New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-19
BRITISH GOLD MINES.
VARIOUS DISCOVERIES MADE FROM AN
GENT TIMES DOWN TO THE PRESENT.
From The London Evening Standard.

From The London ENeHlnS StdHudIu
Every six months or so the British public Is
startled bv a report that gold in workable guam
titles has been found in some part or other 81
Great Britain. There was a rumor OF TINS KIN :
respecting a gold and silver mine in the Isle 81
Man some short time back, and at the date OF
writing there Is another rumor Of this variety
due But i'm the matter Of results those 81 the
Isle Of Man mine do not appear to nave DeeH
very great for the public has heard niue or
nothing Of it since. The rumor Will probaoIy.
like the one before it, which related 10 ne"
mine il. Wales. die a natural death. ana ihrir
Is every likelihood that the next VIII he IKE
unto it, and also the next after that In rae
every riirnor Of the kind this century. WITH only
one solitary exception, has demised IN the same
way. =, -,
discovery Of which was believe. due to
Prtchard Morgan, VI. F. This. from All ac-
counts. was a really valuable ma ana one
which would have returned very handsome
rrodts indeed had il not been for the Govern
inent exercising its rights and claiming roya y
on the output. Wales, however, abounds IN Soid'
though in so scattered a state as 10 ne uH""ih-
aiIe put at one time there was plenty Of the
nrecious metal in a sufficiently cpncentrated
form to attract the Phnnicians, VINO dd ho'
come to England only for tin, copper ana l'dI,
but for gold also. and for anything else th'y
could find Nor did this race cOniine their eHoits
to such mines as the Poltimore and the Oogai@h,
i'm C'armarthenshire. with the silver producing
lad oros Of Cornwall. They We're very probably
the original workers of the mines at l-aharh'
which we're afterWard worked by the Romans
i'm the time Of CommOdus. These mines Were
very extensively worked, and one can even trace
more or less the method Of working from the
galleries cut in the rock. They were so shaped
that one man could walk along them carrying 4
basket Of ore his head but we DO not Know
what method of extraction was used. The who.e
mine is surrounded by Roman camp and is
intersected by a Roman road.
THE ROMAN RECORDS.
But the Romans knew long before the time Of
Commodus that gold in fairly plentiful quantl-
ties was to be found in Britain. In Tacitus :
Life of AgricOla" we read: "Fert Britannia
alllrlm ct argentum ct ALA metalla, preuum
Victoria gignt ct oceanus marGarita. sed Cd
fusca ct liventia." etc There was once plenty or
gold comparatively speaking. in Essex, for at
Camelodunum gold coins were once struck made
from metal found in the district All over Eng
land and Wales too, the British barrows which
have been opened have usually contained artl-
Giles Of gold such as breastpates, handles OF
swords ard so forth; while in Ireland there was
found in 1sJ4 large collection of solid golden
brcastplates brides. gorgets, etc. the intrinsic
value of which amounted to over t2OOOo, these
being probably the spells of some battle hidden
until a more convenient time should arise 10 re-
move them and left there through the death Of
the hider and his secret at the same time.
The county Of Westmorelard has for long
time past been known gOld-bearns district.
According to Mr.. Calvert, who is an authority
upon auriferous Britain, the chief localities
are Godscroop. Borrowdale, Rullermere, HlSh
Ireley BassenthWate Keswick and Coldbuck-
i'm almost every part of the county. This beng
so il is not at all impossible that there is rich
deposit somewhere which has not yet been dis
covered. and that an expert pocket miner
might perhaps reap 4 rich harvest by llttc
iudicious prospecting. Scotland has plenty OF
gold in it, and it has been worked in hts ana
starts for over two thousand years. The Duke
Of Sutherland recently made an attempt to work
the Kildonan mines, and. though the amount or
success attending his efforts has not been made
public ii was probably not very great. or 1t
would have been heard about Still, the district
was at one time exceedingly rich in gold. In the
Clydesdalc district alone there were recovered
In the reign Of James Of Scotland no less than
100 600 ounces. the value of which amounted to
nearly 5000 600. this being all obtained in small
grains by washing" the clyde and its tribu-
tares The bulk Of Scottish gold IS in this form,
the largest nugget found weighing only twenty
seven ounces and being at present in the Hope
toun collection.
AN EARLY GOLD CRAZE.
In 1862 there happened To be great gold
craze. and a German company obtained lease
Of the district for a period Of forty years, It's
object being to find gold and other precious