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

EN GLISH MINES.

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 of
ber 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 lst 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 prerogative rights 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) ttpou paying to the proprietors of the mine
or mines wherein such ore might be found, within 30 days
after the ore should be raise,t 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. ditto, iron, 2/. ; ditto, lead, 25/.
" 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 t o, 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 Molton, 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, &c.,
" G. Moffat, Esq., M.P., &c."

JAMES WILSON.

THE SUBMARINE AND EUROPEAN TELEGRAPH COM-
PANT.—The usual half-yearly general meeting of the
proprietors in this undertaking.was held yesterday, at
the London Tavern, for the purpose of receiving the
report and upon other business ; Lord de Manley pre-
sided. The chairman read the report, which stated that
the telegraph between Dover and Ostend has now been
in uninterrupted communication since the 20th of June
last, and since that period the agreement between this
company and the Submarine Telegraph Company has
taken effect. The Queen's Speech at the opening of
Parliament was conveyed to Paris and Berlin before her
Majesty left the Palace of Westminster, and experiments
have been made which prove that no town in Europe
where a line of telegraph exists is beyond the reach of
immediate communication by the submarine wires from
London. The number of messages transmitted during
the month of January, 1852, after the opening f
o
the French line, was 1,068 ; in January, 1853, 2,018 ;
and in January, 1854, the number had increased to
3,120. This increase has been maintained in spite of
active opposition and the comparative stagnation of all
commercial affairs from the unsettled aspect of the poli-
tical horizon. The present position of the company's
finances enables the directors to recommend a e
dividensix
d
at the rate of 8 per cent. per annum for th last
months, on the capital of 75,000/. He concluded by
moving that the report be printed and circulated
amongst the proprietors. The motion, having been
seconded, was carried nent. con. A resolution for the
adoption of a dividend at the rate of 8 per cent. per
annum for the last six months was carried. Mr. Foster
moved, and Captain Carnagie seconded, a resolution to
the effect that 8001. be presented to the directors for
their past services, and that 6001. be the annual remune-
ration for them in future. To this an amendment was
moved, that the sum of 2001. from the reserve fund Ile
voted to the directors for their past services. The
amendment, having been put, was carried unanimousl
A vote of thanks to the chairman and directors colll
• eluded the business.

" Seamen gunners, who are men trained in the Excel-
lent, receive 2d. per day in the first class, and ld. per day
in the second class, in addition to all other pay of their
ratings. Mechanics and artificers have higher rates of pay
than the first and second class petty officers, and have also
from 2d. to 3d. per day additional for tools Petty officers
of all classes wear distinctive badges on the left arm, and
are entitled, on their ship paying off, to gratuities varying
from U. 13s. 4d. to 71., depending on the rating and the
time the ship has been in commission. Badges for good
conduct not only distinguish the most efficient and best
conducted, but give them substantial advantages in the
shape of pay. Thus, with one badge or gold stripe on the
arm, an able seaman would be entitled to 2s. 7d.; with
two badges, to ss. 2d. ; and with three badges, to 7s. 9d.
per month, or 41. lls. 3d. per year, which, in addition to
the wages of a continuous service man, would be alto-
gether 33/. 9s. 2d. per year. It is the continuous service,
or entry for 10 years, that henceforth offers such induce-
ments for entering the navy, for it enables the seaman to
embrace that branch of his profession which hold out the
most advantages without risk of disappointment. The re-
gulations for continuous service do not, however, preclude
the entry of seamen for the usual period in particular
ships ; but all who enter can be retained for five years, and
in the latter case it will be seen by the annexed table that
the wages are less. At the end of 10 years' service—rec-
koning from 18 instead of 20 years of age as heretofore—
the continuous service man may, or discharge, receive a
pension of 6d. a-day, or 91. 4s. per year ; after 15 years'
service, a pension of Bd. a-day, or 121. 4s. per year ; and
after 20 years' service, a pension of from 10d. to is. 2d. a-
day (average ls.) or 181. or 191. per year. Petty officers
and leading seamen's pensions are proportionally greater ;
so that the man-of-war's man may, at the ages of 28, 33,
and 38 respectively, have earned a pension varying from
91. 2s. 6d. to 401. per year, according to his rating ; and if
called on to serve in the fleet, in the event of `'an arma-
ment or war,' he will receive his pension in addition to his
pay ; and he will enjoy this for life, being at the same time
at liberty to earn what he can in the merchant service, or
any other employment. The pension, after 20 years' ser-
vice, is certain; but the pensions for 10 and 15 years' ser-
vice are granted at the discretion of the Admintlty ; and as
it is to be expected that, with the inducements now offered,
the navy will never henceforth want volunteers, the oppor-
tunity will occur for maintaining a reserve of some thou-
sands of these short-service pension-men well skilled in
naval duties, under obligation to serve when called upon,
should the necessity arise, but at liberty to follow their
inclination in all other respects. Let us now consider the
naval victualling. It will be seen by the scale annexed,
that it is most liberal ; and stringent measures have lately
been adopted by the Board of Admiralty to insure that the
articles supplied shall be of good quality :

CONCLUDED BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TURKEY ON irEE 26TH
JUNE (BTH JULY), 1833, AND COMMUNICATED TO THE
BRITISH GOVERNMENT BY THE PRINCE OE LIEVEN ON
THE 16TH OF JANUARY, 1834.
Art. 1. There shall be for ever peace, amity, and al-
liance between his Majesty the Emperorof all the Russias
and his Majesty the Emperor of t!le Ottomans, their
em-
pires and their subjects, as well as land as by sea. This
alliance having solely for its obje,:t tlt3 common defence of
(heir dominions against all attack, their Maje,ties engage
to come to an unreserved understanding with each other
upon all the matters which concern their respective trail:
quality and safety, and to afford to each other mutually
for this purpose substantial aid, and the most efficacious
assistance.
2. The treaty of peace concluded at Adrianople on the
2,1 of September, 15:9, as well as all the other treaties
comprised therein, as also the convention signed at St.
Petersburg on the 14th of April, 18.-;0, and the• arrange-
ments relating to Greece concluded at Constantinople on
the 9th (21st) July, 1832, are fully confirmed by the pre-
sent treaty of defensive alliance, in the same manner as if
the said transactions had 'been inserted in it, word for
word.

3. In consequence of the principle of conservation and
mutual defence, which is the basis of the present treaty
of alliance, and by reason of a most sincere desire of
securing the permanence, maintenance, and entire indt-
penden3e of the Sublime Porte, his Majesty the Emperor
of all the Russias, in the event of circumstances occurring
which should again determine the Sublime Porte to call
for the naval and military assistance of Russia, although,
if it please God, that case is by no means likely to happen,
engages
.to furnish, by land and by sea, as many troops
and forces as the two high contracting parties may deem
necessary. It is accordingly agreed, that in this case the
land and sea forces, whose aal the Su:ilinie Porte may call
for, shall be held at its disposal.
4. In conformity with what is above stated, in the event
of one of the two Powers requesting the assistance of the
other, the expense only of provisioning the land and the
sea forces which may be furnished shall fall to the charge
of the Power who shall have applied for the aid.
5. Although the two high contracting parties sincerely
intend to maintain this engagement to the most distant
period of time, yet, as it is possible that in process of time
circumstances may require that some changes should be
made in this treaty, it has been agreed to fix its duration
at eight years, from the day of the exchange of the Im-
perial ratifications. The two partios, previously to the
expiration of that term, will concert together, according
to the state of affairs at that time, as to the renewal of the
said treaty.
6. The present treaty of defensive alliance @hall be rati-
fied by the two high contracting parties, and the ratifica-
tions thereof shall be exchanged at Constantinople, within
the space of two months, or sooner if possible.
SEPARATE AND SECRET ARTICLN TO THE PRECEDING
TREATY OF ALLIANCE, ALSO COMMUNICATED TO THE
BRITISH GOVERNMENT BY THE PRINCE OF LIEVIN, ON
THE 16TH OF JANUARY, 1834.
In virtue of one of the clauses of the first article of the
patent treaty of offensive alliance concluded between the
Imperial Court of Russia and the Sublime Porte, the two
high contracting parties are bound to afford to each other,
mutually, substantial aid, and the most efficacious assist-
ance for the safety of their respective dominions. Never-
theless, as his Majesty the Emperor of all the Russia',
wishing to spare the Sublime Ottoman Porte the expense
and inconvenience which might be occasioned to it by af-
fording substantial aid, will not ask for that aid if circum-
stances should place the Sublime Porte under the obliga-
tion of furnishing it, the Sublime Ottoman Porte, in the
place of the aid which it is bound to furnish in case et need
according to the principle of reciprocity of the patent
treaty, shall confine its action in favour of the Imperial
Court of Russia to closing the Strait of the Dards.nellee—
that is to say, to not allowing any foreign vessel of war to
enter therein under any pretext whatsoever.
The present separate and secret article shall have the
same force and value as if it was inserted word for word in
theD torneeatayt oefoailslitaannctie.noofptihe i:sthdea2ny_
(the 20th of the moon Safer, i
t ht
hJeu nie24(B9tt hh
yJeualry )0,
fltB33he
Hegira).

(L. S.) Cte ALEXIS Ontoyr.
(L. S.) A. BOUrICNEFF.