The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-09 00:00:00

The following reply has been given by the Treasury
to an inquiry as to the claims of the Crown in certain
cases upon gold and silver obtained from English

mines :

" Treasury Chambers, Feb. 7.
" Sir,—Having laid before the Lords Commissioners o,
her Majesty's Treasury your letter of the 21st ult., enclosing
another communication from Mr. Murchison, dated the
20th ult., inquiring whether the Crown asserts any right or
royalty in regard to either gold or silver, when found in
combination with ore containing other minerals, beyond
those contained and reserved in the Ist of William and
Mary, cap. 30, and the sth of William and Mary, cap. 6, I
am commanded by their Lordships to acquaint you that
the prerog g
ative rihts of the Crown extend to all mines of
gold and silver, and that these are usually termed Royal
mines,
" The exercise of the Crown's prerogative is, however,
restrained by the acts above-mentioned, as amended by the
act 55th of George 111., cap. 134, by which several enact-
ments it was declared that all mines of copper, tin, iron, or
lead, then or thereafter to be discovered, and being in the
possession of a subject, should remain in such possession,
notwithstanding that the said mines should be claimed to
be Royal mines. But it was expressly provided that the
Crown should be entitled to the pre-emption of the ore of
all such mines (other than tin ore in the counties of Devon
and Cornwall) upon paying to the proprietors of the mine
or mines wherein such ore might be found, within 30 days
after the ore should be raised and laid upon the bank, the
undermentioned rates, viz. : —For all ore, washed and made
clean and merchantable, wherein there is copper, 161. per
ton ; ditto, tin, 21. t-ditto, iron, V. ; ditto, lead, 251.
• "By these enactments the Crown's prerogative rights are
only affected in cases where gold and silver are found in
combination with copper, tin, lead, or iron, and the pre-
cious metals may be worked in these cases without a license
from the Crown. But if gold and silver are found in a
virgin state, secreted in rocks, or in combination with any
other metals or minerals than those specified in the act re-
ferred to, then the prerogative rights of the Crown remain
in full force, and the precious metals can only be legally
worked under a license to be granted under the authority
of a warrant from this board, in conformity with the pro-
visions of the Land Revenue Acts.
" A. license of this description has been recently granted
to Mr. Mansell to search for gold within the property of
Lord Poltimore, in the parish of South Molten, county of
Devon, and other applications of a similar character are
now the subject of negotiaticn with the departments of her
Majesty's land revenue.
" A. question is at present under the consideration of that
department as to whether it might not be beneficial both
to the Crown and the adventurers that, in lieu of the right
and pre-emption to which the Crown is entitled under the
acts referred to, the Crown should receive a certain royalty
or proportional part of the value of the gold and silver when
found in combination with other metals ; and my lords de-
sire me to refer you to the Hon. Charles Gore, the com-
missioner in charge of the land revenue, as to the terms on
which a license to work the precious metals can be granted
to them.—l am, So.,

JAMES WILSON.