Mexico in 1827/Volume 2/Chapter 2
SECTION II.
It is unnecessary for me to commence an inquiry respecting the present state of the Mining establishments of Mexico, by reverting to an epoch too distant to throw any light upon the character of the Mining laws now in force. I shall therefore merely observe that, after a period of considerable confusion and obscurity, during which all mining questions were decided by an appeal to a heterogeneous code introduced by Charles V., and composed of Old Flemish and German laws, of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, an entirely new form was given to the Mining institutions of New Spain, in the year 1777, by the establishment of a Supreme Council of Mines, (denominated the Real Tribunal General del importante cuerpo de Mineria de Nueva España,) which was followed by the publication of a new Code of laws, (called Las Ordonanzas de Mineria,) and by the creation of Thirty-seven Provincial Councils, or Mining Deputations, (Diputaciones de Mineria,) each exercising a jurisdiction independent of the civil authority, in all mining cases, in the District assigned to it, with an appeal to the Supreme Tribunal, which resided in the Capital.
The Provincial Deputations were composed of deputies, chosen annually, by the Mining proprietors of each District; and these again deputed two members of their own body to reside in the Capital, who, with a Director, appointed by the Government, an Assessor, two Fiscals, and a Civil Judge, constituted the Supreme Tribunal. A College was added to this extensive establishment; and the King assigned, for the support of the whole, one Real de plata upon each Marc of Silver coined, to be deducted from the duty of Seigneurage, which had before been paid to the Crown.
A part of this revenue was destined to cover the salaries of the Supreme Tribunal, (which did not, however, exceed 25,000 dollars in all,) while the remainder defrayed the expenses of the College, and furnished a Capital, out of which advances, (Avios) were made, at the discretion of the Tribunal, to Mining Proprietors, who required funds in order to complete their works. These advances were distributed, (according to Humboldt) with more liberality than judgment; there being instances on record of individuals having obtained "Avios" of from two to three hundred thousand dollars, for single Mines. But although, in more than one case, the whole of the money thus improvidently invested was lost, great enterprises were encouraged by the certainty, which every respectable Miner felt, that, in an emergency, it would always be in his power to obtain assistance: and this, in conjunction with the removal of the commercial restrictions, by which the progress of the Country had before been cramped, but which were much diminished in 1778 by the Decree of Free Trade, exercised so beneficial an influence throughout New Spain that the produce of the Mines increased, (in a term of ten years,) from 112,828,860 dollars, (which was the amount of Silver raised from 1760 to 1769,) to 193,504,554 dollars, which were yielded by the mines from 1780 to 1789, when the ameliorations introduced began to produce their full effect. From 1790 to 1799, still farther progress was made, the produce having amounted to 231,080,214 dollars, or more than double what it had been in 1769; and there is little doubt that the increase would have continued in a similar ratio, during the next ten years, (from 1779 to 1809,) when the produce only amounted to 220,265,711 dollars, had not the munificent donations of Charles III. been swallowed up by the distresses of his Successors. During the wars which followed the French Revolution, the Tribunal of Mines, in addition to a voluntary gift of half a million of dollars, was forced to assist the Royal Treasury with a loan of Three millions more. The whole of its disposable funds were swept away by these advances, and more than half its revenue has been absorbed since, by the interest of the money raised in order to meet such unexpected demands. The Miners, forced again to depend upon the speculations of individuals for "Avios," confined their operations within narrower limits; and although in two years of the term under consideration the Coinage attained the Maximum of Twenty-seven millions of dollars, (in 1804 and 1805,) still, there was a decrease upon the whole term, as compared with that ending in 1799, of nearly Five millions.
The Mining Code of Mexico, (Las Ordonanzas de Mineria) having been published in English, with notes, it will be sufficient for me to observe, that the object of its provisions was rather to determine disputes between individuals, than to settle any differences between the Mining proprietors and the Sovereign. The whole Mining property of the Country was, indeed, supposed to be invested in the Crown, but the only use which the King made of his rights, was to concede to any individual, who "denounced"[1] the existence of a metalliferous vein upon any particular spot, exclusive possession of a certain number of varas, (yards,) measured from that spot upon the course of the vein, which were called a Pertinencia, and which became the real, bonâ fide property of the Denouncer, upon condition that he should undertake certain works for the extraction of ores, within a given time. If this condition were not complied with, the spot selected reverted to its original state of unappropriated Royal Property, and might be again denounced, by any other individual, before the Mining Deputation of the District, which could not refuse a title to the new applicant, on his proving that, during the time specified by the Ordonanzas, no attempt had been made by the first denouncer to work the vein. No other intervention, direct or indirect, took place on the part of the Crown. The King (individually) was not proprietor of a single mine, nor is there one instance, since the Conquest, of an attempt having been made by the Government to interfere with the mode of working adopted by individuals, or to diminish the profits of the successful adventurer, by exacting, under any plea, or pretence, from the more fortunate, a higher rate of duties than that which was payable by the poorest miner to the Royal Treasury.. By this judicious liberality and good faith, the fullest scope was given for private exertion; and this, in a country where mineral treasures are so abundant, was soon found to be all that was requisite in order to ensure their production to a great extent.
The Duties, however, which were payable upon the whole of the Silver raised, were very considerable. They consisted of the King's Fifth, (reduced, subsequently, to the Demiquint, or tenth,) the Duty of One per cent, (derecho del uno porciento) and the Mint dues, (derechos de Monedage, y Señoreage) which amounted, in all, to 3½ reals (of eight to the dollar) upon each marc of Silver, which contained 68 reals, but for which the proprietor received only 64. Where Gold was combined with the Silver, the duties of the Casa del Apartado were added, which made a total of 1918 per cent. Those paid on pure Silver were l625.
The amount of these Duties was not nearly so detrimental to the interests of the Miner, as the necessity of transmitting the whole produce of his mine in Bars to the Mint of the Capital, where alone it could be converted into dollars. This, in the more distant Provinces, (from the enormous expence of land-carriage,) was equivalent to a very heavy additional duty, from which neither the Revenue, nor the Country derived any material benefit; but which tended, unavoidably, to confine all Mining operations to a small circle, and caused the rich Districts of the North to be neglected, while the Mining Capitals were employed, almost exclusively, upon the poorer ores of the South. A similar effect was produced by the restrictions upon the sale of Quicksilver, the monopoly of which belonged to the Crown; for although, by a series of judicious reductions, the price of this essential article was so much lowered, as to place it within the reach of every class of Miners, still, the distribution of it, (which depended upon the Viceroy,) was by no means impartially regulated, the poorer Miners being generally sacrificed to the influence of the richer; while the necessity of concentrating the supply in one great Depôt, (the Capital) and of effecting the importation through one solitary port, (Veracruz,) rendered the possibility of obtaining a sufficiency for the regular reduction of ores, in the North, extremely uncertain, although the want of it entailed upon the Mining proprietor inevitable ruin.
Such were the principal characteristics of the Mining System of New Spain before 1810, at which time the country was supposed to contain 500 Reales, or Realitos, (spots in which mines were worked,) with from Three to Five thousand mines, (large and small,) included in the thirty-seven Mining Districts, or Deputations, into which the Viceroyalty was divided.
The names of these Districts, with those of the principal mines in each, may be found in Humboldt, (Book IV. Chapter II.) as given by a manuscript, drawn up by Don Fausto Ellhuyar, (first Director of the Supreme Tribunal,) for the Viceroy, Count Revillagigedo. I do not insert them here, both because I am unwilling to trespass unnecessarily upon the time of my readers, and because it will be more suitable to the purposes of the present inquiry to give, subsequently, a Table of those Mines, for which contracts have been entered into by British Companies, and to specify the States in which they are situated; that being now the only territorial division recognized in Mexico. It is, therefore, only necessary to repeat, what I have attempted to demonstrate in the first Section, namely, that the average annual produce of these thirty-seven Districts, during the fifteen years which preceded the Civil War, was Twenty-four millions of dollars.
The extraction of this enormous mass of Silver, was not, (as has been supposed in Europe,) the result of a simple process, in which the Mine owners and the Government were the only parties concerned, but rather the effect of a most complicated system, by which the Silver raised was made to pass through the hands of four or five immediate agents, before it was brought into circulation, or even paid the Duties to the Crown. Few of the old Miners were originally capitalists. Many were unable, at first, to obtain advances from those who were so, except to a very limited amount; and were thus compelled to carry on the works of their mines, by converting the first fruits into ready money, without waiting to ascertain the quantity of Silver which the ores might contain. This led to the establishment of a class of middle-men, called Rescatadores, who bought up the ores at the mouth of the mine, and reduced them in Haciendas (Amalgamation works) of their own. The Rescatadores again, being mostly small capitalists themselves, had recourse, in their more extensive operations, to the opulent merchants established in the towns, who furnished them with funds, when required, on condition of receiving the Silver produced at a rate considerably below the Mint, or market price; (for instance, at six and seven dollars per marc, when the Mint price was eight;) and by this process, (which was called "Avio à premio de platas") both the risk and the profits were so subdivided, as to give the poor Miner great facilities at first, while the capitalist was enabled to invest his money, almost without fear of loss.
The system was carried to an enormous extent before the Revolution, and by it, almost all classes of the community were interested in the success of the mines, while a vast floating capital was employed in them, besides that which was, in some measure, withdrawn from circulation, and sunk in dead works. It gave an impulse to Mining operations altogether unprecedented in the history of the world; and as discoveries were pushed on all sides by the poorer adventurers, who required but very trifling advances to search for mineral treasures, it is more than probable that, if public tranquillity had continued undisturbed, the Mining produce of Mexico, at the present day, would have exceeded, by at least one third, the utmost produce of the richest years before the Revolution.
The Civil War entirely destroyed this chain of communication between the highest and lowest classes of Mining speculators. In many Districts the Haciendas of the Rescatadores were ruined, as were the machinery and works of the mines themselves. In others, water was allowed to accumulate to an immense extent, in consequence of the suspension of the usual labours; while in all, the merchants, who had before supplied funds for carrying on the different operations, withdrew their capitals, as soon as the intercourse between the Seat of Government and the Provinces was interrupted. In the years 1811 and 1812, the Agricultural produce of the country likewise decreased so rapidly, that it became difficult to procure the means of subsistence. The Mining towns were surrounded by Insurgent parties, which occupied the whole of the open country, and rendered it impossible either to receive supplies, or to make remittances, without the protection of a large escort; while the exactions of the officers, by whom these escorts were commanded, (exactions, which were reduced to a system, and in which the Viceroy himself largely participated,) doubled the price of quicksilver, and every other article consumed in the mines; and thus reduced the value of Silver to the miner so much, that the marc did not repay the cost of extraction, even with the richest ores. The poor ores were allowed to accumulate untouched.
This was the real evil of the Revolution. It was not the destruction of the matériel of the mines, however severe the loss, that could have prevented them from recovering the shock, as soon as the first fury of the Civil War had subsided: but the want of confidence, and the constant risk to which capitals were exposed, which, from being in so very tangible a shape, were peculiarly objects of attraction to all parties,—led to the gradual dissolution of a system, which it had required three centuries to bring to the state of perfection in which it existed at the commencement of the War of Independence. I do not believe that I am guilty of any exaggeration in stating, that there never was a greater spirit of enterprise, more liberality, or, in general, better faith, displayed in any part of the world, than amongst the Miners of Mexico before the year 1810. Unexampled prosperity was their reward; and had freedom of commerce then existed, there is no doubt that the country would have derived the greatest permanent benefit from their exertions. As it was, riches easily acquired, were as lightly dissipated;—but little was done towards national improvement;—no fund was provided for future emergencies;—and, after the great convulsions of 1810, 1811, and 1812, nothing remained to denote, amidst the general wreck, the epoch of splendour which had so immediately preceded it. The efforts of the Spanish Government to alleviate this distress were unavailing; although, in justice to Spain, it must be said, that whatever may have been the faults of her Colonial System in general, with regard to the Mines, she has always adopted a more liberal policy. This liberality commenced soon after the War of Succession, when, in order to conciliate the Mexicans, the King's Fifth was reduced to a Tenth, by a Decree dated the 30th of December, 1716. In 1769, the price of the Quintal of Quicksilver, (a Royal Monopoly,) was reduced from eighty to sixty dollars, and in 1777, to forty-one dollars including the freight to Mexico. In 1780, Gunpowder, (another monopoly,) was ordered to be sold at 4½ reals per pound, instead of six reals; and an exemption from Alcavalas was granted in favour of all articles consumed in the Mines; which exemption was so rigorously observed, that Don Jose Galvez, when establishing a small tax upon Maize, at Guănăjūātŏ, in order to improve the present entrance into the town, allowed the Maize for the consumption of the Mines to pass duty free.
By order of the same Count Galvez, in 1785, during a year of scarcity, the Miners were supplied with Maize from the Royal Stores, at the usual price. In 1793, the Government declared its intention not to raise the price of Quicksilver, even in time of war; and as recently as 1814, (8th August,) an order was issued, again exempting from the tax of Alcavalas, every article of ordinary consumption in the Mines, and extending this privilege to all the Mining Districts.
But no encouragement, on the part of the Royal Government, could supply the want of capital, and of confidence; and, with the exception of some works at Catorce,[2] Zacatecas, and Sombrerete, which were prosecuted successfully, after the reverses of the Insurgents in 1814, and 1815, by small Spanish Capitalists, who resided upon the spot. Mining, throughout the Kingdom, was reduced to a mere shadow of what it had been. In 1821, even these partial works were given up, (on the Declaration of the Independence,) and most of the Spaniards who had invested money in them withdrew their capitals, and returned to Europe.
Such was the state of the Mining interests of Mexico, when the first Independent Government was established. Its attention was early, and unavoidably, drawn to the subject, because the Mines had involved in their fall both agriculture and trade, to which their restoration could alone give a new impulse.
This part of the subject, however, belongs more properly to the observations with which it is my intention to close this Book. Here it will be sufficient for me to state the means adopted in order to afford immediate relief.
By a Decree of the Regency, (dated 20th February, 1822,) the Duties formerly paid under the denominations of One per cent., Royal Tenth, Seigneurage, and Bocado, were abolished, as were those exacted during the Revolution, on Plata Pasta, or Silver in a crude state; in lieu of which, a Duty of Three per cent, upon the real value of the Gold and Silver raised, was substituted. The expense of Coinage was likewise reduced to two reals per marc, and the charge at the Apartado, for the separation of the Silver from the Gold in ores containing both, to two reals, in lieu of five and a half. In addition to this, the monopoly formerly enjoyed by the Casa del Apartado was done away with, and liberty granted to the Miners to perform the process of separating the Gold from the Silver, where, and as, they pleased.[3] They were likewise allowed to dispose of their Silver, (after presenting it at any of the Provincial Mints to be assayed, and paying the Duty of Three per cent.) as a marketable commodity, for which each was to obtain the best possible price. The importation of Quicksilver was declared to be Duty free, and Powder, (although it continued a Government Monopoly,) was ordered to be delivered to the Miners at prime cost.
In making most of these concessions, the Government of Mexico only followed the example of the Peninsula; most of the reductions indicated above having been sanctioned by the Cortes of Madrid, at the suggestion of the Mexican Deputies, in June and July 1821; but the establishment of Mints in the different States, (their legal establishment, I mean,) is due to the Revolution; as is the free introduction of Quicksilver, on so many different points of the Coasts of the Republic. Both these are most important advantages; for the last opens an easy access to many rich Districts, to which Quicksilver could only be conveyed at an enormous expense before; while the newly erected Mints, when provided, as they will be in the course of time, with funds for the purchase of the Plata Pasta, as brought in by the poorer Miners, must promote the progress of Mining enterprises throughout the Federation, since, by destroying the Monopoly of the Capital, they diminish, most materially, both the time and the expense necessary in order to convert Bars into Dollars, at a distance (sometimes) of three and four hundred leagues from the place where the silver is raised; and thus add, specifically, to the value of every marc that the Mines produce.
But, notwithstanding these advantages, Capital was wanting in order to turn them to account. The emigration of the Old Spaniards, who were, with few exceptions, the Aviadores, or Habilitators,[4] and the vast sums withdrawn by them from the country, during the years 1821 and 1822, rendered an accession of fresh Capitalists necessary, in order to restore the Mines to any thing like their former importance; and with this view, by an act of the Congress, the door was thrown open to Foreigners, who were allowed to become joint proprietors with Natives, on terms highly favourable to the adventurers, had they entered upon the field presented to them with a proper knowledge of the country, and of the nature of the enterprises which they were about to undertake.
Of the eagerness with which the clauses in this Act favourable to Foreign speculation were taken advantage of by His Majesty's subjects, it would be unnecessary for me here to speak, were it not for the very prejudicial influence which this eagerness has exercised upon the interests of the adventurers, by creating a ruinous competition at the very outset, and thus compelling many Companies, in lieu of proposing their own terms, to submit to those dictated by the Mexican Proprietors; and consequently, in some instances, to commence their operations upon conditions so onerous, as much to diminish their prospects of success.
Before I attempt, however, to point out the errors that have been committed in this respect, and the consequences to which they have led, it will be necessary to state the number of the Companies actually in existence, the amount of the Capital invested in them, and the States and Districts in which it is embarked.
Without reckoning any of those Associations which started up, during the general mania for Mining, in England, and threw up their engagements in Mexico as soon as the feeling in favour of these undertakings subsided, there are, at the present moment. Seven great English Companies, besides One German, and Two American Companies, employed in working Mines in different parts of the Federation.
Of the names of these Companies, the nominal capital of each,[5] the capital actually invested, and the States, in which their labours are carrying on, a succinct account will be found in the following sketch. REAL DEL MONTE COMPANY.
Director in Mexico, Captain Vetch.
| Capital. | Invested. | States. | Mines. | |||
| £400,000 | About £400,000 | Mexico. | Real del Monte. | All the Mines on the two great Veins of Biscaina, and Santa Brigida, formerly belonging to the Regla family. | ||
| The Mine of Moran. | ||||||
| Mines on the Veins of Acosta and Sn. Esteban. | ||||||
| Lead Mine of Lomo del Toro, at Zĭmăpān. | ||||||
| Eight Iron Mines at the Encarnacion, near Zĭmăpān. | ||||||
| Mines of San Francisco, Guadalupe, and Don Martin, at Pechuga. | ||||||
| Valladolid. | Mines of los Apostoles, La Machorra, and San Pedro Barreno, at Ozūmătlān. |
BOLAÑOS COMPANY.
Directors, Captains Vetch and Lyon, R.N.
| Capital. | Invested. | States. | Mines. | |
| £200,000 | About £150,000 | Guadalajara or Jalisco. | Tepec, Intermedio, Concepcion, el Camichin Laureles, and Barranco, on the Veta Madre of Bolanos. | |
| Zacatecas | Mines belonging to the Fagoaga family, at Veta Grande. |
TLALPUJAHUA COMPANY.
Director, Mr. De Rivafinoli.
| Capital. | Invested. | States. | Mines. | |
| £400,000 | About £180,000 | Mexico | Seven Mines at El Oro; and | |
| Valladolid | Eighty-six Mines on all the principal Veins of the District of Tlalpujahua, including those of Coronas, Laborda, and Las Virgenes. |
ANGLO-MEXICAN COMPANY.
Director, Mr. Williamson.
| Capital. | Invested. | States. | Mines. | |
| £1,000,000 | About £800,000 | Guănăjūātŏ | Vălĕnciānă, Mĕllādŏ, Tĕpĕyāc, Sĭrēnă, Vĭllălpāndŏ, and several small mines on the Veta Madre, and other Veins, at Guănăjūātŏ. | |
| Mexico | La Cruz, San Fĕrnāndŏ, Guădălūpĕ, and three other small mines at Zĭmăpān. | |||
| Qŭerētărŏ | Four small Mines at San Crĭstōbăl and Măcŏnī. | |||
| Săn Luis Pŏtŏsī | Mines of Cŏncĕpeciōn, (a share,) Guădălūpĕ, de Veta Grande, and Mīlāgrŏs, at Cătōrcĕ. | |||
| Mexico | Mines of La Reunion, Soledad, Guadalupe, Santa Brigida, and El Rosario, at Real del Monte. |
UNITED MEXICAN COMPANY.
| Directors | Don Lucas Alaman. | |
| Mr. Glennie. | ||
| Mr. Agassis. |
| Capital. | Invested. | States. | Mines. | |
| £1,200,000 | About £800,000 | Guanajuato | Rayas, Sechó, Cata, La Calera, San Roquito, San Rafael, La America, Guadalupe, at Guanajuato. | |
| Guadalajara | Diamantillo and Guardaraya, at Comanja. | |||
| Zacatecas | Quebradilla, Malanoche, San Bernabé, San Acasio, El Desierto, Loreto at Veta Grande. | |||
| Mines on the Veins of El Pavellon, and La Vetanegra, at Sombrerete. | ||||
| Chihuahua | La Divina Providencia, Animas, and Belen, at Jesus Maria. | |||
| Oaxaca | La Natividad, Dolores, and a mine of Magistral, at Capulalpan. | |||
| Mines on the Vein of San Pablo, at Teojomulco. | ||||
| State of Mexico | Mines of La Bomba, Santa Ana, Las Papas, San Miguel, San Antonio, and Santa Rita, at El Chico. | |||
| All the Mines on La Veta Descubridora of El Oro, with those of San Acasio, and San Rafael. | ||||
| La Magdalena, Los Reyes, and La Guitarra, at Temascaltepec. | ||||
| San Antonio, and San Diego, at El Christo. | ||||
| San Mateo, at Zacualpan. | ||||
| Coronilla, at Tetela del Rio. |
THE MEXICAN COMPANY.
| Capital. | Invested. | States. | Mines. | |
| Veracruz | Copper Mines of Sumoloacan, between
Las Vigas and Perote. | |||
| Zacatecas | Some Mines at Fresnillo (not worked.) | |||
| Oaxaca (near the Capital of the State.) | Mines of Dolores, Santa Ana, San Felipe Neri, Jesus, San José, La Soledad, &c. |
CATORCE COMPANY.
Present Director, Mr. Stokes.
| Capital. | States. | Mines. | |
| Capital and Investments not exactly known; but the last not supposed to exceed £60,000. | Săn Luis Pŏtŏsī | Dŏlōrĕs Mĕdĕllin, Guădălūpītŏ, Dŏlōrĕs, Trŏmpētă; Sĕrēnŏ, and Great Adit of La Purisima, at Catorce. | |
| Queretaro | Mine of El Doctor, in the district of that name. | ||
| Mexico | Mines of Santa Ana, Guădălūpĕ, Todos Santos, Santa Clara, and Cinco Señores, at Tĕpāntĭtlān. |
AMERICAN COMPANIES.
COMPANY OF BALTIMORE.
Director, Mr. Keating.
| Capital Invested. | States. | Mines. | |
| Unknown; but very small. | Mexico | Mines of San Jose, San Luis, and Santa Brigida, at Temascaltepec. |
COMPANY OF NEW YORK.
| Capital. | State. | Mines. | |
| Unknown; and Investments, if any, very trifling. | Mexico | La Carniceria. | |
| Las Animas. | |||
| La Mina de Aguas. | |||
| San Juan de las Quebradillas, at Tĕmăscāltĕpēc. |
GERMAN COMPANY OF EBERFELD.
| Directors | Mr. Stein. | |
| Mr. Schleiden. | ||
| Mr. Von Geroldt. |
| Capital Invested. | State. | Mines and Districts. | |
| Total Investment about 637,760 dollars, or £127,552. | Mexico | Mines of Ărēvălŏ and Santa Rosa, at El Chico. | |
| Mine of Santa Rita, at Zĭmăpān. | |||
| Chalma and La Santisima, at San José del Oro. | |||
| Saltillo and San Joaquin, at El Cărdŏnāl. | |||
| Nineteen small Mines at La Pechuga. | |||
| Nine Mines, called De Arriva, at Temascaltepec. | |||
| The Mina Grande, and two others, at Sūltĕpēc. | |||
| Durazno, Christo, Dolores, and Trinidad, at El Christo. | |||
| El Carmen, La Purisima, and San Atenogenes, at Angangeo. |
The exact sum disbursed in Mexico, it is impossible for me to state; I should conceive, however, that at least Twelve millions of dollars must have been laid out, at the commencement of 1827, the vivifying influence of which has extended to almost every part of the Federation.[6]
I come now to "the character and extent of the undertakings in which the Companies are engaged,—the difficulties which they have had to encounter;—their progress,—state,—and prospects,—in 1827."
All these points are, in fact, so intimately connected, that they can hardly be considered apart; nor will it, I fear, be possible for me to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion with regard to them, without entering into considerable details; but this I shall do with the less scruple, because it is to the supposed failure of those golden dreams, by which the imagination of the public was captivated in 1824, (and to which no small portion of the enthusiasm there displayed in favour of American Independence may, perhaps, be traced,) that that revulsion of feeling, which has since taken place, must be ascribed, as well as the despondency, with which those most interested in American affairs, now look forward to the issue of their several undertakings. For these gloomy forebodings I see, at present, no ground; but if persevered in, they may be attended with circumstances still more injurious to British interests in the New World, than even the errors committed during the period of wild and unbridled speculation, by which they were preceded. I shall endeavour, therefore, by a plain statement of the advantages and disadvantages of the line that has been pursued, to show the nature of the expectations that may still be reasonably entertained with regard to the result.
If I were to take into account nothing but the amount of capital now invested in the mines of Mexico, the average annual produce of these same mines, before the Revolution, and the fact, that those from which by far the largest proportion of this annual produce proceeded, are now worked upon British account,—I should hazard but little in pronouncing the success of all the Companies to be unquestionable. But experience has shown how ill calculations formed on such a basis can stand the test of those practical difficulties, with which Companies have to contend in the New World; and many a scheme, the issue of which, upon paper, seemed infallible, has proved utterly inapplicable to the American Continent, as soon as the attempt to reduce theory to practice was made upon the opposite side of the Atlantic. It is true that there is nowhere in Mexico that physical impossibility of success, which, at Upsallata, (in Chili,) appears to have put an end to the hopes of the adventurers at once;[7] but still, the want of a previous knowledge of the country has been severely felt in all the operations of the Companies; and, in more than one instance, has, at least, delayed a result, of which the character of the Mines themselves seems to afford the fairest promise. Upon this point, (the excellence of the Mines,) no doubt can be entertained; for if ever Mining was reduced to a certainty, it was so in Mexico, before the Revolution. There might be fluctuations, indeed, in particular Districts; and capital, if invested without judgment, might then, as now, be lost. But the general produce of the country was the same, during a long series of years; or, if it varied, the variation originated not in the Mines, but in causes totally unconnected with them, which rendered the supply of quicksilver, and other indispensable articles, more or less precarious.
England, even while unconnected with Mexico, always exercised a direct influence upon the produce of her Mines. A war with Great Britain generally caused a reduction of nearly one-third in the Mint Returns; but then the first years of peace brought with them a corresponding increase, so that the average was never materially affected. A similar connexion may be traced between the Mining and Agricultural interests. From the enormous quantity of mules, and horses, employed in Mining operations, (14,000 were in daily use in Guănăjūātŏ alone,) a rise in the price of maize occasioned an immediate reduction in all the Mining establishments. The poorer ores were suffered to accumulate in years of scarcity, nor did they become objects of attention, until a succession of plentiful crops again afforded the Mining Proprietors the means of keeping up a sufficiency of live-stock to reduce them with profit. But, notwithstanding these unavoidable drawbacks, a surprising uniformity will be found in the general produce of the country. The failure of one Mine was compensated by the success of others; and thus, a sort of standard was established for the year, which rendered Mining in Mexico almost as sure a mode of investing Capital as any other. The average Produce, (as we have seen,) on a term of Fifteen years, was Twenty-four millions of dollars. What the exact amount of the Capital was, by the investment of which, in Mining operations, this vast sum was produced, it is impossible now to ascertain. I should be inclined, however, to estimate it, at least, at Thirty-six millions of dollars, or nearly three times the amount of the Capital now employed in the same way by the British Companies. I am bound to state, that for this estimate I can give no authority. It is a mere matter of conjecture; but since I have seen the number of Amalgamation Works, and other extensive and costly establishments, which are now in ruins in every part of Mexico, and compared them with those which have been rebuilt by the Companies, all that they have done, seems to be as nothing, in comparison with what must formerly have existed. I was particularly struck with this on entering Guanajuato, where more money has been expended by the two Companies established there, (the Anglo-Mexican, and the United Mexican,) than upon any other single spot in the Federation; yet the suburb of Marfil, which was formerly, according to Humboldt, "an imposing sight," from the activity that prevailed in every part of it, is now a scene of desolation: and when, after passing a long succession of ruined Haciendas, one at last enters the Town, the population is found to be still reduced to a little more than one half of what it was in the year 1809, when it exceeded 90,000 souls. Without dwelling unnecessarily upon this idea, I will only add that, in as far as my own means of observation have extended, the remark holds good with regard to every Mining District in the Federation. In Zăcătēcăs, Cătōrcĕ, Sŏmbrĕrētĕ, and Real del Monte, the works of the Companies are lost amongst the remains of former times; and by what they have expended, some estimate may be formed of what must have been expended before them.
This fact, (the difference between the Capital now invested, and that which it was intended to replace,) is one cause of the disappointment of those, who imagine that, because a very large sum has been laid out upon the Mines of Mexico by British Capitalists, the produce of those Mines ought, at once, to equal that of the best years before the Revolution.
But a still simpler solution of this disappointment may be found in the total ignorance of every thing connected with the New World, under the influence of which most of the Capital, now employed in Mining speculations there, was invested.
In every other commercial enterprise, some previous acquaintance with the subject might have been thought necessary; but the Mines were to be an exception to all ordinary rules; and, on the principle, I suppose, of taking omne ignotum pro magnifico, vast sums were embarked in schemes, of which the very persons, who staked their all upon the result, knew literally nothing, except the name.
I am far from wishing to lay unnecessary stress upon this circumstance, but it is essential to a right understanding of the delays that have occurred in the realization of the hopes of those, who sought a profitable investment in the Mines, to state, that the only knowledge which the British Public possessed, three years ago, of Mexico, was derived from a superficial acquaintance with the Essai Politique of Baron Humboldt; which, although it contains more valuable information than any other similar work, that has ever been given to the world, was, nevertheless, calculated to create an erroneous impression with regard to the actual state of New Spain, by descriptions of a splendour, which had long ceased to exist. No allowances were made for the moral, as well as physical, effects of fourteen years of Civil War;—the dispersion of the most valuable portion of the Mining labourers;—the deterioration of landed property;—the destruction of stock;—and the difficulty of reorganizing a branch of industry so extensive in all its ramifications as Mining, and so dependent upon other branches, not immediately connected with the Mines themselves, and consequently, not under the control of their Directors! All this was to be effected, too, in a country, in many parts of which it was necessary to create a population, before a single step could be taken towards repairing the ruin, which the Revolution had occasioned. And yet, nine-tenths of those who engaged in the arduous task, did so under the conviction that water was the only obstacle which they had to overcome, and that the possibility of surmounting this, by the aid of English machinery, was unquestionable! Nor was this all. The errors which Baron Humboldt's scientific eye had detected in parts of the Mining System of Mexico, were supposed to extend to the whole. The practical experience of the Native Miners was underrated;—their machinery condemned, without any previous inquiry as to its powers, or the different degrees of perfection which it had attained in the different Districts:—Gradual improvement was pronounced too sluggish a process; and Cornwall was drained of half its population, in order to substitute an entirely new method, for that which had been endeared to the Mexicans by the experience of three Centuries.
The total failure of this attempt was the natural consequence of the want of consideration with which it was made.
That it has failed, (although the fact seems still to be disputed in England,) it is impossible to deny; nor do I believe that, under any circumstances, it could have proved permanently successful.
Englishmen of the lower orders appear to undergo a change, on leaving their own country, (particularly if exposed to the contagion of a large town,) which renders them the most inefficient of human beings: nor is it by an excess of liberality, which only raises them above the sphere in which they were fitted to act, that this evil can be remedied. Indolence, obstinacy and insolence, take, but too soon, the place of those qualities, by which our working classes are distinguished at home; and, as their prejudices are not less strong than those which they have to encounter on the part of the Natives, the result, in all cases where mutual assistance is required, cannot be favourable. It is but fair to add, that the disinclination of the Mexicans to co-operate in many of the plans suggested, has been not a little increased by the discovery that some of our boasted improvements[8] have not been productive of any solid advantage, while others have proved complete failures; and where this is the case, it is next to impossible, in any Country, to substitute new methods, merely because they are new, for a practice, which time has already rendered familiar.
Experience has now induced most of the Companies to retrace their steps, and to reduce their Establishments in such a manner as to make the Management strictly European, while the operative part is confided to Natives; but this experience has been dearly bought. The Anglo-Mexican Company alone had expended, in September 1826, nearly 30,000l. in salaries to men, almost all of whom have now been dismissed; and full 100,000l. in Machinery (including duties and carriage from the Coast,) not one twentieth part of which either has been, or ever can be, made use of; the machinery of the Country having been found fully adequate for the drainage of their Mines.[9]
The Expences of the Real del Monte Company, in the same way, have been still greater; but there, the issue of the whole undertaking depends upon the application of the power of Steam, and the Engines render European Workmen of all kinds indispensable. Even there, however, a great reduction is taking place.
The United Mexican Company has likewise dismissed almost all its European Workmen. Indeed, in many instances, the whole management is confided to Natives; and although this system has not, I think, been generally successful, (from the listlessness, and want of activity, of many of the Agents,) in some places it has been productive of the very best effects, as at Sombrerete, where nothing could exceed the beautiful order in which I found the works, under the management of Don Nărcīsŏ Ānītŭá, who acts, at the same time, as Proprietor, and as Mining Director for the Company.
At Tlalpujahua, the attempt to introduce a strictly European System was never made; and that Company has, consequently, experienced fewer changes, and incurred less expence since its establishment, than any other. Its whole Outlay does not exceed 180,000l. while, by engrafting upon the old Mexican machinery a number of modern European improvements, a steady progress has been made in the works, which now present every prospect of a favourable result.
I have been unavoidably drawn into these details, in order to place in a proper light, strictures, which, although they apply, in some measure, to all the Companies, are not applicable, in the same degree, to each: nor can I terminate this unpleasant portion of my task, without pointing out a few additional circumstances, by which the prospects of the Adventurers in the Mexican Mines have been more or less influenced.
There is hardly a single Company, amongst those now formed, that has not expended considerable sums upon Mines, which, had they been better acquainted with the Country, they would never have attempted to work. This is not to be attributed entirely to the Directors in Mexico. In 1825, the rage for taking up Mining Contracts was such, that many Adventurers, who presented themselves in London for that purpose, disposed of Mines, (the value of which was, to say the least, very questionable,) to the Boards of Management in England, without the Agents of the Company upon the spot having been either consulted, or even apprized of the purchase, until it was concluded. Others were contracted for in Mexico, without proper inquiry or precaution; and large sums were often paid down for mere pits, which, upon investigation, it was found impossible to work. In some cases, operations were actually commenced, and all the preliminary parts of a Mining Establishment formed, without sufficient data to afford a probability of repayment. In many of the Districts immediately about the Capital, (as Zimapàn, El Doctor, Capula, Chico, Temascaltepec, &c.) this has been the case; and although these desultory experiments have been subsequently abandoned, still, they have been a drain upon the Companies, which is the more to be regretted, because it never could have been productive of any great result. [10]
In general, the selection of Mines, amongst the first Adventurers, was determined by a reference to Humboldt. Any Mine not mentioned in his Essai Politique, was rejected as unworthy of attention; while those which were favourably spoken of, were eagerly sought for.
In this respect, the work in question has exercised an influence highly prejudicial to British interests, not from any fault of the author's, but from the conclusions imprudently drawn from the facts which he has recorded.
Humboldt never asserted, or meant to assert, that a Mine, because it was highly productive in 1802, must be equally so in 1824. A general impression of the Mining capabilities of Mexico was all that he wished to convey; and how could he illustrate their importance better, than by presenting statements of what had been done, as the best criterion of what might still be effected, in a country, the Mineral treasures of which he regarded as almost unexplored?
Unfortunately, the consequence of these statements was, to direct the attention of the world exclusively to spots, which, from the enormous quantity of Mineral wealth that they have already yielded, may fairly be supposed to have seen their best days.
I do not mean to say that the great Mines, taken up by our Companies, are exhausted; on the contrary, I believe that they will still amply repay the Adventurers for the stake invested in them; but I have, certainly, little doubt that, in many instances, the same Capital might have been laid out, elsewhere, with a much more immediate prospect of advantage.
Besides, however good the Mines, the price which has been paid for their former celebrity in the shape of "Alimentos," (a yearly allowance to their owners,) has proved a very serious addition to the first outlay of the Adventurers.
Those paid by the Real del Monte Company to Count Regla, amount to 20,000 Dollars. The Anglo-Mexican Company, for the Mine of Valenciana alone, pays yearly 24,000 Dollars. On the preparations for draining the first, (the great Biscaina Vein,) nearly two millions of Dollars had been expended when I left Mexico; and at Guanajuato, the Valenciana Mine had cost, on the 1st of September, 1826,—672,264 Dollars. Farther advances will be required in both cases, before the drainage can be completed; and certainly, there ought not, in reason, or justice, to have been any surcharge, in the shape of Alimentos, where so large an investment of Capital was necessary for the preliminary works.
But this was one of the effects of that competition between the different Companies, which made each fear to find a rival in the rest: another, was the little attention paid to the terms of the Contracts, which are not always as favourable as they might have been made. Some of the most expensive Mines, (as Valenciana, and Rayas,) are held for a shorter term of years than would have been desirable; and in others, many onerous conditions have been introduced, which nothing but the extreme eagerness of the first Adventurers to take up the greatest possible number of Mines, could have given rise to. Fortunately, these disadvantages are pretty equally distributed; so that, in most Companies, the good and the bad Contracts serve to counterbalance each other: I do not, however, know any one, whose engagements are unexceptionable, or by any means as good as they might now be made.
Such are the disadvantages under which the British Companies, now established in Mexico, labour, and such the causes that have, hitherto, impeded their progress. Both have proceeded, in a great measure, from the want of a proper knowledge of the country, in the first instance, which has, undoubtedly, entailed upon them an expenditure, which, by a more judicious system on commencing their operations, might have been much diminished.
Against these drawbacks we must set, First, The known goodness of a great proportion of the Mines now in the possession of the Companies; and the equally well known fact, that, when these Mines stopped working, there was no falling off or diminution in their produce; so that as soon as the present Adventurers reach the lower levels, they have almost a certainty of being repaid for a part, at least, of their advances.[11]
Secondly, The great progress that has been already made by all the Companies: the forward state of their preparatory works; and the rapidity with which, after making roads, rebuilding Haciendas, and laying in stores of all kinds, they are now approaching the lower workings of their different Mines, where the demand for farther advances, on the part of the Shareholders, will cease.
Thirdly, The certainty, that errors once committed, will not be repeated; that every precaution is now taken in order to confine the operations of the Companies to those Mines from which speedy returns may be expected; that the greatest activity is displayed in every one of the negotiations; and that this activity is rendered doubly efficient by the lessons of the last three years.
My own experience enables me to add that, in Mexico, there has been no instance of any of those disgraceful speculations which have contributed so much to discredit, in England, Mining Adventures in general. The engagements of the different Companies are all bonâ fide engagements, and no exertions have been spared in carrying them into effect. The efforts which have been made in the service of some of the Associations, and the obstacles that have been surmounted, are quite incredible, and do the highest honour to the gentlemen charged with the direction of their affairs: and, though some of the minor undertakings, in which Capital was, (perhaps injudiciously,) invested, at a time when a desire to employ Capital in this way was universal, have since been given up, still, the great enterprises which were pointed out, in the first instance, as the object of the formation of the different Companies, have been steadily pursued, and are now in a very advanced state.
Those who are unacquainted with the scale upon which Mining enterprises in Mexico are conducted, and who judge of the outlay required there, by a comparison with that which attends the working of one of the smaller Mineral deposits of Europe, are at a loss to comprehend the necessity of an expenditure so large as that of some of the Companies has already been: I shall, therefore, take the liberty of submitting to my readers the following observations, which will be found, more or less, applicable to all the Mining Associations of New Spain, and may tend to throw some light upon this part of the subject.
The Outlay of the Companies has not, in any instance, been confined to a single Mine, but has embraced a series, or suite of Mines, sometimes in the same, sometimes in different districts, each requiring a multiplicity of extensive works, not only in the interior, for the drainage and extraction of ores, but on the surface, in order to turn to account these ores, when raised.
It is in the immense mass of ores which they are capable of producing, and not by any means in the abundance of Silver contained in them, that the riches of the Southern, or Central mining districts of Mexico, consist. Before the Revolution, it was calculated that the three millions of marcs of silver, to which the average annual produce of the country amounted, were extracted from ten millions of quintals (hundred weights) of Ore; so that the proportion of Silver did not exceed two and a half ounces to the hundred weight.[12]
The quantity of machinery requisite, in order to reduce this mass into a fit state to be submitted to the action of the quicksilver, by which the silver is ultimately separated from it, was immense; and as the whole of it was destroyed during the Civil War, it became necessary to erect anew, horse-whims, (Malacates,) magazines, stamps, crushing-mills, (Arastres,) and washing-vats; to purchase hundreds of horses for the drainage, and mules for the conveyance of the ore from the mine to the Haciendas, (where the process of reduction is carried on;) to make roads, in order to facilitate the communication between them; to wall in the Patios, or courts, in which amalgamation is at last effected; and to construct water-wheels wherever water power could be applied; nor is there one of these expences, that is not in so far indispensable, that, without them, the drainage of the mines themselves could lead to no sort of advantage.
It is, therefore, by works of this nature that the Companies have commenced their operations, and in them the largest portion of their outlay has consisted. Authorised by their contracts to look forward to a long term of possession, (generally from twenty to thirty years,) and entitled, by the former goodness of the mines, to expect an abundant produce, their preparatory works have been constructed in such a manner as to combine durability with convenience, and, in most instances, will require but few additions. Of the scale upon which things have necessarily been done, I shall beg leave to adduce a few examples.
The possessions of the Real del Monte Company, on the two great Veins of the Santa Brigida, and La Biscaina, (which are usually regarded in England as one mine,) cover a space of 11,800 yards, and are intersected, at intervals, by thirty-three shafts, varying in depth from 200 to 270 yards, but all sunk with a magnificence unparalleled in Europe. The whole of these shafts, together with the great adit, which follows the direction of the two veins, branching off from the Santa Brigida Vein at the point where it intersects that of the Biscaina, and from which the wealth of the Regla family was principally derived, were delivered over to the Company, in July 1824, in a state of absolute ruin. Many of the shafts had fallen in, (though cut, at intervals, in the solid porphyritic rock;) in others, the timbers had given way, and in all, as the adit was completely choked up, the water had risen to an enormous height. In July 1826, when I visited Real del Monte, the adit was cleared, and retimbered, from the mouth, (near the mine of Mŏrān,) to the shaft of Dolores, (a distance of 2,807 yards;) seven of the great shafts on the Biscaina Vein, and two on that of Santa Brigida, were repaired down to the adit level, (213 varas,) forming in all a space of 12,439 feet, that had been retimbered, and 5,921 feet that had been actually dug out anew, in order to free it from rubbish, in the course of two years. 45,400 yards of road were likewise made during the same time, by which a communication for waggons was opened from the different shafts to the farms in the mountains, as well as to the great Hacienda of Regla, between which and the mines, six hundred mules were formerly employed daily in the conveyance of Ores. At all the principal shafts buildings were erected, with magazines, and workshops for carpenters and smiths, inclosed by lofty stone walls. At Regla, a thirty-six feet water-wheel had been made, and a wheel-pit built for its reception. Eight of the old arastres, (worked by water,) had been repaired; dwelling-houses for miners built; smelting furnaces erected; stabling completed for 500 mules and horses; and every preparation made for putting the whole establishment into activity, the instant that the drainage of the mines could be effected.
To accomplish this, five large steam-engines, (three of Woolf's, and two of Taylor's,) together with one steam stamping-engine, and two small saw mill-engines, amounting in all to 1500 tons of machinery, were sent out from England; all of which, at the period of my visit, had been safely transported from the coast to Real del Monte, by the party under the orders of Captain Colquhoun, whose exertions in this most arduous enterprise, had they been made in the field, instead of having occurred in the service of a private Association, would have excited both the surprise and the gratitude of his country. Seven hundred mules were employed, during five months, upon this great work, with from seventy to one hundred men; without including those who had been previously occupied in repairing such parts of the road between Veracruz and Perote, as must have proved impassable for loaded waggons.
Nothing could be more honourable to the director. Captain Vetch, than the flourishing state of the establishment at the period of my visit; nor do I think that the most timorous of the shareholders would have murmured at the expence, had they seen the ability with which the whole plan had been traced, and witnessed all that two years had enabled their agents to effect.
At Bolaños, (which, though a distinct company, was likewise under the direction of Captain Vetch,) the expences have been confined, almost entirely, to the preparations for the drainage, which consist of one great work, designed by Captain Vetch, and executed hitherto under his superintendence. The Company possesses there fourteen shafts, communicating with each other below ground, and occupying a space of 4,100 yards upon the vein.
The mines, though peculiarly rich, were abandoned in 1798, from the enormous expence of keeping down the water, in which, at that time, 5,000 mules were employed. As a substitute for these, a single water-wheel is now to be erected; it having been ascertained, by repeated measurements, that a sufficient fall may be obtained to work this wheel, by bringing a canal, or leat, from the river, which runs through the barranca, (ravine,) in which the mines are situated, at a considerable distance up its course.
The length of this canal is 6,176 yards, or three miles and a half, of which 3,034 yards, (or nearly one mile and three-quarters,) must necessarily be carried under ground, by excavating a tunnel.
In 1826, 1,943 yards of the open cutting, and 1,629 yards of the tunnel, were completed, (four feet deep and six wide;) in addition to which, ten lumbreras, (or air shafts,) had been sunk, the aggregate depth of which was 180 yards. 1,309 yards more were driven before the 1st of February, 1827, which left only 450 yards to be completed.
The whole is regarded by the natives as a most judicious, and scientific work, which well deserves to be repaid by the success, which those acquainted with the district confidently predict.
The works of the Anglo-Mexican Company, comprise twenty mines in the district of Guănăjūātŏ alone; three in that of San Crĭstōbăl; two at Măcŏnī; five at Zĭmăpān; three at Cătōrcĕ, and six at Real del Monte. Of the Guanajuato mines, some are upon an enormous scale, as Vălĕnciānă, Mĕllādŏ, Tĕpĕyāc, Sĭrēnă, and Vĭllălpāndŏ, all of which were delivered to the Company, in February 1825, in a state of complete ruin.
When I saw them, in November 1826, the machinery, and works connected with them, had been entirely rebuilt; the drainage in Sĭrēnă, and Vĭllălpāndŏ, was nearly concluded, and in the Valenciana it was proceeding at the rate of 10,000 tons per week. Nine Haciendas de beneficio, (amalgamation works,) had been erected, and completely fitted up, with crushing-mills, and every other necessary. In most of these, the process of reducing ores was carrying on to a considerable extent: some were still idle, but the progress of the drainage in the Valenciana, and Villalpando, was expected very shortly to furnish a sufficiency of ores to bring them all into activity. The number of mules and horses employed in the drainage was 3,100; in addition to which there were about 400 more used merely in the conveyance of ores from the mines. The weekly expences of the Valenciana mine alone, which is regarded as the principal undertaking of the Company, were about 1,200l.; the whole outlay upon it, in September 1826, was 134,452l.: but then the produce of the Valenciana, from 1788 to 1810, when the works were stopped by the Revolution, averaged 1,446,067 dollars (or 289,213l/.) per annum; so that the investment is by no means disproportioned to the extent and importance of the object in view.
What I have stated, with regard to the three Companies already mentioned, is applicable to all the rest.
The outlay of the United Mexican Company is distributed amongst the principal mines of most of the principal districts, in all of which the preliminary works have been brought nearly to a conclusion, Haciendas built, and the necessary preparations made, at a very great expence, for carrying on operations upon a large scale. On the great mine of Rayas alone nearly 100,000l. have been expended. On the Veins of El Păvĕllōn, and La Veta Negra, at Sŏmbrĕrētĕ, at least an equal sum has been employed; as much more has been sunk in the mines of San Ăcāsĭŏ and San Bĕrnăbē, at Zăcătēcăs; but all these are undertakings of great promise, and upon so large a scale, that success, in any one, would repay the outlay upon the whole in the course of a few years.
At Tlălpŭjāhuă, the Company which bears that name is in possession of eighty-six mines, the very position of many of which, in 1825, it was difficult to ascertain, from the length of time which had elapsed since they had been abandoned; none of these mines is upon a very large scale, but, from their being so numerous, a multiplicity of works have been required, all of which have been executed with the greatest activity and talent. These works extend over a surface of 21,260 yards, comprised in the 106310 Pertinencias, which belong to the Company. Thirty-nine mines were in work early in 1826; in addition to which three Haciendas had been built; a large stock of mules and horses purchased for drainage, (about 2000,) and such encouragement given to workmen, that, in lieu of 150 men, (no more could be obtained at first,) 2,300 labourers were in daily employment at the time of my last visit, (in January 1827,) by whose united efforts the appearance of the place had been entirely changed, and a flourishing town created, where, two years before, nothing but ruined houses were to be seen.
It is to be regretted that the sudden change of feeling, which took place in England, with regard to Mining adventurers in general, should have compelled the directors of the Tlălpŭjāhuă Company to suspend the execution of one of the most magnificent mining works that has yet been planned in Mexico; the execution of which, although attended with considerable expence at the outset, would have proved highly advantageous to the interests of the shareholders, had proper provision been made for its completion. The mines of Tlalpujahua, having been worked at a time when the science of mining was in its infancy in Mexico, cannot be drained by machinery without a very considerable expence; it having been found necessary, in many instances, to begin by enlarging the shafts, in order to allow of the application of the larger horse-whims, (Malacates,) used in other districts. To remedy this inconvenience, as well as to obviate the disadvantages with which drainage, by a multiplicity of small adits unconnected with each other, could not fail to be attended, it was in contemplation to drain all the principal mines at once, by the construction of one immense adit, (Galerie d'écoulement,) for which the local peculiarities of the district seemed to offer extraordinary facilities. The ground was surveyed by the principal Engineer of the Company, Mr. Moro; and the opinion of the Director, (Mr. Rivafinoli,) with regard to the utility of the projected work, coinciding entirely with that of the Head Miner, (Mr. Burkart,) of whose indefatigable exertions it is impossible to speak too highly,—the line for this stupendous gallery was traced, and the work itself commenced early in 1826. The whole length of this adit, from its mouth, which is situated in the valley of Tepetongo, about a league from Tlalpujahua, to the point at which it intersects the great Coronas Vein, will be 5,176 yards. At 4976 yards it cuts the Vein of La Borda, upon which some of the most promising mines of the Company are situated; and, in both instances, a depth of 132 yards below the deepest of the old workings will be obtained. The Gallery is two yards wide, and three and a half high, being constructed in such a manner as to allow of the use of small carts. In order to facilitate its construction, twelve lumbreras, (air-shafts, puits d'airage,) have been opened, at intervals of from 350 to 450 yards from each other; and from each of these, again, two galleries extend to the right and left upon the line of the adit, so as to admit of the greatest possible number of workmen being employed at the same time. The depth of the twelfth of these air-shafts, which is the deepest, is 300 yards; the first is only sixty-three yards deep; but the aggregate depth of all amounts to 2,332 yards. It is in this that the great expence of the undertaking consists, as well as its difficulty. The aggregate depth of the air-shafts constructed for the Tunnel at Bolaños, is only 180 yards; and the tunnel itself, being merely a water course, is upon a much smaller scale than the Tlalpujahua adit, (four feet deep, by six wide). There can be no doubt, however, that both Mr. Burkart, and Mr. Moro, are perfectly competent to carry through the undertaking in which they have engaged, provided they are supported by the Shareholders at home; and every one at all acquainted with mining must perceive the immense advantages which would result from it to the Adventurers, as, in all their principal mines, it would ensure both the drainage, and the extraction of Ores, for the space of 132 yards of virgin ground, without the expence of machinery above; which requires not only a permanent investment of capital, but frequent additions, for repairs, as well as for keeping up the supply of animals, by which it must be worked.
In the Autumn of 1826, fifty yards of the great Gallery had been driven, (from the mouth,) and the air-shafts, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, and 12, commenced. Some of these had already attained a considerable depth, but the panic of the Shareholders in England has, I believe, rendered the farther progress of the work extremely slow.
The time which has been consumed in the undertakings, which I have described in the preceding pages, is not more than might have been foreseen, had the nature of the enterprise been inquired into beforehand. The capital required might, undoubtedly, have been less, under better management; but still, it has effected what it was intended to effect, and it has purchased, besides, a stock of experience, which the Companies may turn to great account in their future operations.
Under these circumstances, to allow discouragement to rob them of the fruits of their labours, at the very moment when they are almost within their reach, would be both melancholy, and absurd.
It was, however, a dénouement, to which the sudden revulsion of feeling, that took place in England in 1826, was very near leading. Had the despondency occasioned by that period of distress continued, the whole advantage of what has been done would have reverted to the Mexicans alone; for such is the present state of the mines, that the proprietors would easily have found funds to carry on the works, if abandoned by the Companies, and intended, in almost every instance, to do so.
Fortunately, confidence has been, in some measure, restored; and, notwithstanding the serious consequences with which the errors of the first six months must be attended, (consequences, which I have not attempted either to palliate, or to disguise,) it is in my firm conviction that, with a little perseverance, the result of the different enterprises now carrying on with British Capital, will be productive both of adequate returns to the Adventurers, and of permanent advantage to their Country.
To what extent these returns may be expected to go, and what the advantages are, which both England and Mexico will derive from them, it will be the object of the next Sections to inquire.
- ↑ To "denounce," in the Mining Code of Mexico, implies that process, by which a legal right of possession is obtained to a particular portion of any vein, worked or unworked, known or unknown, which a Miner chooses to select for his operations. I have adopted the word because we have no equivalent for it in English. It probably originated with the first discoveries, when a person might be fairly said to announce, or denounce a vein, the existence of which was not previously known.
- ↑ The Emigrants from Catorce were very numerous; I mean those who returned to Spain, or France, with 60, or 70,000 dollars. The United Company has now almost all the Mines at Zacatecas, which were abandoned at this time, and also those belonging to Don Narciso Anitua, at Sombrerete, which he was compelled to give up just as he had completed the drainage.
- ↑ The United Mexican Company has taken advantage of this concession, on the part of the Government, to form an establishment in the Capital, in which, by a change in the process, they undertake to separate the two metals at a less expence than the Casa del Apartado.
- ↑ To habilitate, signifies to furnish funds for working a Mine, with or without a share in the management of the works. Hablitar, and Habilitador, can only be rendered into English by adoption.
- ↑ I use the epithet nominal, because great reluctance seems to have been shown latterly, on the part of the Shareholders of some Companies, to complete the advances for which they have rendered themselves liable; as if, had it been possible to restore the Mines to activity without a real, and bonâ Fide investment to a much larger amount than they could themselves supply, the Mexicans would ever have consented to allow Foreigners to participate in those advantages, of which, during three centuries, their mines have been the source.
- ↑ I do not mean that bullion to this amount has been imported into Mexico; but that a capital of twelve millions, which would, otherwise, have found its way to Europe, has been retained, and brought into circulation in New Spain, in exchange for the Bills of the different Companies. The imports in Specie on Mining account, have not, I believe, exceeded 300,000 dollars.
- ↑ Vide Captain Head's Statement.
- ↑ I allude not to the use of Machinery where that of the country has proved insufficient, as at Real del Monte; but to the attempt to substitute the Cornish system of washing and dressing Ores, for that of New Spain. In this, as in many supposed improvements in the process of Amalgamation and Smelting, innovation has, hitherto, only led to loss; and I believe that, in every instance, the works for reducing Ores are now confided to Natives.
- ↑ The Mines of Villalpando and Sirena, which are likely to prove the most productive, were drained by Mr. Williamson, in six months, by the application of Malacates, (Horse Whims;) and of the ultimate drainage of Valenciana, by the same process, I entertain little doubt.
- ↑ I do not wish to enumerate the individual instances of these failures that have come to my knowledge, but there is one very generally known, that of Mr. Bullock's Mine at Temascaltepec, which was purchased of him by the Houses of Baring and Lubbock, and upon which I should think that 20,000l. must have been expended before their Agent, (Mr. Bullock,) could convince himself of the injudiciousness of his choice. What induced him, in the first instance, to fix upon this particular spot, I am unable to state, for I have never discovered any record, or even tradition, respecting the former produce of the Mine. Certain it is, however, that it does not now contain the slightest vestige of a Vein, nor has one Ounce of Ore, (rich or poor,) been raised from it.
- ↑ I cannot urge this point too strongly, for although the mass of silver already raised from some mines, undoubtedly diminishes the probability of their continuing equally productive for a long term of years, yet, where the richness of the Vein continued unimpaired in 1810, it affords almost a certainty of the repayment of the Capital invested, in the first instance, leaving the profits only to be affected by the ulterior returns.
- ↑ Vide Report of Tribunal de Mineria, and Humboldt, passim.