336 president's address. 



and took a great interest in all that related to it, especially in 

 its journals. He died last month and left the Eoyal Institution 

 of Cornwall a clear gift of £1,000. 



And now Ladies and Grentlemen, I hoj)e you will bear 

 with me whilst I, very briefly complete, as it were, up to date, 

 the short history of what used to be one of the largest staple 

 products of this old county of ours, namely : Copper. 



In my address last year I gave figures which shewed that 

 twelve years before England (practically Cornwall) was pro- 

 ducing annually 6,280 tons of Metallic Copper out of a total 

 production of the world of 78,037 tons, or eight per cenb. In 

 1883, this had fallen to a little more than one and a half per 

 cent., and I regret extremely to say that 1884 shows a still 

 further reduction. In Messrs. Merton and Co.'s tables, the 

 production of the whole of England is placed at only 2,500 tons 

 out of a total production of the World of 211,613 tons, or a very 

 little over one per cent. (1.18%). The more we look into this 

 matter the more do figures show us how the richer deposits of 

 foreign lands — causing such vast ovei'-production in comparison 

 with the demand, is taking the trade away from, our own 

 country. Thirty years ago, in 1854, Cornwall produced 188,964 

 tons of ore, with a copper contents of 12,241 tons. In 1884, 

 this county produced only 39,096 tons of ore, containing 2,416 

 tons of copper, and in consequence of the enormously increased 

 production in other parts of the world the price had fallen from 

 an average of £6 8s. 6d. per ton of ore in 1854, to £3 Os. 6d. 

 in 1884. It is true that the low prices have greatly stimulated 

 the consumption of copper, and if there was a check to the 

 production there would no doubt be an advance, bat in my 

 opinion the high prices of former times can never again be 

 reached. The fact is that the production of the world has 

 increased enormously faster than the consumption in consequence 

 of gigantic sources of supply being constantly discovered. 

 Take for instance the United States of America, the production 

 of which continues to increase by leaps and bounds. Thirteen 

 years ago it produced 11,479 tons out of a total of 78,037 tons, 

 or 14-70 percent.; this last year (1884) it produced no less 

 than 69,950 tons out of a total of 211,613 tons, or 30-22 per 

 cent., not very far short of one third of the production of the 



