at Eibenthal, in Hungary, were purchased by the Danube Collieries and Minerals Company, Limited, in 1889, for £100,000, of which £40,000 was payable in cash and the balance, at the option of the Directors, either in cash or shares. It is stated that they are subject to a Government tax of about £100 per annum. The concession of silver lead mines at Rabenstein, Sarnthal, Tyrol, on which very little money had been expended, was purchased in 1876 for about £2,000. It appears that before assignments are made notice must be given to the mining authority, and that, on the assignments taking place, a tax has to be paid to the State amounting to 3 per cent. of the value in the case of sales, and to 8 per cent. of the value in the case of assignments by way of gift, or in consequence of death (see Report of Dr. Moriz Weiss, presented to the Royal Commission on Mining Royalties). of way, The worker may execute, with the permission of the mining authority, any works outside his boundary, either for ventilation or for the more convenient extraction of his minerals Easements (Arts. 85 and 86), and works common to several mines water, &c. may be established by the permission of the mining authority (Arts. 87-89). Necessary works may also be established through adjoining mines, and use may even be made of the workings and roads belonging to adjoining mines on providing a sufficient indemnity. It is stipulated (Art. 195) that this indemnity should be in part a proportionate part of the cost of maintenance, and for the rest an interest which must not exceed 10 per cent. of the cost really saved by the mine making use of the works. In all cases the mine availing itself of the privilege is responsible for all damage caused to the other minc (Art. 196). All the indemnities in case of disagreement have to be fixed by the mining authority, with the right of appeal to the judicial tribunals. Inspection and regu lation of Full provision is made for inspection and regulation of mines, and the mining authority has power to appoint a person to take charge of the working of a mine when the incompetency of the manager places the security or preservation of the workings in danger (Art. 224). The mines. mining authority can stop the workings or even pronounce a forfeiture of the mines if the regulations are not complied with. The mining authority has also to see that the working is proceeded with without interruption and with sufficient activity. Each mine has a code of regulations, "Dienst-Ordnung," which has to be approved of by the mining authorities (RevierBergamt, or district mining office) and by the political Each authorities. The Dienst-Ordnung has the force of law. workman has, upon being engaged, his attention called to the Ordnung, and has to submit to the fines and penalties, and to the power of dismissal for bad conduct which the Ordnung sanctions. Cases of infringement of the Dienst-Ordnung are tried before the district law court. An appeal can be made by either party to the mining office. Relations The law makes provisions respecting contracts of service, and the terms on which masters and workmen can respectively give notice. On quitting a mine each workman has to receive a certificate, stating his class, the length of his service, and the relief society to which he belongs, and he cannot be received into another mine without such certificate (Art. 208). between employer and work men. Relief Each mine must have its own society or be affiliated to a fund common to various workings, and established with the approval of the mining authority. The statutes and the contributions paid by men and owners, respectively, at present vary in different mines. The following appears to be the usual arrangement, viz.: The miners have to pay four per cent. of their wages towards the relief fund until a considerable fund is accumulated, when their contribution is reduced to two per cent. The masters have to contribute a sum equivalent to one-third of the miners' contribution for six years. The fund is administered by the mine-owner and a committee of the men, under the supervision of the Government. It is, however, understood to be the intention of the Government that for the future all mines are to be placed under one and the same set of regulations.1 The payments are to be everywhere the same, and they will be: From the men (1)—4 4 per cent. of their wages. From the owners (2)-A sum equal to that paid by the men. Mining authority. One of the departments of the Ministry of Public Works is a mining department, with a staff of officials for the management of such department, and a permanent committee for mining matters. The empire is divided into different mining districts. At the head of a collection of such districts is a mining official (Berghauptmann) assisted by a number of counsellors (Bergräthe) and mining engineers. There are four such mining officials for the whole of the part of the 1 It may be observed that Relief Societies for all kinds of workmen and women, even domestic servants, are being introduced, and are obligatory. empire on the west side of the Leitha, having under them a varying number of district officers. The four are: 1 in Prague for Bohemia. 1 in Vienna for provinces of Upper and Lower Austria, Salzburg, Moravia, Silesia, and the Bukowina. 1 in Klagenfurt for Styria, Tyrol and Voralberg, Carinthia, Carniola, Görz and Trieste, Istria and Dalmatia. 1 in Cracow (Krakau) for Galicia. In each separate district there is a mining office (Revierbergamt), which is presided over by a commissioner (Revierbeamte), who is subordinate to the Berghauptmann of his collection of districts. The Revierbeamte keeps a register of the searching permits and Freischürfe. In principle he is the ordinary authority before whom all matters come in the first instance. His duty is to see that the mining law is properly administered in his district, and that the mining revenue is collected by the revenue officers, &c. Grants of searching permits and Freischürfe are made by the district office, but the concessions are made through the Berghauptmann's office. Mining disputes which are of such a nature as not to come into the category of ordinary common law cases ("Civilstreitigkeiten ") are tried by the district mining offices (Revierbergamt), the "Berghauptmannschaften," and in the last instance by the Department of the Ministry of Agriculture in Vienna, under which the Berghauptmannschaften stand. This last is the Court of Appeal and the Court of last instance in purely mining cases. Civil cases arising out of mining disputes are tried by the Landcourt of the province in which the mine lies, as the Court of first instance. The Court of second instance is the upper Landcourt of the province, and the Court of last instance is the "Oberste Gerichtshof " "Highest Court ") in Vienna. If questions arise between adjoining concessionnaires they are dealt with by the mining authority of the district, but if between a worker of mines and a surface-owner they are referred to a commission consisting of the mining commissioner of the district, the Mayor or other municipal officer, and local experts presided over by a "political" officer. Appeals may be carried up from one mining authority to that immediately above, but not further, so that only decisions made in the first instance by the Berghauptmann can be appealed against to the Minister of Agriculture. The mining authority may impose fines (varying from one to 200 florins) on the workers of mines for contravention of the mining law. The Government may work mines (and do so extensively in Bohemia), but before doing so have to go through exactly the General remarks. same formalities as private individuals, taking out Freischürfe, &c., and if a private individual gets precedence the Government cannot turn him out. British and Austrian mines cannot be properly compared, owing to the great difference of the circumstances under which they are found. Most British mines are found in places not much above sea-level. In Austria the metalliferous mines are usually found in mountainous districts, where they crop out, and where the land is of very little value for other than mining purposes. The principal coal fields of Austria are in Bohemia, Silesia and Moravia, which are all rich agricultural countries. Of the Alpine provinces Styria and Carinthia have the most important fields. The Southern Railway of Austria, a branch of which runs from Trieste to Vienna, and which passes through Styria, uses chiefly Moravian and Silesian coal, although it is compelled by law to use a certain amount of Styrian coal from Trifail. For most of the smelting at the celebrated ironworks in Styria charcoal is used, as the coal to be obtained is not good. In the Tyrol there is only one small coal mine, at Häring, in the lower valley of the Inn. This mine is worked by the Government. In the Alpine Provinces, and especially in Tyrol, the mines are mostly at high altitudes,' where the land is of very little value. As a general rule the same remark would appear to apply to metalliferous mines all over the world, viz., that they are situated in districts where the value of the land for agricultural purposes is not high. In mountainous countries the mines are generally at high altitudes, or, if they are situated lower down, they are in barren rocky places. Import duties. Coal free; pig-iron 8d. per cwt. (Return of Foreign Import Duties, presented to Parliament September 1893). BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, which, under the stipulations of the Treaty of Berlin, have been subject to the dominion of AustriaHungary since the year 1878 (having previously been under the dominion of Turkey), there exists a somewhat special mining law, 1 The Government mine of Schnee Berg is on a mountain 8,400 feet above the sea. which is to some degree a kind of combination of the mining laws of Austria-Hungary and Turkey, tinged also with features from the Prussian mining law. This law was promulgated on the 14th of May, 1881, and principally differs from the Austrian law by the fact that, whilst under the last-mentioned law no searches may be made for minerals, even by the owner of the surface, without permission from the mining administration, under the Bosnian law searches may be made by the owner of the surface, or with his permission, without an official permit after a simple declaration to the mining administration. The dimensions of concessions under the Bosnian law also differ from those under the Austrian law, in being under the former not exceeding 200 hectares for combustible substances, and 50 hectares for other substances. There is also a distinction between the Austrian and Bosnian laws with respect to the degree of obligatory working which is requisite in order to retain possession of a mine, the determination of such degree being left under the former law to the mining administration in each case, whilst, under the Bosnian law, it is fixed in all cases at eight hours per week for each hectare of mine area. A very special feature of the Bosnian law is that it provides by the imposition of heavy penalties, including imprisonment, against combinations either of masters or work men. 1 |