202 A. R. Andrew—The Dolgelley Goild-belt. - 
forces. Readwin thinks that Bushell worked the mines chiefly for 
gold; that he paid Charles one-tenth as royalty, and lent him nearly 
all the remainder, and that it was not in the interests of either to 
say anything about it. 
At any rate, whether Bushell really worked gold or not, all know- 
ledge of the existence of the precious metal in Merioneth was lost, 
and it was not until quite recent times that any more was heard of its 
occurrence. The honour of the discovery or re-discovery was claimed 
by four persons, of whom Mr. Arthur Dean was, at any rate, the first 
to publish any definite account ; in 1844 he read a paper before the 
British Association (86) on the existence of gold at Dol-y-frwynog. 
Mr. Robert Roberts, of Dolgelley, however, claimed that he had 
discovered gold at Cwm-heisian in 1836 (40); he had had several 
samples assayed with highly satisfactory results, but believing that 
any gold-mine was a perquisite of the Crown (gold being a royal 
metal), he did not prosecute his investigations further till 1843; in 
the meantime he had informed Mr. Dean that gold and silver did 
occur in the county (37). Mr. O’Neill is supposed by some to have 
discovered gold at Cae Mawr in 1886 (40). ‘The fourth claimant to 
the honour was Mr. James Harvey, proprietor of the mines at Cwm- 
heisian, who appears in 1886 to have called in Mr. Dean to report on 
the mines. 
The gold-mining industry of the Dolgelley Belt, and of Merioneth- 
shire generally, may be said to have commenced in the year 1844. 
The first effort to raise capital to work the gold-mine was made in 
1846, but the idea of profitable gold-mining in Wales only led to 
ridicule from the investing public. In 1847 the North Wales Silver, 
Lead, Copper, and Gold Mining Company, with a capital of £125,000, 
was floated to work the lodes of Vigra, Clogau, Tyddyn-Gwladys, 
and Dol-y-frwynog; this Company paid most attention to copper, but 
before 1849 the veins at Cwm-heisian had been thoroughly tested for 
gold; 300 tons of ore had been milled, and from the resultant 
102 tons of concentrates 72 pounds of gold had been obtained, worth 
approximately £350 (41). 
Throughout early years the Mines Royal Corporation was a constant 
obstacle to the progress of the gold-mining industry. This Corpora- 
tion, by virtue of letters patent granted in Elizabeth’s reign, claimed 
a monopoly of all gold and silver mines in the Principality. After 
a great amount of litigation a compromise was finally effected, and 
the Mines Royal Corporation accepted a royalty, which amounted to 
5 per cent. of the gross output in the case of private lands and 
10 per cent. in the case of Crown lands. 
Stimulated no doubt by the gold discoveries of California and 
Australia, Wales in 1853 experienced a boom of the usual description, 
gold being reported from any and every part of the country. The 
mines worked during this period were mostly in the upper reaches of 
the Afon Mawddach, near to the old mines of Cwm-heisian and 
Tyddyn-Gwladys. Gold was found at this period in an old dump at 
the Vigra Mine by Messrs. Parry & Goodman, of Dolgelley (42), and 
also at the Prince of Wales Mine on the north side of the Mawddach 
estuary, immediately opposite the Penmaenpool railway station. In 
