The Sun.
London, England, 1842-11-02 00:00:00

THE MINES OF ALMADEN.

At the present moment, when the Minister of Fi-
nance awaits the decision of the capitalists , of Europe
respecting the loan of 40,000,000 of reals, which he
has proposed to secure the repayment of upon the
quicksilver of Almaden, a brief sketch of the present
state of those famous mines may be interesting to
our readers. It may be noted that this quarter of
the country is now the seat of an active warfare
against the brigands of Toledo and La Mancha, against
whom Brigadier La Corte is directing the exertions
of between 5,000 and 6,000 troops, and communica-
tion with Almaden is not very easy just now.
These mines have been worked for at least 22 cen-
turies as Theophrastus speaks of their renowned
cinnabar; and the Spanish engineers of the pre-
sent day have declared that their ascertained con-
tents are still so great, that they will afford a
yearly supply at the present rate of 22,000 quin-
tals for at least 500 years to come. One of the most
recent improvements consists in a return to ancient
workings in the grand valley of Sisapo described by
Pliny (that of Valde-Azogues), where the Romans
burrowed superficially, like so many rabbits (not
knowing how to extract the water if they sank deeper),
until they pulled down the side of the hill and com-
pletely interrupted their own scratchings. After
thirty years of toil, frequently interrupted by war and
want of funds, the present miners have hit upon the
original and almost untouched vein of fourteen feet in
breadth, and here also, as well as in Almaden and
Almadeuejas, their works are in full activity. They
are carried on in a very old-fashioned style, partly
from the natural difficulties connected with the loca-
lity, partly from the unhealthy nature of the work,
and partly from the great disinclination to change old
customs, which marks the Spanish character so
strongly. The isolation of the site may be judged of
from the fact, that the roads around are in the same
condition that they were in in the days of Theophras-
tus, that is to say, in a perfect state of nature, and
that the metallic produce is borne to Seville, a jour-
ney of between three and four days, a Imao ; that is,
literally, on the loins of mules, for carriages of any
kind are yet an unheard-of invention in those rocky
regions. The injurious effects of the labour on the
health of the miners are, indeed, serious and lament-
able. Formerly condemned felons were employed in
great numbers there, and even paid highly to induce
them to exert themselves ; but they did little excepting
mischief, setting fire to the mines in the year 1752, and
discrediting the honest calling of the miner. The ad-
ministradors long and loudly complained of their in-
efficiency, and of the want of willing, active, indus-
trious hands to carry on the work. The measures
adopted, in consequence, by the arbitrary Govern-
ment of that period were very characteristic of the
system which reduced Spain to the wreck of an em-
. .

pire without ships, colonies, commerce, or a dollar in
her treasury ; the free and guiltless peasantry of the
surrounding districts were impressed and driven per-
force to labour in the mines in society with felons !
This could not last, for human sympathies are
stronger than the caprices of courtly politi-
cal economists. The peasantry gradually continued
to run away and leave the mines to the care of the
felons and the barbarous Government that knew
not how to avail itself of the labour of free men. The
succeeding Ministry made, however, a "great step in
reform." Finding that the neighbouring peasantry
were, forewarned by experience, abandoning all con-
nexion with the mines from the dread of forced la-
bour, attempts at colonization were made, and indi-
viduals were induced to come from Arragon by the
promise of high wages and certain valuable privileges,
such as an exemption from taxation, both local and
public, from service in the army,&c. The Arragonese,
however, finding themselves :attacked by the serious
and unknown disease induced by working in the •
mercurial vapours, speedily abandoned their labours
and privileges and returned home again. The felons
were, therefore, still kept in requisition until the year
1801, when they were shipped off to the presidio at
Ceuta, exactly 49 years after they had set fire to the
mines and stopped the workings for a couple of
seasons ; during which extensive era (comprising two
generations) they had been endeavouring, unsuccess-
fully, to convince the Government that they were the
most unprofitable labourers in existence. At length
the revolution came, and with it glimmerings of the
unprofitableness of contending with nature. Now
the mines are all worked on the principle of free
labour, well paid and willingly exerted, under diffi-
culties and trials to health almost incredible.

FASHIONABLE INTELLIGENCE.

ARRIVALS.

W. C. Towers, Eiq., Mrs. and Miss Towers, at
Nelson's Hotel, Portland-place, from a tour; Major
Hobart and Mrs. Hobart, at ditto, from Exeter ; Mrs.
Puree' and G. Parcel, at ditto, from Calais ; George
Reid, Esq., and Miss Reid, at ditto, from Ostend; C.
G. Parker, Esq., at ditto, from Chelmsford, Essex.
DEPARTURES.

Mrs. Alleyne and Miss M'Culloch, from Nelson's
Hotel, Portland-place, for Oxford; Major-General
Monteath, from ditto, for Madras.

To TRAVELLERS.-Our excellent Make has just
given a great liberty to travellers, who can always get
their permits from one to four o'clock, every day, or
during the hour previous to the sailing of the steam-
ers, at their choice.—Boulogne Gazette.—[Better late
than never. The worthy Mayor ought to have done
this long ago.J
Thanks to Sir R. Peel's tariff, American cured
meats are placed within the reach of the poor of
llalifax, at very low prices; but are accompanied by
a vigorous competition, at proportionably low prices,
of fresh beef in our market. Last week no less than
61 fat beasts were slaughtered at the Halifax New-
market—an unprecedented number. The competi-
tion of the butchers has reduced the Halifax prices
about id. per lb.—Halifax Guardian.
The Russian Cabinet is said to be about to nego-
elate with Rome for a concordat.

The Rev. Mr. Kearney, the parish priest of Clane,
in the diocese of Kildare, who died last Wednesday,
left by his will 8,0001. to the Right Rev. Dr. Healy
for the College of Carlow ; 5001. to the poor of the
parish of Clane ; 3001. to the Society for the Propaga-
tion of the Faith ; and 2001. to the convent at Clane.

EXHUMATION OF Humax BONES.—The men en-
gaged in digging up that part of Oxford-street, for-
merly known as Oxford-road, threw up, on Monday
morning, two skulls and other bones, belonging to the
human species, but they were in such a decayed state,
that Mr. Coroner Higgs, after consulting with the
authorities, declined holding an inquest upon them, as
it would be impossible to say how the persons to whom
they belonged came by their death. The general sup-
position is, that where they were found formed a por-
tion of one of the old metropolitan burial places. The
bones were ordered to be deposited in the parish
churchyard.
PEDESTRIANISM.—A first-rate pedestrian match,
which drew together upwards of a thousand spec-
tators, took place on Monday in the Wandsworth-road.
It was a six-mile race, for 101. a-side, between Samuel
East and John Pink, two men who, although termed
novices, have before acquired some celebrity as walk-
ing men. The ground selected for the match was
from the_ two-mile-stone between the Goat's Head,
and the Stags, or Spring Wells Tavern, to the third
mile-stone and back (a mile out and a mile in), and
at three o'clock, the whole of the parties being on the
ground, the umpires and referee were chosen. Bet-
ting was in favour of East ; but there was a great
deal laid out at even that the winner would not ac-
complish the six miles under fifty-eight minutes. At
a quarter-past three the start took place. East took
the lead in going off and maintained it in the most
gallant style, never giving his opponent a shadow of
a chance, and winning, without being in the slightest
degree distressed, by nearly half-a-mile. He accom-
plished the distance in fifty-five minutes and a few
seconds, and exhibited in his style of walking con-
siderable freedom and excellence,
__
THE ARMY. —CHANGE OF REGIMENTS.-011 Mon-
day morning three companies of the 15th Regiment
of Foot, under the command of Captain Cuthbert.
marched from 'Windsor to Watford (a distance of up-
wards of 20 miles), where they were billeted for the
night. They proceeded yesterday, by railway, to
Birmingham, and thence to Manchester, where, it
is expected, the regiment will remain during the win-
ter. The 2d division, under the command of Major
Smith, left Windsor yesterday, proceeding to Man-
chester by the same route ; and the 3d or head quar-
ters division, commanded by Major Drought, will
leave Windsor to-day. The conduct of the men
during the several months the regiment has been in
prrison at Windsor has been, generally good, and
nearly equal to that of the men composing the regi-
ment it succeeded, the 72d, one of the best disciplined
corps in her Majesty's service.
CANAL BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC
OCEANS.—It has been decreed by the Congress of New
Grenada, that all the privileges which have heretofore
been given to the French and English, in opening a
canal through Panama, be forfeited and withdrawn,
' and the project of connecting the Atlantic with the
Pacific be thrown open to the competition of the whole
' ' world.