silver, the mint does not pay the gold to the individuals.

£357,000 sterling. Trans.

† Representacion de la mineria de Nueva Espana, de 1774, p. 53. § 45.

55,177 sterling. Trans.