654 



Europe annually, from Portugueze America. 

 If, in commercial value, gold in grains prevails 

 in the republic of Columbia over the value of 

 other metals, the latter are not on that account 

 less worthy to fix the attention of government, 

 and individuals. The argentiferous mines of 

 Saint Anne, to Manta, Santo Christo de las 

 Laxas, Pamplona, Sapo, and la Vega de Sapia, 

 give rise to great hopes. The rapidity of the 

 communications between the coast of Colum- 



only as 1794, when the quinto do ouro of Brazil was 53 ar~ 

 robas, which indicates a product of more than 3900 kil. 

 paying the quint. In the important work of Mr. Tooke (on 

 high and low prices, P. II, p. 2), this product is still esti- 

 mated, mean year (1810 — 1821), according to Mr. Jacob, 

 at 1,736,000 piastres j while, according to official documents 

 in my possession, the mean of the quint of those ten years 

 amounts only to 15 arrobas, or a product quint of 1095 

 kilogrammes, or 755,000 piastres. Mr. John Allen had al- 

 ready reminded the Committee of the Bullion Report, in his 

 critical notes on the table of M. Brongniart, that the de- 

 crease of the product of the gold-washings of Brazil had 

 been extremely rapid since 1794 (Report, p. 44) j and the 

 notions given by M. Auguste de Saint Hilaire indicate the 

 same desertion of the gold-mines of Brazil. The antient 

 miners become cultivators (Hist of the most remarkable 

 plants of Brazil and Paraguay, 1824, Introd., p. 9, and 32). 

 The value of an arrobe of gold is 15,000 cruzades of Brazil, 

 (each cruzade being 50 sols.) According to M. Franzini, the 

 the Portugueze on^a is equal to 0,028 kil., and 8 oncas 

 make 1 mark ; 2 marks make 1 arratel, and 32 arratels make 

 1 arroba. 



