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Mines liave been abandoned through ill-advised disposition 

 of funds — too often niggardly forthcoming ; whilst, on the 

 other hand, good mines have been ruined through a desire to 

 grow suddenly rich, by which the future well-being of the mine 

 has been sacrificed for a temporary gain. Spain during its 

 commercial greatness passed wise laws regulating mining, 

 equitable and liberal, based on the principle that minerals are 

 sources of national wealth to benefit not only ourselves, but 

 future generations. According to Spanish law all exploitations 

 are to be carried on in such a way that future extension of 

 mining operations shall not be impeded by those in progress. 

 Fluctuations in the price of labour and other concomitant 

 circumstances largely determine the commercial value of the 

 mine, and under adversity there is a tendency "to pick the eyes 

 out of it," to use a miner's phrase, which must always be 

 detrimental to profitable work in the future. By the Sp'anish 

 law such an act would entail forfeiture of the mine. 



Is it a fact that the public are ignorant of the veriest 

 elementary principles of geology as applied to mining, or is it 

 only that so-called professional miners think so ? At any rate, 

 the latter must be true, if the former charge is repudiated, if 

 one may judge from the allegations so frequently made in 

 official reports of mines. To cite a few : — " Just touched 

 quartz rock, a certain indication of petroleum ; expect to strike 

 oil in the course of next week." " The reef from surface 

 indications promises to open out to a great width at about 15 

 or 16 fathoms," " Now down about 50 feet, but they do not 

 expect to strike oil until they reach a depth of 15*0 feet." 

 " 'Ernie,' on coal and petroleum, writing on the Pennsylvauian 

 mines, says that ' if a strata of mica, sulphur, and quartz is 

 gone through, that is a certain indication of oil,' and that is 

 precisely the strata the Company is passing through. We were 

 informed that some American petroleum prospecting experts 

 had visited the mine, and they stated that the indications were 

 the best they had ever seen, and they offered the Company 

 £10,000 for the lease, which was refused." A district in the 

 JN'orth was declared by a diamond- seeker, returned from Cape 

 Colony, to forcibly remind him of the appearance of the 

 country about the South African diamond-fields, and perforce 

 it must also be diamantiferous. Ecjually fallacious reasonings 

 have given us several coal-fields. Many other such misleading 

 statements might be quoted. In alluding to them I have no 

 intention to charge the authors with wilful deception ; some 

 have given an opinion to the best of their judgment, whilst 

 Avith others " the wish has been father to the thought." I have no 

 desire to disparage honest studious thought, but I must point out 

 the necessity of balancing honest thought witli a due weight of 



