130 



COMMERCE. 



known to abound in metallic riches of every kind. The at- 

 tention bestowed on them ought to correspond with this na- 

 tural privilege ; instead of which, many produ6live mines 

 have been unnecessarily abandoned, as is proved by the very 

 diminished consumption of quicksilver in Peru. 



It cannot be denied that the disposition of the lands, which, 

 from the summit of the Cordilleras, observe a constant de- 

 clination towards the sea, has frequently occasioned the inun- 

 dation of very extensive and distinguished tra6ls of mineral 

 territory. That the small produce of many mines, and the 

 low estimation of their ores, have occasioned them to be aban- 

 doned by their proprietors, who were not repaid the expences 

 of working them. And that the scarcity of hands, which has 

 been general in all the provinces, must necessarily have oc- 

 casioned a smaller extradtion, and a less assiduous culture. 



That many of the mines, to come at which deep excava- 

 tions have been made in the earth, are occupied by running 

 waters, is rather to be ascribed to the want of cultivation and 

 encouragement, than to any defectiveness of the soil. This 

 mischief may therefore be remedied by a certain share of in- 

 telligence, and a proper management. In the mean time, a 

 speedy compensation may be found, in the immense number 

 of those which present themselves in an unwrought state, in 

 the greater number of the mountains. If, in the case of others, 

 the inferior quality of the ores does not repay the expences of 

 refining, it is because, in Peru, metallurgy has been reduced 

 to a traditional pra61;ice, in which the waste has been greater 

 than the riches that have been colle6led. 



A century and a half have elapsed since this immense loss 

 was first lamented by a native writer, whose work i^ of high 



authority 



