DECi I, 1 894. J 
THE TROPICAL AGRiCULTUKIS l\ 
3«5 
for co&tjc— and h3 gives instructs e facts and 
figures in a paper wl ion ne must quote la er on. 
COFFEE PLANTING IN MEXICO. 
The Editor of the " Inter-State Grocer," writing 
from St. Louis in the United States to effect 
an exchange of journals, gives us this piece of 
news : — 
Mr. Allan Black, — who informs me that he is a 
personal friend of yours — is writing a series of 
articles 011 coffee planting for our paper with the 
intention of interesting American investors in the 
Mexican Republic, and I am happy to state that he 
is meeting with a great deal of success and that there 
is a great deal of interest manifested by the capitalists. 
FLAN'lEllS' ADVANCES. 
The U. P. A. S. I. has now approached the Govern' 
ment of Madras on the subject of the jurisdiction 
difficulties that exist in those planting districts that are 
situated within the territories of Mysore, Travancore 
and Cochin, with regard to the recovery of advances 
from absconding maistries and contractors. The 
United Association has reminded the Government of 
representations made on behalf ot planters in the 
past, and has drawn attention to the heavy losses 
that occur in consequence of the absence of satisfac- 
tory protective measures. We have nothing to add 
to the arguments that have been stated in these 
columns may times. There can be no question that 
the planter has a real grievance in this rnatter. It 
is not too much to say that Government, by its 
inaction, deliberately connives at roguery on the part 
of cooly and maistry and contractor. But it is be- 
lieved that some fanciful ideas about Extradition 
and some other chimerical notions have deterred the 
Government of India from trying to remove the dis- 
abilities under which many planters in Southern India 
labour. That there u a way out of present troubles 
is certain. Everything depends, therefore, upon the 
will of the Government. — M. 2 imes, Oct. 23. 
MINES AND MINING IN CkYLON". 
In the last Report of the Government Agent of 
Sabaragamuwa attention is called to the fact 
that no provision is made by Government for 
the regulation of the working of mines in the 
island and that consequently numerous accidents 
occur in connection with plumbago and gem 
mining. This is a matter that should have the 
immediate attention of the Governor, for, though 
a law has been passed authorizing the Govern- 
ment to appoint persons to see to the safety of 
mines, no definite rules have been drawn up, 
and consequently every mine-owner does as he 
likes, even to the jeopardizing the lives of un- 
fortunate miners. 
The Mining Laws of Great Britain provide for 
the protection of boys under the age of 12 years, 
and will allow uo girls or women of any age to 
l>e employed in any mines below ground. Then, 
amongst other provisions, are regulations in respect 
of wages, number of shafts, division of mines into 
parts, certificated managers' returns, plans, notices, 
abandonments, inspection, arbitration, coroners, 
ventilation, a competent person to examine once, at 
least, in every twenty-four hours, the state of the 
external parts of the machinery, the state of the 
guides, &c, the fencing of every entrance not in 
actual use, safety lamps when necessary, fencing 
top and all entrances including sump, rate of 
winding when no automatic contrivance to pre- 
vent over winding, single-linked chain not to 
used for lowering or raising persons in 
working abaft, &c., &c. The Mining Laws of 
Great Britain are divided into 84 clauses, and 
some again into sub-clauses, for instance clause 
i7 it subdivided into 18 sub-clauses. Of course 
these laws are specially intended for coal mines ; 
but in the discussion which followed the reading 
of a paper on accidents in mines, by Sir Frederick 
Augustus Abel, before the Institution of Civil 
Engineers in London, Mr. George Seymour said 
he wished to speak rather as a metalliferous 
than as a coal mining engineer. Although the paper 
on which the discussion was founded was in 
every respect an admirable one as regards acci- 
dents in collieries, the author had, after all, 
only taken one side of the question since he had 
made no allusion to the frequent accidents, and 
grave loss of life which occurred from time to time 
in metalliferous mines. He then goes on to say that 
the proportion of accidents in 1886 in English 
coal mines, from falls of rock was 48 per cent, 
and in metal mines 32 per cent, so that after all 
the difference was not very great. Falls of roofs 
in collieries were not usually more numerous than 
in metalliferous mines. Mr. C. Le Neve Foster, 
in reference to deaths from accidents and diseases 
in metal mines, said he pointed out on more tlian 
one occasion in his official reports, and in papers 
read before the British Association and the Sta- 
tistical Society, that the ore miner had very 
nearly as dangerous an occupation as the collier, 
and that in some metalliferous districts, such as 
Cornwall, the average death rate from accidents 
was higher than in coal mines. In considering 
the well-being of a class of workmen, such as miners, 
it was necessary to look at the mortality from 
disease, as well as the mortality from accidents. 
It had been shown by Dr. Ogle that, in spite of 
accidents, the deathrate of coal-miners was not 
high. In order of comparative mortality, coal- 
mining stood 30th in the list of 94 occupations 
which he cited, whilst mining in Cornwall, was 
as low as 91, — that was to say only three of the 
ninety-four trades exceeded tin-mining in dead- 
liness. His late colleague, Mr. Frecheville, called 
attention to this fact in his report for 1885, and 
ascribed the high mortality to inadequate venti- 
lation and excessive climbing of ladders from 
deep mines. 
If in Great Britain, then, mining is deemed to be 
such a dangerous pursuit, what must it not be out 
here, where there are no laws, nor regulations, and 
no inspectors. Everything is subject to the cupidity 
of the mine-owner and if to save a few rupees 
he likes to risk the lives of his servants by bad 
ventilation, insecure ropes, chains, &c, who is 
there to care ? If the men die of disease, there is 
no record to show that these unfortunates were 
sacrifices to the Moloch of Avarice, or on the 
other hand if they are killed through a weak- 
ness in the materials used, the matter is hushed 
up as much as possible, so that no Go\ eminent 
officials shall hear of it. Here is the return — 
confessedly an imperfect one — from the latest 
Blue Book of the number of Mines and Gem Fits 
in the island : — 
No. of Mines in Ceylon in Each Province in 1893, 
(Compiled from the Blue Book.) 
Plumbago Gem 
Province. Mines and Pits. Mines and Pits. 
Western .. 201 .. — 
Central . . — . . — 
Northern . . — ■ . . — 
Southern .. 154 .. 20 
Eastern . . ■ — . . — 
North-Western .. 37 .. — 
North-Central . . — . . — 
Uva .. — .... — 
Sabaragamuwa . . 133 . . 151 
Total. . 525 .. 171 
Surely, it would be a simple matter to draw 
up a few pimple but absolutely needful regy. 
