D.—No. 19

12

REPORT ON MINING

also, whereas in London these charges amount to 12 cents the oz. Taking, then, as a basis for calculation, 100 oz. of gold 900 fine, the following would be its value in San Francisco : — DoU. cts. 100 oz. gold, 900 fine, at 18 dollars 6046 cents per oz. ... ... 1,860 46 9 oz. silver ditto, less amount retained in the gold as alloy, being '909, giving 8-09 oz. of silver at 1 dollar 2929 cents ... ... 10 46 4 per cent, premium on the silver ... ... ... ... 0 42 Gross value of 100 oz. gold in San Francisco ... ... 1,871 34 Deduct i'or refining &c. 8 cents per oz. ... ... 8 00 Net value of 100 oz. gold in San Francisco ... ... 1,803 34 In London 100 oz. contain — Dols. cts. 80 oz. standard gold at 775. 10d., or 18 dollars 9387 cents ... 1,859 42 9 oz. fine silver at ss. 6d. ... ... ... ... ... 12 04 Gross value of 100 oz. gold in London ... ... ... 1,87146 Deduct for refining, &c, 12 cents per oz. ... ... 12 00 Net value of 100 oz. in London ... ... ... 1,859 46

APPENDIX. Copt or an Act intituled " An Act to legalize the Occupation of Mineral Lands, and for other Purposes." 1. That the mineral lands of the public domain, both surveyed and unsurveyed, are hereby declared to be free and open to exploration and occupation, by all citizens of the United States and those who have declared their intention to become citizens, subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by law, and subject also to local custom or rules of miners in the several mining districts, so far as tho same may not be in conflict with the laws of the United States. 2. And be it further enacted, that whenever any person or association of persons claim a vein or lode of quartz, or other rock in place, bearing gold, silver, cinnabar, or copper, having previously occupied and improved the same according to the local custom or rules of miners in the district where the same is situated, and having expended in actual labour and improvements thereon an amount not less than one thousand dollars, and in regard to whose possession there is no controversy or opposing claim, it shall and may be lawful for said claimant or association of claimants, to file in the local Land Office a diagram of the same, so extended laterally or otherwise as to conform to the local laws, customs, and rules of miners, and to enter such tract and receive a patent therefor, granting such mine, together with the right to follow such vein or lode, with its dips, angles, and variations, to any depth, although it may enter the land adjoining, which land adjoining shall bo sold subject to this condition. 3. And be it further enacted, that upon the filing of the diagram as provided in the second section of this Act, and posting the same in a conspicuous place on the claim, together with a notice of intention to apply for a patent, the Registrar of the Land Office shall publish a notice of the same in a newspaper published nearest to the location of said claim, and shall also post such notice in his office for the period of ninety days; and after the expiration of said period, if no adverse claim shall have been filed, it shall be the duty of the Surveyor-General, upon application of the party, to survey the premises and make a plat thereof, indorsed with his approval, designating the number and description of the location, the value of the labour and improvements, and the character of the vein exposed; and upon tho payment to the proper officer of five dollars per acre, together with the cost of such survey, plat, and notice, and giving satisfactory evidence that said diagram and notice have been posted on the claim during said period of ninety days, the Registrar of the Land Office shall transmit to the General Land Office said plat, survey, and description ; and a patent shall issue for the same thereupon. But said plat, survey, or description shall in no case cover more than one vein or lode, and no patent shall issue for more than one vein or lode, which shall be expressed in the patent issued. 4. And be it further enacted, that when such location and entry of a mine shall be upon unsurveyed lands, it shall and may be lawful after the extension thereto of the public surveys, to adjust the surveys to the limits of the premises according to the location and possession and plat aforesaid, and the Surveyor-General may, in extending the surveys vary the same from a rectangular form to suit the circumstances of the country, and the local rules, laws, and customs of miners: Provided that no location hereafter made shall exceed two hundred feet in length along the vein for each locator, with an additional claim for discovery to the discoverers of the lode, with the right to follow such vein to any depth, with all its dips, variations and angles, together with a reasonable quantity of surface for the convenient working of the same, as fixed by local rules: And provided further, that no person may make more than one location on the same lode, and not more than three thousand feet shall be taken in any one claim by any association of persons. 5. And be it further enacted, that as a further condition of sale, in the absence of necessary legislation by Congress, the local Legislature of any State or Territory may provide rules for working mines involving easements, drainage, and other necessary means to their complete development, and those conditions shall be fully expressed in the patent.