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them of the real and effective labor which others might bestow on them, I ordain and command, that whosoever, during four successive months, shall fail to work any mine with (at least) four paid workmen, occupied in some exterior or inte rior work of real utility, shall, by so doing, lose all his right in said mine, which shall belong to any person denouncing it, upon his satisfactory proving, according to the provisions of chapter six, such act of desertion on the part of the owner. SEC. 14. Experience having shown that the provisions of the preceding section have been eluded by the artful and fraudulent practice of some owners of mines, who cause their mine to be worked during some days in cach [period of] four months, keeping them in this manner many years in their possession, I ordain that whosoever shall fail to work his mine in the manner prescribed by the said section during eight months in the year, counting from the day of his coming into possession, even though the said eight months should be interspersed with some day's or weeks of labor, shall by such labor forfeit the mine; and it shall be adjudged to the first person who denounces the same, and satisfactorily proves this second species of desertion; unless for this, or the one mentioned in the preceding section, there be just cause assigned, such as pestilence, famine, or war, in that same mining place, or within twenty leagues thereof.

SEC. 15. Considering that many mine owners who have formerly worked their mines with ardor and diligence, expending large sums in shafts, adits, and other undertakings, may often be obliged to suspend their operations while soliciting supplies, or for want of workmen, or necessary provisions, and other just and sufficient causes, which, combined with their former merit, render them worthy of equitable consideration, I declare that any such mine owner keeping his mine in disuse in the manner and for the time above mentioned shall not forfeit it at once in the manner described above, but his mine shall nevertheless be liable to denouncement before the respective new tribunals of miners, in order that, both parties having been heard, and alleged merits, and causes considered and proved, justice may be done between the parties.

SEC. 16. Since many mine owners abandon their mines either for the want of the capital necessary for carrying on operations therein, or because they do not choose to consume that which they may have already acquired from them, or because they have not spirit to venture on the difficulties of those undertakings, from which they may have conceived great hopes, or for other causes, and since persons are not wanting who might be desirous of taking such mines if they were informed of their intended abandonment, and as it is much easier to maintain a mine when in a course of working than to reinstate it after it has suffered the injuries of time, it is my will that no person shall abandon the working of his mine or mines without making the deputation of the district acquainted therewith, in order that the deputation may publish the same by fixing a notification on the doors of churches and other customary places for the information of all persons.

SEC. 17. In order to avoid the false or equivocal reports which are often spread concerning deserted mines, the consequence of which reports is to augment the distrust in which this profession is ordinarily held, deterring many persons from engaging therein who do not otherwise want inclination to follow it, I ordain :

SEC. 18. That no one shall abandon the working of his mine without giving notice to the respective deputation in order that an inspection may immediately be had thereof by the deputies, accompanied by the clerk and surveyors, who must examine and measure the mine, particularizing all its circumstances, and draw up a map describing its plan and outlines, which, together with all the necessary information, must be preserved in the archives, with liberty of access to all persons who may wish to see it, or to take a copy thereof.

CHAPTER XI.

SECTION 1. Inasmuch as mines are often worked by miners joined in companies, from the time of the denouncement of such mine, or according to contracts entered into subsequently in various ways, to the great advantage and improvement of the operations in mines, since it is much easier to engage therein when many persons concur, each subscribing a part of his capital; and as where the wealth of one alone is not sufficient for great undertakings, that of a united company may be ample; in such cases I desire and command that such companies, whether public or private, may be encouraged, promoted, and protected by all convenient measures, my viceroy granting to those who may form themselves into such companies every favor, aid, and exemption which can be granted them, according to the judgment and discretion of the royal tribunal of miners, and without detriment to the public or my royal treasury.

SEC. 2. Although by these ordinances I prohibit any individual mine-owners, working within the ordinary limits, from denouncing two adjoining mines on the same vein; yet, notwithstanding, to those who work in companies, although they be not the discoverers, and without prejudice to the right which they might derive from becoming discoverers, I grant the right of denouncing four new portions, or four deserted mines, even though they should be contiguous and on the same vein.

SECTION 12.

Books on California.-2. Table of distances.

1.-BOOKS ON CALIFORNIAN MINES.

California has been the subject of hundreds of books written since the discovery of gold; but most of them were notes of personal adventure, with a few rambling and vague remarks about the mineral resources and mining industry of the Pacific coast.

Nevertheless, although only a small proportion of the works published about the land of gold, the Californian contributions to mining literature are not unimportant; and when the State geological survey shall have completed its labors and published all its reports, it may safely be said that few countries have done so much in so brief a space of time to illustrate the metallurgy, mineralogy, and geology of the precious metals.

The following are titles of some of the books that treat of the mineral resources and mining industry of the coast:

To

Geology and Industrial Resources of California. By Philip T. Tyson. which is added the official reports of General Persifer F. Smith and B. Riley, including the reports of Lieutenants Talbot, Ord, Derby, and Williamson, of their explorations in California and Oregon, and also of their examination of routes for railroad communication eastward from those countries. Baltimore : 1851. 8vo., pp. 160.

Professor John B. Trask's Report on the Geology of the Sierra Nevada or California Range. Document No. 59, Senate of California. 1853. 8vo., pp. 30.

Report on the Geology of the Coast Mountains and part of the Sierra Nevada, embracing the Industrial Resources in Agriculture and Mining. By John B. Trask. Document No. 9, Senate of California. 1854. 8vo., pp. 90.

Report of a Geological Reconnaissance in California, made in connection with the expedition to survey routes in California to connect with the surveys of routes for a railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific ocean, under the command of Lieutenant Williamson, corps topographical engineers, in 1853. By William P. Blake, geologist and mineralogist of the expedition. New York. H. Bailliere, 1858. 4to, pp. 600.

Geology of North America, with two reports on the Prairies of Arkansas and Texas, the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico, and the Sierra Nevada of California, originally made for the United States government by Jules Marcon. Zurich, 1858. 4to, pp. 144.

General Report upon the Geological Collections of the Pacific Railroad Survey, by William P. Blake, geologist of the office of the United States Pacific railroad explorations and surveys. 4to, pp. 50. (In vol. iii of Explorations and Surveys for a Railroad Route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.) Report upon the Geology of the Route from San Francisco Bay to the Columbia River, by J. S. Newberry, M. D., geologist and botanist of the expedition. 4to., pp. 84. (In vol. vi of Explorations, &c., as above.)

Geological Report on the Route from San Francisco to Santa Fé, by way of the Coast and the Gila, by Thomas Antisell, M. D., geologist of the expedition. 4to., pp. 204. (In vol. vii of Explorations, &c., as above.)

Mining on the Pacific States of North America, by John S. Hittell. San Francisco, 1861. 18mo., pp. 224.

The Resources of California, comprising agriculture, mining, geology, climate, commerce, &c., and the past and future development of the State, by John S. Hittell; second edition, with an appendix on Oregon and Washington Territory. San Francisco, 1866. 12mo., pp. 494.

The Comstock Lode, its character, and the probable mode of its continuance in depth, by Ferdinand Baron Richthofen, (Dr. Phil.) San Francisco, 1866. 8vo, pp. 83.

Nevada and California Processes of Silver and Gold Extraction, for general use, and especially for the mining public of California and Nevada, with full explanations and directions for all metallurgical operations connected with silver and gold, from a preliminary examination of the ore to the final casting of the ingot ; also a description of the general metallurgy of silver ores. By Guido Kustel, mining engineer and metallurgist, former manager of the Ophir works, &c. Illustrated by accurate engravings. San Francisco, 1863. 8vo, pp. 330.

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