TIN MINING IN PERAK. 15 
project has now [1879] been consigned to the limbo of a good many 
official ideas of interest and importance, all alike more or less purporting 
to benefit the community and remunerate the State! The mining area 
has, since the idea was first entertained in 1874, increased largely and is 
still increasing.” 
In the year 1877, a memorable event in the annals of mining in 
Perak took place. The then British Resident, Mr. (now Sir Hugh) Low, 
purchased a steam engine and centrifugal pump for $4340 and had it 
put up at the Bun Hok Sing mine at Tupai, near Taiping. The success 
of this Government engine ‘induced Capitan Ah Kui to erect a to-horse- 
power engine, with a 6-inch Gwynne’s centrifugal pump, on the Kong 
Lun mine at Kamunting, and shortly afterwards to put up a second 
engine with an 8-inch pump, on the same mine, which was then the 
largest in the country. Other miners quickly followed the example set 
them, and the whole water difficulty was terminated at a very small cost 
to the Government, for the first engine was rented for some time and was 
then sold to the Chinese. 
It is rather a melancholy thing to have to say, but steam pumping is 
the only improvement that Europeans have been able to introduce into 
the Chinese system of mining. This is not because the Chinese will not 
adopt improvements, but simply because, taking all the circumstances into 
consideration, their system is as good as, if not better than, the European 
system. 
The recent history of tin mining in this State is, perhaps, best given 
by quoting some of the official statistics. For a long time Larut was the 
principal tin field, but since 1889 Kinta has taken the lead, producing 
annually more tin than any other district in the State. The following 
table gives the monthly export of tin from the year 1874 to the present 
time for the district of Larut, together with the duty collected on it, and 
its estimated value. The latter item is not to be considered as more 
than an approximation—it has been derived from official papers, but it 
would appear that the full market value has not been put on to the metal, 
nor has any allowance been made for the difference in weight between 
the Perak and the Penang pikul, which alone would make the prices 
seven per cent too low. ‘The major portion of the materials for this and 
the following table have been kindly furnished by Mr. Marples, the late 
State Treasurer, and Mr. Hewett, the present State Auditor. 
The total export of tin from Larut for the past 19 years comes to 
1,470,012 Perak pikuls, or 93,603 tons, of an approximate value of 
$43,903,700. As will be seen, in 1874 the export was only 11 5035 pikuls ; 
it then rose steadily to 126,999 pikuls in 1884; for five e years it remained 
at about 100,000 pikuls, and then declined to 71,973 pikuls in 1892. The 
duty collected on this tin comes to $5,572,002. The figures for 1875-6-7 
are not apparently recorded, but the sums put down are believed to be 
not much out. It will be observed that the monthly export fluctuates 
very considerably. This is caused by two things—firstly, the Chinese 
holidays, and secondly the rainfall. 
The statistics for Perak proper are unfortunately not Shane 
prior to the year 1876, and from then until 1880 the figures represent 
