174 EIGHTH REPORT — 1838. 



A Statistical Vietoofthe recent Progress and present Amount of Mining 

 Industry in France, dratonfrom the Official Reports of the " Direc- 

 tion Generate des Ponts et Chaussees et des Mines." By G. R. 

 Porter. 



The data from which the reports of the French Mining Engineers 

 are drawn are collected under the authority of a law passed by the Le- 

 gislative Chambers in 1 833 ; and Mr. Porter draws attention to the 

 fact, that the productiveness of mining industry in France has increased 

 in a greatly accelerated ratio since that time as compared with previous 

 periods, which circumstance he considers is, in part at least, attribu- 

 table to the suggestions made to proprietors of mines and works by the 

 engineers, a highly educated and intelligent body of men, to whom 

 the task of inspection is confided ; and occasion is thence taken to point 

 out the desirableness of adopting some system for the collection of 

 similar data in this country. The value of the coal, iron, lead, anti- 

 mony, copper, manganese, alum, and sulphate of iron produced in 

 France, has been increased from 4,230,000/. in 1832 to 6,170,000/. in 

 1836, or 45 per cent, while the increase in a like period preceding the 

 visits of inspectors amounted only to 12,000/., or very little more than 

 a quarter per cent (0"28). 



Coal is produced in thirty of the departments of France. There are 

 in these 258 mines in operation, giving employment to 21,913 workmen. 

 The quantity raised in 1814- was 665,000 English tons. Double that 

 quantity was raised in 1825. In 1832, before the plan of inspection 

 was adopted, the produce was 1,600,000, and in 1836 was raised to 

 2,500,000 tons. 



There are iron-works in sixty out of the eighty-six departments of 

 France. The number of works in 1 836 was 894, and of workmen 15,738 : 

 the product, 303,739 English tons of pig-iron, and 201,691 tons of bar- 

 iron, valued at 3,580,000/. Taking into account the further processes 

 connected with this branch of industry, the total value created was in 

 1836, 4,975,000/., and the workmen were 43,775. In 1824 the quan- 

 tity of pig iron made was 194,636. In 1832 (the year preceding in- 

 spection), 221,660 tons, and in 1836, 303,739 tons. 



Some further particulars as to the modes of manufacture were given, 

 and slight notices of other branches of mining industry. It appears 

 that, taken in its full extent, this class of employment gives support to 

 273,364 workmen, the value of whose labour is 15,100,000/.; this in- 

 cludes the produce of stone-quarries, salt-works, glass-works, pottery, 

 and various chemical products having a mineral origin. 



On the Statistics of Vitality in Cadiz. By Colonel Sykes. 

 From this elaborate memoir the following are extracts : 

 Populatio7i. — Cadiz has 4 parishes within the walls and 1 outside, 

 and for police and municipal objects it is divided into 12 barriers or 

 districts. These barriers comprise a population of 58,525 souls, agree- 

 ably to the census of December last, the males being 27,301, and the 

 females 31,224. 



