"LEAD MINES, &c.~ BOOK II. 155 
% think, may be fairly questioned. It is just and wise, that mines 
of gold or silver, or of other precious minerals, whose value is 
Conventional or imaginary, should be reserved, or at least a pro¬ 
portion of them: but in ores of lead or iron, whose value depends 
on the labor bestowed on them, and which are besides intrinsi¬ 
cally useful, there should be no interference with individuals. 
In this country, where almost every tract, and for a great extent, 
contains mines, the reservation would be almost impracticable. 
I can no more approve of this reservation, than I do that of 
salines. I think they are contrary to correct principles in any 
government, and particularly in the United States. A just go¬ 
vernment will never enter into competition, either in trade or 
manufacture, with individuals. The individual in such cases, 
has to contend against fearful odds. There is a littleness in it 
degrading to the magnanimity of a great republic. 
By an act of congress, the governor of the territory is autho¬ 
rised to grant leases, of three years, to persons discovering lead 
mines, or salines. 
The manners of the workmen and of the persons engaged 
in the mining business, have been represented as barbarous in 
the extreme I am told, that a few years ago, there was a col¬ 
lection of worthless and abandoned characters, and that the dif¬ 
ferent mines were scenes of broils and savage ferocity; but the 
state of society, has greatly altered since that time. There has 
been some very atrocious acts committed lately, but it would be 
unfair to infer from these the general character of those engag¬ 
ed about the mines. There are many worthy and reputable 
men engaged in this business, and many respectable families are. 
scattered through the mine country. 
