50 On the Tin of the Province of Mergui. 



One ditto ditto, 1265 grains of ditto ditto, Specimen No. 3, equi- 

 valent to 2 oz. and 31 grains of pure tin. 



One ditto" ditto, 1785 grains of ditto ditto, Specimen No. 4, equi- 

 valent to 2 oz. and 430 grains of pure tin. 



One hour's work apart from the above, 8166 grains of ditto 

 Specimen No. 5, equivalent to 13 oz. and 160 grains of pure tin. 



Total of half a day's work including the above, 25,406 grains, equi- 

 valent to 2 lbs. 9 oz. and 232 grains of pure tin. 



Specimen No. 6, contains of the latter 13,149 grains. 



The price of labour in this province is six annas per day. 



10. The produce of a day's labour of two men would be, according 

 to the above trial, equivalent to 5 lbs. 2 oz. and 464 grains of pure tin, 

 at the cost of 12 annas, exclusive of the expenses of reduction to the 

 metallic state. This process, from the pure state of the mineral, is 

 extremely simple and inexpensive. The tin collected in the trough 

 would require one more washing to remove particles of sand, &c. 

 and charcoal is the only fuel required for its reduction. The 

 pieces or ingots of tin, in the shape of the frustrum of a cone, 

 Specimens Nos. 7 and 8, which are manufactured at the Rehgnon 

 mines on the Pak Chaw river to the southward, and exchanged 

 there for goods at 4 annas each, weigh 1 lb. 2 oz. and 383 grs. ; and 

 their value at Mergui, where the average price of tin is 85 rupees per 

 100 viss of 364 lb. is 4 annas 4 pie. The value therefore of 5 lbs. 

 2 oz. and 464 grains or the day's work of two men would be one 

 rupee eight annas four pie. The cost of collecting being 12 annas, 

 leaves 12 annas and 4 pie for the cost of the reducing process, and 

 for profit on the labour of two men. 



11. On the morning after reaching the Thabawliek, I traced the 

 tin ground for a mile in a N. N. E. direction. The pits are in some 

 parts more abundant than in others ; and I was informed that they 

 occurred and were thickly scattered throughout the entire course of 

 the river, between that point and the hills from which it issued, at 

 the distance of an entire day's journey if the windings of the river 

 are followed. 



12. The pits have not been worked since the Burmese took pos- 

 session of the country. At the head of the stream, there are said to 

 be the remains of bunds constructed for distributing water for wash- 



