MINING IN SOUTH AMERICA. 285 



while others oppose him which he has never been 

 accustomed to meet. 



6. In Cornwall, to drain the mines, steam-engines 

 can be procured at a short notice, and if, for any 

 particular object, a large body of men are required 

 for a few days, they can always be had ; also what- 

 ever tools, wood, iron, rope, &c., may be required, 

 can be obtained with a facility and punctuality 

 known only in England. In South America, from 

 the absence of water, the overpowering force of 

 steam is unnecessary, inapplicable, and its great 

 advantage is vmattainable. In case of unforeseen 

 difficulties requiring for a few days the assistance 

 of a large body of extra labourers, it would be 

 absolutely impossible to obtain them. Tools, iron, 

 and materials could only be procured with the 

 greatest possible difficulty. In many situations it 

 would be necessary to send several hundred miles 

 for materials. The purchaser would be assailed by 

 every endeavour and combination to defraud : they 

 would be delivered at a great expense of time and 

 money; and in a country in which contracts are 

 not understood, and time is of no value, there would 

 be the most serious delays and disappointments. 



