Account of the Gold and Silver Mines of Hungary. 18 
In these extensive courses there are twelve royal mines, which 
extend over a space of about 2200 toises by 900, or nearly 1200 
English acres, besides a number belonging to private individuals, 
who are obliged to dispose of all the ores they obtain to the 
royal smelting works at a fixed rate. The whole of these mines 
have a communication with each other at what is called the 
Emperor Francis’s adit or level, at the depth of 180 toises, or 
nearly 200 fathoms, which is the lowest point at which they 
have hitherto been able to give the water a free egress:—to this 
therefore they are obliged to raise all which collects in the deeper 
workings. The whole length of this subterraneous canal from 
the valley into which it opens, is said to be above twelve miles. 
_They have for the last thirty years been at work upon a new 
water-level at a considerably greater depth than this, to be called 
after the Emperor Joseph. It opens into the river Gran, and 
is supposed to be the lowest possible level at which the water 
can be drawn off. Although it is as yet far from being finished, 
some of the mines have already experienced benefit from it. 
Owing to several causes, the returns from these mines are by 
no means so regular as they formerly were. This arises partly 
from the actual exhaustion of the minerals, and in part from 
the financial circumstances of Austria, which are supposed to 
render it unable to carry on the works with the former ardour, 
and more particularly prevent it from paying the private mining 
companies with sufficient liberality to encourage their exertions. 
According to the usual stipulations, these private adventurers 
are to deliver their ores in a state fit for the smelting furnaces, 
and to receive 19 florins and 12 (equal to about 2/, 8s. ster!.) 
for every mark (eight ounces) of pure silver, which is in fact worth 
twenty-four florins of the silver currency of Austria; but under 
the present circumstances (April 1815) when the paper cur- 
rency is depreciated to about one-fourth in value of the silver 
currency, these companies are paid 91& florins in silver, and the 
other moiety in paper, which reduces their reimbursement to 
Jess than twelve florins in silver currency per mark. The conse- 
guence is, that they do no more work than is just sufficient to 
preserve an undisputed right to their mines; for, by the mining 
laws, any person who discovers ore on a part of the mountains 
not yet appropriated as a mine, may work it for his own advan- 
tage; but if he fail to dig a certain small quantity every fourteen 
days he loses his right, and any other person may possess himself 
of it. 
The result actually is, that where before the Turkish and 
French war there were nearly 100,000 marks, that is 50.000 
pounds (of sixteen ounces) weight of silver brought in the course 
of a year into the mint at Kremnitz, the average quantity does 
not 
