the differences in principle are more apparent than real, and that all the important legislations connect themselves more or less with certain principal types, which are themselves distinguished from one another by sufficiently distinct characteristics. These legislations have grown up by degrees in the different countries, being based in most cases upon custom supplemented by the written law; but they have to a great extent been put into shape and expanded during the present century-a fact which is probably attributable in great measure to the immense development of mining enterprise which has followed upon the general adoption of steam-power and the establishment of railways. The principal types before referred to are, it seems to be generally admitted, capable of being reduced to three.

A. The first of these is spoken of by French authors as the system of "accession," under which (as in England, except as regards royal mines) the minerals accede to or go with the ownership of the surface.

B.-The second is called by French authors the "domanial" system, under which the mines belong to the State, with the right of working them itself, or of disposing of them to the highest bidder as it thinks proper. This system prevails in parts of Italy and in Luxemburg.

C. The third system is called by French authors the regalien" system, and is that system under which the State does not work the mines itself, or dispose of them to the highest bidder, but confers the privilege of working and also the property in the mines upon certain persons, who must deal with such mines under established regulations and pay a tax to the State. This is, in fact, the system of "concession," which prevails in France and most of the other countries of the European continent. There are, however, various subdivisions of the last-mentioned system, depending upon the mode in which the concessions are granted.

1. AS REGARDS THE PERSON TO WHOM THEY ARE GRANTED e.g., the discoverer (as in Germany), the first applicant (as in Spain), at the discretion of the Government (as in France), or the owner of the surface having a right of preference (as in Belgium and parts of Italy).

2. AS REGARDS THE PERIOD FOR WHICH THE CONCESSIONS ARE GRANTED—e.g., in perpetuity (as in France), or for terms of years (as in Turkey), or

3. AS REGARDS THE SUBSTANCES TO WHICH THE CONCESSIONS EXTEND-e.g.,

(a) To all the substances reserved from the ownership of

the soil within the area to which the concession extends (as in Spain and Austria), or

(b) To the substance specified in the act of concession alone (as in France and Germany).

And there are many other differences which may perhaps be considered rather as constituting differences of detail than of principle.

The differences which are admittedly only differences of detail are also very numerous and important.

It is proposed in the following notes to set out under separate headings the principal distinctive features of the different legislations, so far as they are likely to be of use or interest in considering the points which come within the scope of the present inquiry, preluding the notes with reference to the existing legislation of each country, wherever the materials for such a purpose are available, with a short sketch of the HISTORY OF THE LAW AS TO MINING in such country.

It is then proposed to give (in tabulated form where possible) particulars of THE MODE IN WHICH MINERAL SUBSTANCES ARE CLASSIFIED in each country, showing in whom the ownership of each class is vested, and to whom royalty taxes or royalties or other impositions in the nature of rent (if any) are payable in respect of each class. From these tables it will be amply apparent that the substances which lie beneath the soil are not on the Continent, as in England, all usually subject to the same ownership or incidents of ownership, but are divided with respect to ownership in a great variety of ways, both as regards the heads of division and as regards the mode in which the various substances are allotted under such heads.

The subject of SEARCHES FOR MINES is next proposed to be dealt with, and in this respect again it will be seen that there is great difference between the different systems; in some cases (as in Germany) the right of search being open to everyone who will indemnify the surface-owner against damage; in other cases (as in France and Belgium) no one except the owner of the surface being allowed to make the searches, without the consent of such owner or the authority of the mining administration; and in other cases (as in Austria-Hungary) not even the owner of the surface being allowed to search for the mines, which are reserved from the ownership of the soil, without the permission of the mining authority. There are many further differences as to the conditions on which searches may be made.

It is then proposed to describe, in respect of each country in which the system of concession obtains, THE MODE IN WHICH

B

AND THE PERSONS BY WHOM CONCESSIONS MAY BE OBTAINED, THE CONDITIONS ON WHICH THEY MAY BE OBTAINED, AND THE MODE IN WHICH THEY MAY BE WORKED UNDER, DEALT WITH, UNITED, DIVIDED, SURRENDERED, OR FORFEITED. It will be seen from the notes on this part of the subject that a concessionnaire of mines abroad who has obtained the necessary surface powers is in much the same position as an owner of land and minerals in England, being usually free to work the minerals for himself, or to sell them or to let them to third parties, as he pleases, subject to the general provisions of the law for Government supervision and inspection of the mines. Instances will be given illustrating the mode in which concessions are so dealt with. Most of these instances are taken from published particulars of English limited companies which have acquired concessions of mines abroad (it being found difficult to obtain many particulars as to private arrangements), but many of them have been supplied by parties who have been actually interested in the dealings specified.

THE MODE IN WHICH AND THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THE RIGHT TO EASEMENTS OF WAY OR WATER OR VENTILATION, BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE AREAS OF THE CONCESSIONS, CAN BE ACQUIRED will then be noticed. Particulars will then be given with respect to each country of the provisions of the law with respect to INSPECTION AND REGULATION OF MINES; and of the arrangements which are usually made, whether compulsorily or otherwise, for the RELIEF OF WORKMEN in case of accidents, &c.

Some slight description of the CONSTITUTION OF THE MINING AUTHORITY OR ADMINISTRATION in countries where such an administration exists will also be given, and GENERAL OBSERVATIONS will be offered, where they appear to be called for, with reference to the systems existing in the different countries, though but little will be attempted in the way of comment, the object of these notes being rather to explore than to develop buried treasures, so as to provide a slight but accurate sketch of the actual mining legislation of the world, free from the expression of any personal views on the part of the writer.

UNLIKE many other nations of far less importance from the point of view of their mineral production, England has never attempted to codify her mining legislation except in one respect.1 There are indeed in force several Acts of Parliament relative to mining in particular districts of the country, such as the Acts relating to the Stannaries Courts, having jurisdiction in the Counties of Cornwall and Devon, those relating to the mines of coal and iron in the Hundred of St. Briavels, in the County of Gloucester, commonly known as the Forest of Dean, and those relating to the mines of lead ore in the Peak Forest district of Derbyshire (short particulars of which will be given later on), whilst there are many Acts of Parliament containing sections with special reference to minerals, such as The Highway Act, 1835,2 The Copyhold Acts," The Railways Clauses Consolidation Act, 1845, The Waterworks Clauses Act, the Acts relating to Larceny and Malicious Injuries to Property, The Public Health Acts, The Settled Estates Act, The Conveyancing Acts,10 The Settled Land Acts, 1882 to 1890,11 and other Acts; but there is no such general statutory legislation dealing with the whole subject of mining in England as is frequently to be found in foreign countries; hence there exists this curious contrast, that, whilst a small province within a State, like Lucca in Italy, which can only boast of one mine of silver lead and one of lignite, possesses an elaborate mining code, divided into 115 articles, designed to provide for almost every imaginable question that could arise relative to mining, England, with her annual production of nearly 200,000,000 tons of coal and huge quantities of other minerals,

1 The exception referred to is the legislation relative to the regulation and inspection of mines contained in the Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c. 58) and The Metalliferous Mines Regulation Act, 1872 (35 & 36 Vict. c. 77).

25 & 6 Will. IV. c. 50, s. 82.

3 4 & 5 Vict. c. 35, s. 84; 15 & 16 Vict. c. 51, s. 48; and 21 & 22 Vict. c. 94, s. 14. 48 & 9 Vict. c. 20, ss. 77-85. 5 10 & 11 Vict. c. 17, ss. 18-27. 7 24 & 25 Vict. c 97, SS. 26-28.

6 24 & 25 Vict. c. 96, s. 38.

8 38 & 39 Vict. c. 55, s. 334, and 46 & 47 Vict. c. 37. 9 40 & 41 Vict. c. 18, s. 4. 10 44 & 45 Vict. c. 41, ss. 2, 14, and 65, and 55 & 56 Vict. c. 13, s. 2. 11 45 & 46 Vict. c. 38, ss. 2, 17, and 21, and 53 & 54 Vict. c. 69, s. 8.

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has but little statutory legislation on the subject beyond that which relates to the regulation and inspection of mines.1 In the absence of general statutory legislation on the subject, the legal questions governing the ownership and working of mines and minerals in England have been determined by decisions of the Courts based upon the general principles of the common law and on local customs. The main feature of the English law as to mines has, from time immemorial, been the primá facie right of the owner of the surface to everything beneath it, except "Royal Mines," which were held to belong to the Crown, by reason of the Royal Prerogative, on account of the special excellence of the thing, and to assist the Crown with funds for the defence of the country and for the supply of coinage. These "Royal Mines" are mines of gold and silver, all other mines being known by contradistinction as "base mines." At one time the Crown also claimed as Royal Mines " any mines of copper, tin, iron, and lead, with which gold and silver were found to be intermixed, and this claim was supported by the legal decision in "The Case of Mines," decided in the reign of Queen Elizabeth in the year 1568, and reported by Plowden; it was, however, abrogated by two statutes passed in the reign of William and Mary (1 W. and M. c. 30, and 5 W. and M. c. 6) for the express purpose of encouraging the working of mines, though the Crown retained a right of pre-emption with respect to such mines at certain rates which would by no means be considered nominal even at the present time.2 To the prima facie right before referred to there are, however, some apparent exceptions in cases where the ownership of the surface and the minerals, or any of them, has originally been kept separate, or has by any means become severed. As a general rule the owner of minerals in England is free to deal with them as he pleases so long as he does not injure anyone else; and the nature and extent of the rights and powers of different classes of owners, the mode of exercising such powers, the local rights and customs

1 A writer has recently observed rather humorously on the system of mining law prevailing in South America, as compared with the English system, that in South America "the cart is always placed before the horse. All the laws in this Republic are to be found in codes, and thus it has been customary to provide a code of mining laws to meet cases which have not as yet arisen in practice, or which, probably, may never arise, resulting in much confusion and impediment to a proper development of the mines, at least according to the system of engineering known and practised in Europe." (Extract from "Notes upon the Mines in the Argentine Republic, South America," by H. D. Hoskold. Transactions Fed. Inst. Mining Engineers, vol. 3, part 4, p. 418.)

2 These prices were: For copper ore, £16 per ton; for tin ore, 40s. per ton; for iron ore, 40s. per ton; and for lead ore, £9 per ton. An Act passed in 1815 (55 Geo. III. c. 134) increased the rate to be paid by the Crown for the right of pre-emption of lead ore from £9 to £25 per ton.