The Sun.
London, England, 1867-06-17 00:00:00

THE SILVER jIIINT OF Jul PAN.

If we could gain admission to the Silver Mint at
Yeddo we should see the following process contin-
ually going on. A lump of silver of the necessary
fineness, obtained either from the Government
mines or by melting down Mexican dollars, is placed
in an iron ladle and reduced to a molten state by
means of a charcoal fire and a pair of blacksmith's
bellows. It is then poured into a mould, from
which it is taken out in the shape of thin rectangu-
lar bars, which are immediately thrown into a
tub of cold water. On being taken out, a man
seated on the ground shears off with a pair
of large fixed scissors all jagged pieces adher-
ing to the angles. They are now handed to
another man, who weighs them one by one, and a
piece is cut off, if necessary, to reduce the bar to its
proper weight. The next process is that of divid-
ing the bar by a fixed pair of shears into eight
equal portions of the size of ichibus ; this is done by
a workman cutting it as accurately as his practised
eye will enable him, and his work is tested by
weighing, light pieces being rejected, and the heavy
ones reduced to their proper weight by the scissors.
The pieces are now heated white hot in a charcoal
fire,.plunged into water, boiled, and washed in a
kind of brine, from which they come out with a
moderately bright surface. They are next very
slightly milled on the two sides, and more deeply on
the edges, by means of a milled hammer. They are now
ready for stamping. A man places one of the pieces
on a stationary die, and lays on the top the other
die ; a second man, armed with a huge hammer,
gives one blow on the upper die, and the coin is
struck. The blows are dealt in rapid succession,
and the whole scene reminds one of a blacksmith's
shop. Boys now punch small stars on the edges by
means of chisels and hammers. The coins are
weighed one by one for the last time, and the light
ones rejected. The Imperial stamp is added by
means of another stamped chisel and mallet, and
the coins are complete. They aro rolled up in
paper packets of 100 ; each packet is weighed
and marked with a seal, which serves
as a guarantee of its contents, and gives
it currency as 100 ichibus While every
operation is performed in this primitive manner, per-
fect order prevails in the establishment ; every man
goes through his portion of the work in silence and
with the regularity of clock work, and many
evince considerable skill. There are about 300
hands employed in the building. When the men
enter in the morning they are made to divest them-
selves of their own clothes, and put on others be-
longing to the Mint. At the end of the day's work
a gong sounds, when the somewhat curious spectacle
is prennted of 300 men springing from the ground
on which they had been seated, throwing off their
clothes, and rushing, a naked throng, to one end of
a yard. Here they pass through the following ordeal
in order to prove that they have no silver on them:
Their back hair is pulled down and examined, they
wash their hands and hold them up to view, they
drink water and then halloa; and, lastly, they run
to the other end of the yard clearing two or three
hurdles on their way ; after which performance
they are allowed to put on their own clothes and
depart. Mr. Sidney Locock, Her Majesty's secre-
tary of legation, from whose report of this year
these statements are taken, believes that the Mint
has been only twice entered by foreigners, and
states that the apparent absence of all restrictions
with regard to touching and handling the coins
points to the probability that it is not often
open to the public ; but he remarks that even if it
were the manners and customs of the country are
not such as would preclude a mixed assemblage of
visitors from going ever it and remaining to the end.
The quantity of silver being coined daily at the be-
ginning of this year was 50,000 momme, which, at
the rate of 2.3 momme to the ichibu, would give a
daily total issue of over 21,000 bus, or about
£1,500. The whole of these are produced by the
simplest manual labour, unaided by a single piece
of machinery.

DREADFUL 0C C URRENCE.—During the past
week a very melancholy occurrence took place a short dis-
tance from Limerick. A Mr. Cunneen, who had advertised
his farm for sale at Gamheen, died after a few days' illness,
and his wifo was so affected as to eventually become in-
sane, and she was heard to say that if the youngest child,
aged four months, were placed on the fire, her husband's
soul would go to heaven. A few days ago, while the ser-
vant was out on business, Mrs. Cunneen, labouring under
insanity, took the child from the cradle, placed it on the
fire, and heaped burning coals on it, and was caught in
that act by the servant. The child was afterwards
brought into Limerick, where, though attended by Dr
Bourke, it died ; and an inquest was held subsequently by
John Gleeson, Esq., and a jury, who, returning a verdict
in accordance with the facts, pronounced the woman in-
sano. She is detained in the county gaol.

SUDDEN DEATH IN TILE TOWER.—.Ou Saturday
last, in front of the bar canteen, Tower, a soldier offered a
pot of porter to any man who would allow him to bit four
blows on the chest. The offer was accepted by a comrade
named J. Coyne, who was drinking also in front of the
bar, and who opened his jacket, at the same time showing
his bare breast. At the third blow Coyne fell back speech-
less. Ile was taken to the hospital, where he died on
Monday morning. An inquest was held on Tuesday, when
a verdict was returned, "Died from enlargement of the
heart caused by excessive drinking."— United Serrice
Gazette.

FATAL ACCIDENT.—About 8 o'clock on Saturday
evening a shocking accident occurred at the Ludgate-hill
Railway Station. The stoker of a Great Northern train
that was coming up the incline from Farringdon-street
noticed that the metals were slippery, and he stepped off
the engine for the pnrpose•of throwing sand upon them.
He was knocked down by the engine, and fell underneath
the wheels, which passed over him. He was not missed by
tho engine driver until after the train had entered the
Ludgate-hill station. His body was then discovered by
some of the railway mon lying dead across the metals. His
body was frightfully mutilated. A plank was procured
and the body having been placed upon it was carried to
St. Bride's deadhouse, where it will remain until after the
inquest. The unfortunate man was about 35 years of age.
COLLIERY EXPLOSION.--A frightful colliery ex-
plosion occurred on Wednesday at the Beaufort colliery,
Penclawdd, the property of Messrs. Richards and Glas-
brook. Two bodies had been found by 6 p.m., but it is
feared that a number of lives have been lost.
A " DUMMY."—A young woman, carrying what
was apparently an infant in her arms, was arrested the
evening before last for begging on the Boulevard St.
Michel. The baby was then found to be a mere make-up,
formed of a roll of paper and pasteboard covered with
clothes.

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