1826.] Discovery of the Province of Minas Geraes. 403 



shew how very useful the engine was for the company ; he accordingly procured 

 stones for the service of this marvellous macliine, which were brought from the 

 distance of half a league on the heads of negroes and on the backs of four- 

 footed beasts of burden : this uiiexecutable mode of mining lasted some fifteen 

 or twenty days, at the expiration of which he was obliged to let out the negroes 

 for their living. 



The governor of the province, seeing that the scheme was about to be 

 abandoned, and that the Baron was preparing to return to Germany, ordered 

 other administrators and share-holders to be named, the negroes to be sent 

 back to ihelavras, and the engine to be given up. In 1823 the association 

 began to revive under the direction of Colonel Fernando de Magalhaes. 



In 1824 the administrator. Colonel Joaquin Ferreira, had the following 

 statement published in the Diario Fluminensedo Rio de Janeiro of the 25th of 

 February. 



Receipts. Expenses. 



£• s. d. £ s. d. 



Received from the Treasurer Four new slaves 191 14 7 



of the year 182+ 46 15 Expenses ordered and 



Received m gold 6,824 charges for the slaves 



drachms, converted into during a year 390 4 10 



corned moneyaccordmg to Expenses of mining 11.3 17 



the law, at 750 rees Premium of 5 per cent 83 15 4 



(*. Hrf.)-- 1.324 9 7 Dividend for the share- 

 Moreover, and coined ac- holders 827 4 4 



cording to the same law, Cash in hand..." ....".'.'.'."..".'.' 115 17 6 



.1,808diachmsat 750rees 351 9 



<£1,722 13 7 ^1,722 13 7 



Actual Fund. 

 Tliirty slaves worth, by 



valuation made in 1824.... 1,417 18 10 

 The Baron's engine esti- 

 mated at 25 



Fund of the Company token created. Buildings,Iavras, waters,&c, 724 19 2 



12,000,000 rees £3,105 £2,167 18 



By this exposition it will be seen that as soon as a better administration 

 directed the company's affairs, the fund of £2,167 1 Si. produced a profit of 

 £827 4.?. 4rf. From the price fixed for the Baron's engine, its advantage and 

 quality may be estimated. 



The above exposition will also show to England the benefits of mining in 

 Brazil, now that the old impolitic precautions no longer exist, and are 

 replaced by a good administration, in which lies all the secret of the machinery. 



I will here offer a few observations on the grant made to Mr. Oxenfort. 

 This gentleman has caused to depend upon imperial concession things which 

 had been long since accorded. Having once obtained permission to form his 

 company, it was not necessary to limit the ground he pretended to mine j 

 and, as each miner is free to sell his lavras to any person or society of 

 persons, why thus restrict himself, by submitting the matter to his Imperial 

 Majesty ? 



The concession by which the company were allowed to buy two abandoned 

 lavras was granted with a complete ignorance of what a lavra signifies*. It is 



* A Lavra is a portion of land granted by a Goardo Mor for mining. They are 

 generally of one, two, or more dattas, each datta comprizing above three hundred 

 quadratic cubicks. There are some persons who have ten or twenty dattas, and these 

 are the largest in all the province. Does Mr- Oxenfort, on two of those superficies, 

 intend to employ the whole capital of the company? Assuredly in two /ai-ras be 



3 F 2 ■ 



