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 1876. 
 
MINING LAWS AND FORMS: 
 
 BEING A COMPILATION OF THE 
 
 STATUTES OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 A ND 
 
 TERRITORY OF NEVADA, 
 
 IN REFERENCE TO 
 
 MINING CORPORATIONS, CANAL COMPANIES, ASSESSMENTS, MINING 
 
 PARTNERSHIPS, TRANSFER AGENCIES, CHANGING PRINCI- 
 
 PAL PLACE OF BUSINESS, MINERAL LANDS, CONVEY- 
 
 ANCES OF, AND Af"~^S RESPECTING MINING 
 
 CLAIMS, TAXA. , FOREIGN MINERS, ETC. 
 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
 THE MINING ORDINANCES OF MEXICO, 
 
 Forms for the Incorporation of Mining Companies, and a Digest of 
 
 Decisions of the Supreme Court of California relative to 
 
 Mining Corporations and Mining Interests. 
 
 - lK HA III 
 
 COMPILED BY H. B.l CONGDON . 
 
 OF 
 
 CALIFORNL 
 
 THIKD EDITIL 
 
 REVISED AND N L A R CnTTTr 
 
 SAN FKANCISCO : 
 H. H. BANCROFT AND COMPANY. 
 
 1864. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year of our Lord 1864, 
 
 BY H. B. CONGDON, 
 
 In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Northern 
 Distrtct of California. 
 
 TOWNE & BACON, PRINTERS. 
 
LI B 11 A II 
 
 UN1VKKSITY OF 
 
 CALIF- 
 
 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 THE present volume contains all the laws and decisions which relate to Min- 
 ing Corporations in the State of California ; also the necessary forms used in 
 the incorporation of Mining Companies. It is published because of the great 
 necessity for such a work. Many thousands of men in California and Nevada 
 Territory are directly engaged in mining, and thousands more are owners of 
 mining stocks; many millions of capital are invested in them, and nearly 
 the whole business of California and Nevada Territory is based on mining inter- 
 ests; yet comparatively few persons know anything definite about the laws 
 which govern these great interests. These laws are simple and easily understood. 
 
 The professional man will find the present volume of great convenience, as all 
 the Mining Laws are compiled in their proper order, and the decisions of the 
 Supreme Court bearing on the subject are arranged under appropriate heads. 
 The most approved forms used in the formation of companies and a full and 
 complete index are appended ; and there will be no occasion for looking beyond 
 the present volume for any law, decision, or form which relates to the subject. 
 
 To the great number of individuals who are members of Incorporated Mining 
 Companies and owners of mining stock, as well as to those who may hereafter 
 become interested in like companies, this little compilation presents an opportu- 
 nity of acquiring a perfect knowledge of the laws which govern the subject of 
 their interests. 
 
 To persons who may desire to form Mining Companies it gives complete 
 instruction, and will enable them to commence and perfect their organization 
 without legal advice or assistance. 
 
 H. B. C. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, July, 1863. 
 
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 
 
 SINCE the publication of the First and Second Editions of MINING LAWS 
 AND FORMS the Statutes of the State of California relating to the subject 
 matter of the volume have been so far changed and amended as to render 
 those Editions, in many respects, useless, and to occasion an earnest demand 
 by the public for a new and enlarged edition. 
 
 The Compiler has therefore carefully revised the work, and has included 
 in this Edition all the laws of the State of California in force at the present 
 time, of interest to Mining Corporations and persons interested in mining. 
 This Edition also includes a careful and thorough compilation of all the laws 
 of the Territory of Nevada on the same subjects. 
 
 The large amount of California capital invested in Mexican Mines has occa- 
 sioned a demand for information relative to the laws of that country concerning 
 the mines ; and the Compiler has been induced to also include in this Edition 
 the Code of Mining Ordinances of Mexico (of 1783), complete, and has added 
 thereto several important decrees of the Mexican Government, denning the 
 rights and privileges of foreigners resident in that country. 
 
 The public will also find in this Edition a full and complete Digest of the 
 Decisions of the Supreme Court of California bearing on the subject of mining, 
 and all kindred subjects, brought down to and including those contained 'in 
 the latest published volume of the Reports, arranged under the laws and sec- 
 tions to which such decisions are applicable. 
 
 The "Forms" have been revised and made to conform to the demands 
 which the latest experience has made advisable, and will be found to be 
 adapted to the wants of persons desiring to form corporations, as well as of 
 mining companies and their officers. 
 
 The present Edition of this work is confidently placed before the public, 
 in the belief that it supplies a public want, and that it will receive the public 
 
 patronage. 
 
 H. B. C. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO. July, 1864. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 An Act to provide for the Formation of Corporations for certain Pur- 
 poses (passed April 14th, 1853) 1 
 
 An Act amendatory and supplemental to an Act entitled "An Act to 
 provide for the Formation of Corporations for certain Pur- 
 poses " (approved March 7th, 1859), Sec. 2 2 
 
 An Act concerning Corporations (approved April 1st, 1864) 2 
 
 An Act supplementary to an Act entitled "An Act to provide for the 
 Formation of Corporations for certain Purposes," passed April 
 14th, 1853 (approved March 27th, 1857) 21 
 
 An Act concerning Assessments upon the Stock of Corporations (ap- 
 proved April 4th, 1864) 24 
 
 An Act in reference to Corporations organized in this State for the 
 
 purpose of Mining out of this State (passed March 5th, 1861). 28 
 
 An Act concerning Partnerships for Mining Purposes (approved April 
 
 4th, 1864) 28 
 
 An Act to authorize Mining Companies or Corporations to change 
 
 their principal Place of Business (approved Feb. 15th, 1864) . . 30 
 
 An Act to authorize the removal of the Office and principal Place of 
 Business of Mining and other Corporations from the Town of 
 Aurora in the Territory of Nevada, to the City of San Fran- 
 cisco, or other places in the State of California (passed Febru- 
 ary 27th, 1864) 31 
 
 An Act to authorize Corporations, organized in this State for the pur- 
 pose of Mining in or without this State, to establish and maintain 
 Transfer Agencies in other States (approved April 4th, 1864) . . 32 
 
 An Act to authorize the Incorporation of Canal Companies and the 
 
 Construction of Canals (passed May 14th, 1862) 33 
 
 An Act to protect Owners of Growing Crops, Buildings, and other 
 Improvements in the Mining Districts of this State (passed 
 April 25th, 1855) 36 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGX. 
 
 An Act prescribing the mode of Maintaining and Defending Possess- 
 ory Actions on Public Lands in this State (approved April 20th, 
 1852), Sec. 1 37 
 
 An Act to provide for the Conveyance of Mining Claims (passed April 
 
 13th, 1860) 42 
 
 An Act supplementary to the Act entitled "An Act to amend an Act 
 defining the time for commencing Civil Actions," passed April 
 22d, 1850; approved April 18th, 1863 (approved Feb. 18th, 
 1864) 45 
 
 An Act amendatory and supplementary to the Act entitled "An Act 
 to regulate Proceedings in Civil Cases in Courts of Justice of 
 this State " (passed May 15th, 1854), Sees. 63, 64 46 
 
 An Act to regulate Proceedings in Civil Cases in the Courts of Justice 
 
 of this State (passed May 15th, 1854), Sec. 621 47 
 
 An Act supplementary to an Act entitled "An Act to provide Revenue 
 for the Support of the Government of this State," approved 
 May 17th, 1861 (approved April 4th, 1864) 57 
 
 An Act to provide Revenue for the Support of the Government of this 
 
 State (approved May 17th, 1861 ), Sees. 90, 92, 93, 97, 98 58 
 
 LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 
 An Act to provide for the Formation of Corporations for certain Pur- 
 poses (approved December 20th, 1862) 63 
 
 An Act for the Encouragement of Mining (approved February 20th, 
 
 1864) 72 
 
 An Act empowering Corporations and Associations for Mining to Sue 
 
 Individual Members (approved December 19th, 1864) 73 
 
 An Act for the Protection of Mines and Mining Claims (approved 
 
 December 19th, 1862) 74 
 
 An Act relating to the Manner of commencing Civil Actions (ap- 
 proved December 20th, 1862) 76 
 
 An Act defining the Time for commencing Civil Actions (approved 
 
 November 21st, 1861), Sec. 4 76 
 
 An Act for securing Liens to Mechanics and others (approved Novem- 
 ber 21st, 1861), Sec. 12 76 
 
 An Act to provide for the Conveyance of Mining Claims (approved 
 
 December 12th, 1862) 77 
 
 An Act to regulate Proceedings in Civil Cases in the Courts of Jus- 
 tice of the Territory of Nevada (approved November 29th, 
 1861), Sees. 707713 inclusive 78 
 
 An Act amendatory of and supplemental to an Act entitled "An Act 
 to amend and supplemental to 'An Act to provide for the As- 
 
CONTENTS. Vli 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 sessing and Collecting County and Territorial Revenue ' " (ap- 
 proved February 20th, 1864) 79 
 
 An Act to regulate Official Oaths (approved April 30th, 1861), Sec. 1 176 
 An Act to regulate Proceedings in Civil Cases in the Courts of Justice 
 of the Territory of Nevada (approved November 29th, 1861), 
 Sec. 561 176 
 
 LAW OF CONGRESS. 
 
 An Act to disapprove of the Twenty-sixth Chapter of the Act of the 
 Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Nevada [entitled "An 
 Act to provide for the Formation of Corporations for certain 
 Purposes/' approved December 20th, 1862] and for other Pur- 
 poses (approved March 3d, 1863) 70 
 
 MINING ORDINANCES OF MEXICO. 
 
 Koyal Ordinances for the Direction, Regulation, and Government of 
 the Important Body of the Miners of New Spain and of its Royal 
 Tribunal General. By order of His Majesty, Madrid, 1783. By 
 the King <. 81 
 
 DIGEST OF DECISIONS OP SUPKEME COURT OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Certificate of Incorporation 2 
 
 Powers of Corporations 4 
 
 Assignment, Transfer, and Mortgage of Stock 7 
 
 Sale for Non-payment of Assessments 9 
 
 Right of surviving Partner to Vote 9 
 
 Power to issue Bills or Notes 11 
 
 Personal Liability (of Stockholders) 11 
 
 Service of Summons 12 
 
 Competency of Witnesses 12 
 
 Actions against Corporations, etc 13 
 
 Liability of Corporations 14 
 
 Compensation of Officers 15 
 
 Liability of Trustees 16 
 
 Dissolution of Corporation 20 
 
 Liability (Mining Copartnership) 30 
 
 Ditches, Canals, etc 34 
 
 Claims on Mineral Lands 38 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Growing Wood and Timber 41 
 
 Private Lands 42 
 
 Conveyances of Mining Claims, etc 43 
 
 Conveyance to and by Corporation 44 
 
 Jurisdiction (of Mining Claims) 46 
 
 Customs and Rules (of Miners) 48 
 
 Record and Location (of Mining Claims) 49 
 
 Work (on Mining Claims) 50 
 
 Forfeiture and Abandonment 51 
 
 Possession Evidence of Title, etc ". 52 
 
 Tailings (from Mines) 55 
 
 Boundary Lines (between Mining Claims) 57 
 
 Fixtures (upon Mining Claims) 57 
 
 Agreement (working Mine under) 57 
 
 Execution (Levy of, on Mining Claims) 57 
 
 Taxation (of Mining Claims) 58 
 
 , Foreign Miners' (License Tax) 60 
 
 APPENDIX FORMS. 
 
 Certificate of Incorporation 167 
 
 Trust Deed . . .. 167 
 
 By-laws 169 
 
 Power of Attorney to receive Stock 168 
 
 Power of Attorney to Vote 169 
 
 Mining District Laws (Reese River District) 174 
 
L I B R ARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 CALIFORNIA. 
 
 THE MINING LAWS 
 
 STATE OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 CORPORATIONS. 
 
 
 
 AN ACT to provide for the formation of Corporations for 
 certain Purposes. 
 
 [Passed April 14th, 1853 Wood's Dig.. pp. 119, 906; Statutes 1853, p. 87; 
 Statutes 1855, p. 205 ; Statutes 1858, p. 133.] 
 
 SECTION 1. (As amended ly Act of March 5th, 1864 
 Stat. 1863-4, p. 149.) Corporations for manufacturing, min- 
 ing, mechanical, mercantile, wharfing and docking, or chemical 
 purposes, or for the purpose of engaging in any other species 
 of trade, business, or commerce, foreign or domestic, may be 
 formed according to the provisions of this act ; such corpora- 
 tions and the members thereof being subject to all the con- 
 ditions and liabilities herein imposed, and to none others. 
 
 SEC. 2. (As amended ly Act of March "lfh, 1859 Stat. 
 1859, p. 93.) Any three or more persons who may desire 
 to form a company for any one or more of the purposes 
 specified in the preceding section, may make, sign, and 
 acknowledge, before some officer competent to take the 
 acknowledgment of deeds, and file in the office of the 
 2 
 
2 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 County Clerk of the county in which the principal place of 
 business of the company is intended to be located, and a" 
 certified copy thereof, under the hand of the Clerk and seal 
 of the County Court of said county, in the office of the Sec- 
 retary of State, a certificate in writing, in which shall be 
 stated the corporate name of the company, the objects for 
 which the company shall be formed, the amount of its capital 
 stock, the time of its existence, not to exceed fifty years, the 
 number of shares of which the stock shall consist, the number 
 of trustees and their names, who shall manage the concerns 
 of the company for the first three months, and the names of 
 the city, or town, and county, in which the principal place of 
 business of the company is to be located. 
 
 Certificate of Incorporation. 
 
 1. The existence of a corporation, formed under a general statute, requir- 
 ing certain at;ts to be done before the corporation can be considered in esse, 
 or its transactions be valid, must be proved by showing, at least, a substan- 
 tial compliance with the requirements of the statute. Mokelumne Hill C. 
 & M. Co. v. Woodbury, 14 Cal. 424. 
 
 2. The omission of such acts as are declared necessary steps in the pro- 
 cess of incorporation will be fatal, even collaterally, when the fact of incor- 
 poration can be questioned. Id. 
 
 3. But as to such other acts required of the persons seeking to become 
 incorporated, but not made prerequisites to the assumption of corporate 
 powers, the corporation is responsible only to the Government in a direct 
 action of forfeiture. Id. 
 
 4. Under our law, corporations have a legal existence from the date of 
 filing the certificate of incorporation in the County Clerk's office. Id. 
 
 5. That a duplicate certificate is not filed in the office of the Secretary of 
 State, is matter between the corporation and the State, and not necessary to 
 be shown on the issue of corporation or no corporation in suits against third 
 persons. Id. 
 
 6. Where the certificate of incorporation states that San Francisco is " the 
 place of business," instead of " the principal place of business :" held, to 
 be mere technical errer, not invalidating the charter. Ex parte Spring Val- 
 ley Water Works, 17 Cal. 132. 
 
 7. The existence of a corporation formed under the general State law is 
 proved by its articles of incorporation executed and filed in accordance with 
 the statute. Spring Valley Water Works v. San Francisco, 22 Cal. 434. 
 
 8. In incorporating under the general law a strict compliance with all the 
 requirements of the statute is not essential, and the proceedings will not be 
 held invalid for slight defects or omissions. Id. 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 3 
 
 9. The omission or irregular performance of acts relating to the organiza- 
 tion of a corporation, can only be investigated in a direct proceeding insti- 
 tuted by the State for that purpose, and not in a collateral action. So, too, 
 of those acts which are not made prerequisites to the exercise of corporate 
 powers but which operate as a forfeiture. Id. 
 
 DEFECTIVE ACTS OF INCORPORATION. 
 
 An Act amendatory and supplemental to an act entitled an Act to provide for the forma- 
 tion of Corporations for certain purposes, passed April \ith, 1853. 
 
 [Approved March 7th, 1859; Stat. 1859, p. 93.] 
 
 SECTION 2. All corporations heretofore formed under the provisions of the act of which 
 this is amendatory, who have filed a certified copy of the certificate in writing, required 
 to be executed in the first section of this act, in tlie office of the Secretary of State, shall 
 to all intents and purposes, be as legally incorporated as though a duplicate thereof had 
 been filed in the office of the said Secretary of State, ana all acts heretofore done by such 
 companies under their corporate name in conformity to the laws governing corporations 
 in this State are hereby made lawful acts." 
 
 An Act concerning Corporations. 
 [Approved April 1st, 1864; Stat. 1863-4, p. 303.] 
 
 SECTION 1. All associations or companies heretofore organized and acting in the form 
 and manner of corporations, and that have filed certificates for the purpose of being incor- 
 porated, but whose certificates are in some manner defective, or have been improperly 
 acknowledged, or have been acknowledged before a person not authorized by law to take 
 such acknowledgments, are hereby declared to be and to have been corporations from the 
 date of the filing of such certificates, in the same manner and to the same effect and intent 
 as if such certificate w r ere without fault and properly acknowledged before the proper 
 officer, and all such certificates are hereby validated and declared to be legal, and shall 
 have the same force and effect as if such certificates were free from all fault or defect, 
 and were properly acknowledged before an officer having authority to take such acknowl- 
 edgments. 
 
 SEC. 3. A copy of any certificate of incorporation filed in 
 pursuance of this act, and certified by the County Clerk of 
 the county in which it is filed, or his deputy, or by the Sec- 
 retary of State, shall be received in all Courts and places as 
 presumptive evidence of the facts therein stated. 
 
 SEC. 4. When the certificate shall have been filed, the per- 
 sons who shall have signed and acknowledged the same, and 
 their successors, shall be a body politic and corporate, in fact 
 and in name, by the name stated in the certificate, and by 
 their corporate name have succession for the period limited, 
 and power : First, to sue and be sued in any Court ; Second, 
 to make and use a common seal, and alter the same at pleas- 
 ure ; Third, to purchase, hold, sell, and convey such real 
 and "personal estate as the purposes of the corporation shall 
 require ; Fourth, to appoint such officers, agents, and servants 
 as the business of the corporation shall require ; to define 
 their powers, prescribe their duties, and fix their compensa- 
 tion ; Fifth, to require of them such security as may be 
 
4 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 thought proper for the fulfillment of their duties, and to 
 remove them at will except that no trustee shall be re- 
 moved from office unless by a vote of two-thirds of the whole 
 number of trustees, or by a vote of the majority of the 
 trustees, upon a written request signed by stockholders of 
 two-thirds of the whole stock ; Sixth, to make by-laws, not 
 inconsistent with the laws of this State, for the organization 
 of the company, the management of its property, the regula- 
 tion of its affairs, the transfer of its stock, and for carrying 
 on all kinds of business within the objects and purposes of 
 the company. 
 
 Powers of Corporations. 
 
 1. The policy of the State has altered the rigidness of the common law, 
 which disabled a corporation from making a contract except under its cor- 
 porate seal. Smith v. Eureka Flour Mills, 6 Cal. 6. 
 
 2. Under the laws of this State, the power of corporations to create debts 
 is treated as an incident to the express powers, and not as in itself one of 
 the express powers. Id. 
 
 3. All corporations by the general act have power to make by-laws for 
 the " organization of the company," the " management of its property," the 
 " regulation of its affairs, and for carrying on all kinds of business within 
 the objects and purposes of the company," in which there is no reason to 
 exclude the right of making promissory notes. Id. 
 
 4. The express powers of a corporation must be exercised in the manner 
 pointed out by the statute, but the powers merely incident thereto may be 
 exercised by its officers or agents. Id. 
 
 5. Corporations can possess or exercise such corporate powers only as are 
 expressly given by statutes, or by the charter, and such as shall be necessary 
 to the exercise of the powers enumerated and given. Dunbar v. City of 
 San Francisco, 1 Cal. 356 ; Correas v. City of San Francisco, Id. 452. 
 
 6. If a charter confers upon a corporation a given power, and at the 
 same time prescribes the mode of its exercise, the provision must be held as 
 dependent and must be construed accordingly. Holland v. City of San 
 Francisco, 7 Cal. 375. 
 
 7. Charters of corporations are special grants of power emanating from 
 the paramount authority. The corporation owing its existence to the law is 
 precisely what the law makes it. City of Oakland v. Carpentier, 13 Cal. 
 545. 
 
 8. Corporations are bound to follow strictly the letter of their charter, 
 and can exercise no power unless granted to them, or absolutely necessary 
 to carry out the power so granted. Smith v. Morse, 2 Cal. 538. 
 
 9. The word " person," in its legal signification, is a generic term, and was 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. ** 5 
 
 intended to include artificial as well as natural persons. Douglas v. Pacific 
 M. 8. 8. Co., 4 Cal, 306. 
 
 10. In reference to all transactions in the nature of a contract, a corpora- 
 tion must be looked upon and treated as a private person, and its contracts 
 construed in the same manner and with the like effect as those of natural 
 persons. Touchard v. Touchard, 5 Cal. 307. 
 
 11. The incorporation act of 1853 does not substantially alter the incor- 
 poration law of 1850. Weston v. Bear River and Auburn W. & M. Co., 
 6 Cal. 429. 
 
 12. The power of removing the private or ministerial officers of a private 
 corporation belongs to the corporation alone. Courts cannot remove such 
 officers. Neall v. Hill, 16 Cal. 145. 
 
 13. Neither the general incorporation act, nor the act concerning plank 
 roads and turnpikes, gives any exclusive privileges to the corporation first 
 established. Others may build a road on or near the same line of travel. 
 Indian Canon Road Co. v. Robinson, 13 Cal. 520. 
 
 14. Two corporations cannot hold as joint tenants, but may as tenants in 
 common. Dewitt v. City of San Francisco, 2 Cal. 297. 
 
 15. A corporation, unless expressly prohibited by law or the provisions 
 of its charter, has power to make all contracts that are necessary and usual 
 in the course of the business it transacts as means to enable it to effect the 
 object of its creation. Union Water Co. v. Murphy's Flat Fluming Co., 22 
 Cal. 620. 
 
 16. A contract by a corporation, which is not upon its face necessarily 
 beyond the scope of its authority, will, in the absence of proof, be presumed 
 to be valid. Id. 
 
 17. In an action by a corporation upon a contract made by it with the 
 defendant, the latter cannot interpose as a defense that the plaintiff in mak- 
 ing the contract has exceeded the power conferred by its charter or the law 
 under which it was formed. The question of a violation of its charter is 
 one between the State and the corporation, and cannot be investigated col- 
 laterally by individuals. Id. 
 
 SEC. 5. The corporate powers of the corporation shall be 
 exercised by a Board of not less than three trustees, who 
 shall be stockholders in the company, and a majority of them 
 citizens of the United States and residents of this State, and 
 who shall, after the expiration of the term of the trustees 
 first selected, be annually elected by the stockholders at such 
 time and place, and upon such notice and in such mode as 
 shall be directed by the by-laws of the company ; but all 
 elections shall be by ballot, and each stockholder, either in 
 person or by proxy, shall be entitled to as many votes as he 
 
6 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 owns shares of stock ; and the persons receiving the greatest 
 number of votes shall be trustees. When any vacancy shall 
 happen among the trustees by death, resignation, or. other- 
 wise, it shall be filled for the remainder of the year in such 
 manner as may be provided by the by-laws of the company. 
 
 SEC. 6. If it should happen, at any time, that an election 
 of trustees shall not be made on the day designated by the 
 by-laws of the company, the corporation shall not for that 
 reason be dissolved, but it shall be lawful on any other day 
 to hold an election for trustees, in such manner as shall be 
 provided for by the by-laws of the company ; and all acts of 
 trustees shall be valid and binding upon the company until 
 their successors shall be elected. 
 
 SEC. 7. A majority of the whole number of trustees shall 
 form a Board for the transaction of business, and every 
 decision of a majority of the persons duly assembled as a 
 Board shall be valid as a corporate act. 
 
 SEC. 8. The first meeting of the trustees shall be called 
 by a notice, signed by one or more of the persons named 
 trustees in the certificate, setting forth the time and place of 
 the meeting, which notice shall be either delivered personally 
 to each trustee or published at least ten days in some news- 
 paper of the county in which is the principal place of business 
 of the corporation, or if no newspaper be published in the 
 county, then in some newspaper nearest thereto. 
 
 SEC. 9. The stock of the company shall be deemed per- 
 sonal estate, and shall be transferable in such manner as shall 
 be prescribed by the by-laws of the company ; but no transfer 
 shall be valid, except between the parties thereto, until the 
 same shall have been so entered on the books of the company 
 as to show the names of the parties by and to whom trans- 
 ferred, the number and designation of the shares, and the 
 date of the transfer. 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 7 
 
 Assignment, Transfer, and Mortgage of Stock. 
 
 1. Under the twelfth section of the act concerning corporations, passed 
 April 22d, 1850, no transfer of stock is good against third parties, unless 
 the transfer be made on the books of the company. Weston v. Bear River 
 and Auburn W. & M. Co., 5 Cal. 186. 
 
 2. Where a femme sole became the owner of shares in a company, and 
 afterwards marries, and after marriage the husband and wife execute an 
 indorsement on the certificate of stock, purporting to sell the same to A, 
 without any privy examination of the wife, and there being at the time no 
 inventory of the separate property of the wife on record : held, that such 
 sale was void, as against a subsequent purchaser, under an instrument duly 
 signed and acknowledged. Selover v. American Russian Com. Co., 7 Cal. 
 266. 
 
 3. Where A received an assignment of stock in a corporation, and the 
 stock was subsequently attached under a judgment against the vendor, and 
 afterwards the stock was regularly transferred to A, who then obtained an 
 assignment of the judgment under which the stock was attached : held, that 
 the assignment of the judgment at once merged the lien in the higher right ; 
 and that A, as regarded third parties, became the absolute owner of the 
 stock. Strout v. Natoma W. & M. Co., 9 Cal. 78. 
 
 4. A railroad company cannot refuse to enter the transfer of stock in the 
 company on their books on the ground that the assignor of the stock is 
 indebted to the company, unless tne company had a lien upon the stock at 
 the date of its transfer. People v. Crockett, 9 Cal. 112. 
 
 5. Where shares of stock in a corporation have been regularly transferred 
 as security for a loan, the mortgagee is the only proper garnishee in a suit 
 against the mortgagor, and attachment on his interest in the corporation. 
 Edwards v. Beugnot, 7 Cal. 162. 
 
 6. Where from an instrument transferring shares of stock as security for 
 a note, and from other circumstances, the transaction is clearly a loan, a 
 clause of foreclosure on non-payment, or a provision that the mortgagee may 
 take the property for the debt, does not make the instrument any the less a 
 mortgage. Smith v. '49 and '56 Quartz M. Co., 14 Cal. 242. 
 
 7. Where stock is transferred to secure a debt, and is still in the hands of 
 the transferree, and plaintiff avers that the stock is worth more than the 
 debt, and that defendant has received from dividends more than enough to 
 pay it, equity has jurisdiction to compel an account, prevent a transfer and 
 delivery of the stock. Id. 
 
 8. The clause in such instrument " I hereby sell, transfer, and set over. . . . 
 
 all my right, title, and interest to the said stock, provided I fail to 
 
 pay the above sum on the day the same becomes due and pay- 
 able," does not make it a conditional sale, there being no money given or 
 agreed to be given for the stock, and no agreement to take it at any price at 
 the time of the contract. Id. 
 
 9. A mortgagee of stock in such case does not get an absolute title to the 
 stock by the mere default of payment of the mortgage debt. Id. 
 
 10. Under the chattel mortgage act of 1857 a mortgage of shares of stock 
 in an incorporated company is valid without a transfer on the books of the 
 company as is required by the corporation act of 1853 relative to pledges 
 
8 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 of stock by delivery of the certificates. The act of 1853 has no effect on 
 the act of 1857. Ede v. Johmon, 15 Cal. 53. 
 
 11. At one time seven shares of stock in a company are pledged by 
 defendant to plaintiff as security for a note of defendant then executed. 
 At another time twenty more snares are pledged as security for another 
 note of defendant then executed. In suit on the notes, and for sale of the 
 stock, etc., the judgment was for the amount of the notes, and directed a 
 sale of all the shares of stock, and an application of the proceeds to the 
 payment of the judgment : held, that the judgment was wrong so far as it 
 ordered a sale of the stock in gross, and an application of the proceeds to 
 .the entire indebtedness. Mahoney v. Caperton, 15 Cal. 313. 
 
 12. A party who purchases at Sheriff's sale stock of a corporation, know- 
 ing that the certificates of such stock have been hypothecated, is chargeable 
 with notice of the fact and takes subject to the claim of the pledgee. Neither 
 the incorporation act of 1850, nor that of 1853, was intended to cover such 
 a case, but to apply only to transfers and purchases in good faith without 
 notice. Weston v. Bear River Co., 6 Cal. 425. 
 
 13. Plaintiff assigns to defendant, September 22d, two shares of stock in 
 a mining company, stating in the assignment, " I authorize the transfer to 
 him (defendant), with all the dividends made after the morning of the twenty- 
 third of September." Both parties expected a dividend on Monday the 22d. 
 The trustees did not, in fact, declare a dividend until between noon and one 
 o'clock on Tuesday : held, that the dividends belonged to plaintiff; and that 
 parol evidence was admissible to explain the transaction and point out its 
 meaning. Erewster v. Lathrop, 15 Cal. 21. 
 
 SEC. 10. The trustees shall have power to call in and 
 demand from the stockholders the sums by them subscribed, 
 at such times and in such payments or installments as they 
 may deem proper. Notice of each assessment shall be given 
 to the stockholders personally, or shall be published once a 
 week for at least four weeks in some newspaper published at 
 the place designated as the principal place of business of the 
 corporation, or if none is published there in some newspaper 
 nearest to such place. If, after such notice has been given, 
 any stockholder shall make default in the payment of the 
 assessment upon the shares held by him, so many of such 
 shares may be sold as will be necessary for the payment of 
 the assessment on all the shares held by him. The sale of 
 said shares shall be made as prescribed in the by-laws of the 
 company ; provided, that no sale shall be made except at pub- 
 lic auction, to the highest bidder, after a notice of thirty days 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 9 
 
 published as above directed in this section ; and that at such 
 sale the person who will agree to pay the assessment so due, 
 together with the expense of advertisement and the other 
 expenses of sale, for the smallest number of whole shares, 
 shall be deemed the highest bidder. 
 
 (Query Whether this section is not repealed by Sec. 15 of the Act of 
 April 4th, 1864, entitled "An Act concerning Assessments upon the Stock 
 -of Corporations.") 
 
 1. Plaintiff and others owned and worked a mining claim from 1855 to 
 1858, when they formed themselves into a corporation with twenty-one 
 shares of stock at one hundred dollars each ; and from that time the claim 
 was held as corporate property. The corporation levied assessments on the 
 shares of stock, of which plaintiff owned one ; and plaintiff failing to pay, 
 sold his sh.are at public auction. He now sues the corporation for an un- 
 divided one twenty-first part of the mining claim : held, that plaintiff has 
 mistaken his remedy ; that if the corporation had no power to forfeit his 
 stock and hence it was improperly sold, he may maintain an action for its 
 recovery, but not for a specific interest in the claim not being in a position 
 to question the title of the corporation, particularly as the property is a min- 
 ing claim and could only be held by occupation and possession. Smith v. 
 Maine Boys' Tunnel Co., 18 Cal. 111. 
 
 SEC. 11. Whenever any stock is held by any person as 
 executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee, he shall repre- 
 sent such stock at all meetings of the company, and may vote 
 accordingly as a stockholder. 
 
 Right of Surviving Partner to Vote. 
 
 1. A surviving partner has a right to vote at an election for officers of a 
 corporation, formed under the general incorporation act of this State of 
 1853, the stock in his hands as assets of the partnership, the business of 
 the firm being unsettled. People v. Hill, 16 Cal. 114. 
 
 2. The fact that a portion of the stock voted by such surviving partner 
 stood upon the books of the corporation at the time of the election, in the 
 name of the deceased partner alone, does not affect the right to vote if in 
 fact the stock belonged to the partnership. Id. 
 
 3. Semble, upon principle, that the real owner of stock in such corpora- 
 tions is entitled to represent it at the meetings of the corporation, and the 
 mere fact that he does not appear as the owner upon the books of the com- 
 pany should not absolutely exclude him from the privilege of so doing. Id. 
 
 4. The New York cases, establishing a different doctrine, are based upon 
 a statute making the books of the corporation the only evidence as to own- 
 ership of the stock. Id. 
 
 SEC. 12. Any stockholder may pledge his stock by a deliv- 
 
10 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 ery of the certificates or other evidence of his interest, but 
 may nevertheless represent the same at all meetings and vote 
 accordingly as a stockholder. 
 
 SEC. 13. It shall not be lawful for the trustees to make 
 any dividend except from the surplus profits arising from the 
 business of the corporation ; nor to divide, withdraw, or in 
 any way pay to the stockholders, or any of them, any part of 
 the capital stock of the company ; nor to reduce the capital 
 stock, unless in the manner prescribed in this act ; and in case 
 of any violation of the provisions of this section, the trustees, 
 under whose administration the same may have happened, 
 except those who may have caused their dissent therefrom to 
 be entered at large on the minutes of the board of trustees 
 at the time, or were not present when the same did happen, 
 shall, in their individual and private capacities, be jointly and 
 severally liable to the corporation, and the creditors thereof, 
 in the event of its dissolution, to the full amount so divided, 
 withdrawn, paid out, or reduced ; provided, that this section 
 shall not be construed to prevent a division and distribution 
 of the capital stock of the company, which shall remain after 
 the payment of all its debts, upon the dissolution of the cor- 
 poration or the expiration of its charter. 
 
 SEC. 14. The total amount of the debts of the corporation 
 shall not at any time exceed the amount of the capital stock 
 actually paid in; and in case of any excess, the trustees 
 under whose administration the same may have happened, 
 except those who may have caused their dissent therefrom to 
 be entered at large on the minutes of the board of trustees at 
 the time, and except those who were not present when the 
 same did happen, shall, in their individual and private capac- 
 ities, be liable jointly and severally to the said corporation, 
 and in the event of its dissolution, to any of the creditors 
 thereof, for the full amount of such excess. 
 
 SEC. 15. No corporation organized under this act shall, by 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 11 
 
 any implication or construction, be deemed to possess the 
 power of issuing bills, notes, or other evidences of debt for 
 circulation as money. 
 
 Power to issue Bills or Notes. 
 
 1. The clear object of the restriction of issuing bills, notes, etc., by any 
 corporation, is to prevent them by any device from carrying on the business 
 of banking ; or, in other words, to prevent the formation of moneyed cor- 
 porations ; but it does not prevent them from issuing bills or evidences of 
 indebtedness for moneys borrowed by them. Magee v. Mokelumne Hill C. 
 and M. Co., 5 Cal. 259. 
 
 2. The power to issue bills or notes as a circulating medium is expressly 
 excluded by the statute ; the right to issue them in all proper cases must be 
 inferred as incident to the expressed powers or objects of the corporation. 
 Smith v. Eureka Flour Mills, 6 Cal. 1. 
 
 SEC. 16. (J.s amended ly Act of April 27th, 1863 
 Stat. 1863, p. 736.) Each stockholder shall be individually 
 and personally liable for his proportion of all the debts and 
 liabilities of the company, contracted or incurred during the 
 time that he was a stockholder, for the recovery of which, 
 joint or several actions may be instituted and prosecuted. In 
 any such action, whether joint or several, it shall be compe- 
 tent for the defendant or defendants, or any or either of them, 
 on the trial of the same to offer evidence of the payment, by 
 him or them, or any or either of them, of any debts or liabil- 
 ities of such corporations, and, upon proof of such payment, the 
 same shall be taken into account and credited to the party 
 or parties making such payment, and judgment shall not be 
 rendered against the party or parties defendant proving such 
 payment for a sum exceeding the amount of his or their pro- 
 portion of the debts and liabilities of such incorporations, after 
 deducting therefrom the sums proven to have been paid by 
 him, them, or any or either of them, on account thereof. 
 
 Personal Liability. 
 
 1. Each corporator is a principal debtor, and not a mere surety for the 
 corporation ; and in relation to the creditors of the corporation stands on 
 the same footing as if it were an ordinary partnership. Mokelumne Hill C. 
 and M. Co. v. Woodbury, 14 Cal. 265. 
 
12 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 2. Under the Constitution and laws of this State, each member of a pri- 
 vate incorporated company is answerable personally for his proportion of 
 the debts and liabilities of the company. Id. 
 
 3. Persons dealing with a corporation have the right to waive, by special 
 contract or in any other proper mode, all claim upon the personal liability 
 of the stockholder, or to limit or qualify the extent of that claim. The fact 
 that such claim is founded upon a constitutional provision can make no dif- 
 ference. Robinson v. Bidwell, 22 Cal. 379. 
 
 Service of Summons. 
 
 1. In a suit against a corporation, the summons must be served on one of 
 the officers or agents named in the practice act. Aiken v. Quartz Rock 
 Co., 6 Cal. 186. 
 
 2. Service on a party in possession of property, who does not appear to 
 be one of the officers named, will not entitle the plaintiff to a judgment 
 by default. Id. 
 
 3. Where, in an action against a corporation, the return of the Sheriff 
 showed that he had served the summons in the action " upon James Street, 
 one of the proprietors of the company : " held, that it was not sufficient 
 evidence of service to give the Court jurisdiction : it not appearing that 
 Street was president, or head of the corporation, or secretary, cashier, or 
 managing agent thereof. CfBrien v. Shaw's Flat and Tuolumne Canal Co., 
 10 Cal. 343. 
 
 4. A Sheriff's return on the summons against a corporation, that he 
 served the same on the president and secretary of the company, is prima 
 facie evidence that the persons named in the return were such officers. 
 Rowe v. Table Mountain Table Co., 10 Cal. 441 ; Wilson v. Spring Hill Quartz 
 M. Co., 10 Id. 445. 
 
 Competency of "Witnesses. 
 
 1. A person who has been a stockholder in an incorporated company, but 
 ceased to be such holder before suit was brought, is a competent witness in 
 an action in the name of such company. Tuolumne County W. Co. v. 
 Columbia and Stanislaus W. Co., 10 Cal. 193. 
 
 2. In an action against a corporation, a witness who was a member of the 
 corporation when the liabilities were incurred on which the action is brought, 
 but who had sold out before the commencement of the action, is incompe- 
 tent from interest. McAuley v. York Mining Co., 6 Cal. 80. 
 
 3. A party who permits himself to stand on the books of a water com- 
 pany, incorporated under the statutes of this State, as a stockholder, and 
 holds the office of secretary to which no person but a stockholder is eligi- 
 ble is not a competent witness for the company in an action against it for 
 overflowing plaintiff's mining claim. He is liable for the debts of the com- 
 pany, and therefore interested. Wolf v. St. Louis Ind. Water Co., 15 Cal. 
 319. 
 
 4. The fact that the stock was held in his name in trust for another the 
 transfer having been made simply to enable him to become an officer of the 
 company does not relieve him from responsibility. The trust in such case 
 is only implied ; and the seventeenth section of the corporation act of 1853 
 applies only to the trustee of an express trust. Id. 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 13 
 
 6. A member of the incorporation at the commencement of a suit brought 
 by it, cannot become a witness for it on the trial by selling out his shares of 
 stock after suit brought. He is personally liable for his proportion of the 
 costs : and his competency as a witness can only be restored by actual pay- 
 ment of the entire costs of the case those due and those to become due. 
 Mokdumne Hill C. and M. Co. v. Woodbury, 14 Cal. 265. 
 
 6. In an action by a company of miners to recover possession of a min- 
 ing claim and damages for its detention, a person who was a member of the 
 company at the time of the alleged detention, and who prior to the com- 
 mencement of the suit, in consideration of unpaid assessments, sold his 
 interest to his copartners in the claim, without warranty, is not a competent 
 witness, as he is interested in the damages sought to be recovered. Packer 
 v. Heaton, 9 Cal. 671. 
 
 7. A witness in an action for a mining claim, who is in the employ of the 
 party in possession, at fixed wages, to be paid from the proceeds of the 
 claim, is not incompetent when his pay is not dependent on such proceeds. 
 Live Yankee Co. v. Oregon Co., 7 Cal. 40. 
 
 8. In an action for damages for diversion of water from plaintiff's ditch, 
 the deposition of one of the owners in the ditch was taken by plaintiff, and 
 subsequently, and before the trial, the witness conveyed his interest to 
 plaintiff: held, that such conveyance did not pass the witness' right to the 
 damages, and hence he was incompetent as a witness. Kimball v. Gear- 
 heart, 12 Cal. 27. 
 
 9. In an action of trespass for entering upon the mining ground of plaint- 
 iff, the vendor of plaintiff is a competent witness, although part of the pur- 
 chase money is still due him. Rowe v. Bradley, 12 Cal. 226. 
 
 Actions against Corporations, Etc. 
 
 1. The right of a member of an incorporated company to sue the corpo- 
 ration is undoubted. Barnstead v. Empire Mining Co., 5 Cal. 299. 
 
 2. Where there is nothing in the constitution of a joint stock company 
 which regulates the remedies of the shareholders as between themselves, 
 the general law of partnership must govern them. Bullard v. Kinney, 10 
 Cal. 63. 
 
 3. The code made no distinction between the rules of pleading applicable 
 to natural persons and those applicable to artificial persons. S. F. Gas Co. 
 v. San Francisco, 9 Cal. 467. 
 
 4. Where a decree rendered in a suit against a corporation contained a 
 direction for the sale of the interest of individuals not parties to the suit, 
 and from such decree the corporation alone appealed : held, that the corpo- 
 ration could not take advantage of the error in the decree in embracing 
 individuals. Dennis v. Table Mountain W. Co., 10 Cal. 369. 
 
 5. In an action to restrain the issuing of bonds by a corporation, the 
 person to whom the bonds are to be issued are necessary parties to such 
 action. Hutchinson v. Burr, 12 Cal. 103 ; Patterson v. Supervisors of Yuba 
 Co., 12 Id. 106. 
 
 6. Where, on suit against defendants as members of a quartz company, 
 one defendant pleads that he was not a member of the company, and the 
 finding of the Court is that the allegations of the complaint are true, and 
 
14 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 that said defendant was a member of the company as to plaintiff Parke, the 
 finding supports a judgment for plaintiff. Parke v. Hinds, 14 Cal. 417. 
 
 7. The rule requiring all persons materially interested to be made parties 
 to a suit is dispensed with, when it is impracticable or very inconvenient, as 
 in cases of joint associations composed of numerous individuals. Gorman 
 v. Russell, 14 Cal. 539. 
 
 8. The allegation that plaintiff was a corporation under the laws of this 
 State, is sufficient to establish the right to sue under the first section of the 
 act concerning corporations. Cal. Steam Nav. Co. v. Wright, 6 Cal. 261. 
 
 9. The code imposes upon the defendant, if a corporation, by its officers 
 and agents the duty of acquiring the requisite knowledge or information 
 respecting the matters alleged in the complaint, to enable them to answer in 
 the proper form. San Francisco Gas Co. v. City of San Francisco, 9 Cal. 
 467. 
 
 10. In suit by a stockholder against a corporation and its officers, praying 
 for their removal, and for an account and settlement of the affairs of the 
 corporation, the decree, after a full hearing on the merits, was in accordance 
 with the prayer, and also appointed a receiver to take charge of the prop- 
 erty of the corporation until the further order of the Court, collect money 
 due or to become due it, sell certain stock, and pay the certain proceeds in 
 accordance with the decree, etc. : held, that this provision in the decree does 
 not destroy its effect as a final decree, and that an appeal lies therefrom. 
 Neall v. Hill, 16 Cal. 145. 
 
 Liability of Corporations. 
 
 1. N., the president and managing agent of a corporation for ditch and 
 mining purposes, and who was vested by a resolution of the company with 
 discretionary powers as to " all matters pertaining to the prosecution of the 
 projects of the company," and who had been in the habit of making such 
 contracts as he deemed necessary for the good of the corporation, purchased 
 of plaintiff and one S. in the name and for the use of the corporation a 
 bouse to be used as an office for the company, and a boarding house for the 
 laborers employed, for three thousand dollars, five hundred dollars of which 
 N. paid down, and gave a mortgage on the premises in the name of the cor- 
 poration to secure the balance. N". then, as agent, took possession of the 
 premises, and, subsequently, several meetings of the company were held in 
 the house. Six weeks after the purchase, at a meeting of the trustees, a 
 resolution was offered and rejected, declaring the contract legal and valid. 
 Subsequently the premises were destroyed by fire. The present plaintiff, 
 who had obtained S.'s interest in the debt, brought suit against the corpora- 
 tion to recover the amount, and for a foreclosure of the mortgage : held, 
 that N. had authority to make the contract to bind the corporation ; and if 
 such authority were doubtful, the acts of the corporation amounted to a rat- 
 ification of the contract. Shaver v. Bear River and Auburn W. and M. Co., 
 10 Cal. 396. 
 
 2. It does not follow, because an agent purchases property which is not 
 absolutely necessary for the purposes of the corporation, that the latter can, 
 after receiving the property, avoid the payment of the purchase money. 
 
 Id. 400. 
 
 3, Where the president of a corporation has the alleged power to make a 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 15 
 
 contract for the corporation, though his authority be doubtful, yet the sub- 
 sequent acts of the company may amount to a ratification. Id. 
 
 4. A corporate act is not essential in all cases to fasten a liability, and if 
 it were necessary, the law would sometimes presume, in order to uphold fair 
 dealing and prevent gross injustice, the existence of such act, and estop the 
 corporation from denying it. San Francisco Gas Co. v. City of San Fran- 
 cisco, 9 Cal. 453. 
 
 5. Where the contract is executory, the corporation cannot be held bound 
 unless the contract is made in pursuance of the provisions of its charter ; 
 but where the contract has been executed and the corporation has enjoyed 
 the benefit of the consideration, an implied assumpsit arises against it. Id. 
 
 6. Where a draft is drawn by the president and secretary of a corpora- 
 tion upon its treasurer, no notice of presentation and non-payment is neces- 
 sary to hold the corporation. The draft, in such case, is only an order of 
 the corporation upon itself. Dennis v. Table Mountain Water Co., 10 Cal. 
 369. 
 
 7. An incorporated company is not bound by the acts or admissions of its 
 members, unless acting by its express authority. Shayv. Tuolumne W. Co., 
 6 Cal. 73. 
 
 8. A corporation may bind itself by a note and mortgage, made by its 
 president and secretary, and signed by them in their official capacity as such. 
 jRowe v. Table Mountain Water Co., 10 Cal. 441. 
 
 9. Where the promissory note of a corporation, executed by its officers, 
 provides that only the assets of the corporation, and none of the property 
 of stockholders, shall be liable, the corporation cannot raise the objection 
 as affecting its own liability. Smith v. Eureka Flour Mills, 6 Cal. 1. 
 
 10. Where the charter of a hospital was repealed and a charter granted 
 to a new one, and the officers of the former were directed to deliver to the 
 trustees of the latter " all the property, real and personal, held by them in 
 trust and for the old institution, and that the latter should pay out of the 
 funds in his hands all the debts owing by the old one : field, that the new 
 corporation was bound to pay all such debts, without regard to the suffi- 
 ciency of the fund derived from the corporation. Johnson v. State Marine 
 Hospital, 2 Cal. 319. 
 
 Compensation of Officers. 
 
 1. In suit by a stockholder in a private corporation against the corpora- 
 tion and four of the trustees, who owned stock sufficient to enable them to 
 control the business of the company, for an account and settlement of its 
 affairs, alleging fraud and mismangement on the part of the trustees, the 
 Court below, by its decree, deprived one of said trustees of his salary as 
 superintendent of the business of the corporation : held, that this was error ; 
 that although such superintendent was also trustee and treasurer of the cor- 
 poration, contrary to a positive provision of the by-laws ; and although, in 
 the management of these officers, no attention had been paid to the by-laws 
 and regulations of the corporation, yet as no fraud was shown, and as the 
 superintendent had faithfully performed his duties as such, he was entitled 
 to his salary. Neall v. Hill, 16 Cal. 145. 
 
 2. In an action against a corporation by one of its members, upon an 
 implied contract for the value of services as secretary, it is competent for 
 
16 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 the defendant to show that by the usage and custom of the corporation no 
 compensation was chargeable for such services. Fraylor v. Sonora Mining 
 Company, 17 Cal. 594. 
 
 3. If such usage existed, plaintiff's position as a member and officer of 
 the corporation is sufficient prima facie evidence to charge him with a 
 knowledge of its existence ; and the inference would be that he accepted the 
 office and performed its duties without expecting compensation. Id. 
 
 4. The president of a corporation, who is also a stockholder, is, in the 
 absence of any usage of the company to the contrary, entitled to compensa- 
 tion for his services as president. If the rate is not fixed by special con- 
 tract, he is entitled to what his services are reasonably worth. Rosborough 
 v. The Shasta River Canal Co., 22 Cal. 556. 
 
 5. An understanding, not amounting to an agreement, between a corpora- 
 tion and its president that he should receive pay for his services is compe- 
 tent evidence to rebut any presumption that he was serving gratuitously. Id. 
 
 6. The plaintiff acted for two yearly terms as president of the defendant, 
 a corporation, with an understanding that he should be paid, but without 
 any agreement to that effect, or as to. the amount of compensation. Having 
 been reflected, the trustees on the same day made an order as follows : . 
 " Ordered, that the compensation of the president of the board of trustees 
 be established at fifty dollars per month ;" and plaintiff continued to serve 
 for two years longer : held, that the order was an agreement by the corpora- 
 tion to pay for plaintiff's past as well as future services, at the rate of fifty 
 dollars per month. Id. 
 
 Liability of Trustees. 
 
 1. Where four of the trustees of a private corporation, owning sufficient 
 stock to control its business, conduct the business in a grossly negligent 
 manner, systematically disregarding the by-laws, keeping no account of 
 receipts and expenditures, failing to pay their own assessments, without any 
 excuse : held, that a stockholder may sue in equity for an account, making 
 the corporation and said trustees alone parties no objection being taken 
 that all the stockholders were not parties and the trustees will be com- 
 pelled to make good any loss occasioned by their negligence or improper 
 conduct. Neall v. Hill, 16 Cal. 145. 
 
 2. If in such a case any loss was sustained by the corporation from dis- 
 regard of its by-laws and regulations, the amount of such loss would seem 
 to be the measure of relief. Id. 
 
 3. Hence, in this case it was error in the Court below to appoint a receiver 
 and decree a sale of the property and a settlement of the affairs of the cor- 
 poration. Such decree necessarily results in the dissolution of the corpora- 
 tion, and would be doing indirectly what the Court has no power to do 
 directly. Id. 
 
 4. To charge the officers of a corporation with a loss sustained by a stock- 
 holder, in a diminution of the value of the stock, alleged to have been 
 caused by their mismanagement, it should appear very clearly that the loss 
 was occasioned by their gross negligence or willful misconduct. Id. 
 
 5. The aid of Courts can be invoked only as against such officers as are 
 intrusted by law with the management of the affairs of the corporation ; and 
 as against these, the remedy is at law and not in equity. Id. 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 17 
 
 6. A Court of Equity has no jurisdiction over corporations for the pur- 
 pose of restraining their operations or winding up their concerns. Such 
 Court may compel the officers of the corporation to account for any breach 
 of trust ; but the jurisdiction for this purpose is over the officers personally 
 and not over the corporation. Id. 
 
 7. James Harter and S. N. Stranahan were sued as joint makers with the 
 Ocean Mining Company of a note in the following form : " Three months 
 after date the Ocean Mining Company promise to pay to W. G. Bright, or 
 order, one thousand dollars for value received, with interest at the rate of 
 two per cent, per month. (Signed) James Harter, Trustee, S. N. Strana- 
 han." Judgment by default was rendered against the company and H. and 
 S. : held, that this judgment was erroneous ; that the instrument itself 
 showed the intention of H. and S. to bind the company and not themselves, 
 and that they were not personally liable. Shaver v. Ocean Mining Co., 21 
 Cal. 45. 
 
 8. Where a bond, made in connection with a mortgage to secure the debt 
 of a corporation was signed by four persons, who neither described them- 
 selves as agents of the corporation, nor designated anywhere therein the 
 corporation as the party intended to be bound : held, that the instrument 
 was upon -its face the personal obligation of the parties signing, and that 
 extrinsic evidence of their official character, or of their intentions was inad- 
 missible for the purpose of showing it to be the bond of the corporation. 
 Richardson v. Scott River W. & M. Co., 22 Cal. 150. 
 
 SEC. 17. No person holding stock as executor, adminis- 
 trator, guardian, or trustee, or holding it as collateral secu- 
 rity, or in pledge, shall be personally subject to any liability 
 as a stockholder of the company ; but the person pledging the 
 stock shall be considered as holding the same, and shall be 
 liable as a stockholder accordingly ; and the estate and funds 
 in the hands of the executor, administrator, guardian, or trus- 
 tee, shall be liable in like manner and to the same extent as 
 the testator or intestate, or the ward or person interested in 
 the trust fund would have been, if he had been living and 
 competent to act and hold the stock in his own name. 
 
 SEC. 18. It shall be the duty of the trustees of every 
 company incorporated under this act, to cause a book to be 
 kept containing the names of all persons, alphabetically ar- 
 ranged, who are or shall become stockholders of the corpora- 
 tion, and showing the number of shares of stock held by 
 them respectively, and the time when they respectively be- 
 came the owners of such shares ; which book, during the usual 
 
18 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 business hours of the day, on every day except Sunday and 
 the Fourth of July, shall be open for the inspection of stock- 
 holders and creditors of the company at the office or principal 
 place of business of the company ; and any stockholder or 
 creditor shall have the right to make extracts from such 
 book, or to demand and receive from the clerk or other officer 
 having charge of such book, a certified copy of any entry 
 made therein ; such book or certified copy of any entry shall 
 be presumptive evidence of the facts therein stated, in any 
 action or proceeding against the company, or against any 
 one or more stockholders. 
 
 SEC. 19. If the clerk or other officer having charge of 
 such book shall make any false entry, or neglect to make 
 any proper entry therein, or shall refuse or neglect to exhibit 
 the same, or to allow the same to be inspected, or extracts to 
 be taken therefrom, or to give a certified copy of any entry 
 therein, as provided in the preceding section, he shall be 
 deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall forfeit and pay to 
 the party injured a penalty of one hundred dollars, and all 
 damages resulting therefrom ; and for neglecting to keep 
 such book for inspection as aforesaid the corporation shall 
 forfeit to the people the sum of one hundred dollars for every 
 day it shall so neglect to be sued for and recovered in the 
 name of the people by the District Attorney of the county in 
 which the principal place of business of the corporation is 
 located. 
 
 SEC. 20. Any company incorporated under this act may, 
 by complying with the provisions herein contained, increase 
 or diminish its capital stock to any amount which may be 
 deemed sufficient and proper for the purposes of the corpora- 
 tion ; but before any corporation shall be entitled to diminish 
 the amount of its capital stock, if the amount of its debts and 
 liabilities shall exceed the sum to which the capital is pro- 
 posed to be diminished, such amount shall be satisfied and 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 19 
 
 reduced so as not to exceed the diminished amount of 
 capital. 
 
 SEC. 21. Whenever it is desired to increase or dimmish 
 the amount of capital stock, a meeting of the stockholders 
 may be called by a notice signed by at least a majority of 
 the trustees, and published for at least four weeks in some 
 newspaper published in the county where the principal place 
 of business of the company is located, which notice shall 
 specify the object of the meeting, the time and place where 
 it is to be held, and the amount to which it is proposed to 
 increase or diminish the capital ; and a vote of two-thirds of 
 all the shares of stock shall be necessary to an increase or 
 diminution of the amount of the capital stock . 
 
 SEC. 22. If at any meeting so called a sufficient number 
 of votes has been given in favor of increasing or diminishing 
 the amount of capital, a certificate of the proceedings, show- 
 ing a compliance with these provisions, the amount of capital 
 actually paid in, the whole amount of the debts and liabilities 
 of the company, and the amount to which the capital stock is 
 to be increased or diminished, shall be made out, signed, and 
 verified by the affidavit of the chairman and secretary of the 
 meeting, certified by a majority of the trustees, and filed, as 
 required by the second section of this act ; and when so filed, 
 the capital stock of the corporation shall be increased or 
 diminished to the amount specified in the certificate. 
 
 SEC. 23. Upon the dissolution of any corporation formed 
 under this act, the trustees at the time of the dissolution shall 
 be trustees of the creditors and stockholders of the corpora- 
 tion dissolved, and shall have full power and authority to sue 
 for and recover the debts and property of the corporation, 
 by the name of trustees of such corporation ; collect and pay 
 the outstanding debts ; settle all its affairs, and divide among 
 the stockholders the money and other property that shall 
 remain after the payment of the debts and necessary ex- 
 penses. 
 
20 MINING LAWS OF CALIFOKNIA. 
 
 SEC. 24. Any corporation formed under this act may dis- 
 solve and disincorporate itself by presenting to the County 
 Judge of the county in which the meetings of the trustees 
 are usually held, a petition to that effect, accompanied by a 
 certificate of its proper officers, and setting forth that at a 
 general or special meeting of the stockholders called for that 
 purpose, it was decided by a vote of two-thirds of all the 
 stockholders to disincorporate and dissolve the corporation ; 
 notice of the application shall then be given by the clerk, 
 which notice shall set forth the nature of the application, and 
 shall specify the time and place at which it is to be heard, 
 and shall be published in some newspaper of the county once 
 a week for four weeks, or if no newspaper is published in the 
 county, by advertisement posted up for thirty days in three 
 of the most public places in the county. At the tune and 
 place appointed, or any other to which [it] may be post- 
 poned by the Judge, he shall proceed to consider the appli- 
 cation, and, if satisfied that the corporation has taken the 
 necessary preliminary steps, and obtained the necessary vote 
 to dissolve itself, and that all claims against the corporation 
 are discharged, he shall enter an order declaring it dissolved. 
 
 1. A joint stock mining association was formed in New York for the pur- 
 pose of mining in California, which company was to continue several years, 
 with a prohibition against dissolution within one year after the arrival of the 
 company in California, except on certain conditions, which had not been com- 
 plied with : held, that a portion of the company could not dissolve the com- 
 pany at their will and pleasure, but it being found impracticable to keep the 
 company together, the Court decreed a dissolution and a distribution of the 
 effects of the company. Von Schmidt v. Huntington, 1 Cal. 70. 
 
 2. The stock being divided into money shares and labor shares, the hold- 
 ers of the latter, who had contributed no capital towards the outfit of the 
 company, had performed no labor beneficial to the company, and had their 
 expenses to California paid out of the funds contributed by the holders of 
 the money shares alone, and had abandoned the association, which fact, by 
 the articles, worked a forfeiture of the labor shares : held, that the assets of 
 the company should be distributed among the holders of the money shares 
 alone, and that the Court could not relieve them from the forfeiture. Id. 
 
 SEC. 25. The fifth chapter of " An Act concerning Cor- 
 porations," passed April 22d, 1850, is repealed; but this 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 21 
 
 repeal shall not be construed to destroy the existence of any 
 company already formed under the provisions of said chap- 
 ter, nor to affect any right acquired or liability incurred under 
 the same ; but as to all such companies, the provisions of said 
 chapter shall continue in full force, except in those instances 
 in which any company heretofore incorporated may avail 
 itself of the provisions of the next section of this act. 
 
 SEC. 26. Any company incorporated under the said fifth 
 chapter of u An Act concerning Corporations," passed April 
 22d, 1850, may continue its corporate existence under this 
 act by adopting a resolution to that effect by a vote of two- 
 thirds of all the stockholders, and filing a certificate thereof, 
 signed by its proper officers, in the office of the Secretary of 
 State and of the County Clerk of the county in which is 
 located the principal place of business of the corporation. 
 From the time of filing the certificate, the corporation shall 
 be subject only to the provisions of this act, but the change 
 so made shall not affect any right acquired or liability incur- 
 red previously by the corporation. 
 
 SEC. 27. Corporations formed under this act, and the mem- 
 bers thereof, shall not be subject to the conditions and liabil- 
 ities contained in an act entitled " An Act concerning Corpo- 
 rations," passed April 22d, 1850. 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY ACT. 
 
 AN ACT supplementary to an Act entitled "An Act to 
 provide for the formation of Corporations for certain pur- 
 poses" passed April 14A, 1853. 
 
 [Approved March 27th, 1857. Wood's Dig. p. 123; Stat. 1857, p. 121.] 
 
 SECTION 1. It shall be the duty of the trustees of every 
 company, incorporated under this act for the purpose of 
 
22 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 ditching, mining, or conveying water for mining purposes, to 
 cause a book to be kept, containing the names of all persons, 
 alphabetically arranged, who are, or shall become stockhold- 
 ers of the corporation, and showing the number and designa- 
 tion of shares of stock held by them respectively, and the 
 time when they respectively became the owners of such 
 shares ; also a book or books, in which shall be entered at 
 length, in a plain and simple manner, all by-laws, orders, and 
 resolutions of the company and board of trustees, and the 
 manner and time of their adoption, which books, during the 
 business hours of the day, Sundays and Fourth of July 
 excepted, shall be open for the inspection of stockholders and 
 the creditors of the company, each individual stockholder, and 
 their duly authorized agents and attorneys, at the office or 
 principal place of business of the company ; provided, that 
 the office and books of every such company shall be kept, and 
 the books of the company shall be open, as aforesaid, in the 
 county in which their business is transacted, and every stock- 
 holder or creditor, as aforesaid, or their agents, or attorneys 
 shall have the right to make extracts from such books, or 
 upon payment of reasonable clerk's fees therefor, to demand 
 and receive from the clerk or other officer having the charge 
 of such books, a certified copy of any entry made therein ; 
 such book or certified copy of any entry, shall be presumptive 
 evidence of the facts therein stated, in any action or pro- 
 ceeding against the company, or any one or more stock* 
 holders. 
 
 SEC. 2. If the clerk or other officer having charge of such 
 book, shall make any false entry, or neglect to make any 
 proper entry therein, or shall refuse or neglect to exhibit the 
 same, or allow the same to be inspected, or extracts to be 
 taken therefrom, or to give a certified copy of any entry 
 therein, as provided in the preceding section, he shall be 
 deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall forfeit and pay to 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 23 
 
 the party injured a penalty of two hundred and one dollars, 
 and all damages resulting therefrom, to be recovered in any 
 Court of competent jurisdiction in this State ; and for neg- 
 lect to keep such book for inspection, and at the place pro- 
 vided for in last section, the corporation shall forfeit to the 
 people of the State of California the sum of tw'o hundred and 
 one dollars for every day they shall so neglect ; to be sued 
 for and recovered before any Court of competent jurisdiction 
 in the county in which the principal business of such com- 
 pany is transacted ; and it shall be the duty of the District 
 Attorney within and for such county to prosecute such action, 
 in the name of and for the benefit of the people of the State 
 of California. And it is further provided, that in case any 
 such incorporated company shall refuse or neglect, for the 
 space of one full year after the passage of this act, to com- 
 ply with the provisions of this and the preceding section, then, 
 upon the showing of such facts, by petition of any person 
 aggrieved thereby, and due proof thereof, before the County 
 Judge of the county in which such" company's principal busi- 
 ness is transacted, after such company shall have been duly 
 notified thereof, by summons, to be issued by said Judge, cit- 
 ing such company to appear before such Judge, at a time 
 and place therein mentioned, which shall not be less than ten 
 or more than thirty days from the date of such summons, 
 such company shall, by said Judge, be declared and decreed 
 to be disincorporated, so far as to deprive said company of 
 all the privileges of this act, but in no manner to affect the 
 remedy of all persons against such company, to be exercised 
 as this act provides ; provided, that nothing contained in the 
 provisions of this section, concerning the disincorporating of 
 such companies, shall be so construed as to prevent the 
 enforcement of the other remedies in this section mentioned, 
 at any time after the passage of this act, except as herein 
 provided. 
 
24 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 ASSESSMENTS UPON STOCKS OP CORPORATIONS. 
 
 AN A OT Concerning Assessments upon the Stock of Cor- 
 porations. 
 
 [Approved April 4th, 1864; Stat. 1863-4, p. 402.] 
 
 SECTION 1. The trustees of any corporation, formed under 
 the general laws of this State, shall have power to levy and 
 collect, for the purpose of paying the proper and legal ex- 
 penses of such corporation, assessments upon the -capital 
 stock thereof in the manner and form and to the extent here- 
 inafter provided, and not otherwise. 
 
 SEC. 2. No assessments shall exceed five per cent, of the 
 capital stock of the corporation, and none shall be levied 
 while any portion of any previous assessment shall remain 
 unpaid or uncollected, except in cases where all the powers of 
 the corporation shall have been exercised in accordance with 
 the terms of this act for the purpose of collecting such pre- 
 vious assessment, and except also the collection of a previous 
 assessment against one or more stockholders restrained by 
 injunction or otherwise, in which case further assessment may 
 be levied and collected according to this act. 
 
 SEC. 3. No assessment shall be levied except by order of 
 the board of trustees, concurred in by a majority of said 
 board, and entered upon the records of the corporation. 
 
 SEC. 4. Every order levying an assessment shall specify 
 the amount thereof and the time when the person or persons 
 to whom and the place or places where the same is payable. 
 It shall also appoint a day for the advertisement of the delin- 
 quent list, which shall not be less than thirty nor more than 
 thirty-five days from the time of the making of smch order ; 
 and a day for the sale of delinquent stock, which shall not be 
 less than ten nor more than twenty days from the time ap- 
 pointed for the advertisement of the delinquent list. 
 
 SEC. 5. Upon the making of such an order the Secretary 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 25 
 
 shall cause to be published immediately a notice thereof in 
 the following form : 
 
 " [Name in full. Location of works.] Notice is hereby 
 given that at a meeting of the trustees of said company, held 
 on the [date] an assessment of [amount] per share was levied 
 upon the capital stock of said company, payable [when, to 
 whom, and where, particularly]. Any stock upon which said 
 assessment shall remain unpaid on the [day fixed] will be 
 advertised on that day as delinquent, and unless payment 
 shall be made before will be sold on the [day appointed] to 
 pay the delinquent assessment, together with costs of adver- 
 tising and expenses of the sale. [Signature of the Secre- 
 tary, with particular location of office.] " 
 
 SEC. 6. Said notice shall be published once each week for 
 four successive weeks, in some daily or weekly paper published 
 at the place designated in the articles of corporation as the 
 principal place of business of the corporation, and also in 
 some paper published in the county in which the works of the 
 corporation are situated, if a paper be published therein ; pro- 
 vided, that if the works of the corporation are not situated 
 within some State or Territory of the United States, then 
 publication in a paper of the county shall not be necessary ; 
 and provided, also, that if there is no paper regularly issued 
 on Saturdays at any place where publication is required to be 
 made, the notice may be published in every issue of the paper 
 which is most frequently issued at such place, for the full 
 period of four weeks ; and provided, also, that if there is no 
 newspaper published at that place designated as the principal 
 place of business of the corporation, then the publication shall 
 be made in the newspaper published nearest thereto ; and 
 provided, also, that the notice specified in the fifth section of 
 this act may be served by delivering a copy thereof, certified 
 by the Secretary, to each stockholder personally ; and in case 
 of such service upon all the stockholders of said corporation, 
 3 
 
26 - MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 then no notice by publication shall be necessary, and such 
 personal notice shall be deemed complete. 
 
 SEC. 7. If any portion of the assessment mentioned in said 
 notice shall remain unpaid on the day specified therein for the 
 publication of the notice of sale, the secretary shall, unless 
 otherwise ordered by the board of trustees, cause to be pub- 
 lished in the same papers in which the notice provided for in 
 section five shall have been published, a notice substantially in 
 the following form : 
 
 " [Name in full. Location of works.] Notice. There is 
 delinquent upon the following described stock, on account of 
 assessment levied on the [date, and assessments levied pre- 
 vious thereto, if any], the several amounts set opposite the 
 names of the respective shareholders, as follows : [Names, 
 number of certificates, number of shares, amount.] And in 
 accordance with law, and an order of the board of trustees, 
 made on the [date, if any such order shall have been made] 
 so many shares of each parcel of said stock as may be neces- 
 sary will be sold at the [particular place] , on the [date] , at 
 [the hour] of said day, to pay said delinquent assessments 
 thereon, together with costs of advertising and expenses of 
 the sale. [Name of the Secretary, with particular location 
 of office.]" 
 
 SEC. 8. Said last named notice shall state every certificate 
 of stock separately, with the number of shares which it repre- 
 sents and the amount due thereon, except where certificates 
 may not have been issued to parties entitled thereto, in which 
 case the number of shares and the amount due thereon, 
 together with the fact that the certificates for such shares 
 have not been issued, shall be stated. 
 
 SEC. 9. Said notice, when published in a daily or weekly 
 paper, or in both, shall be published as follows : When pub- 
 lished in a daily paper, the same shall be published for a 
 period of ten days, excluding Sundays and holidays, previous 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 27 
 
 to the day of sale ; when published in a weekly paper, the 
 same shall be published for two weeks previous to the day of 
 sale, the first publication in the weekly being at least fourteen 
 days prior to the day of sale. 
 
 SEC. 10. By the publication of the said notices, as herein- 
 before provided, the corporation shall acquire jurisdiction to 
 sell and convey a full, complete, perfect and absolute title to all 
 of the stock described in the notice of sale upon which any 
 portion of the assessment or costs of advertising shall remain 
 unpaid at the hour appointed for the sale, but shall sell no 
 more of such stock than is necessary to pay the assessments 
 due and cost of sale. 
 
 SEC. 11. On the day and at the place, and as nearly as 
 may be at the hour appointed in the notice of sale, the secre- 
 tary shall, unless otherwise ordered by the board of trustees, 
 sell, or cause to be sold, at public auction, to the highest bid- 
 der for cash, so many shares of each parcel of said described 
 stock as may be necessary to pay the assessment and charges 
 thereon according to the terms of said notice of sale ; pro- 
 vided^ that if payment be made before the time fixed for [the] 
 sale the party paying shall only be required to pay the actual 
 cost of advertising. 
 
 SEC. 12. The person offering at such sale to pay the assess- 
 ment and costs for the smallest number of shares, or fraction 
 of a share, shall be deemed the highest bidder. 
 
 SEC. 13. The times fixed in any notice published accord- 
 ing to the provisions [of this act] may be once extended 
 for a period of not more than ten days, by order of the board 
 of trustees duly made and entered on the records of the cor- 
 poration ; but no order extending the time for the performance 
 of any act specified in any notice shall be effectual, unless 
 notice of such extension or postponement be appended to and 
 published with the notice to which [the] order relates before 
 the completion of the regular course of publication thereof. 
 
28 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 SEC. 14. No assessment duly levied shall be rendered 
 invalid by a failure to make proper publication of the notices 
 hereinbefore provided for, nor by the non-performance of any 
 act required to be performed in order to enforce the payment 
 of the same ; but in case of any substantial error or omission 
 in the course of proceedings for collection, all previous pro- 
 ceedings, except the levying of the assessment, shall be void 
 and publication shall be begun anew. 
 
 SEC. 15. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the 
 provisions of this act are hereby repealed ; provided, that 
 such repeal shall not affect proceedings commenced for the 
 collection of assessments heretofore levied, but all such assess- 
 ments may be collected in accordance with the provisions of 
 the laws then in force. 
 
 SEC. 16. This act shall take effect immediately. 
 
 AN ACT in reference to Corporations organized in this /State for the purpose of Mining 
 
 out of this State, 
 
 [Passed March 5th, 1861 ; Stat. 1861, p. 41.] 
 
 SEC. 1. That it may be lawful for any corporation organized in this State, under the laws of 
 this State, for the purpose of mining, or carrying on mining operations without this State, 
 whose business office is in this State, to levy assessments upon the capital stock thereof to 
 pay the debts, future or present, of said corporation, or to carry on the business of said cor- 
 poration; provided, the same shall be equal and uniform, and at no one time exceed five 
 ger cent, of the capital stock, and such levy, or assessment, shall constitute a valid and 
 inding obligation upon the holders of such stock to pay the sum so assessed against the 
 stock so held. Notice of each such call, or assessment, shall be given to the respective 
 stockholders personally, or shall be published once a week for at least four weeks in some 
 newspaper published at the place designated as the principal place of business of the cor- 
 poration, and also in some newspaper published nearest to the point where said mining 
 operations are being carried on. If, after such notice has been given, any stockholder 
 shall make default in the payment of such call, or assessment, as to the shares of stock 
 held by him, so many of such shares may be sold as will be necessary for the payment of 
 the call, or assessment, on the shares held by him. The sale of said shares shall be made 
 as prescribed in the by-laws of the company; provided, that no sale shall be made except 
 at public auction to the highest bidder, after a published notice of thirty days, published 
 as above directed ; and that at such sale the person who will agree to pay the call, or 
 assessment, so due, together with the expense of advertisement and the other expenses of 
 the sale for the smallest number of whole shares, shall be deemed the highest bidder. 
 
 ( Query Whether this act is not repealed by Sec. 15 of the act of April 4th, 1864, entitled 
 "An Act concerning Assessments upon the Stock of Corporations.") 
 
 PARTNERSHIPS FOR MINING PURPOSES. 
 
 AN A CT concerning Partnerships for Mining Purposes. 
 
 [Approved April 4th, 1864; Stat. 1863-4, p. 478.] 
 
 SECTION 1. All written contracts of copartnership for min- 
 ing purposes upon the lands of the United States within this 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 29 
 
 State, formed by two or more persons, shall he-subject to the 
 conditions and liabilities prescribed by this act. 
 
 SEC. 2. Any member of a copartnership, or his successor 
 in interest, in any mining claim, who shall neglect or refuse 
 to pay any assessment, or shall neglect to perform any labor 
 or other liability incurred by the copartnership agreement, 
 may, after the expiration of sixty days after such assessment, 
 labor, or other liability has become due, be notified in writing 
 by any remaining partner or partners, or by his or their 
 agents, that such assessment, labor, or liability is due, which 
 written notice shall specify the name of such mine and the 
 district wherein it is located, and shall particularly mention 
 the liability which has been incurred ; and if such delinquent 
 reside within the State, he shall be personally served with 
 such notice ; and if the person so notified shall refuse or 
 neglect, for thirty days after service of such written notice, 
 to comply with the requirements of the copartnership agree- 
 ment, the remaining partner or partners may sell the interest 
 of such delinquent partner in and to such mining claim. 
 
 SEC. 3. All sales under the provisions of this act shall be 
 at public auction and by giving five days' notice thereof, by 
 posting written notices in three public places within the min- 
 ing district where such mine is located. The notice shall 
 also specify the extent of the interest to be sold, and the name 
 of the delinquent partner or partners, and the time and place 
 of such sale, which place shall be within the district where 
 the mine is located. The purchaser at such sale shall acquire 
 all the rights and title of the delinquent partner. 
 
 SEC. 4. If any delinquent partner in any mine is absent 
 from the State, or resides in any other State or Territory, 
 the notice to such delinquent shall be by publication once a 
 week for four months in some newspaper published in the 
 county where the mine is located ; or, if there be no news- 
 paper in the county, then such notice shall be published in 
 
30 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 some newspaper in an adjoining county. After the expira- 
 tion of the time of such publication, the interest of such 
 delinquent shall be sold, in the manner prescribed in section 
 third of this act. 
 
 SEC. 5. This act shall take effect from and after its pas- 
 sage. 
 
 Liability. 
 
 1. Where a mining company, not incorporated, forms a trading copart- 
 nership with an individual under a firm name, each member of the mining 
 company is a member of the firm. Rich v. Davis, 6 Cal. 163. 
 
 2. Where one of the mining company acted as salesman of the firm, it 
 cannot be pretended that he was a dormant partner whose acts would not 
 bind the firm. Id. 
 
 3. In ejectment for an interest in a mining claim, the answer being a 
 general denial, defendant cannot defeat the action by showing the claim to 
 be partnership property. Any rights defendant may have in the premises, 
 growing out of the partnership, must be asserted in equity, particularly as 
 the legal title in this case is in the plaintiff. Lowe v. Alexander, 15 Cal. 296. 
 
 CHANGING PLACE OP BUSINESS. 
 
 AN A CT to authorize Mining Companies or Corporations 
 to change their principal place of Business. 
 
 [Approved February 15th, 1864; Stat. 1863-4, p> 76.] 
 
 SECTION 1. Any mining company or corporation lawfully 
 organized and incorporated for mining purposes within the 
 State of California may change its office or principal place of 
 business by first obtaining the consent in writing of the stock- 
 holders representing two-thirds of all the capital stock of the 
 company ; provided, that notice of such intended change, after 
 such consent shall have been obtained, shall be inserted for 
 thirty days in some newspaper published at or nearest the 
 principal place of business of said mining company or corpora- 
 tion, designating the county or city and county, to which it is 
 intended to remove, before such removal shall be deemed 
 lawful. 
 
 SEC. 2. Any mining company or corporation availing itself 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 31 
 
 of the privileges of this act, upon filing in the office of the 
 county clerk of the county or city and county, to which a 
 removal is intended to be made, a certified copy of its articles 
 of incorporation, together with a certificate of the trustees of 
 the company or corporation, under the seal thereof, that the 
 requirements of section one of this act have been fulfilled, 
 shall, from the time of such filing, be vested -with all the powers 
 in its new place of business which it might or could have exer- 
 cised if originally incorporated in the county to which its 
 office or principal place of business shall be removed. 
 
 SEC. 3. This act shall not be so construed as to authorize 
 any mining company or corporation to remove its office or 
 principal place of business out of the State. 
 
 SEC. 4. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the 
 provisions of this act are hereby repealed. 
 
 Sec. 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and 
 after its passage. 
 
 KEMOVAL OF OFFICES FROM AURORA, N. T. 
 
 AN ACT to authorize the removal of the Office and principal place of Business of Mining 
 and other Corporations, from the town of Aurora in the Territory of Nevada to the City 
 of San Francisco, or other places in the State of California. 
 
 SECTION 1. It is hereby declared lawful for any Corporation heretofore organized under 
 the laws of this State, whose principal place of business is in the town of Aurora, Terri- 
 tory of Nevada, and such Corporation is hereby authorized and empowered to remove its 
 office and principal place of business to the city of San Francisco, or to any other city or 
 town in tne State of California, as such Corporation may select by a resolution of the 
 Board of Trustees thereof adopted in accordance with its By-laws. 
 
 SEC. 2. Every such Corporation desiring to make such removal shall file in the office of 
 the Clerk of the City and County of San Francisco, or of the City and County of Sacra- 
 mento, or of such County in this State wherein is situated the city or town to which such 
 Corporation desires to remove, a certified copy of such resolution, under their Corporate 
 Seal, together with a certified copy of the original Certificate of Incorporation now on file 
 in the office of the Secretary ot State, and shall also deliver a certified copy of such reso- 
 lution to the County Clerk of Esmeralda County, Nevada Territory, and shall cause the 
 same to be published for four successive weeks in some newspaper in the said town of 
 Aurora ; and from the time of the filing of the said instruments in the Clerk's office of the 
 proper county in this State, the office and principal place of business of such Corporation 
 shall be deemed removed to and established at such city or town in this State as may be 
 declared in such resolution. 
 
 SEC. 3. The resolution heretofore passed by the Board of Trustees of any Corporation, 
 whose office and principal place of business has heretofore been in the town of Aurora, 
 removing such office and place of business to any city or town in the State of California, 
 is hereby legalized and declared valid and effectual ; and from the time of the passage of 
 such resolution, all acts and proceedings of the Trustees of such Corporation, had or done 
 in such city or town in this State, are hereby declared and made valid and effectual, in law 
 and equity, as fully to all intents and purposes as though such city or town had been orig- 
 inally designated in the Certificate of Incorporation ot such Corporation as the principal 
 place of business thereof; provided, that such Corporation shall, within sixty days from the 
 passage of this act, file in the office of the County Clerk of the county wherein such city 
 or town is situated, a certified copy of such Resolution, attested by their Corporate Seal, 
 together with a certified copy of the Certificate of Incorporation of said Corporation now 
 on file in the office of the Secretary of State. 
 
 SEC. 4. This act shall take effect from and after its passage. 
 
 [This bill having remained with the Governor ten davs (Sundays excepted) and the 
 Senate and Assembly being in session, it became a law February 27th, 1864; S tat. 1863-4, 
 p. 109.] 
 
32 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 TBANSFER AGENCIES. 
 
 AN ACT to authorize Corporations organized in this State 
 for the purpose of Mining in or without this State, to 
 establish and maintain Transfer Agencies in other States. 
 
 [Approved April 4th, 1864; Stat. 1863-4, p. 429.] 
 
 SECTION 1. That it may be lawful for any corporation 
 organized in this State for the purpose of mining, or carrying 
 on mining operations in or without this State, to establish and 
 maintain agencies in other States of the United States for the 
 transfer and issuance of their stock, and a transfer or issuance 
 of [the] same at any such transfer agency, in accordance with 
 the provisions of this statute, shall be valid and binding, and 
 as fully and effectually so, for all purposes, as if made upon the 
 books of such corporation at its principal office within this 
 State. 
 
 SEC. 2. All stock of any such corporation issued at any 
 such transfer agency, shall be signed by the President and 
 Secretary of the corporation, and countersigned at the time 
 of its issuance by the agent or agents of such corporation 
 having the charge of such transfer agency, and no stock shall 
 be issued at such transfer agency, unless the certificate or 
 certificates of stock in lieu of which the same is issued, shall, 
 at the time of such issuance, be surrendered for cancellation. 
 
 SEC. 3. The stockholders of any such corporation may 
 pass by-laws for the regulation and conduct of any such trans- 
 fer agency ; provided, the same be not inconsistent with the 
 provisions of this act ; and such transfer agency shall at all 
 times be subject to the control of the trustees of said corpora- 
 tion. 
 
 SEC. 4. All acts, or parts of acts, inconsistent herewith are 
 hereby repealed. 
 
 SEC. 5. This act shall take effect from and after its pas- 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 33 
 
 CANAL COMPANIES. 
 
 AN A OT to authorize the Incorporation of Canal Companies, 
 and the Construction of Canals. 
 
 [Passed May 14th, 1862; Stat. 1862, p. 540.] 
 
 SECTION 1. Corporations may be formed, under the pro- 
 visions of an act entitled "An Act to provide for the forma- 
 tion of Corporations for certain purposes," passed April 14th, 
 1853, and the several acts amendatory thereof and supple- 
 mental thereto, for the following purposes : The construction 
 of canals for the transportation of passengers and freights, or 
 for the purpose of irrigation or water power, or for the con- 
 veyance of water for mining or manufacturing purposes, or for 
 all of such purposes. 
 
 SEC. 2. The right is hereby granted to any company 
 organized under the authority of this act, to construct all 
 works necessary to the objects of the company, to make all 
 surveys necessary to the selection of the best site for the 
 works, and of the lands required therefor, and to acquire all 
 lands, waters not previously appropriated, and other property 
 necessary to the proper construction, use, supply, mainten- 
 ance, repairs, and improvements of the works, in the manner 
 and by the mode of proceedings prescribed in an act entitled 
 "An Act to provide for the Incorporation of Railroad Com- 
 panies, and the Management of the affairs thereof, and other 
 matters relating thereto," passed May 20th, 1861. (For the 
 Railroad Act hereby referred to see Stat. of 1861, p. 607 ; 
 Stat. 1862, p. 547 ; Stat. 1863, p. 610.) 
 
 SEC. 3. Every company organized as aforesaid shall have 
 power, and the same is hereby granted, to make rules and 
 regulations for the management and preservation of their 
 works not inconsistent with the laws of this State, and for the 
 use and distribution of waters and the navigation of the canals, 
 and to establish, collect, and receive rates, water rents, or 
 3* 
 
34 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. . 
 
 tolls, which shall be subject to regulation by the Board of 
 Supervisors of the county or counties in which the work is 
 situated, but which shall not be reduced by the supervisors 
 so low as to yield to the stockholder less than one and one- 
 half per cent, per month upon the capital actually invested. 
 
 SEC. 4. Every company organized under the authority of 
 this act shall construct, and keep in good repair at all times, 
 for public use, across their canal, all of the bridges that the 
 Board of Supervisors of the county or counties in which such 
 canal is situated shall require ; said bridges being on the 
 lines of public highways, and necessary for public use in con- 
 nection with such highways. 
 
 SEC. 5. The provisions of this act shall not apply to the 
 counties of Nevada, Placer, Amador, Sierra, Klamath, Del 
 Norte, Trinity, Butte, Plumas, Calaveras, and Tuolumne. 
 
 Ditches, Canals, Etc. 
 
 1. The first appropriates of water for mining purposes is entitled to have 
 the water flow without material interruption in its natural channel. Bear 
 River and Auburn W. and M. Co. v. New York Mining Co., 8 Cal. 333. 
 
 2. Plaintiffs owned certain mining claims and quartz leads on the bank of 
 a stream above the mill and dam of defendant. Defendant commenced 
 raising his dam two feet higher. Plaintiffs brought suit against defendant, 
 alleging that the addition of two feet to defendant's dam was a nuisance, 
 and would back the water on to plaintiffs' claims and thus prevent them 
 from working them, and would also destroy their water privilege for a quartz 
 mill, which they intended to construct : held, that the action was premature, 
 and that the demurrer to the complaint, on the ground that the complaint 
 did not state facts sufficient to a cause of action, was properly sustained. 
 Harvey v. Chilian, 11 Cal. 120. 
 
 3. In an action for injuries to a mining claim, a claim for damages to the 
 plaintiff by reason of the breaking away of the defendant's dam and the 
 consequent washing away of the pay dirt of the plaintiff, may properly be 
 joined with a claim for damages in the preventing plaintiff from working his 
 claim. Fraylor v. Sears U. W. Co., 12 Cal. 558. 
 
 4. The law will not presume an abandonment of property in a dam and 
 ditch for mining purposes from the lapse of time. Partridge v. McKinney, 
 10 Cal. 183. 
 
 5. "Where plaintiff's mining claim was overflowed by means of a dam 
 erected by the defendants, the Court ordered a reduction of the dam, so as 
 to prevent the overflow, or, if necessary, the entire abatement. Ramsay v. 
 Chandler, 3 Cal. 93. 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 35 
 
 6. The obstruction of water in a ravine is common injury to many at 
 work on the ravine, who had by the necessary implication of the laws of 
 the State which relates to mines and miners, a species of property in their 
 mining grounds which they had a right to protect by peaceably abating the 
 nuisance. Stiles v. Laird, 5 Cal. 122. 
 
 7. Eights of miners are to be protected in the possession of their selected 
 localities, and the rights of those who by prior appropriation have taken the 
 waters from their natural beds, and by costly works to supply the necessity 
 of gold diggers, and without which the most important interest in the min- 
 eral region would remain undeveloped. Irwin v. Phillips, 5 Cal. 146. 
 
 8. Where the plaintiff sued for an injury to his mining claim, by the 
 breaking of defendant's canal, which was . constructed prior to the location 
 of plaintiff's claim, neither party claiming ownership of the soil, and no 
 negligence in fact being shown, other than that which the law would pre- 
 sume from the breaking of the ditch : held, that the rights of the parties 
 were acquired at the dates of their respective locations, and the rule of 
 " coming to a nuisance " may be applied. Tenney v. Miners' Ditch Co., 7 
 Cal. 339. 
 
 9. There is no doubt that ditch owners would be responsible for wanton 
 injuries or gross negligence, but they are not liable for a mere accidental 
 injury, where no negligence is shown, to a miner locating along the line sub- 
 sequent to the construction of the ditch. Id. 340. 
 
 10. In suits for the possession of land by ditch companies, incorporated 
 under the act of April 14th, 1853, by the fourth section of which they are 
 authorized "to purchase, hold, sell, and convey such real and personal 
 estate as the purposes of the corporation shall require," the defendants can- 
 not question the necessity of such lands for the purposes of the corpora- 
 tion. This is matter between the government and the corporation. Natoma 
 W. & M. Co. v. Clarkin, 14 Cal. 544. 
 
 11. "Where parties have acquired the prior right to the use of the water 
 of a stream by the commencement and partial completion of a ditch and 
 flume, they have the right to use so much of the waters of the stream as 
 are necessary to preserve their flume from injury, while in the process of 
 construction. Weaver v. Conger, 10 Cal. 233. 
 
 12. In an action for diverting water from plaintiff's ditch, where both 
 parties claimed, in part, the water of the stream : held, that defendant is not 
 liable for any deficiency of water in plaintiff's ditch, unless he was diverting 
 from the stream more water than he was entitled to at the time. Brown \. 
 Smith, 10 Cal. 508. 
 
 13. The owners of a ditch are bound to use that degree of care and cau- 
 tion in its construction and management, to prevent injury to others, which 
 men of ordinary prudence would use when the risk was their own. Wolf v. * 
 St. Louis W. Co., 10 Cal. 541. 
 
 14. The failure of one partner in a ditch to pay his proportion of expenses 
 of the concern, does not forfeit his right in the common property. J&mball 
 v. Gearheart, 12 Cal. 27. 
 
 15. When parties projecting a ditch to convey water, give notice to the 
 world of their intention to dig such ditch and appropriate such water, in the 
 usual manner, and designate the line of such ditch by the usual marks and 
 
36 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 indications, and pursue the work with a reasonable degree of diligence until 
 the same is completed, they are entitled to such water as against all per- 
 sons subsequently claiming it. Id. 
 
 16. Surveys, notices, stakes, and blazing of trees, followed by work and 
 labor, without abandonment, will in every case where the work is completed, 
 give title to unclaimed water on public lands over after-claimants. Id. 
 
 17. The diversion of the waters of a stream with the object of drainage 
 simply, or without the intention of applying them to some useful purpose, 
 does not constitute an appropriation. McKinney v. Smith, 21 Cal. 374. 
 
 18. A mortgage upon a flume or ditch not completed but projected and 
 in process of construction, covers the whole work when completed, if apt 
 terms expressing that intent are used in the instrument. Union Water Co. 
 v. Murphy's Flat Fluming Co., 22 Cal. 620. 
 
 19. A flume for the conveyance of water is in the nature of real estate, 
 and a mortgage upon it will, without any special provisions, include all 
 improvements then upon the line of the works, and also those which may 
 afterwards be put thereon. Id. 
 
 20. A loan of money upon mortgage security by a corporation organized 
 for the purpose of constructing ditches for the conveyance and sale of water 
 is not necessarily an act exceeding its corporate powers. Such contract, if 
 necessary to attain its general objects and made as an incident to the exer- 
 cise of its granted powers, is valid. In the absence of proof its validity 
 will be presumed. Id. 
 
 
 FOR THE PROTECTION OP GROWING CROPS, 
 BUILDINGS, ETC., ON MINERAL LANDS. 
 
 AN ACT to protect Owners of Growing Crops, Buildings, 
 and other Improvements in the Mining Districts of this 
 State. 
 
 [Passed April 25th, 1855. Wood's Dig. p. 54; Stat. 1855, p. 145.] 
 
 SECTION 1. No person shall, for mining purposes, destroy 
 or injure any growing crops of grain or garden vegetables 
 growing upon the mineral lands of this State, nor undermine 
 "or injure any house, building, improvement, or fruit trees, 
 standing upon mineral lands and the property of another, 
 except as hereinafter provided. 
 
 SEC. 2. Whenever any person, for mining purposes, shall 
 desire to occupy or use any mineral lands of this State, then 
 occupied by such growing crops of grain, garden vegetables, 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 37 
 
 fruit trees, houses, buildings, or other improvements, prop- 
 erty of another, such person shall first give bond to the owner 
 of the growing crop, building, fruit trees, or other improve- 
 ments, to be approved by a justice of the peace of the town- 
 ship, with two or more sufficient sureties, in a sum to be fixed 
 by three disinterested citizens, householders of the township, 
 one to be selected by the obligor, one by the obligee, and one 
 by a justice of the peace of the township, conditional that the 
 obligor shall pay to the obligee any and all damages which 
 said obligee may sustain in consequence of the destruction by 
 the obligor, or those in his employ, of the growing crops, fruit 
 trees, improvements, or buildings of the obligee ; provided, 
 that the word improvements in this act shall be construed to 
 mean any superstructure on said farm, ranch or garden, and 
 nothing more. 
 
 SEC. 3. If any person or persons shall violate the provis- 
 ions of the first and second sections of this act, he or they 
 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction 
 thereof before any Court of competent jurisdiction, shall be 
 fined in a sum not exceeding two hundred dollars, nor less 
 than fifty dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail of 
 said county, not exceeding three months, either or both, at 
 the discretion of the Court ; provided, nothing in this act 
 shall prevent miners from working any mineral lands in the 
 State, after the growing crops on the same are harvested. 
 
 PUBLIC MINERAL LANDS. 
 
 AN A OT prescribing the mode of Maintaining and Defend- 
 ing Possessory Actions on Public Lands in this State. 
 
 [Approved April 20th, 1852; Stat. 1852, p. 158; Wood's Dig. p. 526.] 
 
 Section 1 provides that "Any person now occupying and 
 settled upon, or who may hereafter occupy or settle upon any 
 
38 MINING LAWS OF CALIFOKNIA. 
 
 of the public lands in this State, for the purpose of cultiva- 
 ting or grazing the same, may commence and maintain any 
 action for interference with or injuries done to his or her pos- 
 sessions of said land against any person or persons so inter- 
 fering with or injuring such land or possession ; provided, 
 that if the lands so occupied and possessed contain mines of 
 any of the precious metals, the possession or claim of the 
 person or persons occupying the same for the purposes afore- 
 said shall not preclude the working of such mines by any per- 
 son or persons desiring so to do, as fully and unreservedly as 
 they might or could do had no possession or claim been made 
 for grazing or agricultural purposes." 
 
 Possessory Claims on Mineral Lands. 
 
 1. The act of April 25th, 1855, "for the protection of growing crops and 
 improvements in the mining districts of this State," so far as it purports to 
 give a right of entry upon the mineral lands of this State, in cases where no 
 such right existed anterior to its passage, is invalid. Gillan v. Hutchinson, 
 16 Cal. 153. 
 
 2. This act of 1855 seems to proceed upon the idea of an absolute and 
 unconditional right in the miner to enter upon the possessions of another 
 for mining purposes, and the intention of the act was to limit this supposed 
 right, and not to give a right of entry in cases where no such right previ- 
 ously existed. , Miners have no such absolute and unconditional right. The 
 true rule is laid down in Smith v. Doe, 15 Cal. 100. Id. 
 
 3. In ejectment for mineral land, plaintiff averred possession of a large 
 tract of land, including the mining land in controversy, and that he occu- 
 pied the land for agricultural and mining purposes, without stating that any 
 use was made of the particular portion held by defendants. This averment 
 of possession, and also the averment of ouster, were insufficiently denied in 
 the answer ; but the answer averred affirmatively that, at the time defend- 
 ants entered upon the ground in dispute, it was a part of the public domain 
 of the United States ; contained large and valuable deposits of gold ; that 
 they entered upon and took possession of it for mining purposes, and that 
 they have since held and used it for such purposes only. The Court below 
 gave judgment for plaintiff on the pleadings : held, that these affirmative 
 averments of defendants being proved, plaintiff could not recover without 
 showing such an actual and meritorious possession and occcupancy as ren- 
 dered the interference of the defendants unjust and inequitable ; that he 
 could not recover on the pleadings, because the character of his possession 
 did not appear, the complaint not averring that this particular portion of 
 land was ever used by plaintiff for any purpose whatever. Smith v. Doe, 15 
 Cal. 100. 
 
 4. The allegation of possession is too broad to defeat the rights of a per- 
 son who has, in good faith, located upon public mineral land for the pur- 
 pose of mining. Id. 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 89 
 
 5. When a party enters upon mineral land for the purpose of mining, he 
 cannot be presumed to be a trespasser, for if the land be not private prop- 
 erty he has the right to enter upon it for that purpose ; and, until it is 
 shown that the title has passed from the Government, the statutory pre- 
 sumption that it is public land applies. Id. 
 
 6. Mere entry and possession give no right to the exclusive enjoyment of 
 any given quantity of the public mineral lands of this State. Id. 
 
 7. As a general rule, the public mineral lands of this State are open to 
 the occupancy of every person who, in good faith, chooses to enter upon 
 them for the purpose of mining. But this rule has its limitations, to .be 
 fixed by the facts of each particular case. Certain possessory rights and 
 rights of property in the mining region, though not founded on a valid legal 
 title, will be protected against the miner as valuable permanent improve- 
 ments, such as houses, orchards, vineyards, growing crops, etc. Id. 
 
 8. The act of April, 1852, "prescribing the mode of maintaining and de- 
 fending possessory actions on public lands in this State," gives permission 
 to all persons to work the mines upon public lands, although they may be 
 in the possession of another, for agricultural purposes. Stoakes v. Barrett, 
 5 Cal. 36; Clark v. Duval, 15 Id. 88. 
 
 9. The right of the agriculturist to use and enjoy public lands must yield 
 to the right of the miner when gold is discovered in his land. Tartar v. 
 Spring Creek W. & M. Co., 5 Cal. 395 ; Burdge v. Underwood, 6 Id. 45. 
 
 10. But this does not confer any right upon the miner to dig a ditch to 
 convey water to his mining claim through land thus occupied. Id. ; McClin- 
 tock v. Bryden, 6 Cal. 97 ; Fitzgerald v. Urton, Id. 308. 
 
 11. The Government of the United States will issue no patent to a pre- 
 emption claimant upon mineral lands, who claims the same for agricultural 
 purposes. McClintock v. Bryden, 5 Cal. 99. 
 
 12. The Government of this State being a Government of the people, has, 
 as far as its action has been determined, modified the claim to the precious 
 metals by the sovereign, and permitted its citizens and others to use the 
 public lands for the purpose of extracting the most valuable metals from 
 their soil. Id. 
 
 13. A person who has settled for agricultural purposes upon any of the 
 mining lands of this State has settled upon such lands subject to the rights of 
 miners, who may proceed in good faith to extract any valuable metals there 
 may be found in the lands so occupied by the settler, to the least injury of 
 the occupying claimant. Id. 102. 
 
 14. Miners have a right to dig for gold on the public lands. Irwin v. 
 Phillips, 5 Cal. 145 ; Hicks v. Bell, 3 Id. 219. 
 
 15. The miner who selects a piece of ground to work must take it as he 
 finds it, subject to prior rights, which have an equal equity on account of 
 an equal recognition from the sovereign power. Id. 147. 
 
 16. Settlers may occupy public lands and inclose the same for their imme- 
 diate benefit, except in the mining regions, else the entire gold region might 
 have been inclosed in large tracts under the pretense of agriculture and 
 grazing. Tartar v. Spring Creek W. & M. Co., 5 Cal. 398. 
 
40 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 17. The Government of the United States, in the face of the notorious 
 occupation of the public lands in this State by her citizens that upon those 
 lands they have mined for gold, constructed canals, built saw mills, culti- 
 vated farms, and practiced every mode of industry has asserted no right of 
 ownership to any of the mineral lands in the State. Conger v. Weaver, 6 
 Cal. 556. 
 
 18. The right, like digging gold, is a franchise, and the attending circum- 
 stances raise the presumption of a grant from the sovereign of the privilege, 
 and every one who wishes to attain it has license from the State to do so ; 
 provided, that the prior rights of others are not infringed upon. Id. 
 
 19. A license to work the mines implies a permission to extract and re- 
 move the mineral. Such license from an individual owner can be created 
 only by writing, and from the General Government only by act of Congress. 
 But Congress has adopted no specific action on the subject, and has left 
 that matter to be controlled by its previous general legislation respecting 
 the public domain. The supposed license from the General Government con- 
 sists in its simple forbearance. Boggs v. Merced M. Co., 14 Cal. 374. 
 
 20. If the forbearance of the Government were entitled to any considera- 
 tion, as a legal objection to the assertion of the title of the Government, it 
 could only be so in those cases where it has been accompanied with such 
 knowledge on its part, of a working of the mines and the removal of the 
 mineral, as to have induced investigation and action, had this been intended 
 or desired. Such knowledge must be affirmatively shown by those who 
 assert a license from forbearance. Id. 
 
 21. How far the right of miners to go upon public mineral lands in pos- 
 session of another, for the purpose of mining, must be modified to secure 
 any rights of such possessor, reserved. Id. 
 
 22. Neither the act of 1858, as to the location of seminary land, nor the 
 act of Congress, donating it, allows mineral land to be located.- Id. 
 
 23. Miners have a right to enter upon public mineral land, in the occu- 
 pancy of others, for agricultural purposes, and to use the land and water 
 for the extraction of gold the use being reasonable, necessary to the busi- 
 ness of mining, and with just regard to the rights of the agriculturist ; and 
 this, whether the land is inclosed or taken up under the possessory act. 
 Clark v. Duval, 15 Cal. 88. 
 
 24. The right so to enter and mine carries with it the right to whatever 
 is indispensable for the exercise of this mining privilege as the use of the 
 land and such elements of the freehold as water. Id. 
 
 25. The possession of agricultural land is prima facie proof of title 
 against a trespasser ; but where it is shown that the party goes on mineral 
 land to mine, there is no presumption that he is a trespasser ; and the statu- 
 tory presumption that it is public land, in the absence of proof of title in 
 the person claiming it as agricultural land, applies. Burdge v. Smith, 14 
 Cal. 383. 
 
 26. In this State, although the larger portion of the mineral lands belong 
 to the United States, yet defendant cannot defeat an action for mining 
 claims, water privileges, and the like, by showing the paramount title of the 
 Government. Our Courts, in determining controversies between parties 
 thus situated, presume a grant from the Government to the first appropria- 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 41 
 
 tor. The presumption, though of no avail against the Government, is held 
 absolute in such controversies. Coryell v. Cain, 16 Cal. 573. 
 
 27. A miner has no right to dig or work within the inclosure surrounding 
 a dwelling-house, corral, and other improvements of another. Burdge v. 
 Underwood, 6 Cal. 45. 
 
 28. There is no prohibition against locating school land warrants on any 
 of the mineral lands in the State. Nims v. Johnson, 7 Cal. 110. 
 
 29. A party cannot, under pretense of holding land in exclusive occu- 
 pancy as a town lot, take up and inclose twelve acres of mineral land in the 
 mining district, as against persons who enter afterwards upon the land, in 
 good faith, for the purpose of digging gold, and who do no injury to the use 
 of the premises as a residence, or for carrying on of any commercial or 
 mechanical business. Martin v. Browner, 11 Cal. 12. 
 
 30. Where a miner enters upon land in the possession of another, claim- 
 ing the right to enter for mining purposes, he must justify his entry, by 
 showing: 1st, that the land is public land; 2d, that it contains mines or 
 minerals ; 3d, that he enters for the bona fide purpose of mining, and such 
 justification must be affirmatively pleaded in answer, with all the requisite 
 averments to show a right under the statute, or by law, to enter. Lentz v. 
 Victor, 17 Cal. 271. 
 
 31. A party in possession of public mineral land is entitled to hold it as 
 against all the world, the Government excepted, if the land belong to it 
 subject only to the qualification that, upon land taken up for other than 
 mining purposes, a right of entry for such purposes may attach. Id. 
 
 32. Whetner in this case, even if the defense of justification as a miner, 
 etc., had been properly set up, defendant would have been entitled to enter, 
 not decided. Id. 
 
 33. The eleventh section of the act of March, 1856, "for the protection 
 of actual settlers and to quiet land titles in this State," .does not apply to 
 miners engaged in extracting gold from quartz veins. Fremont v. Seals, 
 18 Cal. 433. 
 
 34. The mines of gold and silver in the public lands are as much the 
 property of the State, by virtue of her sovereignty, as are similar mines in 
 the hands of private proprietors. Hicks v. Bell, 3 Cal. 227 ; Stoakes v. Bar- 
 rett, 5 Id. 39. 
 
 35. The State, therefore, has the sole right to authorize the mines to be 
 worked, to pass laws for their regulation, to license miners, and affix such 
 terms and conditions as she may deem proper to the freedom of their use. Id. 
 
 Growing "Wood and Timber. 
 
 1. The right to the use of growing wood and timber upon the public min- 
 eral lands, as between the claims of miners on the one hand and agricul- 
 turists on the other, is governed by the rule of priority of appropriation. 
 Rogers v. Soggs, 22 Cal. 444. 
 
 2. The possession of public land in the mineral districts of this State, 
 acquired and held in accordance with the possessory act for agricultural 
 purposes, carries with it the right to the wood and timber growing thereon, 
 and this right is superior to that of subsequent locators of mining claims 
 
42 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 who need, and seek to use, the wood and timber for carrying on their min- 
 ing operations. Id. 
 
 3. In an action between occupants of the public lands neither party can 
 claim a right to the growing timber thereon under the laws of the United 
 States. The cutting or destruction of the timber by any occupant is 
 expressly prohibited by Act of Congress of March 2d, 1831. Id. 
 
 Private Lands. 
 
 1. The United States, like any other proprietor, can only exercise their 
 right to the mineral on private property, in subordination to such rules and 
 regulations as the local sovereign may prescribe. Boggs v. Merced M. Co., 
 14 Cal. 376. 
 
 2. The general course of legislation in this State authorizes the infer- 
 ence of a license from her to the miner to enter upon lands and remove the 
 gold, so far as the State has any right ; but this hcense is restricted to the 
 public lands. Id. 
 
 3. Where premises containing deposits of gold are held under a patent 
 from the United States, an injunction lies to prevent miners from excavating 
 ditches, digging up the soil, and flooding a portion of the premises, for the 
 purpose of extracting the gold. Henskaw v. Clark, 14 Cal. 460. 
 
 4. Such injuries are calculated to destroy the entire value of the land for 
 all useful purposes. They are irreparable. Id. 
 
 5. Miners have no right to enter upon private land, and subject it to 
 such uses as may be necessary to extract the precious metals which it con- 
 tains. Id. 
 
 6. The right to mine for the precious metals can only be exercised upon 
 public lands, and, although it carries with it the incidents of the right, such 
 as the use of wood and water, those incidents also must be of the public 
 domain. Tartar v. Spring Creek W. & M. Co., 5 Cal. 398. 
 
 7. The presumption of a grant from the Government, of mines, water 
 privileges, and the like, is to the first appropriator ; but such a presumption 
 can have no place for consideration against the superior proprietor. Boggs 
 v. Merced M. Co., 14 Cal. 375 ; Henshaw v. Clark, 14 Id. 464. 
 
 CONVEYANCE OF MINING CLAIMS. 
 AN ACT to provide for the Conveyance of Mining Claims. 
 
 [Passed April 13th, I860. Wood's Dig. p. 896 ; Stat. 1860, p. 175.] 
 
 SECTION 1. Conveyances of mining claims may be evi- 
 denced by bills of sale or instruments in writing not under 
 seal, signed by the person from whom the estate or interest is 
 intended to pass, in the presence of one or more attesting 
 witnesses ; and also all conveyances of mining claims hereto- 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 43 
 
 fore made by bills of sale or instruments of writing, not under 
 seal, shall have the same force and effect as prima facie evi- 
 dence of sale, as if such conveyances had been made by deed 
 under seal ; provided, that nothing in this act shall be con- 
 strued to interfere with or repeal any lawful local rules, regu- 
 lations, or customs of the mines in the several mining districts 
 of this State ; and provided, further, every such bill of sale 
 or instrument in writing shall be deemed and held to be 
 fraudulent and void as against all persons except the parties 
 thereto, unless such bill of sale or instrument in writing be 
 accompanied by an immediate delivery to the purchaser of 
 the possession of the mining claim or claims therein described, 
 and be followed by an actual and continued change of the 
 possession thereof, or unless such bill of sale or instrument in 
 writing shall be acknowledged and recorded as required by 
 law in the case of conveyances of real estate. 
 
 SEC. 2. This act shall apply to gold mining claims only. 
 (This section was repealed by Act of March 2Qth, 1863 
 Stat. 1863, p. 98.) 
 
 Conveyances of Mining Claims, etc. 
 
 1. A bill of sale, not under seal, is insufficient to convey a mining claim. 
 McCarron v. 0' Connell, 7 Cal. 152. 
 
 [The act of April 13, 1860, permits bills of sale of mining claims, without 
 seal, to pass title.] 
 
 2. A bill of sale for a mining claim, not under seal, and without warranty, 
 which only purports to convey the right and title of the vendor, will not 
 pass the title, although the vendor is in possession at the time, if such pos- 
 session is without title. It only passes an equity which is subject to the 
 legal title or a superior equity. Clark v. McElvy, 11 Cal. 154. 
 
 3. A written conveyance is not necessary to the transfer of a mining 
 claim. Table Mountain Tunnel Co. v. Stranahan, 20 Cal. 198. 
 
 4. The right to mining ground, acquired by appropriation, rests upon pos- 
 session only ; and rights of this character, not amounting to an interest in 
 the land, are not within the statute of frauds, and no conveyance other than 
 a transfer of possession is necessary to pass them. Id. 
 
 5. A writing is not necessary to vest or divest title on taking up a mining 
 claim. The right of the miner comes from the mere appropriation of the 
 claim made in accordance with the mining rules and customs of the vicinage. 
 The title is in the Government, and the right to mine is by its permission to 
 the appropriator. Gore v. McBrayer, 18 Cal. 582. 
 
44 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 6. The statute of frauds, requiring an instrument in writing to create an 
 interest in land, does not apply to taking up of mining claims. A mere 
 verbal authority to one man to take up a claim for another is sufficient. No 
 title is divested out of the Government, but a right of entry given under it. 
 Id. 
 
 7. Mining claims are real estate within the code defining the venue of 
 civil actions. Watts v. White, 13 Cal. 324. 
 
 8. Upon questions as to the occupancy of public mineral land, it seems 
 that a transfer of the occupant's right of possession may as well be by 
 simple agreement as by deed, the vendee taking possession. Jackson v. F. 
 River and Gibsonville W. Co., 14 Cal. 22. 
 
 9. From an early period of our State's jurisprudence we have regarded 
 claims to public mineral lands as titles. Merritt v. Judd, 14 Cal. 64. 
 
 10. The owner of a mining claim has, in effect, a good vested title to the 
 property, until divested by the higher right of his superior proprietor. He 
 is entitled to all the remedies for the protection of his mine that he could 
 claim if he were the owner against all the world, except the true owner. 
 Merced Mining Co. v. Fremont, 7 Cal. 317. 
 
 11. The purchaser of a mining claim can only acquire such right or title 
 as his vendor had at the time of sale. Waring v. Crow, 11 Cal. 366. 
 
 12. Where parties conveyed to H. one-third interest in the lead, by deed 
 purporting to convey in the fee simple absolute, and subsequently acquired 
 another title : held, that such subsequent acquisition inured to JI.'s benefit. 
 Hitchens v. Nougues, 11 Cal. 28. 
 
 13. A bill of sale of a mining claim is sufficiently proven when the hand- 
 writing of the subscribing witness, who is absent from the State, and the 
 execution by the vendor are proven. It is no objection to such bill of sale 
 that it is not under seal, whatever may be the effect of it as evidence. Jack- 
 son v. Feather River Water Co., 14 Cal. 22. 
 
 Conveyance to and by Corporation Seal. 
 
 1. A conveyance that would come within the statute of frauds if made by 
 an individual, if made by a corporation would be liable to the same con- 
 struction, and if void in the former case would be void in the latter. Such 
 conveyance will not affect the lien of a judgment regularly obtained against 
 the grantor. Smith v. Morse, 2 Cal. 524. 
 
 2. Where the owners of a mining claim, previously located by themselves 
 and others, became incorporated, and placed the corporation thus formed in 
 possession of the claim as their successor in interest, with the evident in- 
 tention that whatever rights the unincorporated individuals had should pass 
 to the corporation : held, that the title to the claim passed to the corporation 
 as effectually as it would if the transfer had been accompanied by a convey- 
 ance in writing. Table M. T. Co. v. Stranahan, 20 Cal. 198. 
 
 3. A conveyance of real property by a corporation must be under its cor- 
 porate seal. It may alter its seal at pleasure, and may adopt as its own the 
 private seal of an individual, but in the latter case the seal adopted must be 
 used as that of the corporation. Richardson v. Scott River W. & M. Co., 
 22 Cal. 150. 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 45 
 
 4. If to a deed, purporting to be that of a corporation, a seal be affixed 
 as that of the individual agent who signs it, such seal cannot be treated as 
 that of the corporation. A declaration in the instrument that the seal is 
 affixed as that of the agent is conclusive of its character and effect. Id. 
 
 5. It is not necessary to state in a conveyance by a corporation that the 
 seal used is 'that of the corporation. This fact may, in the absence of any 
 declaration to the contrary, be presumed from the language of the convey- 
 ance or proved by evidence aliunde. Id. 
 
 6. A mortgage, made in connection with a bond to secure the debt of a 
 corporation, styled the Scott River Water and Mining Company, named as 
 parties of the first part (grantors), W. P. Pool, C. W. Tozer, G. T. Terry, 
 and J. Reid, " President, Directors, and members of the Scott River Water 
 and Mining Company," and concluded as follows : " In witness whereof, the 
 said parties of the first part hereunto set their hands and affix their seals," 
 followed by the signatures of the four persons above named with a seal or 
 scrawl affixed to each : held, that this conveyance was not sealed with the 
 corporate seal, and was therefore inoperative as the foundation of any right 
 or claim to the corporate property which it purported to convey. Id. 
 
 LIMITATION OF ACTIONS. 
 
 AN ACT supplementary to the Act entitled " An Act to 
 amend an Act defining the Time for commencing Civil 
 Actions" passed April 22d, 1850, approved April 18A, 
 1863. 
 
 [Approved February 18th, 1864 Stat. 1863-4, p. 91.] 
 
 SECTION 1. No action for the recovery of property in 
 'mining claims, or for the recovery of the possession thereof, 
 shall be maintained unless it appears that the plaintiff, his 
 ancestor, predecessor, or grantor, was seized or possessed 
 of the premises in question within two years before the com- 
 mencement of the action. 
 
 SEC. 2. No cause of action or defense to an action founded 
 upon the title to property in mining claims, or to the rents or 
 profits out of the same, shall be effectual unless it appear 
 that the person prosecuting the action or making the defense, 
 or under whose title the action is prosecuted or the defense is 
 made, or the ancestor, predecessor, or grantor of such per- 
 son was seized or possessed of the premises in question within 
 
46 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 two years before the commencement of the act in respect to 
 which such action is prosecuted or defense made. 
 
 SEC. 3. This act shall take effect from and after its pas- 
 sage. 
 
 Jurisdiction. 
 
 1. Although the jurisdiction of mining claims is given to Justices' Courts, 
 yet if the amount in controversy is above two hundred dollars, the District 
 Court has jurisdiction. No statute can deprive the latter Court of the juris- 
 diction confirmed and defined by the Constitution. Hicks v. jBell, 3 Cal. 224. 
 
 2. In a suit brought by one of the partners in a mining company against 
 the company to recover his share, which had been sold for an alleged non- 
 payment of an assessment, and also to recover the sum of his proportionate 
 share of the gold taken out by the said company, the District Court has 
 jurisdiction. Schulper v. Evans, 4 Cal. 212. 
 
 3. Where the complaint in an action to recover possession of a mining 
 claim in a Justice's Court contains an allegation of injury done and a prayer 
 for damages, the latter should be disregarded or stricken out, and the plaint- 
 iff be allowed to try his right to the claim. Van Etten v. Jilson, 6 Cal. 19. 
 
 4. Justices of the Peace have no jurisdiction in actions to recover dam- 
 ages in a sum over two hundred dollars for injury to a mining claim or for 
 its detention. Van Etten v. Jilson, 6 Cal. 19 ; Small v. Gwinn, 6 Id. 449 ; 
 Freeman v. Powers, 7 Id. 105. 
 
 ACTIONS RESPECTING MINING CLAIMS. 
 
 AN A CT amendatory and supplementary to the Act entitled 
 "An Act to regulate Proceedings in Civil Cases in Courts 
 of Justice of this State." 
 
 [Passed May 15th, 1854; Stat. 1854, p. 72; Stat. 1855, p. 199; Wood's 
 Digest, p. 248.] 
 
 SEC. 63. In actions respecting miners' claims in a Justice's 
 Court, the Justice shall have power upon application of the 
 party out of possession of the claim or claims, after notice of 
 one day to the adverse party, to appoint a receiver of the 
 proceeds of the claim pending the action. If the parties 
 agree upon a person, he shall be appointed such receiver ; if 
 the parties do not agree, the Justice shall appoint a receiver, 
 who shall take an oath, which shall be filed with the Justice, 
 
MINING LAAVS OF CALIFORNIA. 47 
 
 that he is not interested in the action between the parties, and 
 that he will honestly keep an account of all gold dust, or met- 
 als of any kind, the proceeds of the claim or claims in dispute. 
 After the appointment of such receiver, the Justice shall have 
 power to issue a written order to any Sheriff or Constable to 
 put such receiver into possession of such claim, which order 
 said Sheriff or Constable shall execute, and the receiver shall 
 remain in possession of the claim or claims so long as said 
 action may remain undetermined in any Court. The Court 
 in which the action may be pending shall have authority, upon 
 the application of either party with two days' notice to the 
 other, from time to time, to make such orders for the disposi- 
 tion of the proceeds of such claim or claims for the safety of 
 the same as may seem proper. The Court in which the action 
 may be pending shall also have power, upon application of 
 the receiver based upon his affidavit, to punish as for contempt 
 all persons who have been guilty of disturbing the receiver in 
 the possession of the claims. 
 
 SEC. 64. The receiver mentioned in the last section shall 
 keep an accurate account of all the proceeds of the claim 
 pending action, and of all amounts paid out for working the 
 same, and shall retain the proceeds and pay the same over 
 pursuant to the order of the Court. The receiver shall also 
 be required, on demand of either party, to give security for 
 the faithful performance of his trust, and shall be allowed for 
 the same a reasonable compensation, to be paid out of the 
 proceeds of the claim in his hands, but in no case exceeding 
 ten per cent, upon such proceeds. 
 
 AN ACT to regulate Proceedings in Civil Cases in the 
 
 Courts of Justice of this State. 
 
 Section 621 provides that " In actions respecting mining 
 claims, proofs shall be admitted of the customs, usages, or 
 
48 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 regulations established and in force at the bar or diggings 
 embracing such claim ; and such customs, usages, or regula- 
 tions, when not in conflict with the Constitution and laws of 
 this State, shall govern the decision of the action." 
 
 Customs. 
 
 1. The code permits evidence of the customs established in mining claims, 
 which implies a permission on the part of the State to the miner to seek 
 whatever he choose in the mines for the precious metals, and extends to 
 him whatever right the State might have to the mineral when found. Mc- 
 Clintock v. Bryden, 5 Cal. 100. 
 
 2. The only question in this case being, whether the quartz rock parted 
 or not from its original connection was a portion of the same quartz ledge 
 or claim taken up by defendant ; it was not important whether the rock was 
 upon or beneath the surface, or what its condition, provided it were a part 
 of such ledge or claim. In cases of this kind, the custom of miners is 
 entitled to great, if not controlling weight. Brown v. '49 and '56 Quartz 
 Mining Co., 15 Cal. 160. 
 
 3. Under certain circumstances, proof of the customs in other districts 
 may be proper at least, this Court is not satisfied to the contrary. But in 
 this case, the admission of such testimony, if error, was immaterial, as the 
 case was tried by the Court, and the judgment placed on independent 
 ground, upon which it can stand. Id. See also Table M. T. Co. v. Stran- 
 ahan, 20 Cal. 198. 
 
 Bules. 
 
 1. The mode of acquiring and the extent of a mining claim must be in con- 
 formity to the local rules of miners ; but query, can the local regulations 
 alter the general rules of holding property ? Dutch Flat W. Co. v. Mooney, 
 12 Cal. 534. 
 
 2. In suit for mining claims, the Court permitted defendants to introduce 
 in evidence the mining rules of the district, though adopted after the rights 
 of plaintiffs had attached: held, that admitting plaintiff's rights could not 
 be affected by such rules, still, as defendants claimed under them, they 
 were competent evidence to determine the nature and extent of defendants' 
 claim the effect of such rules upon preexisting rights being sufficiently 
 guarded by instructions of the Court. Roach v. Gray, 16 Cal. 383. 
 
 3. Miners have the power to prescribe the rules governing the acquisition 
 and divestiture of titles to this class of claims and their extent, subject only 
 to the general laws of the State. English v. Johnson, 17 Cal. 107. 
 
 4. In this case : held, that the defendant could not offer in evidence an 
 extract or a single clause of a book containing the mining rules, but must 
 offer the whole book the book being in Court and in possession of defend- 
 ant, and it being necessary to a fair understanding of any one part, that the 
 whole should be inspected. Id. 
 
 5. Plaintiffs here three in number claiming by purchase and location, 
 defendant offers to show that one of the plaintiffs had admitted, years ago, 
 that he had more than five claims : held, that the evidence was properly 
 ruled out, its relevancy not being shown. Id. 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 49 
 
 6. The quantity of ground a miner can claim by location or prior appro- 
 priation for mining purposes may be limited by the mining rules of the 
 district. Prosser v. Parks, 18 Cal. 47. 
 
 7. The mining rules of the district cannot limit the quantity of ground or 
 the number of claims a party may acquire by purchase. Id. 
 
 8. The fact that mining laws and regulations were passed on a different 
 day from that advertised for a meeting of miners, does not invalidate them. 
 Courts will not inquire into the regularity of the modes in which these local 
 legislatures or primary assemblages act. They must be the judges of their 
 own proceedings. It is sufficient that the miners agree whether in public 
 meeting or after due notice upon their local laws, and that these are recog- 
 nized as the rules of the vicinage, unless fraud be shown, or other like cause 
 for rejecting the laws. Gore v. McBrayer, 18 Cal. 582. 
 
 Record. 
 
 1. The question as to the necessity of recording mining claims, reserved. 
 Partridge v. NcKinney, 13 Cal. 159. 
 
 2. In the absence of any mining rule declaring that a failure to record a 
 claim avoids the entry or claim, a party may take actual possession of 
 mineral land, though in taking possession he does not observe the require- 
 ments as to registry, and the like acts prescribed by the local laws. But if 
 he take more land than these rules allow, this would not give him title to 
 the excess against any one subsequently entering, who complies with the 
 laws, and takes up such excess in accordance with them. English v, John- 
 ion, 17 Cal. 107. 
 
 Location. 
 
 1. One party may locate ground in the mineral districts for fluming pur- 
 poses, and another party may locate the same ground for mining purposes ; 
 the two locations will not conflict, being for different purposes. O'Keiffe v. 
 Cunningham, 9 Cal. 589. 
 
 2. A party may take up a claim for mining purposes, that has been, and 
 still is, used as a place of deposit for tailings by another, and his mining 
 right may be subject to this prior right of deposit ; but this claim of the 
 miner will not be subject to those who come after him. Id. 
 
 3. A misdescription in the notice of the claimant to a quartz lead, posted 
 up near the premises, in pursuance of the mining laws of the district in 
 which the lead is situated, and where the lead is under ground and unde- 
 veloped, will not vitiate the claim. Johnson v. Parkes, 10 Cal. 446. 
 
 4. In this case the Court instructed the jury: 1st, that if they found 
 plaintiffs located their claims, as now claimed, before the location of defend- 
 ants' claim, then they should find for plaintiffs ; and 2d, if they found that 
 defendants never located any claim adjoining plaintiffs' claim, then they 
 should find for plaintiffs : held, that the instructions are wrong, as violating 
 the principle that plaintiff must recover on the strength of his own title ; 
 that defendants, having been in actual possession for a long time, were not 
 required to show anything beyond it until a prior and paramount right was 
 shown in plaintiffs ; that it was not essential to defendants' possession to 
 show that they had ever formally located their claim, in accordance with 
 any mining regulations, or that they had or claimed any other mining 
 ground. Penn. M. Co. v. Owens, 15 Cal. 186. 
 
 4 
 
50 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 5. The first locator of a quartz ledge is not confined simply to the solid 
 quartz actually embodied in the bed rock, but is entitled to the loose quartz 
 rock and decomposed material which were once a part of the ledge and are 
 now detached, so far as the general formation of the ledge can be traced. 
 Brown v. '49 and '56 Quartz Mining Co., 15 Cal. 160. 
 
 6. The right of the quartz miner comes from his appropriation, and when- 
 ever his claim is defined there is no reason in the nature of things why the 
 appropriation may not as well take effect upon quartz in a decomposed state 
 as any other sort, or why the condition to which natural causes may have 
 reduced the rock, should give character to the title of the locator. Id. 
 
 7. A mining claim must be in some way defined as to limits, before the 
 possession of the work upon part gives possession to any more than the part 
 so possessed or worked. But when the claim is defined, and the party 
 enters in pursuance of mining rules and customs, the possession of part is 
 the possession of the entire claim. Atwood v. Fricot, 17 Cal. 27. 
 
 8. Where G., McB., and others verbally agreed to prospect for quartz, 
 and to be equally interested in claims taken up, and McB. discovered a lead 
 or claim and located it by putting up a written notice with G.'s name and 
 others on it, appropriating the lead : held, that G.'s right attached by these 
 proceedings, and could not be divested by the mere act of McB. in taking 
 down the notice and putting up other notices with other names. Gore v. 
 McBrayer, 18 Cal. 582. 
 
 9. After the notice was put up, G. became a tenant in common of the 
 mine, and not a partner, and could bring an action to vindicate his title 
 against McB. or any one who excluded him or denied his right. Id. 
 
 10. The usual mode of taking up mining claims is to put upon' the claim 
 a written notice that the party has located it ; and this taking up and giving 
 notice may be done by a party personally, or by any one for him, or with 
 his assent or approval ; and whenever the appropriation is made by an agent 
 having authority from a principal to make it, the act is complete, and the 
 title vests in the principal, and the agent by his mere act cannot subse- 
 quently divest it. Id. 
 
 11. Although mining ground may be located in the absence of local 
 regulations, yet the extent of such location is not without limit. The quan- 
 tity taken must be reasonable : and whether it be so or not, will be deter- 
 mined in such cases by the general usages and customs prevailing upon the 
 subject. If an unreasonable quantity be included within the boundaries, the 
 location will not be effectual for any purpose, and possession under it 
 will only extend to the ground actually occupied. Table M. T. Co. v. Stran- 
 ahan, 20 Cal. 198 ; 21 Id. 548. 
 
 12. Upon the question of reasonableness of the extent of a mining location, 
 a general custom, whether existing anterior to the location or not, may be 
 given in evidence ; but a local rule stands upon a different footing, and can- 
 not be introduced to affect the validity of a claim acquired previous to its 
 establishment. Id. 
 
 "Work. 
 
 1. Where the regulations of a mining locality require that every claim 
 shall be worked two days in every ten, the efforts of the owner of a claim to 
 procure machinery for working the claim are, by fair intendment, to be con- 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 51 
 
 eidered as work done on the claim. So, also, in working on adjoining land 
 in constructing a drain to enable the owner to work the claim. Packer v. 
 Heaton, 9 Cal. 568. 
 
 2. Work done outside of a mining claim, with the intent to work the 
 claim, to be considered by intendment as work done on the claim, must 
 have direct relation and be in reasonable proximity to it. McGarrity v. 
 Byington, 12 Cal. 432. 
 
 3. Going on the lead to work it, or even work done in proximity and in 
 direct relation to the claim, for the purpose of extracting or preparing to 
 extract minerals from it as, for example, starting a tunnel a considerable 
 distance off to run into the claim would be a possession of the claim within 
 the meaning of the rule. English v. Johnson, 17 Cal. 107. 
 
 Forfeiture and Abandonment. 
 
 1. Mining laws, when introduced in evidence, are to be construed by the 
 Court, and the question whether by virtue of such laws a forfeiture had 
 occurred, is a question of law, and cannot be properly submitted to a jury. 
 Fairbank v. Woodhouse, 6 Cal. 433. 
 
 2. In an action for a mining claim, when the defendants asked for an in- 
 struction to the jury " that if the plaintiff had abandoned the claim, and did 
 not intend to return and work it before the commencement of the suit he 
 could not recover," and the Court gave the instruction " subject to the 
 seventeenth section of the Statute of Limitations :" held, that the qualifica- 
 tion of the instruction was error. Davis v. Sutler, 6 Cal. 511. 
 
 3. A party after having abandoned his claim will not be permitted to come 
 in within the time allowed by the statute for commencing civil actions, and 
 reassert or resume his former interest to the prejudice of those who may 
 have afterwards appropriated it. Id. 
 
 4. Where the Court instructed the jury, that, " where an abandonment is 
 sought to be established by the act of the party, the intention alone gov- 
 erns ; and, if such party leave a mining claim with the intention not to 
 return, his abandonment is as complete, if it exist for a minute or a second, 
 as though it continued for years ; but if he left with the intention of return- 
 ing, he might do so at any time within five years ; provided, there was no 
 rule, usage, or custom of miners, of such notorious character as to raise a 
 presumption of an intention to abandon;" the question of abandonment 
 was fairly left to the jury. Waring v. Crow, 11 Cal. 366. 
 
 5. Where a party's rights to a mining claim are fixed by the rules of 
 property, which are a part of the general law of the land, they cannot be 
 divested by any mere neighborhood custom or regulation. Id. 
 
 6. In the absence of any custom or local regulation, the right of property 
 once attached in a mining claim, does not depend upon mere diligence in 
 working such claim. The failure to comply with any one mining regulation 
 is not a forfeiture. McGarrity v. Byington, 12 Cal. 426. 
 
 7. In an action of ejectment to recover mining claims, an answer to the 
 complaint which avers " that any rights plaintiff may have had, etc., have 
 been forfeited by a non-compliance with the rules of the miners in the dig- 
 gings embracing the claims in dispute prior to defendant's entry," is insuffi- 
 cient in not setting forth the rules, customs, etc. Dutch Flat Co. v. Moony, 
 19 Cal. 534. 
 
52 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Possession Evidence of Title, etc. 
 
 1. Actual possession of a portion of a mining claim, according to the cus- 
 tom of miners, in a given locality in the Yuba River, extends by construc- 
 tion to the limits of the claim held in accordance with such customs. Hicks 
 v. Bell, 3 Cal. 224. 
 
 2. In a controversy between two mining companies, it was competent to 
 prove the execution of certain receipts for water purchased by the plaintiffs, 
 as tending to show the existence of the company, and that it had actually 
 located and was in operation at the time the receipts purport to be signed. 
 Lone Star Co. v. West Point Co., 5 Cal. 447. 
 
 3. A prior locator of a mining claim on the banks of a stream has the 
 right to the use of the bed of the stream for fluming or working ; and a 
 subsequent erection, which will hinder the working of the claim, is an en- 
 croachment upon his rights and the subject of damages. Sims v. Smith, 7 
 Cal. 148. 
 
 4. A writ of injunction will issue to restrain trespass in entering on a 
 mining claim and removing auriferous quartz from it, where the injury 
 threatens to be continuous and irreparable. Merced M. Co. v. Fremont. 7 
 Cal. 317. 
 
 5. The removal of gold from a mine is taking away the entire substance 
 of the estate, and comes within that class of trespass in which injunctions 
 are universally granted. Id. 
 
 6. In an action of ejectment to recover an undivided interest in a mining 
 claim, it is not necessary to make parties defendants who are in possession 
 holding other undivided interests, and who claim no right to the interest 
 sued for. Waring v. Crow, 11 Cal. 366. 
 
 7. Possession of one partner or tenant in common of a mining claim, is 
 the possession of all. Id. 
 
 8. A book in which claims are recorded by resolution of the miners of a 
 district, may be admitted in evidence in an ejectment suit for a mining 
 claim. McGarrity v. Byinglon, 12 Cal. 426. 
 
 9. A copy of a notice posted on a mining claim to show its extent, is not 
 admissible in evidence, if the notice itself be attainable. Such evidence is 
 secondary, and is admissible only upon the terms which control its introduc- 
 tion in other cases. Lornbardo v. Ferguson, 15 Cal. 373. 
 
 10. Ejectment for mining ground, the parties being owners of claims on 
 opposite sides of the same hill. Plaintiffs were an ordinary joint stock com- 
 pany, or common partnership, and claimed by purchase and transfer from 
 the original members of the company. The practice of the company was to 
 issue to members certificates of stock, and those certificates constituted the 
 only evidence of membership recognized by the company, transfers being 
 made by an assignment of the certificates, and a notice thereof in the books 
 of the company. On the trial, these certificates with the assignments were 
 read in evidence by plaintiffs, to show their interest in the ground and their 
 right to maintain the action, defendants objecting to them on the ground of 
 irrelevancy, and.that their execution was not proved : held, that the certifi- 
 cates, etc., were relevant to show possession in plaintiffs, but that their exe- 
 cution should have been proven. Pennsylvania Mining Co. v. Owens, 15 
 Cal. 136. 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 53 
 
 11. Defendant killed deceased while in the act of injuring a mining claim. 
 On the trial defendant offered to show that he was the owner, and in the 
 lawful possession of said claim at the time of the killing. The Court refused 
 testimony to this point : held, that defendant had a right to prove his owner- 
 ship of the claim for the purpose of showing his mental condition, the mo- 
 tives which prompted his action, and determining the character of the 
 offense ; that the ownership was part of the res gestce, and should have been 
 admitted, subject to instructions of the Court as to its legal effect, though 
 when admitted it may not have amounted to a justification. People v. Cos- 
 tello, 15 Cal. 350. 
 
 12. Where in suit for a mining claim, a plaintiff in his complaint states 
 the particular facts constituting his title, and on that title seeks a recovery, 
 and the answer denies such title, plaintiff must prove his title as averred, at 
 least in substance, and he cannot against defendant's objection, recover on 
 another and different title. And where plaintiffs were permitted to prove and 
 recover on a title other than the one set up, it was error in the Court below 
 to refuse a new trial, the motion for which was based on affidavit of defend- 
 ant that he was taken by surprise, arising out of the frame of the pleadings, 
 and that he could have rebutted plaintiff's case but for this surprise. Eagan 
 v. Delaney, 16 Cal. 87. 
 
 13. Mining claims are held by possession, but that possession is regulated 
 and defined by usage and local and conventional rules ; and the " actual 
 possession " which is applied to agricultural land, and which is understood 
 to be a possessio pedis, cannot be required in case of a mining claim, in order 
 to give a right of action for the invasion of it. Ativoodv. Fricot, 17 Cal. 37. 
 
 14. So if a party enters upon a mining claim bonafide, under color of title, 
 as under a deed or lease, the possession of part as against any one but the 
 true owner or prior occupant, is the possession of the entire claim described 
 by the paper ; and this, though the paper did not convey the title. A third 
 person could not invade the possession of the party taking it under such 
 circumstances, and set up as against him outstanding title in a stranger with 
 which he had no connection. Id. 
 
 15. The condition of the possessor in such instances is no worse than that 
 of the occupant of other real estate, in which the principle above stated 
 applies. But this principle does not touch the case of an entry into pos- 
 session in pursuance of mining rules and regulations, as for a forfeiture or 
 abandonment, etc., but applies where possession is taken independently of 
 such rules. Id. 
 
 16. In suit for damages for an entry upon mining claims, and for perpet- 
 ual injunction, etc. : held, that it was error for the Court below to charge the 
 jury that, if they believed that no injury or damage was done by defendants 
 to plaintiffs, they would find for defendants ; that such charge was calculated 
 to mislead, inasmuch as the law presumes damages from a trespass, and un- 
 der the charge the jury might have decided the case upon this want of proof 
 by plaintiff's damages, instead of absence of proof of their title. In such 
 case the error being apparent, injury from the charge to the jury is pre- 
 sumed, unless respondent affirmatively repels the presumption. Id. 
 
 17. In suit for mining claims, the Court charged the jury, in effect, that 
 possession taken of a mining claim, without reference to mining rules, was 
 sufficient, as against one entering by no better title, to maintain the action ; 
 and further, that this possession need not be evidenced by actual inclosure, 
 
54 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 but "if the ground was included within distinct, visible, and notorious 
 boundaries," this was enough, against one entering without title : held, that 
 the instruction was right ; that though the regular and usual way of obtain- 
 ing possession of mining claims be according to the mining regulations of 
 the vicinage, still, a possession not so taken is good against one taking pos- 
 session in the same way ; and that the actual prior possession of the first 
 occupant would be better than the subsequent possession of the last. Eng- 
 lish v. Johnson, 17 Cal. 107. 
 
 18. No acts are required as evidence of the possession of a mining claim 
 other than those usually exercised by the owners of such claims. A miner 
 is not expected to reside on his claim, nor build on it, nor cultivate it, nor 
 inclose it. He may be in possession by himself, or by his agents or serv- 
 ants. Id. 
 
 19. As to the extent of a miner's possession where he enters under a 
 written claim or color of title, his possession, except as against the true 
 owner or prior occupant, is good to the extent of the whole limits described 
 in the paper, though the possession be only of a part of the claim. Id. 
 
 20. Where a claim is distinctly defined by physical marks, possession 
 taken for mining purposes embraces the whole claim thus characterized, 
 though the actual occupancy or work done be only on or of a part, and 
 though the party does not enter in accordance with mining rules, or under a 
 paper title. The rule which applies to agricultural lands, and holds to a 
 more strict interpretation of a possessio pedis, does not apply to such a 
 case. Id. 
 
 21. The nature of the possession requisite, when applied to different kinds 
 of property, as agricultural lands, town lots covered with water, large dis- 
 tricts where there is no timber, etc., suggested. Id. 
 
 22. Fences are not requisite around mining claims. The physical marks ' 
 upon and around the claim are sufficient to notify every one of the posses- 
 sion and claim of the possessor ; and by common understanding the going 
 upon a claim to work it is an appropriation of the entire claim, especially if 
 that claim can be appropriated to that extent by location of one man. Id. 
 
 23. Query : Whether, if several distinct claims have been consolidated 
 inte one, and the rules of the locality allow but one claim to be taken by 
 one man, and after this consolidation a person should go upon the consoli- 
 dated claim to work, without authority from the owner, his possession might 
 not be referred to the particular claim upon which he entered, and not to 
 the whole tract ; and whether the question might not be one of intent ; and 
 whether the presumption would not be, that he meant to appropriate only 
 the quantity allowed by the rules of the vicinage ? Id. 
 
 24. Where plaintiff claims, under purchase and location, a small tract of 
 mineral land, with demarked limits, of which he is in possession, and there 
 is no proof on the trial that the extent of his claim is opposed to the local 
 rules, the presumption is that his possession is rightful and not wrongful. Id. 
 
 25. In such case the plaintiff need not show, in the first instance, that he 
 was in possession in accordance with the local laws ; but may (as a vendee 
 under a deed may as to other land) make a prima fade case, upon posses- 
 sion ; and this is enough until the defendant shows that the possession is 
 wrongful, because in violation of rules which justify him in going upon the 
 premises and working them. Id. 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 55 
 
 26. Plaintiffs are owners of mining claims located in the bed of the creek, 
 and defendants own claims situated on a hill in the vicinity. The refuse 
 matter washed from defendants' claims is deposited on plaintiffs' claims, to 
 such an extent as to render the working of them impracticable. Plaintiffs' 
 claims were first located, and are valuable only for the gold they contain : 
 held, that plaintiffs are entitled to damages for the injury done their claims 
 by such deposit, and to an injunction against the same in future ; that the 
 enjoyment of their claims lies in the use necessary to obtain the gold, and 
 that to interrupt this use is to take away the opportunity to enjoy, and de- 
 feat the object for which they were located and taken possession of. Logan 
 v. Driscoll, 19 Cal. 623. 
 
 27. The rule qui prior est in tempore potior est in jure applies in such 
 cases. Id. 
 
 28. The position that, so long as the use made by defendants of their 
 claims is not in itself unlawful, plaintiffs cannot complain of its effect upon 
 them, is untenable, because no use is lawful which precludes plaintiffs from 
 the enjoyment of their rights. Id. 
 
 29. Possession of mining ground acquired by an entry under a claim for 
 mining purposes, upon a tract, the bounds of which are distinctly defined 
 by physical marks, accompanied with actual occupancy of a part of the tract, 
 is sufficient to enable the possessor to maintain ejectment for the entire 
 claim, although such acts of appropriation are not done in accordance with 
 any local mining rule. The exclusion, therefore, of evidence tending to 
 prove a possession of this character, is error. Table M. T. Co. v. Strana- 
 han, 20 Cal. 198 ; 21 Id. 548. 
 
 30. The complaint charged that defendants had wrongfully entered upon 
 a tract of mining ground (described by metes and bounds) owned by the 
 plaintiffs, and had extracted therefrom gold-bearing earth of the value of 
 $1,000, and that they threatened to continue their wrongful acts, and prayed 
 for damages in the sum of $1,000, and for a perpetual injunction. The 
 answer set up title in defendants to a specific portion of the tract claimed 
 by plaintiffs, and denied that they had worked upon any other portion than 
 that to which they thus asserted title. The jury under a general submission 
 found " a verdict in favor of plaintiffs with one dollar damages :" held, that 
 the verdict decided the question of title in favor of plaintiffs, and that upon 
 it they were entitled to a decree perpetually enjoining defendants from work- 
 ing upon the ground claimed in the complaint ; that this equitable relief 
 was a matter of right, the denial of which by the District Court was error. 
 McLaughlin v. Kelly, 22 Cal. 211. 
 
 31. The Court in the case above cited having instructed the jury that, if 
 they found that plaintiffs were entitled to the mining ground, they must find 
 a verdict for $1,000 damages upon the admissions of the answer : held, that 
 because the jury brought in a verdici for one instead of one thousand dol- 
 lars' damages, it was not therefore to be concluded, in direct opposition to 
 their general verdict, that they did not find the title in the plaintiffs. The 
 damages being admitted by the pleadings were not in issue, and the verdict 
 in that respect was immaterial. Id. 
 
 Tailings. 
 
 1. The pay dirt and tailings of a miner which are the productions of his 
 labor, are his property. Jones v. Jackson, 9 Cal. 237. 
 
56 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 2. To suffer the tailings to flow where they list, without confinement 
 within proper limits, is conclusive evidence of abandonment, unless there is 
 some peculiarity in the locality which renders it unnecessary to raise any arti- 
 ficial obstructions. Id. 
 
 3. If the tailings are allowed to mingle with those of other miners, this 
 would not give a stranger a right to the mixed mass. Id. 
 
 4. Where tailings are allowed to flow upon the ground of another, he is 
 entitled to them. Id. 
 
 5. Where a place of deposit is necessary for working a mine, the miner 
 has the right to appropriate such ground as may be necessary for this pur- 
 pose, provided, he does not interfere with existing rights. His intention to 
 appropriate such ground must be clearly manifested by outward acts. Mere 
 posting notices is not sufficient. He must claim the place of deposit as 
 such, or as a mining claim. Id. 
 
 6. A party may take up a claim for mining purposes that has been, and 
 still is, used as a place of deposit for tailings by another, and his mining 
 right may be subject to this prior right of deposit ; but this claim of the 
 miner will not be subject to those who come after him. O'Keiffe v. Cun- 
 ningham, 9 Cal. 589. 
 
 7. Plaintiffs owned certain mining claims in the bed or channel of a 
 stream. Defendants owned claims in the same stream above and adjoining 
 the claims of plaintiffs, defendants' claims being located first. Defendants 
 constructed a flume, running from their own claims to and upon plaintiffs' 
 claims, and through this flume a large quantity of tailings was deposited on 
 plaintiffs' claims, to their great damage. The flume was constructed for the 
 purpose of working defendants' claims ; was proper and necessary for that 
 purpose, and the deposit of tailings was occasioned by the ordinary working 
 of the claims. The Court instructed the jury, that the person first locating 
 a claim in the bed of the stream is entitled to the channel below as an out- 
 let, and that when such outlet from the usual mining operations above be- 
 come obstructed, he may open the same ; and if he can do so by no other 
 means, may construct a flume down the channel as far as is necessary, and 
 as far as it can be constructed without considerable damage to claims sub- 
 sequently located : held, that the instruction was wrong ; that the defend- 
 ants were not entitled, as matter of strict legal right, to an easement upon 
 plaintiffs' claims for the purpose mentioned ; that the doctrine that, under 
 certain circumstance^ one person may have a right of way by necessity over 
 the land of another, does not apply to this case ; and further, that this 
 Court does not recognize the doctrine that one person can go on the land 
 of another and erect thereon buildings or other structures ; and that mining 
 claims stand on the same footing in this respect as other property ; that, if 
 the acts of defendants were authorized by any local custom or regulation, 
 its existence should have been averred and proved. Esmond v. Chew, 15 
 Cal. 142. 
 
 8. Each person mining in the same stream is entitled to use, in a proper 
 and reasonable manner, both the channel of the stream and the water flow- 
 ing therein. Where, from the situation of different claims, the working of 
 some will necessarily result in the injury of others, if the injury be the nat- 
 ural and necessary consequence of the exercise of this right, it will be dam- 
 num absque injuria, and will furnish no cause of action to the party injured. 
 The reasonableness in the use is a question for the jury, to be determined by 
 them upon the facts and circumstances of each particular case. Id. 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 57 
 
 Boundary Lines. 
 
 1. In the absence of mining regulations, the fact that a party has located 
 a claim bounded by another, raises no presumption that the last located 
 claim corresponds in size, or in the direction of its lines, with the former. 
 Live Yankee Co. v. Oregon Co., 7 Cal. 40. 
 
 2. Where two mining companies agree upon a boundary line between 
 their claims, and subsequently other parties purchase the several interests of 
 the two companies, with a knowledge of the boundary so fixed, both parties 
 are concluded by it, and estopped from denying it. The fact that such line 
 was fixed by a mistake as to the true boundaries, makes no difference. 
 Me Gee v. Stone, 9 Cal. 600. 
 
 Fixtures. 
 
 1. A steam engine and boiler, fastened to a frame of timber, bedded in 
 the ground of a quartz ledge sufficient to make it level, with a roof or shed 
 to protect the machinery, and used for the purpose of working the ledge, 
 are so annexed to the freehold as to become a fixture. Merritt v. Judd, 14 
 Cal. 59. 
 
 Agreement. 
 
 1. Where the owner of a mining claim contracts, verbally, with J. for 
 working it, and agrees to pay him a certain sum out of the proceeds, and J. 
 goes into possession, and while he is working it, the owner sells it to a third 
 party, who takes without notice of J.'s contract, his claim is not liable to 
 J.'s contract. Jenkins v. Redding, 8 Cal. 598. 
 
 2. Parties taking possession of a quartz lead under an agreement made 
 with another party, cannot retain possession and refuse compliance with their 
 agreement, made in consideration of such possession and right to the lead. 
 Hutchins v. Nougues, 11 Cal. 28. 
 
 Execution. 
 
 1. The interest of a miner in his mining claim is property, and not having 
 been exempted by law may be taken and sold under execution. MeKeon v. 
 Bisbee, 9 Cal. 137. 
 
 2. The mere fact that the judgment debtor (against whom execution had 
 been issued) was found upon the mining ground of the plaintiff, did not jus- 
 tify the Sheriff who had the execution in going on the ground and digging 
 up the soil and taking the gold it contained. Rowe v. Bradley, 12 Cal. 230. 
 
 TAXATION". 
 
 AN A CT supplementary to an Act entitled " An Act to 
 provide Revenue for the Support of the Government of 
 this State" approved May I7th, 1861. 
 
 [Approved April 4tb, 1864 ; Stat. 1863-4, p. 471.] 
 
 SECTION 1. All provisions of law exempting mining claims 
 4* 
 
58 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 from taxation are hereby repealed, so far as they apply to lands 
 or mines in the condition of private property and granted as 
 such by the Spanish or Mexican Government, or the Govern- 
 ment of the United States, or of this State. 
 
 Taxation. 
 
 1. The interest of the occupant of a mining claim is property, and is lia- 
 ble to taxation. California v. Moore, 12 Cal. 56. 
 
 2. The Legislature having expressly exempted mining claims from the 
 operation of the revenue act, it cannot be presumed that it intended indi- 
 rectly to tax them by levying a tax on the price paid for them. Money 
 invested in purchasing and opening mining claims is not within that portion 
 of the revenue act which provides for taxing " all capital loaned, invested, 
 or employed in any trade or business whatsoever." Id. . 
 
 FOREIGN MINERS. 
 
 AN A CT to provide Revenue for the Support of the Gov- 
 ernment of this State. 
 
 [Approved May 17th, 1861; Stat. 1861, p. 447.] 
 
 SEC. 90. No person, unless he is a citizen of the United 
 States, or shall have declared his intention to become such 
 (California Indians excepted), shall be allowed to take, or 
 extract, gold, silver, or other metals from the mines of this 
 State, or hold a mining claim therein unless he shall have a 
 license therefor as hereinafter provided. 
 
 SEC. 92. * * The amount to be paid for such licenses 
 shall be at the rate of four dollars per month ; and said 
 licenses shall in no case be transferred. * * 
 
 SEC. 93. The collector shall collect the foreign miners' 
 license tax provided for in this act, from all persons liable to 
 pay the same, and may seize the property of any such person 
 refusing to pay such tax, and sell the same at public auction 
 on one hour's notice by proclamation, and shall deliver the 
 property to the purchaser, together with a bill of sale, with 
 the license attached, which shall transfer the title thereof to 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 59 
 
 the person paying the highest price therefor, and after deduct- 
 ing the tax and necessary expenses incurred by reason of such 
 refusal and sale of property, the collector shall return the 
 surplus of the proceeds of the sale, if any, to the person or 
 persons whose property was sold ; provided, that should any 
 person, liable to pay such tax in any county of this State, 
 escape into any other county with intention to evade the pay- 
 ment of such tax, then, and in that event, it shall be lawful 
 for the collector to pursue such person and enforce the pay- 
 ment of such tax in the same manner as if no such escape had 
 been made. Any foreigner representing himself to be a citi- 
 zen of the United States shall, in the absence of his certificate 
 to that effect, satisfy the collector of the correctness of his 
 statement by affidavit or otherwise, and for that purpose the 
 collector is empowered to administer such oath or affirmation. 
 All foreigners not eligible to become citizens of the United 
 States, residing in any mining district of this State, shall be 
 considered miners under the provisions of this act. Every 
 subsequent license, after the first, when issued to the same 
 person shall be dated from the expiration of the former license. 
 SEC. 97. Any person or company hiring foreigners, or in- 
 terested with them as partners, or renting, or on shares, or in 
 any manner connected with any foreigner or foreigners in 
 working, or in possession of, any mining ground in this State, 
 shall be held liable for the amount of license of each and 
 every foreigner with whom such person or company is so con- 
 nected or interested. All mining ground worked or possessed, 
 all improvements, all tools and machinery used in working 
 such ground by said person or company, shall be subject to 
 sale for the payment of said license tax in the manner pro- 
 vided in section ninety-three of this act. The collector shall 
 have power to require any person or company believed to be 
 indebted to, or to have money, gold dust, or property of any 
 kind belonging to any foreigner, or in which any foreigner is 
 
60 MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 interested, in his or their possession, or under his or their 
 control, to answer under oath as to such indebtedness, or the 
 possession of such money, gold dust, or other property.- In 
 case a party is indebted, or has possession or control of any 
 moneys, gold dust, or other property, as aforesaid, of such 
 foreigner or foreigners, he may collect from such party the 
 amount of such license, and may require the delivery of such 
 money, gold dust, or other property as aforesaid, and in all 
 cases the receipt of the collector to said party shall be a com- 
 plete bar to any demand made against said party, or his legal 
 representative, for the amounts of money, gold dust, or prop- 
 erty embraced therein ; and provided, that whenever, from 
 any cause whatever, the collector shall be unable to collect 
 the foreign miners' license from any person liable to pay the 
 same, he shall certify to the Road Overseer of the district 
 the name or description of the person and the amount due, 
 and such person shall, upon the requisition of the Overseer, 
 work upon the. public roads of the district a sufficient number 
 of days to exhaust said sum by crediting against it one dollar 
 for each day's work, and every person so liable to work, and 
 refusing so to do, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon 
 conviction shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than 
 five and not more than thirty days. 
 
 SEC. 98. Any person or company hiring foreigners to work 
 in the mines of this State, shall be liable for the amount of 
 the license for each person so employed. 
 
 Foreign Miners. 
 
 1. The State can levy a poll tax to such extent as it may deem expedient 
 upon all persons engaged in mining upon public lands, and there is nothing 
 in the Constitution of the United States which deprives this State of the 
 power of imposing it. People v. Naglee, 1 Cal. 238. 
 
 2. Where the State passed a law taxing foreign miners until such time as 
 Congress shall by law assume the regulation of the mines, it is not contra- 
 dictory or repugnant to the power of Congress. Id. 240. 
 
 3. Aliens cannot be said to have any property to enjoy in the mineral 
 public lands by which the Constitution of the State would guarantee them 
 against taxation for working or extracting the metals therefrom. Id. 
 
MINING LAWS OF CALIFORNIA. 61 
 
 4. A tax upon aliens for working the public lands, and extracting there- 
 from the precious metals, does not require any exaction ; the alien may pay 
 or not, depending upon his option whether he will or will not engage in min- 
 ing operations, and becomes a license fee. Id. 273. 
 
 6. When a foreign miner, subject to a license tax, was employed by one 
 of a partnership to work in the mines which were the partnership's prop- 
 erty : held, that the employer, and not the partnership, was liable for the 
 tax. Meyer v. Larkin, 3 Cal. 403. 
 
 6. Where the tax collector levied on the property of the partnership for 
 the tax due by the foreigner thus employed, and sold the whole claim and 
 dispossessed the plaintiff (one of the partners) : held, that he was guilty of 
 trespass for which the action was properly brought. Id. 
 
 7. The fact that the parties in the possession of a gold mine are foreign- 
 ers, and have obtained no license, affords no apology for trespassers. The 
 State alone can enforce the law prohibiting foreigners from working in the 
 mines without a license. Mitchell v. Hagood, 6 Cal. 148. 
 
MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 
 AN ACT 
 To provide for the Formation of Corporations for certain Purposes. 
 
 [Approved Dec. 20th, 1862. Laws Nevada Ter., 1862, p. 162 ; Id. 1864, p. 49.] 
 CORPORATIONS. 
 
 SECTION 1. [As amended by Act of Feb. 19th, 1864.] Corporations 
 for manufacturing, mining, milling, ditching, mechanical, chemical, build- 
 ing, and farming purposes, may be formed according to the provisions of 
 this act, such corporations and the members thereof being subject to all 
 the conditions and liabilities herein imposed and to none others. 
 
 SEC. 2. [As amended by Act of Feb. 19th, 1864.] Any three or more 
 persons who may desire to form a company for any one or more of the 
 purposes specified in the preceding section, may make, sign, and acknowl- 
 edge, before some person competent to take the acknowledgment of deeds, 
 and file and have recorded, in a book provided for that purpose, in the 
 office of the Clerk of the county in which the principal place of business 
 of the company is intended to be located, and a certified copy thereof 
 under the hand of the Clerk and the seal of the Court of said county, in 
 the office of the Secretary of the Territory, a certificate in writing, in 
 which shall be stated the corporate name of the company, the object for 
 which the same shall be formed, the amount of its capital stock, the time 
 of its existence, not to exceed fifty years, the number of shares of which 
 the capital stock shall consist, the number of trustees, and their names, 
 who shall manage the concerns of the company for such length of time 
 (not less than two, nor more than six months) as may be designated in 
 such certificate, and the name of the city, town, or locality and county 
 in which the principal place of business of the company is to be located. 
 
 SEC. 3. A copy of any certificate of incorporation filed in pursuance 
 of this act, and certified by the County Clerk of the county in which it 
 is filed, or his deputy, or by the Secretary of the Territory, shall be 
 received in all the Courts and places as prima facie evidence of the facts 
 therein stated. 
 
64 MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 
 SEC. 4. When the certificate shall have been filed, the persons who 
 shall have signed and acknowledged the same and their successors, shall 
 be a body corporate and politic, in fact and in name, by the name stated 
 in their certificate, and by their corporate name have succession for the 
 period limited, and power : 
 
 First. To sue and be sued in any Court having competent jurisdiction. 
 
 Second. To make and use a common seal, and to alter the same at 
 pleasure. 
 
 Third. To purchase, hold, sell, and convey such real and personal 
 estate as the purposes of the corporation shall require. 
 
 Fourth. To appoint such officers, agents, and servants as the business 
 of the corporation shall require ; to define their powers, prescribe their 
 duties, and fix their compensation. 
 
 Fifth. [As amended by Act of Feb. 19th, 1864.] To require of them 
 such security as may be thought proper for the fulfillment of their duties, 
 and to remove them at will, except that no trustee shall be removed from 
 office unless by a vote of two-thirds of the stockholders, as hereinafter 
 provided. 
 
 Sixth. To make by-laws, not inconsistent with the Organic Act of this 
 Territory, and the laws of the Congress of the United States and of this 
 Territory. 
 
 Seventh. The management of its property, the regulation of its affairs, 
 the transfer of its stock, and for carrying on all kinds of business within 
 the objects and purposes of the company, as expressed in its articles of 
 incorporation. 
 
 SEC. 5. [As amended by Act of Feb. 19th, 1864.] The corporate 
 powers of the corporation shall be exercised by a Board of not less than 
 three Trustees, who shall be stockholders in the company, and a majority 
 of them citizens of the United States, and residents of this Territory, 
 who shall, before entering upon the duties of their office, respectively 
 take and subscribe to an oath as prescribed by the laws of this Territory, 
 and who shall, after the expiration of the term of the trustees first 
 selected, be annually elected by the stockholders at such time and place 
 within the Territory, and upon such notice and in such manner as shall 
 be directed by the by-laws of the company ; but all elections shall be 
 by ballot, and each stockholder, either in person or by proxy, shall be 
 entitled to as many votes as he may own or represent by proxy shares of 
 stock, and the person or persons receiving the greatest number of votes 
 shall be trustee or trustees. It shall be competent at any time for 
 two-thirds of the stockholders of any corporation organized under this 
 act to expel any trustee from office, and to elect another to succeed him. 
 
MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 65 
 
 In all cases where a meeting of the stockholders is called for the purpose 
 of expelling a trustee and electing his successor, such notice shall be 
 given of the meeting as the by-laws of the company may require. 
 Whenever any vacancy shall happen among the trustees by death, resig- 
 nation, or otherwise, except by removal and the election of his successor 
 as herein provided, it shall be filled by appointment of the Board of 
 Trustees. 
 
 SEC. 6. If it should happen at any time that an election of trustees 
 shall not be made on the day designated by the by-laws of the company, 
 the corporation shall not for that reason be dissolved ; but it shall be 
 lawful on any other day to hold an election for trustees, in such manner 
 as shall be provided for in the by-laws of the company, and all acts of the 
 trustees shall be valid and binding upon the company until their succes- 
 sors shall be elected. 
 
 SEC. 7. A majority of the whole number of trustees shall form a 
 board for the transaction of business, and every decision of a majority of 
 the persons duly assembled as a board shall be valid as a corporate act. 
 
 SEC. 8. The first meeting of the Trustees shall be called by a 
 notice signed by one or more of the persons named trustees in the cer- 
 tificate, setting forth the time and place of the meeting, which notice 
 shall be either delivered personally to each trustee or published at least 
 twenty days in some newspaper of the county in which is the principal 
 place of business of the corporation, or if no newspaper be published in 
 the county, then in some newspaper nearest thereto in the Territory. 
 
 SEC. 9. The stock of the company shall be deemed personal estate, 
 and shall be transferable in such manner as shall be prescribed by the 
 by-laws of the company ; but no transfer shall be valid, except between 
 the parties thereto, until the same shall have been so entered upon the 
 books of the company, as to show the names of the parties by and to 
 whom transferred, the numbers and designation of the shares, and the 
 date of the transfer. 
 
 SEC. 10. [As amended by Act of Feb. 19th, 1864.] The stockholders 
 of any corporation formed under this act may, in the by-laws of the 
 company, prescribe the times, manner, and amounts in which the payment 
 of the sums subscribed by them respectively shall be made ; but in case 
 the same shall not be so prescribed, the trustees shall Jhave power to 
 demand and call in from the stockholders the sums by them subscribed, 
 at such times and in such manner, payments or installments, as they may 
 deem proper. In all cases notice of each assessment shall be given to the 
 stockholders personally, or by publication once a week for at least four 
 weeks in some newspaper published in the county in which the principal 
 
66 MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 
 place of business of the company is located, and if none be published in 
 such county, then in the newspaper nearest to said principal place of 
 business in the Territory. If, after such notice has been given, any 
 stockholder shall make default in the payment of the assessment upon 
 the shares held by him, so many of such shares may be sold as will be 
 necessary for the payment of the assessment upon all the shares held by 
 him, her, or them. The sale of said shares shall be made as prescribed 
 in the by-laws of the company, but shall in all cases be made at the office 
 of the company. No sale shall be made except at public auction, to the 
 highest bidder, after a notice of four weeks, published as above directed 
 in this section, and at such sale the person who shall pay the assessment 
 so due, together with the expenses of advertising and sale for the small- 
 est number of shares or portion of a share, as the case may be, shall be 
 deemed the highest bidder. 
 
 SEC. 11. Whenever any stock is held by any person as executor, 
 administrator, guardian, or trustee, he shall represent such stock at all 
 meetings of the company, and may vote accordingly as a shareholder. 
 
 SEC. 12. Any stockholder may pledge his stock by a delivery of the 
 certificates or other evidence of his interest, but may nevertheless repre- 
 sent the same at all meetings and vote as a stockholder. 
 
 SEC. 13. It shall not be lawful for the trustees to make any dividend, 
 except from the net profits arising from the business of the corporation ; 
 nor to divide, withdraw, or in any way pay to the stockholders, or any of 
 them, any part of the capital stock of the company, nor to reduce the 
 capital stock, unless in the manner prescribed in this act ; and in case of 
 any violation of the provisions of this section the trustees under whose 
 administration the same may have happened, except those who may have 
 caused their dissent therefrom to be entered at large on the minutes of 
 the board of trustees at the time, or were not present when the same did 
 happen, shall, in their individual and private capacities, be jointly and 
 severally liable to the corporation and the creditors thereof, in the event 
 of its dissolution, to the full amount so divided, withdrawn, or reduced, 
 or paid out ; provided, that this section shall not be construed to prevent 
 a division and distribution of the capital stock of the company which 
 shall remain after the payment of all its debts upon the dissolution of the 
 corporation or the expiration of its charter. 
 
 SEC. 14. The total amount of debts of the corporation shall not at 
 any time exceed the amount of the capital stock actually paid in, and in 
 case of an excess, the trustees under whose administration the same may 
 have happened, except those who may have caused their dissent there- 
 from to be entered at large on the minutes of the board of trustees at 
 
MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 67 
 
 the time, and except those not present when the same did happen, shall, 
 in their individual and private capacities, be liable, jointly and severally, 
 to the said corporation, and in the event of its dissolution, to any of the 
 creditors thereof, for the full amount of such excess. 
 
 SEC. 15. No corporation organized under this act shall, by any im- 
 plication or construction, be deemed to possess the power of issuing bills, 
 notes, or other evidences of debt for circulation as money. 
 
 SEC. 16. Each stockholder shallj)e individually and personally liable 
 for his proportion of all the debts and liabilities of the company con- 
 tracted or incurred during the time that he was a stockholder ; for the 
 recovery of which joint or several actions may be instituted and pros- 
 ecuted. 
 
 SEC. 17. No person holding stock as executor, administrator, guardian, 
 or trustee, or holding it as collateral security or in pledge, shall be per- 
 sonally subject to any liability as a stockholder of the company ; but the 
 person pledging the stock shall be considered as holding the same, and 
 shall be liable as a stockholder, and the estate and funds in the hands of 
 the executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee shall be liable in like 
 manner and to the same extent as the testator, or intestate, or the ward, 
 or person interested in the trust fund would have been if he or she had 
 been living and competent to act and hold the stock in his or her own 
 name. 
 
 SEC. 18. It shall be the duty of the trustees of every company incor- 
 porated under this act to keep a book containing the names of all per- 
 sons, alphabetically arranged, who are or shall become shareholders of the 
 corporation, and showing the number of shares of stock held by them 
 respectively, and the time when they became the owners of such shares, 
 which book, during the usual business hours of the day, on every day 
 except Sunday and the legal holidays, shall be open for the inspection of 
 stockholders and creditors of the company at the office or principaFplace 
 of business of the company ; and any stockholder or creditor of the com- 
 pany shall have the right to make extracts from such book, or to demand 
 and receive from the clerk or other officer having the charge of such [book] 
 a certified copy of any entry therein, or to demand and receive from any 
 clerk or officer a certified copy of any paper placed on file in the office of 
 the company, and such book or certified copy shall be presumptive evi- 
 dence of the facts therein stated in any action or proceeding against the 
 company or any one or more of the stockholders. 
 
 SEC. 19. If at any time the clerk or other officer having charge of such 
 book shall make any false entry, or neglect to make any proper entry 
 therein, or having the charge of any papers of the company shall refuse 
 
68 MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 
 or neglect to exhibit the same or allow the same to be inspected, or 
 extracts to be taken therefrom, or to give a certified copy of any entry 
 as provided in the preceding section, he shall be deemed guilty of a mis- 
 demeanor and shall forfeit and pay to the party injured a penalty of not 
 less than one hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars and all 
 damages resulting therefrom, to be recovered in an action of debt in any 
 Court having competent jurisdiction ; and for neglecting to keep such 
 book for inspection as aforesaid, tjie corporation shall forfeit to the 
 people the sum of one hundred dollars for every day it shall so neglect, 
 to be sued for and recovered in the name of the people in the District 
 or Probate Court of the county in which the principal place of business 
 of the corporation is located. 
 
 SEC. 20. Any company incorporated under this act may, by comply- 
 ing with the provisions herein contained, increase or diminish its capital 
 stock to any amount which may be deemed sufficient and proper for the 
 purposes of the corporation ; but before any corporation shall be entitled 
 to diminish the amount of its capital stock, if the amount of [its] debts 
 and liabilities shall exceed the sum to which the capital is proposed to 
 be diminished, such amount shall be satisfied and reduced so as not to 
 exceed the diminished amount of the capital. 
 
 SEC. 21. [As amended by Act of February 19th, 1864.] Whenever 
 it is desired to increase or diminish the amount of capital stock, a meet- 
 ing of the stockholders shall be called, by a notice signed by at least a 
 majority of the trustees and published at least eight weeks in some news- 
 paper published in the county where the principal place of business of the 
 company is located, or if no newspaper is published in the county, then in 
 the newspaper nearest thereto in the Territory, which notice shall specify 
 some object of the meeting, the time and place where it is to be held, and the 
 amount [to] which it is proposed to increase or diminish the capital ; and a 
 vote of two-thirds of all the shares of stock shall be necessary to increase 
 or diminish the amount of the capital stock. 
 
 SEC. 22. If at a meeting so called a sufficient number of votes have 
 been given in favor of increasing or diminishing the amount of capital, a 
 certificate of the proceedings, showing a compliance with these provisions, 
 the amount of capital actually paid in, the whole amount of debts and 
 liabilities of the company, and the amount to which the capital stock is 
 to be increased or diminished, shall be made out, and signed, and verified 
 by the affidavit of the chairman and secretary of the meeting, certified to 
 by a majority of the trustees, and filed as required by the second section 
 of this act, and when so filed the capital stock of the corporation shall 
 be increased or diminished to the amount specified in the certificate. 
 
MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 69 
 
 SEC. 23. Upon the dissolution of any corporation formed under this 
 act, the trustees at the time of the dissolution shall be trustees of the 
 creditors and stockholders of the corporation dissolved, and shall have 
 full power and authority to sue for and recover the debts and property of 
 the corporation, by the name of trustees of such corporation, collect and 
 pay the outstanding debts, settle all its affairs, and divide among the 
 stockholders the money and other property that shall remain after the 
 payment of the debts and necessary expenses. 
 
 SEC. 24. Any corporation formed under this act may dissolve and dis- 
 incorporate itself by presenting to the District Judge of the judicial 
 district in which the office of the company is located a petition to that 
 effect, accompanied by a certificate of its proper officers, and setting 
 forth that at a meeting of the stockholders called for the purpose it was 
 decided by a vote of two-thirds of all the stockholders to disincorporate 
 and dissolve the corporation. Notice of the application shall then be 
 given by the clerk, which notice shall set forth the nature of the applica- 
 tion, and shall specify the time and place at which it is to be heard, and 
 shall be published in some newspaper of the county once a week for eight 
 weeks, or if no newspaper is published in the county, by publication in 
 the newspaper nearest thereto in the Territory. At the time and place 
 appointed, or at any other to which it may be postponed by the Judge, 
 he shall proceed to consider the application, and if satisfied that the cor- 
 poration has taken the necessary preliminary steps, and obtained the 
 necessary vote to dissolve itself, and that all claims against the corpora- 
 tion are discharged, he shall enter an order declaring it dissolved. 
 
 SEC. 25. All corporations hereafter formed under the laws of other 
 States or Territories for the conducting and transaction of any of the 
 branches of business mentioned in section first of this act shall not be 
 allowed to engage in such business within this Territory, and shall be 
 disregarded in law and denied the rights and privileges of corporations. 
 
 SEC. 26. All corporations heretofore formed under the provisions of 
 acts of incorporation in other States or Territories, and holding or own- 
 ing property within this Territory of such character as specified in section 
 first of this act, and managed by a board or boards of trustees or direct- 
 ors, and having their principal place of business outside the limits of this 
 Territory, are hereby required to remove their places of business, prin- 
 cipal offices, books, and papers heretofore kept or necessary for the trans- 
 action of such business to some point, to be designated by said corpora- 
 tion, within the limits of this Territory within six months after the pas- 
 .sage of" this act, or otherwise such corporation or corporations shall be 
 disregarded in law as a corporation, and the corporators or stockholders 
 
70 MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 
 thereof be treated as tenants in common or joint owners of such prop- 
 erty so owned or held within this Territory. Any corporation by filing 
 and recording its certificate of incorporation or a certified copy thereof 
 with the Secretary of the Territory and with the Clerk of the county in 
 which such corporation may locate as the principal place of business, 
 and fully complying with all the provisions of this act shall be deemed 
 sufficient to entitle such corporation to all the rights and privileges under 
 the provisions of this act. 
 
 AN ACT to disapprove of the Twenty-sixth Section of the Act of the Legislative Assembly 
 of the Territory of Nevada, and for other purposes. 
 
 [Approved March 3d, 1863 Statutes at Large, Thirty-seventh Congress, p. 709.] 
 
 ., r . Jorpori 
 
 for certain purposes, 11 approved Dec. 20th, 1862, said section being as follows: "Section 
 26. All corporations heretofore formed under the provisions of acts of incorporation in 
 other States or Territories, and holding or owning property within this Territory of such 
 character as specified in Section First of this act, and managed by a board or boards of 
 trustees or directors, and having their principal place of business outside the limits of this 
 Territory, are hereby required to remove their places of business, principal offices, books 
 and papers, heretofore kept, or necessary for the transaction of such business, to some 
 point, to be designated by said corporation, within the limits of this Territory, within six 
 months after the passage of this Act: or otherwise such corporation or corporations shall 
 be disregarded in law as a corporation, and the corporators or stockholders thereof be 
 treated as tenants in common or joint owners of such property so owned or held within 
 this Territory. Any corporation, by filing and recording its certificate of incorporation, 
 or a certified copy thereof, with the Secretary of the Territory and with the Clerk of the 
 County in which such corporation may locate as the principal place of business, and fully 
 complying with all the provisions of this act, shall be deemed sufficient to entitle such 
 corporation to all the rights and privileges under the provisions of this act," be, and the 
 same is hereby disapproved, and the same is hereby annulled and made void. 
 
 SEC. 2. And be it further enacted. That all incorporated companies duly organized 
 within any State or Territory of the United States may sue and be sued, plead and be im- 
 pleaded, in the several Courts of the Territory of Nevada, anything in the laws of said Ter- 
 ritory to the contrary, notwithstanding. 
 
 SEC. 27. [As substituted by Sec. 7 of Act of Feb. 19th, 1864.] 
 Any corporation desiring at any time to remove its principal place of 
 business into some other county in the Territory, shall file in the office of 
 the County Clerk of such county a certified copy of its certificate of 
 incorporation. If it is desired to remove its principal place of business 
 to some other city, town, or locality within the same county, publication 
 shall be made of such removal, at least once a week for four weeks, in 
 the newspaper published nearest to the city, town, or locality, from which 
 the principal place of business of such corporation is desired to be 
 removed. The formation or corporate acts of no corporation heretofore 
 formed under this act shall be rendered invalid by reason of the fact 
 that its principal place of business may not have been designated in its 
 certificate of incorporation ; provided, that within three months from the 
 passage of this act, such corporation shall cause publication to be made 
 once a week for at least four weeks in the newspaper published nearest 
 to the city, town, or locality, and where the principal place of business 
 of such corporation has in fact been located, designating the city, town, 
 
MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 71 
 
 or locality, and county, where its principal place of business shall be 
 located. On compliance with the provisions of this section in the several 
 cases herein mentioned, the principal place of business of any corporation 
 shall be deemed established or removed at or to any designated city, 
 town, or locality, and county in the Territory. 
 
 SEC. 28. Nothing in this act shall be so construed as to include within 
 its provisions either telegraph, railroad, stage, express, or insurance com- 
 panies. 
 
 SEC. 29. This act shall take effect from and after its passage. 
 
 SEC. 30. [As added by Section 8 of Act of Feb. 19th, 1864.] In 
 corporations already formed, or which may hereafter be formed under 
 this act, where the amount of the capital stock of such corporation con- 
 sists of the aggregate valuation of the whole number of feet, shares, or 
 interests in any mining claim in this Territory, for the working and devel- 
 opment of which such corporation shall be or have been formed, no 
 actual subscription to the capital stock of such corporation shall be neces- 
 sary ; but each owner in said mining claim shall be deemed to have sub- 
 scribed such an amount to the capital stock of such corporation as under 
 its by-laws will represent the value of so much of his interest in said min- 
 ing claim, the legal title to which he may by deed, deed of trust, or other 
 instrument vest or have vested in such corporation for mining purposes ; 
 such subscription to be deemed to have been made on the execution and 
 delivery to such corporation of such deed, deed of trust, or other instru- 
 ment ; nor shall the validity of any assessment levied or which may here- 
 after be levied by the Board of Trustees of such corporation be affected 
 by reason of the fact that the full amount of the capital stock of such 
 corporation, as mentioned in its certificate of incorporation, shall not 
 have been subscribed as provided in this section ; provided, that the 
 greater portion of said amount of capital stock shall have been so sub- 
 scribed ; and provided., further, that this section shall not be so construed 
 as to prohibit the stockholders of any corporation formed or which may 
 be formed for mining purposes as provided in this section, from regulating 
 the mode of making subscriptions to its capital stock and calling in the 
 same by by-law or express contract. 
 
 [The amendatory and supplemental act of February 19th, 1864, went 
 into effect from and after its passage,] 
 
72 MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 
 AN ACT 
 For the Encouragement of Mining. 
 
 (Approved February 20th, 1864; Laws of Nevada Ter., 1864, p. 53.) 
 SUITS AGAINST JOINT TENANT, TENANT IN COMMON, OR COPARCENER. 
 
 SECTION 1. When two or more persons owning or claiming as joint 
 tenants, tenants in common, or coparceners, a majority of the number of 
 feet, shares, or interests in any mining claim in^his Territory shall have 
 formed or shall hereafter form themselves into a corporation or organized 
 association for the purpose of working and developing such mining 
 claim, and shall proceed to actually work and develop the same, such 
 corporation or organized association, may institute in any Court of com- 
 petent jurisdiction, suit in its corporate or associate name against any 
 person (not a member of such corporation or association) owning in said 
 mining claim as tenant in common, joint tenant, or coparcener, who shall 
 refuse or neglect to pay his or her proportion of the money actually 
 expended or indebtedness assumed by such corporation or association for 
 the actual and necessary working and development of said mining claim. 
 
 SEC. 2. Before such suit shall be instituted, such corporation or asso- 
 ciation shall cause to be published in some newspaper published in the 
 county where the mining claim is located, and if no newspaper be pub- 
 lished in such county, then in some newspaper published in the nearest 
 adjoining county, once a week for at least four weeks, a notice specifying : 
 First. The amount of money actually expended or indebtedness assumed 
 by such corporation or association in the actual and necessary working 
 and development of said mining claim. Second. The amount due from 
 such joint tenant,, tenant in common, or coparcener, as his or her propor- 
 tion of the money actually expended or indebtedness assumed by such 
 corporation or association in the actual and necessary working and devel- 
 opment of said mining claim. Third. The intention of such corporation 
 or association to institute suit for the same ; provided, that only ten 
 days' notice shall be required before instituting suit under this act, where 
 personal service of the notice mentioned in this section shall be obtained 
 on such joint tenant, tenant in common, or coparcener. 
 
 SEC. 3. It shall be proved on the trial of such suit, first, that the 
 amount of money expended or indebtedness assumed by such corporation 
 or association, as specified in the notice mentioned in section two of this 
 act. was expended or assumed by such corporation or association in the 
 actual and necessary working and development of said mining claim ; 
 second, the quantity of interest owned by defendant in said mining 
 claim at the time said money was expended or indebtedness assumed by 
 
MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 73 
 
 such corporation or association ; and, third, that defendant, though duly 
 notified of the amount due from him or her for the actual and necessary 
 working and development of said mining claim and of the intention of 
 plaintiff's suit therefor, as mentioned in section two of this act, has for 
 ten days after the completion of said notice neglected or refused to pay 
 the same. 
 
 SEC. 4. The amount of money expended or indebtedness assumed by 
 such corporation or association ai the proportion due from such tenant in 
 common, joint tenant, or coparcener, for the actual and necessary working 
 and development of such mining claim shall be a lien in favor of such cor- 
 poration or association upon the interest of such tenant in common, joint 
 tenant, or coparcener in such mining claim from the time such money 
 was expended or indebtedness assumed by such corporation or associa- 
 tion, which lien shall bind such interest from the time of such payment 
 or assumption ; and all judgments rendered in any action instituted under 
 the provisions of this act, and any execution issued thereon, shall bind 
 and run against such interest, and no other property of the defendant 
 shall be subject to execution on any such judgment. Such interest may 
 be sold as provided for sales of real estate on execution, and may be 
 redeemed as is provided for the redemption of real property sold on exe- 
 cution in other cases upon the payment of purchase money with fifty per 
 cent, thereon. 
 
 SEC. 5. This act shall apply only to such corporations or associations 
 as are actually engaged in mining ; and no corporation formed under the 
 laws of any other State, Country, or Territory, and no organized associa- 
 tion having its principal place of business out of this Territory, or a 
 majority of whose directors, trustees, or managing agents shall be non- 
 residents of this Territory shall be entitled to the benefits of this act. 
 
 SEC. 6. All acts or parts of acts so far as they are inconsistent or in 
 conflict with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. 
 
 SEC. 7. This act shall take effect from and after its passage. 
 
 AN ACT 
 
 Empowering Corporations and Association* for Mining to Sue Individ- 
 ual Members. 
 
 [Approved December 19th, 1862; Laws of Nevada, 1862, p. 72.] 
 SUITS AGAINST DELINQUENT MEMBERS OF CORPORATIONS. 
 
 SECTION 1. Corporations and associations, and companies formed for 
 mining purposes, are hereby authorized in their corporate or associated 
 
74 MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 
 name to institute suits against any one or more of their members who 
 may be delinquent in the payment of their assessments. 
 
 SEC. 2. Before such suit is. brought before any Court having jurisdic- 
 tion of the amount, such delinquent, and the amount he may owe, and 
 the intention to institute suit thereon shall be advertised in a newspaper 
 published in the county where the mining claim is located, and if no 
 newspaper be published in such county, then in a newspaper published 
 in the nearest adjoining county, for at least once a week for one month 
 before such suit is instituted. 
 
 SEC. 3. It shall be proved on the trial of such suit that the trustees or 
 managing agents of said corporation, or association, or company, were 
 fully authorized to institute such suit by a majority of the members of 
 said corporation, or association, or company. 
 
 SEC. 4. The members of such corporation, association, or company 
 shall be competent witnesses to establish the assessment and indebtedness 
 of the delinquent member. 
 
 SEC. 5. This act shall apply only to such corporations, associations, 
 and companies who are actually engaged in mining, and for delinquency 
 in assessments for mining. 
 
 AN ACT 
 For the Protection of Mines and Mining Claims. 
 
 [Approved Dec. 17th, 1862; Laws Nevada, 1862, p. 33.] 
 SUITS FOR DAMAGES CAUSED BY WORKING OF MINES. 
 
 SECTION 1. Any person or persons, company or corporation, being the 
 owner or owners of or in the possession under any lease or contract for 
 the working of any mine or mines within the Territory of Nevada, shall 
 have the right to institute and maintain an action as provided by law 
 for the recovery of any damages that may accrue by reason of the man- 
 ner in which any mine or mines has been or is being worked and man- 
 aged by any person or persons, company or corporation, who may be the 
 owner or owners or in the possession of and working such mine or mines 
 under a lease or contract, and to prevent the continuance of the working 
 and managing such mine or mines in such manner as to hinder, injure, or 
 by reason of tunnels, shafts, drifts, or excavations, the mode of using or 
 the character and size of the timbers used or in anywise endangering the 
 safety of any mine or mines adjacent or adjoining thereto. 
 
 SEC. 2. Any judgment obtained for damages under the provisions of 
 this act shall become a Hen upon all the property of the judgment debtor 
 
MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERKITORY. 75 
 
 or debtors, not exempt from execution, in the Territory of Nevada owned 
 by him, her, or them, or which may afterwards be acquired, as is now 
 provided for by law, which lien shall continue two years unless the judg- 
 ment be sooner satisfied. 
 
 SEC. 3. Any person or persons named in the two first sections of this 
 act shall have the right to apply for and obtain from any District Court 
 or the Judge thereof within this Territory an order of survey in the fol- 
 lowing manner : An application shall be made by filing the affidavit of 
 the person making the application, which affidavit shall state, as near as 
 can be described, the location of the mine or mines of the parties com- 
 plained of, and, as far as known, the names of such parties ; also the 
 location of the mine or mines of the parties making such application, 
 and that he has reason to believe and does believe that the said parties 
 complained of, their agent, or employes are or have been trespassing 
 upon the mine or mines of the party complaining, or are working their 
 mine in such manner as to damage or endanger the property of the 
 affiant. Upon the filing of the affidavit as aforesaid, the Court or Judge 
 shall cause a notice to be given to the party complained of, or the agent 
 thereof, which notice shall state the time, place, and before whom the 
 application will be heard, and shall cite the party to appear in not less 
 than five nor more than ten days from the date thereof, to show cause 
 why an order of survey should not be granted, and upon good cause 
 shown, the Court or Judge shall grant such order, directed to some com- 
 petent surveyor or surveyors, or to some competent mechanics, or miners, 
 or both, as the case may be, who shall proceed to make the necessary 
 examination as directed by the Court and report the result and con- 
 clusions to the Court, which report shall be filed with the Clerk of said 
 Court. The costs of the order and survey shall be paid by the persons 
 making the application, unless such parties shall subsequently maintain 
 an action and recover damages, as provided for in the first two sections 
 of this act, by reason of a trespass or damage done or threatened prior 
 to such survey or examination having been made, and in that case such 
 costs shall be taxed against the defendant as other costs in the suit. The 
 parties obtaining such survey shall be liable for any unnecessary injury 
 done to the property in the making of such survey. 
 
 SEC. 4. This act shall take effect from and after its passage. 
 
76 MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 
 AN ACT 
 
 Relating to the Manner of commencing Civil Actions. 
 
 [Approved December 20th, 1862 ; Laws Nevada, 1862, p. 120.] 
 
 SUITS AGAINST MINING COMPANIES. 
 
 SECTION 1. In all actions hereafter brought on contract the defend- 
 ants may be sued by the name or style under which the contract was 
 made ; and upon its being shown on the trial who are the persons of 
 whom the name or style are descriptive, judgment may be rendered 
 against them as now provided by law. 
 
 SEC. 2. In all suits against any company organized for mining pur- 
 poses or against any company transacting business or keeping an office 
 within this Territory service may be made by reading and delivering a 
 copy of the summons to the president, secretary, cashier, or managing 
 agent thereof ; and in case such service cannot be had, then by publica- 
 tion as now provided by law. 
 
 AN ACT 
 
 Defining the Time for commencing Civil Actions. 
 [Approved November 21st, 1861 ; Laws Nevada, 1861, p. 27.] 
 
 ACTIONS FOR RECOVERY OF MINING CLAIMS. 
 
 SEC. 4. No action for the recovery of mining claims or for the 
 recovery of the possession thereof shall be maintained unless it appear 
 that the plaintiff or his assigns was seized or possessed of such mining 
 claims in question within two years before the commencement of such 
 action. 
 
 AN ACT 
 
 For securing Liens to Mechanics and Others. 
 [Approved Nov. 21st, 1861 ; Laws Nevada, 1861, p. 38.] 
 
 LIEN OF CONTRACTOR FOR LABOR ON TUNNEL OR SHAFT. 
 
 SEC. 12. When any person or persons shall make an express con- 
 tract in writing with any organized or incorporated mining company, or 
 with the owner or owners of any lode or lodes of gold or silver-bearing 
 quartz, or of any other metal of value, or with the person or persons 
 who were^ at the time of such contract in the actual possession of such 
 lode or lodes, by himself or themselves, under bona fide claim of owner- 
 
MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 77 . 
 
 ship, to cut, excavate, and run a tunnel from any given point into and 
 through said lode or lodes, or sink a shaft thereon to the depth of fifty 
 feet or more, and shall go on and complete such contract, he or they 
 shall have a lien upon said lode or lodes, together with the tunnel thereto 
 cut and run, or the shaft thereto sunk, for the amount contracted to be 
 paid ; and all the provisions of this act respecting the mode of record- 
 ing, securing, and enforcing mechanics' liens shall apply thereto. 
 
 AN ACT 
 To provide for the Conveyance of Mining Claims. 
 
 [Approved Dec. 12th, 1862 ; Laws Nevada, 1862, p. 12.] 
 FORMALITIES REQUISITE CONSTRUCTION AND PROOF. 
 
 SECTION 1. Conveyance of mining claims shall hereafter require the 
 same formalities and be subject to the same rules of construction as the 
 transfers and conveyances of other real estate. (See Laws of Nev., 1861, 
 
 P . 11.) 
 
 SEC. 2. All conveyances of mining claims heretofore made by bills of 
 sale or other instruments in writing, with or without seals, recorded or 
 unrecorded, shall be construed in accordance with the lawful local rules, 
 regulations, and customs of the miners in the several mining districts of 
 this Territory ; and if heretofore regarded valid and binding in such dis- 
 tricts shall have the same force and effect between the parties thereto as 
 prima facie evidence of sale, as if such conveyances had been made by 
 deed under seal. 
 
 SEC. 3. The location and transfers of mining claims heretofore made 
 shall be established and proved, in contestation before Courts, by the 
 local rules, regulations, or customs of the miners in the several mining 
 districts of the Territory in which such locations and transfers were 
 made. 
 
 SEC. 4. This act shall take effect from and after its passage. 
 
 A N ACT 
 
 Concerning Conveyances. 
 [Approved Nov. 5th, 1861 ; Laws Nevada, 1861, p. 21.] 
 
 MORTGAGEE OF MINING INTERESTS. 
 
 SEC. 77. This act shall not be so construed as to interfere or conflict 
 with the lawful mining rules, regulations, or customs in regard to the 
 
78 MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 
 locating, holding, or forfeiture of claims, but in all cases of mortgages 
 of mining interests under this act, the mortgagee shall have the right to 
 perform the same acts that the mortgagor might have performed for the 
 purpose of preventing a forfeiture of the same under the said rules, reg- 
 ulations, or customs of mines, and shall be allowed such compensation 
 therefor as shall be deemed just and equitable by the Court ordering the 
 sale upon a foreclosure ; provided, that such compensation shall in no 
 case exceed the amount realized from the claim by a foreclosure and sale. 
 
 AN ACT 
 
 To Regulate Proceedings in Civil Cases in the Courts of Justice of the 
 Territory of Nevada. 
 
 CApproved Nov. 29th, 1861 ; Laws Nevada, 1861, p. 434.] 
 PARTITION OF A MINING CLAIM. 
 
 SEC. 707. When several persons hold and are in possession of mining 
 claims, as joint tenants or tenants in common, upon the petition of one 
 or more of the joint tenants, or tenants in common, the Court having 
 jurisdiction shall appoint a commissioner who shall proceed to make a 
 partition of the property to be divided, and make a report to the Court 
 as provided in this act. 
 
 SEC. 708. In case of partition of a mining claim, any of the tenants 
 in common or joint tenants interested therein may file an affidavit show- 
 ing to the Court that a sale for cash would be injurious to him, her, or 
 them, the Court shall upon such showing appoint a commissioner who 
 shall decide such claim as hereinafter provided for. 
 
 SEC. 709. The commissioner provided for in the last section shall 
 proceed to the place where such claim is located, and at such time as the 
 Court may direct, within not less than twenty nor more than forty days 
 after such sale shall have been ordered by the Court, shall sell such claim 
 at auction to the highest bidder, in parts or parcels to the joint tenants 
 or tenants in common, and shall receive bids in shares or undivided inter- 
 ests ; or parts of such claim to be divided. 
 
 SEC. 710. The party or parties seeking the partition of such mining 
 claim shall be deemed the highest bidder, within the meaning of the last 
 preceding section, who will take the least part or portion of such mining 
 claim, at a place upon such claim to be selected by him, her, or them, 
 in proportion to the whole share, shares, or interest held by such party 
 or parties ; provided, that if the remainder of the joint tenants or tenants 
 
MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 79 
 
 in common shall fail to make a higher bid in proportion to their joint 
 shares or interests in such claim, then the bid of the party or parties 
 seeking the partition shall be received and declared to be the highest 
 bid, and the commissioner shall proceed to measure off such claim to the 
 party or parties as hereinafter provided ; and such claim or part of the 
 claim so measured off by said commissioner to the highest bidder shall 
 be and is hereby considered as an entire surrender to the opposing party 
 the remainder of his or her shares or interests in said claim, thereby 
 relinquishing the residue of the shares or interests held by the party to 
 whom was awarded the highest bid (not included in the measurement of 
 said commissiones) to the adverse party. 
 
 SEC. 711. Whenever any such bid as mentioned in sections seven 
 hundred and nine and seven hundred and ten, shall have been received 
 and declared, the commissioner shall go upon the claim and measure off 
 to such bidder the amount of such claim so bid off, at such place as the 
 bidder shall elect. 
 
 SEC. 712. After setting off such bids as provided in the last section, 
 the commissioners shall again receive bids as hereinbefore provided, and 
 shall thereafter measure off such bids as provided for ;n section seven 
 hundred and ten, and shall continue in the same manner to receive bids 
 and set apart the same from such claims until the parties who still hold 
 an undivided portion of such mining claim shall be satisfied that the sale 
 cease, and are content to hold the remaining portion of such claim as 
 joint tenants or tenants in common, as the case may be. 
 
 SEC. 713. The Court may confirm or set aside the report, and if 
 necessary appoint a new commissioner. Upon the report being con- 
 firmed, judgment shall be rendered that such partition be effectual for- 
 ever, which judgment shall be binding and conclusive. 
 
 AN ACT 
 
 Amendatory of and Supplemental to an Act entitled an Act to Amend , 
 and Supplemental to An Act to Provide for the Assessing and Col- 
 lecting County and Territorial Revenue. 
 
 [Approved February 20th, 1864 ; Laws Nevada, 1864, p. 35.] 
 TAXATION OF MINING CLAIMS. 
 
 SEC. 4. * * * * * * Provided, that nothing in this section shall be 
 so construed as to exempt from taxation possessory claims to the lands 
 or mines ; provided, further, that nothing herein shall be intended to 
 
80 MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 
 interfere with the primary title to the lands belonging to the United 
 States ; and provided, further, all property, including mining claims and 
 possessory rights thereto, shall be taxed according to their cash value 
 at the time the assessment may be made. 
 
LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 CALIFORNIA. 
 
 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 ROYAL ORDINANCES 
 
 For the Direction, Regulation, and Government of the Important Body 
 of the Miners of New Spain, and of its Royal Tribunal General. 
 By order of His Majesty, Madrid, 1783. 
 
 BY THE KING. 
 
 BY a letter of the 24th of December, 1771, my Viceroy of New Spain 
 represented to me, among other things, that in order to ameliorate the 
 condition of the miners of that kingdom, to correct effectually and suit- 
 ably the mischievous abuses which have been introduced among the mine 
 proprietors, and persons working in the mines, and to obviate the mutual 
 complaints resulting therefrom, he considered it a matter of extreme 
 importance that a new code of General Ordinances should be framed for 
 the said establishment (of miners) in such manner as to render the gov- 
 ernment thereof more uniform and complete ; proposing at the same 
 time the means which he judged most likely to secure a right method in 
 the execution of so important a work. From his information, and from 
 what my Supreme Council of the Indies laid before me upon this subject 
 in a Consult of the 13th of June, 1773, 1 thought fit to enjoin and com- 
 mand my said Viceroy by Royal letter of the 20th of July next follow- 
 ing, among other things, that there should be formed the new Ordinances 
 as above proposed, with explanations and additions of all that might 
 seem necessary with a view to the actual state of affairs ; and after con- 
 sultation with the mine owners, and a certain number of surveyors, keep- 
 ing in view all the documents referred to in his said letter, and also the 
 collection of Laws and Statutes of my said Dominions, and especially 
 those which are referred to by my said Royal Letter. Afterwards, con- 
 formably to a report which was laid before me on the 7th of August, 
 5* 
 
82 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 1773, by a Junta of four Ministers, formed under my Orders, and with 
 my entire approbation, it was commanded to my said Yiceroy by a 
 Eoyal Order of the 12th of November, then instant, that in the Ordi- 
 nances which in consequence of the said Royal Letter, were about to be 
 formed for the government of the mines, they should be regulated and 
 established in an united body, upon the model of the Consulates in such 
 a manner as to secure to its members the necessary encouragement, per- 
 manency, and support ; afterwards, by a letter of the 26th of September, 
 
 1774, my said Viceroy represented to me that the miners of those my 
 Dominions, had petitioned in a printed representation, dated the 25th of 
 February of the same year (and accompanying his letter), not only to be 
 established in a body, similar to the Consulates, as already ordained, but 
 that a Bank of Supplies should be instituted for the encouragement of 
 the mines ; that a College of Metallurgy should be erected for improv- 
 ing the construction of the machinery, and for other scientific purposes, 
 and that a new Code of Ordinances should be framed for the mines, pro- 
 posing to derive the funds necessary for the support of these establish- 
 ments from the amount of the double seigniorage duties payable on the 
 metals, from which they hoped to be relieved, by reason of what they 
 had stated in their representation, and upon all these points my said 
 Viceroy suggested what he considered most expedient : Wherefore, and 
 after considering the Report laid before me thereupon by my Supreme 
 Council of the Indies on the 23d of April, 1776, 1 was pleased to deter- 
 mine, amongst other things, and to command by my Royal Letter of the 
 1st of July of the same year, that the important society of the Miners 
 of New Spain should be erected into a Corporate Establishment similar 
 to the Consulates of Commerce in my dominions, giving them, for that 
 purpose, my Royal consent and necessary permission, and granting them 
 the power of levying upon their silver one-half or two-thirds part of the 
 double duties, payable before that time to my Royal Revenue in the way 
 of seigniorage, but from which I relieved them by the said Royal Letter ; 
 in consequence of all which, by a Public Act or Sitting of the repre- 
 sentative Deputies of the said Society held on the 4th of May, 1777, 
 they proceeded to incorporate themselves, accordingly, to determine the 
 offices of which their Tribunal should consist, and to appoint the proper 
 persons to fill these offices. Their proceedings were laid before the Vice- 
 roy, who approved of them in my Royal Hand, by his decree of the 21st 
 of June of the same year ; permitting to the said Tribunal, until my 
 Sovereign Pleasure should be known concerning it, the exercise of all 
 the powers of Administration, direction, and management, as enjoyed 
 according to law by the Consulates of the Monarchy in all respects in 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 83 
 
 which the exercise of such powers should be conformable to my Will, 
 restraining them only from the exercise of judicial authority, which is 
 permitted to the tribunals of the said Consulates of Commerce, and that 
 restriction only to operate till the said New Ordinances should be framed 
 and approved of by me. And the Viceroy having informed me of all 
 this by letter of the 27th of the said year 1777, 1 thereupon thought 
 fit to confirm the same by my Eoyal Order of the 29th of December 
 then following, addressed to the said Viceroy, commanding him thereby ; 
 and again by another Royal Order of the 20th of January, 1778, that 
 if the New Tribunal of Miners had not as yet formed their Ordinances, 
 and laid them before him, he should cause the same to be done with the 
 utmost dispatch ; this having been completed on the 21st of May of the 
 said year, they were transmitted to me by the Viceroy, with a letter of 
 the 26th of August, 1779, in order that, after considering them, and the 
 representations made concerning them, by the Fiscal of the Koyal Au- 
 diency and by the Assessor-General of the Vice-Royalty, I might express 
 my Royal approbation thereof. Lastly, having consulted with ministers 
 of approved zeal and probity, and considered the best means of recon- 
 ciling most justly the true interests of the State, with the particular 
 welfare of the said important body of Miners, I have, for the direction, 
 regulation, and government of that body, and of their Tribunal, com- 
 manded the publication of the following Ordinances : 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 TRIBUNAL GENERAL. 
 
 SECTION 1. The New Tribunal of Miners shall be styled " The Royal 
 Tribunal General of the Important Body of the Miners of New Spain," 
 and shall be esteemed and considered by all other Tribunals with that 
 respect which is conducive to the important purposes for which my Royal 
 pleasure has credited it. 
 
 SEC. 2. The Tribunal shall be perpetual, conformably to the acts of its 
 creation, approved by me, and shall at all times be composed of an 
 Administrator General, who is to be its President ; a Director General, 
 and three Deputies General, which latter persons may, in case of neces- 
 sity, be reduced to two, but never be increased. 
 
 SEC. 3. The said offices are to be filled only by practical and intelli- 
 gent mine proprietors, qualified for the office by an experience of more 
 
84 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 than ten years in the operations of mines ; this qualification must be 
 strictly observed, and these persons must be real American or European 
 Spaniards, of unmixed descent, sons and descendants of ancient Chris- 
 tians, and born in lawful matrimony, with preference always, under these 
 circumstances, to such persons as may have been Judges and Territorial 
 Deputies of the mines, or may have been much experienced in them. 
 
 SEC. 4. The Administrator and Director General of this new and first 
 creation, in consideration of their extraordinary merit in having sug- 
 gested and promoted the reform of the mines, and the establishment of 
 the body of miners, by having directed their attention for many years 
 past to the means most conducive to that end ; and also, in consideration 
 of their especial knowledge and experience in such concerns, of the length 
 of time during which they have followed the mining profession, their 
 families having pursued no other since their first settlement in New 
 Spain ; and lastly, in consideration of the time which is necessary to 
 accomplish such a project, and that no persons can be more likely to suc- 
 ceed in its accomplishment than those with whom it has originated, shall 
 hold their said offices for their lives, but the Deputies General, now first 
 appointed, shall only hold their offices for the time regularly allotted to 
 them according to the rule that shall be laid down for their alternative 
 succession, over and above the time already elapsed since their appoint- 
 ment. 
 
 SEC. 5. For the elections of Administrator and Director General after 
 the death or failure of the present, and for those of Deputies General at 
 all times henceforward, there shall be held in Mexico at the beginning of 
 the month of December, once in every three years, commencing from the 
 present time, a Meeting, consisting of one Deputy from each Mining 
 District, provided with sufficient powers from the miners of such district, 
 and if any such proprietors shall not send a Deputy on account of their 
 being too remote or too poor to pay the expenses of his journey to Mex- 
 ico, and his residence therein, it shall be sufficient if they send full power 
 and instruction to any person residing in that capital to act for them, 
 provided the same be not a Deputy or Agent for any other Mining Dis- 
 trict ; but he must be a mine owner or mine supplier. 
 
 SEC. 6. To make a mine town to have a vote at the election, it must 
 be proved to contain an inhabiting population, and a church, and a 
 Curate or Deputy ; a Judge and Deputies of miners, six mines in actual 
 working, and four Reducing Establishments. 
 
 SEC. 7. The City of Guanaxuato shall have six votes in the said elec- 
 tion ; that of Zacatacas, four ; that of San Luis Potosi, three ; that of 
 Pachuca and Real del Monte, three. And generally speaking, the nrin- 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. . 85 
 
 ing districts which bear the title of City shall have three votes each, and 
 those which bear the title of Town, or in which there are Provincial 
 Treasuries, two votes each. 
 
 SEC. 8. Before proceeding to the election, there shall be held three 
 scrutinies, on three several days, for the qualification of persons eligible 
 to these offices, with this Proviso : that the person to be elected Admin- 
 istrator General must have been one of the Deputies General during one 
 of the preceding triennial periods, except in the case of reelection, when 
 it will be necessary to observe what is laid down in the tenth Section of 
 this present Chapter : observing, also, that at the expiration of each tri- 
 ennial period only one new Deputy General shall be appointed to supply 
 the place of the one about to resign ; which person so resigning at the 
 end of the first three years, is to be the one who, at the time of the orig- 
 inal appointment, had the smallest number of votes. The same rule is 
 to be observed at the end of the second triennial period, and again at the 
 end of the third, with regard to the last of the three original Deputies. 
 Afterwards, at the end of each succeeding triennial period, the senior 
 Deputy shall always resign in favor of the one newly elected. Confor- 
 mably to these regulations, each Deputy will in future hold his said 
 office for nine years, excepting in the case of the death of any of them 
 before the expiration of that time, in which case, at the next Triennial 
 Meeting, besides the Deputy that is to supply the place of him who 
 resigns from having completed his nine years, there shall be another 
 appointed to fill the vacancy occasioned by such deaths which latter, 
 in point of seniority, shall stand in the place of his predecessor, in order 
 to depart as little as possible from the established rule of succession. 
 
 SEC. 9. The Administrator, the Director, and Deputies General shall 
 preside over the said Meeting of Electors, and shall have votes therein ; 
 and the election shall take place on the 31st day of December, by secret 
 lots, and those shall be considered duly elected who have the greatest 
 number of votes ; and in case of any dispute arising, the election shall 
 fall upon that person for whom the Administrator General shall give his 
 vote. 
 
 SEC. 10. To enable any person to be reflected to any of the said 
 offices of the Koyal Tribunal, an interval of three years must have 
 elapsed since his last service, and he must have more than one-half of the 
 whole number of votes. 
 
 SEC. 11. No person elected to any of the said offices can excuse him- 
 self from serving it ; but every such person must accept the same on the 
 day of his election, before sun set, under the penalty of two thousand 
 dollars, and of being obliged to serve such office, even after the payment 
 of the penalty. 
 
86 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 SEC. 12. In case of the death of the Administrator, the Director, or 
 any one of the Deputies General, or of their resignation (which can only 
 be allowed upon just and indispensable cause), the other members of the 
 Tribunal shall elect a temporary substitute, who shall hold the office till 
 the expiration of the triennial period then subsisting, and till the next 
 general meeting, when a proper person shall be elected conformably to 
 the Eighth Section of this present Chapter. 
 
 SEC. 13. Those who shall be elected Administrator General and Director 
 General, in succession to the persons now filling those offices, and others 
 hereafter, shall hold the said offices the first for six years, and the second 
 for nine, with a view to this consideration : that, from the circumstances 
 already explained, and which are applicable to all persons who compose 
 the Tribunal, the Director ought to be a person well acquainted with 
 the interests, concerns, and resources of the Establishment ; with the 
 management and working of the mines, and with the theory and practice 
 of the sciences relating thereto all which is not to be acquired in a 
 short time. 
 
 SEC. 14. The Factor, the Assessor, and the Notary may be appointed 
 and removed, with or without cause, at the free will and pleasure of 
 the Royal Tribunal General. 
 
 SEC. 15. In the first General Meeting, to be held in Mexico, for the 
 purpose of carrying the present Ordinances into effect, there shall be 
 chosen twelve Advisers experienced mine proprietors, or mine sup- 
 pliers, of distinguished reputation, four of whom shall be persons 
 resident in Mexico. And the Royal Tribunal may consult all or any 
 of them in difficult cases whenever it shall be necessary ; and in order 
 that their employment may be temporary and to avoid the inconve- 
 nience of which might arise from their being all changed at the end of 
 each triennial period, six others shall be appointed at the next General 
 Meeting, to supply, for the second triennial period, the places of those 
 six of the first elected twelve, who shall have been chosen by the smallest 
 number of votes ; and afterwards, at the end of each triennial period, 
 the six newly elected shall replace the six who shall have been the longest 
 in office so that the number of twelve will always remain complete. 
 And I hereby declare : that the reelection of said Advisers in the afore- 
 said General Meetings, shall be permitted, without regard to those inter- 
 vals of time and other formalities established in the Tenth Section of this 
 present Chapter, for the regulation of the offices therein mentioned ; 
 observing only : that their seniority is to be reckoned from the period of 
 their reelection ; and I grant to the same Advisers a seat in the Public 
 Sittings of the Royal Tribunals next after the Deputies General ; and 
 when any mine proprietor from any of the mine districts shall be in Mex- 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 ico, I grant to him the honor, dignity, and office of Adviser of the Royal 
 Tribunal, as long as he shall remain there. 
 
 SEC. 16. On the days of scrutiny and before proceeding to the elec- 
 tion, there shall be laid before the general meeting a clear and correct 
 statement of the funds with which the body of Miners have been en- 
 dowed, what they have produced, and how they have been applied, dur- 
 ing the preceding triennial period, as well as of the Bank of Supplies, 
 its gains and losses, showing at one view the condition of the body of 
 miners at that time, their concerns and possessions in money and effects, 
 their claims, debts, dues, and affairs of all kinds. 
 
 SEC. 17. Before proceeding to the scrutinies the permission of the 
 Yiceroy must be obtained ; and after they are concluded, an account 
 thereof must be rendered to him similar to the practice of the Tribunal 
 of Commerce of that capital (Mexico). 
 
 SEC. 18. To the Director General shall also belong the offices of Fiscal 
 and Promoter of the important body of Miners, and he shall in conse- 
 quence represent, suggest, and propose to the Royal Tribunal, whatever 
 he may judge conducive to the advancement and success of that estab- 
 lishment, giving them also, in proper time, such advice and caution, as 
 might tend to obviate whatever he may consider as prejudicial to their 
 interest. 
 
 SEC. 19. The Royal Tribunal shall transmit to me annually, through 
 the Yiceroy, an account of the working of the mines and of the concerns 
 of the body of Miners ; and, moreover, they may communicate with me, 
 extraordinarily, through the same channel upon great occasions when it 
 may be necessary. 
 
 SEC. 20. The Royal Tribunal may have a representative at the City 
 and Court of Madrid for the protection of its interests, and in case it 
 should seem necessary, upon any weighty occasion, to send a confidential 
 person to communicate with the same Court, they must, in the first 
 instance, satisfy the Yiceroy of the importance of the matter which 
 obliges them to incur such expense, and must procure his certificate of 
 the same, which will precede my royal license. 
 
 SEC. 21. The Clerk of the Royal Tribunal shall keep a minute book 
 of resolutions, in which shall be entered all the determinations relative to 
 the administration and economy of the mines, whether the same be 
 intended only to last for a time or to be permanent and perpetual. 
 
 SEC. 22. There shall be preserved in the Royal Tribunal, the originals 
 of the royal letters patent, orders, and declarations which have proceeded 
 or may proceed from me ; as also the official letters from the Yiceroys, 
 and copies of the orders that have been or shall be received through 
 
88 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 their hands, and lastly, all acts and fundamental decrees relating to the 
 creation or administration of the Eoyal Tribunal, all which shall be care- 
 fully preserved in the archives ; and there shall be a book kept in which 
 there shall be an accurate account of the same, which may be referred to 
 as occasion may require ; and I prohibit the originals from being ever 
 taken out to be exhibited, but permit accurate copies or extracts to be 
 taken, compared, and corrected, in due form, according to law. 
 
 SEC. 23. Before proceeding to the triennial elections an inventory shall 
 be drawn up, and the papers, both of the archives and of the office of 
 the Tribunal, shall be inspected by two of the deputies, in order that it 
 may be ascertained whether they correspond with the inventory of the 
 preceding triennial period, and the papers received within the last three 
 years shall be then added to the former. 
 
 SEC. 24. The Secretary of the Koyal Tribunal shall be one of the 
 Royal Notaries, duly instructed and admitted to his office, and possessing 
 all those qualifications required by the law in persons filling that office, 
 and must be. moreover, a person of good birth, character, and education, 
 and of good conduct and respectable habits, in order that by these means 
 the office may be held in honor, and that he who holds it may be respected 
 and esteemed both in the Tribunal and elsewhere, and lie is to be 
 addressed by the title of Don. 
 
 SEC. 25. The Secretary shall propose to the Royal Tribunal three 
 persons, one of whom is to be appointed chief official to the Court, and 
 another second official, if necessary, but he shall have free permission and 
 authority to appoint and remove at his pleasure the writer or writers 
 whom he shall employ for the Tribunal. 
 
 SEC. 26. The Royal Tribunal shall appoint two messengers or porters, 
 who are to execute its orders, provided that they be persons of good 
 character and Spaniards. 
 
 SEC. 27. The Royal Tribunal shall draw up a table of fees or wages 
 to be received by persons employed in Mexico, and in the mining districts, 
 but the same is not to be reduced into practice until it shall have been 
 laid before the Royal Audiency of each District, qualified or regulated 
 by them and transmitted to me for my royal approbation. 
 
 SEC. 28. The Administrator, the Director, and Deputies General of 
 Mexico, and all other persons employed, shall, at the time of entering 
 upon their respective offices, make oath that they will truly and faithfully 
 discharge the duties thereof, that they will observe these ordinances, and 
 cause them to be observed, and that they will observe secrecy in the 
 causes and affairs submitted to them, and also that they will maintain 
 the mystery of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady. 
 
MINING LAWS OP MEXICO. 89 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 JUDGES AND DEPUTIES. 
 
 SECTION 1. The respective Royal Courts shall be Judges of the Mines, 
 conformably to the laws established for the Government of the Indies, in 
 all cases which are not expressly referred to by these ordinances to the 
 Deputation of the Body of Miners. 
 
 SEC. 2. All those who for more than one year shall have worked one 
 or more mines applying as owners thereof, in whole or in part, their cap- 
 ital, labor, or personal attention and care, shall be enrolled amongst the 
 miners of the district, and their names shall be noted in the book of 
 enrollment to be kept by the Judge and Clerk of that mining district. 
 
 SEC. 3. The miners so enrolled, and the mine suppliers (being miners), 
 the persons who reduce by contract, and the proprietors of works for 
 stamping and smelting ores in each district, shall assemble in the begin- 
 ning of January in each year, according to custom, at the house of the 
 Judge, for the purpose of electing the persons who are to exercise the 
 office of Deputy for such district for the ensuing year, which persons 
 either must be or must have been mine proprietors, of superior practice 
 and intelligence men of good conduct, trustworthy, and possessed of all 
 the qualifications requisite for such office. 
 
 SEC. 4. Every one of the miners thus enrolled shall have one vote at 
 such elections; moreover, if the mine suppliers, being miners as afore- 
 said, the reducers by contract, and the owners of such works as are men- 
 tioned in the preceding section, each two persons shall have one vote 
 between them, and they shall not themselves be eligible as deputies, 
 unless they be also mine owners, and possess the necessary qualifications. 
 
 SEC. 5. When there is a very great number of voters, as in Guanaxuato, 
 the same practice which has hitherto prevailed shall be continued in such 
 district, namely, of choosing beforehand the electors who are to proceed 
 to the election of Deputies. 
 
 SEC. 6. The Administrators of Mines may vote instead of their prin- 
 cipals, provided the latter do not reside in that neighborhood, and pro- 
 vided such Administrators be fully authorized by their principals for that 
 purpose, and such Administrators shall be eligible as Deputies if their 
 occupations permit it and they have the necessary qualifications. 
 
 SEC. 7. The Judge of Mines of each mine town or establishment, 
 together with the Deputies of the preceding year, shall preside at and 
 regulate the election, and shall have votes at the same ; and in case of dis- 
 pute the vote of the Judge shall be decisive, and those persons who have 
 
90 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 the greater number of votes, qualified and computed as before determined, 
 shall be considered as duly elected. 
 
 SEC. 8. In each mine town, or establishment, there shall be a deputa- 
 tion consisting of two Deputies, and to the end that those employments 
 may be for the duration of two years, and that one of such Deputies 
 may be a person well qualified for the office, in the first year alone of 
 carrying this ordinance into effect, two Deputies shall be appointed, but 
 in every succeeding year only one, who is to replace the Deputy then 
 oldest in office, and as this cannot be complied with at the second elec- 
 tion (i. e. at the end of the first year), that Deputy of the two first 
 elected shall remain in office during the second year, who at the first 
 appointment was elected by the greatest number of votes, so that the 
 other of the two first elected Deputies will be in office only for one year. 
 
 SEC. 9. There shall also be elected in the same manner in each Mine 
 Town, or Establishment, four substitutes, who are to supply the place of 
 the Deputies, in the case of their refusal to serve, their death, illness, 
 necessary absence, or other just impediment, and to assist at the several 
 Courts of Appeal in such cases and circumstances as may occur, and 
 which will be treated of in their proper place ; but in districts where the 
 electors themselves are to be nominated, according to the fifth section of 
 this present chapter, those -four who shall have the greater number of 
 votes are to be the substitutes for the first year, and it is to be understood 
 that these offices are to be also for the duration of two years, and in 
 each successive year only two new substitutes are to be chosen, observ- 
 ing with regard to them the same rule which has been laid down for the 
 election of Deputies in the preceding section ; and for the sake of greater 
 perspicuity, and to prevent all arbitrary acts in the succession, either to 
 the said offices of Substitutes or to those of Advisers, as directed by 
 several sections of these Ordinances, those persons shall always be pre- 
 ferred who shall have had the greater number of votes at their respective 
 elections, when the elections have been on one and the same day ; but in 
 other cases those who have been longest in office shall be preferred. 
 
 SEC. 10. The said substitutes shall also be recorders of their respect- 
 ive districts, and sh$ll observe and procure whatever may appear neces- 
 sary for the common interests of the miners in their neighborhood, and 
 by virtue of this office shall have a superior claim to be elected as depu- 
 ties or to other offices connected with the mines. 
 
 SEC. 11. The persons elected as deputies must accept the office within 
 three days of the time of their election under a penalty of one thousand 
 dollars, which penalty is to go to the fund of that district, and the per- 
 son refusing to accept shall be obliged to serve the office, notwithstand- 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 91 
 
 ing the payment of such penalty ; and even though there may appear a 
 just cause for his refusal, he must accept the office notwithstanding, and 
 serve it until such cause shall have been admitted by the Royal Tribunal 
 General of the Miners, to which body it must be submitted. 
 
 SEC. 12. It is forbidden to reelect any person to any one of the before- 
 mentioned offices, until the expiration of two years from his last serving 
 in such office, and the person reflected, after such interval, must accept 
 the same office under a penalty of five hundred dollars, which penalty is 
 to be paid to the general fund of the district, and he shall be obliged to 
 serve the office, notwithstanding the payment of such penalty ; without 
 prejudice, however, to any sufficient cause of exemption which he may 
 have, but this must be submitted to the Royal Tribunal General of Mex- 
 ico, and he must serve the office in the meantime as directed by the pre- 
 ceding section. 
 
 SEC. 13. All the mine proprietors, mine suppliers, persons reducing by 
 contract, and owners of reducing establishments of the respective dis- 
 tricts shall confer on the new deputies power to promote their interest 
 and pretensions, and for all the usual purposes, and shall swear to obey 
 them in all that relates to the exercise of their offices ; and the deputies 
 themselves shall take upon them their office according to law, and swear 
 to observe these ordinances (which are to be read at every election at the 
 time of their entering into office), and to maintain secrecy in the causes 
 which come under their cognizance. 
 
 SEC. 14. As soon as the election is over, an account of it and proper 
 notice shall be immediately transmitted to the Royal Tribunal General 
 of the Miners, in order that if there shall appear to be no defect or 
 irregularity in the conduct of it, it may be approved of by the Supreme 
 Government of New Spain ; and be it understood, that no charges what- 
 ever shall be made for the procuring of such approval, nor for any of the 
 formalities which must precede it. 
 
 SEC. 15. The Territorial Deputies, the Inspectors, and Surveyors of 
 mines shall receive no pay from my Royal Treasury, but shall be sup- 
 ported from the profits of the respective mines, agreeably to the laws 
 upon that subject, for which purpose the Royal Tribunal General of 
 Mexico shall impose certain moderate duties, according to the conditions 
 and circumstances of each mine district, in the manner and under the 
 rules laid down by Sec. 36 of Chap. Ill, of these Ordinances. 
 
 SEC. 16. In the month of February in every year the Territorial Dep- 
 utations shall submit to the Royal Tribunal General of Mexico a report 
 upon the condition of the mines and miners in their respective districts, 
 and their dependencies, suggesting such measures as may appear to them 
 
92 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 conducive to the preservation and better advancement of the same, and 
 also upon the quantity of silver produced, and of quicksilver consumed 
 in the preceding year, upon the number of mines which are in the course 
 of actual working, as well as such as have been abandoned, and why they 
 have been so abandoned, and upon those which have been newly discov- 
 ered or reestablished, requiring for this purpose from the Provincial 
 Courts, and treasuries, and other offices, all certificates, attestations, and 
 other documents which may be necessary. And it is hereby ordered, 
 that the said reports and documents be laid before the Yiceroy, in order 
 that, after acquainting himself with their contents, he may submit them 
 to me, with a suggestion of such measures as he may deem advisable, 
 and likely to meet with my Koyal approbation. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 JURISDICTION IN MINING CAUSES, AND THE MODE OF PROCEEDING AND 
 PASSING JUDGMENT. 
 
 SECTION 1. I grant to the Eoyal Tribunal General of the Miners the 
 power of hearing and deciding all concerns relating to the administration, 
 direction, and management of the body of miners, and I therefore declare 
 that the Territorial Deputations of all the mining districts shall be fully 
 and entirely subordinate to it in all such matters of administration. 
 
 SEC. 2. The Koyal Tribunal General shall moreover take cognizance 
 of all causes arising out of the discovery, denunciation, right of prop- 
 erty, extent, draining, desertion, and destruction of the supports or pillars 
 of the mines, and of all that may occur in the same to the prejudice of 
 the operations therein, and in contravention of these Ordinances, and also 
 of whatever relates to the supply of mines, the sale or exchange of ores, 
 or silver and gold, of copper, lead, and other mineral substances, instru- 
 ments for reducing, and of other things of the same nature ; but I declare 
 that such power of deciding causes shall only be exercised by the said 
 Eoyal Tribunal General within twenty-five leagues of the Capital of 
 Mexico. 
 
 SEC. 3. Without detracting from the peculiar jurisdiction of admin- 
 istration granted to the Eoyal Tribunal by the first article of this section, 
 the same power shall be exercised by the Territorial Deputations in their 
 respective territories in causes which may occur, but only by the two 
 deputies jointly for the support and encouragement of the mining opera- 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 93 
 
 tions in their particular district, the interest and advantage of the pro- 
 prietors of mines, the preservation and increase of the population, the 
 due administration of justice, the welfare of the inhabitants, and the 
 relief of the poor ; be it, however, understood, that the same shall be done 
 in an immediate subordination to the Royal Tribunal General, as directed 
 in the said first article, with this proviso, that they are not to exercise 
 any formal acts of jurisdiction except in such causes as are expressly 
 referred to them by these Ordinances. 
 
 SEC. 4. The Territorial Deputation shall, in their respective districts, 
 have the peculiar power or jurisdiction of deciding causes, which I have 
 in the second section of this article granted to the Royal Tribunal Gen- 
 eral in all such matters as are there expressed, proceeding in and decid- 
 ing the same in a manner wholly independent of the said Royal Tribunal 
 General ; since, in the exercise of such jurisdiction, they are not to act 
 subordinately to the said Tribunal, which is hereby prohibited from tak- 
 ing cognizance of, or interfering with any such causes and proceedings 
 out of their own jurisdiction. 
 
 SEC. 5. Since all the foregoing causes and disputes are to be deter- 
 mined between the parties in the shortest and most summary manner, 
 according to justice and the customary good faith of commercial trans- 
 actions, without any of the usual delays and written declarations, or 
 petitions of lawyers, it is my will that whenever any person shall appear 
 before the Royal Tribunal, or before th% Territorial Deputation of any 
 of the mining districts, to commence an action or suit, they shall not 
 allow any complaint or proceedings to be presented in writing until after 
 they shall have cited before them both parties, where it is practicable to 
 do so, and heard orally their several causes of actions, and replies or 
 objections, and endeavored to compromise and settle the matter in dis- 
 pute between them with the utmost possible dispatch ; but if they should 
 not succeed in bringing about the arrangement between the parties, and 
 if the subject in question shall exceed the sum or value of two hundred 
 dollars (for all causes relating to sums not exceeding that amount are to 
 be decided orally, whether the parties consent to it or not) , then the peti- 
 tions or claims in writing may be received, provided the same have neither 
 been drawn up, arranged, or signed by lawyers ; and whenever it shall be 
 necessary to proceed in any cause, in consequence of not having been able 
 to arrange and settle the same orally between the parties, then the 
 demands or requests of the complainant shall all be received and attended 
 to previously to the hearing of any on the part of the defendant. 
 
 SEC. 6. In consideration of the object above expressed, of procuring 
 a decision in all causes and disputes in the shortest and most summary 
 
94 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 manner, according to justice and good faith, I hereby ordain and com- 
 mand, for the better attainment of that end, that in actions before the 
 said Royal Tribunal and Territorial Deputations in the first instance, as 
 also in causes of appeal and in the judgments to be pronounced therein, 
 they shall pay no regard to any defect in the proceedings, or want of at- 
 tention to the minute formalities of the law, or any irregularity of dic- 
 tion, but shall in all causes decide and judge with a strict regard to the 
 merits of the case, and for that purpose they shall officially examine the 
 necessary witnesses, provided they do not exceed the number of ten, and 
 take the depositions of parties where it may be thought requisite, and 
 shall thereupon give and pronounce their determination and judgment or 
 sentence. 
 
 SEC. 7. In order to avoid all useless and malicious appeals, which are 
 made for the sole purpose of preventing the course and execution of 
 justice, I ordain that no one shall be allowed to appeal from the Judges 
 of the said Royal Tribunal or from the said Territorial Deputations un- 
 less it be in consequence of definitive judgments or interlocutory decrees 
 containing irreparable aggrievement, and any appeal which may be made 
 in contravention of this article shall not be valid, and neither the Judges 
 of the said Tribunal nor the Territorial Deputations are to admit the 
 same, but shall proceed in the cause and pronounce their judgment or 
 sentence definitively. 
 
 SEC. 8. All interlocutory decrees and judgments or sentences are to 
 be signed by the Administrator General and by both the Deputies Gen- 
 eral of the Royal Tribunal, even if any one of them should dissent from 
 the other two ; for the opinion of the Administrator General and one 
 Deputy General or that of the two Deputies General is to decide the 
 sentence or judgment, and the one who dissents is to sign his name not- 
 withstanding. 
 
 SEC. 9. The Territorial Deputies may each separately proceed in 
 causes for the sake of their brevity and dispatch which are so desirable 
 for the interests of the body of miners, but in passing and pronouncing 
 definitive judgments or sentences and interlocutory decrees, which might 
 cause irreparable aggrievement, they shall act in conjunction, and if they 
 should not agree concerning the same, they shall call in the respective 
 substitute, according to the rules already laid down, in order that the 
 majority of opinions and such determination shall be signed by all three, 
 as provided in the preceding section. 
 
 SEC. 10. In all points of law which are not clearly laid down in these 
 Ordinances, the Royal Tribunal Generals shall avail themselves of the 
 assistance of any able and conscientious lawyer whom they may select 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 95 
 
 for the purpose, and the Territorial Deputations may confer with any 
 such person who may be in the town or place where they reside ; and in 
 case he should be objected to, or if there should be no lawyer in the 
 place, then they shall act with the assistance of the respective Provincial 
 Judge appointed by me, which latter is not to be objected to unless there 
 be another person who can supply his place ; and I further declare, both 
 with regard to this and the preceding section, that any person who may 
 have given his opinion in causes in the first instance shall not give it in 
 the second. 
 
 SEC. 11. When the proceedings in any case are concluded, and final 
 decision is about to take place, or at any time whenever the Judges of 
 the Eoyal Tribunal or the Territorial Deputations may think it neces- 
 sary, such proceedings shall be submitted to them by the Clerks of the 
 Court before whom they were taken down who are to sum up the con- 
 tents in the usual manner and with that brevity which is so desirable for 
 the interests of the miners. 
 
 SEC. 12. The decrees and judgments or sentences of the Tribunal 
 General and of the Territorial Deputations, if not appealed against and 
 when they have acquired the authority of a final decision, are to be car- 
 ried into effect in a short and summary manner ; those of the Tribunal 
 by their two messengers or porters, who are to exercise the functions of 
 executive Bailiffs ; and those of the Territorial Deputations by the or- 
 dinary Bailiffs of the places where they reside, and the former, as well as 
 the latter, shall command and desire all other Judges and Courts whom 
 it may concern to afford them any aid or assistance which they may 
 require. 
 
 SEC. 13. In causes of appeal against any such definitive sentences or 
 decrees, by either of the parties, where the matter in dispute shall exceed 
 the value of four hundred dollars (for in all causes regarding a less amount 
 no appeal shall be admissible and the decisions of the Judges of the Royal 
 Tribunal or of the Territorial Deputations shall be finally carried into 
 effect), those from the Royal Tribunal General shall be received by the 
 Court of Appeals, about to be established in Mexico, and which is to 
 be composed of a Judge of the Real Audiencia of that place, to be ap- 
 pointed by the Vicerory in the same manner and for the same term as 
 the one intended for the Royal Tribunal of the Consulate or Chamber 
 67 Commerce, of the Director General of Mines, and of a proprietor of 
 mines, who is to be elected for that purpose every third year in the Gen- 
 eral Assembly of Miners from amongst whom such as have been Admin- 
 istrators, Directors, Deputies General, or one of those four Advisers, who 
 are to reside constantly in Mexico as directed in a former section ; and 
 
Ub MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 the appeals from the Territorial Deputations within the distance of 
 twenty leagues in every direction from the City of Guadalaxara shall be 
 in the same manner received by the Court of Appeal, which I have 
 ordered to be created there and which is to be composed of one of the 
 Judges of the Real Audiencia of that place, to be appointed by the act- 
 ing President thereof for the time and in the same manner as the one for 
 the Consulate or Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, and of two pro- 
 prietors of mines of known character and possessing all the requisite 
 qualifications, who shall be appointed co-Judges of Appeal in the City 
 of Guadalaxara, from amongst those residing there in the said General 
 Assembly of Miners to be held every three years in Mexico as before 
 directed ; but if there should not be any resident proprietors of mines 
 in the aforesaid city possessing the necessary qualifications for such office, 
 then others who reside elsewhere may be chosen at the said triennial 
 election ; provided, that under the same circumstances of eligibility pref- 
 erence shall be given to such as live at the shortest distance, even if they 
 be substitutes for any mining district, and the appeals from all other 
 Territorial Deputations shall be received in the manner prescribed by the 
 respective Courts of Appeal to be erected in each province, and which are 
 to be composed of the principal Provincial Judge appointed by me and 
 of such two of the four Substitutes of Miners for the mining district as 
 may be nearest to the residence of such Judge respectively according to 
 the rules already laid down ; and if in the same place or at an equal dis- 
 tance there sha.l reside any one or more of the twelve Advisers before 
 mentioned, they shall by preference be appointed co-Judges of Appeal, 
 and whenever the said Judge shall not be of the profession of law the 
 Court in which he presides shall in all points and matters where it may 
 be requisite avail themselves of the assistance of an able and con- 
 scientious lawyer. 
 
 SEC. 14. All such causes of appeal shall be conducted in a short and 
 summary manner, according to the practice in commercial causes, with- 
 out introducing any new terms or expressions which may give rise to 
 unnecessary delays or proofs, or admitting proceedings and writings of 
 able lawyers, or any others, except a statement of the cause of the appel- 
 lant, and the replies of the other party or parties, with a strict regard to 
 truth, and the customary good faith of commercial transactions ; and in 
 like manner the cause shall be decided. 
 
 SEC. 15. All such appeals are to be entered on or before the third day 
 after the notification of the decree or sentence, and in no other manner ; 
 and they may be commenced by a letter from the appellant, stating either 
 that he will transmit full power for carrying on the proceedings, or that 
 he will appear in person. 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 97 
 
 SEC. 16. Whenever the Courts of Appeal shall confirm the sentence 
 of the Royal Tribunal General of Miners or of the Territorial Deputa- 
 tions in the several causes, no further appeal shall be admitted, and such 
 sentence shall be immediately carried into effect, and for that purpose 
 shall be forthwith sent back to the respective Judges. 
 
 SEC. 17. But in case they (the Courts of Appeal) should reverse the 
 same, either altogether or in part, and either of the litigant parties should 
 appeal or apply for a new trial, the Judges of Appeal shall appoint in 
 the respective cases two other co-Judges, who in Mexico are to be chosen 
 from the four advisers residing in that capital, in Guadalaxara, from the 
 proprietors of mines residing there, with preference to such as are advi- 
 sers, if there be any in that city, and in default of either they may be 
 chosen from the proprietors of mines residing elsewhere, regard being 
 shown to the considerations expressed in the thirteenth section of this 
 chapter ; and in all the other Courts of Appeal the Judge may appoint 
 any of the four respective substitutes ; provided, however, that there be 
 no legal objections to any such individuals, and if there should be such 
 objections in respect to all of them, the nomination may fall on any other 
 proprietors of mines having the necessary qualifications ; observing, 
 however, that where any one or more of the twelve advisers of the Eoyal 
 Tribunal General shall reside, they shall be preferred to the substitutes. 
 
 SEC. 18. From the judgment or sentence, to be given in this third 
 instance (whether confirming, reversing, or amending the former sentence, 
 either altogether or in part), there shall be no further appeal, and the 
 cause shall then be returned to the Court to which it belongs, for the 
 fulfillment and final execution which are also to be proceeded with, in a 
 short and summary manner, as before directed ; but I hereby declare, 
 that there shall still remain open to the parties the legal remedy of a fur- 
 ther application to my Royal person, in my Supreme Council of the 
 Indies, provided it shall appear that the sum in dispute amounts to 
 $20,000 or upwards, on finding the security required by law, and without 
 prejudice to the execution of the sentence already pronounced, and after 
 providing further security that they will submit to the final decision, 
 whatsoever it may be. 
 
 SEC. 19. In the decision of the before-mentioned causes of appeal, the 
 sentence shall be determined by two opinions out of the three, whether 
 they be those of the Judge and one of the co-Judges of the respective 
 Courts of Appeal, or those of the two co-Judges, without that \>f the 
 presiding Judge, and in either case the same shall be signed by all three. 
 
 SEC. 20. Causes relating to possession and property shall be deter- 
 mined jointly (by all the Judges), and in the first place restitution shall 
 
 6 
 
98 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 be made to persons who may have been forcibly dispossessed of any 
 property ; but this shall not apply to persons who may have been de- 
 prived of possession by the decree or sentence of any Judge, even if the 
 same shall be represented to be unjust. 
 
 SEC. 21. !N"o mine in dispute shall, for any reasons, or on any account, 
 be shut up, nor shall its workings be suspended, even at the request of 
 the parties ; but an inspector shall be appointed, with the approbation 
 of the party requiring the same, without, however, removing from the 
 mine anything belonging to it, yet such interventor shall be dispensed 
 with on full and sufficient security being given to the satisfaction of the 
 opposite party, and I declare that the working a mine is then only to be 
 suspended when the same shall be represented to be in a ruinous condi- 
 tion without the necessary support of timber work, and such shall appear 
 to be the fact in the opinion of surveyors who shall immediately, without 
 loss of time, inspect and proceed to reestablish the said works and restore 
 them to a good condition, in order that, whenever the working shall be 
 resumed, it may be carried on without danger. 
 
 SEC. 22. All executive demands shall be proceeded in according to 
 law, as far as respects the order of process, but with a strict regard to 
 truth and good faith, and without letting in any of those delays or subtil- 
 ties which retard and interrupt the dispatch. 
 
 SEC. 23. Whenever it shall be necessary to carry into effect an execu- 
 tion in any mine or reducing establishment, the same shall not be seques- 
 tered, nor put up for sale, nor yet the machines, iron work, or tools, 
 implements, slaves, cattle, buildings, materials, or any of the necessary 
 stores or provisions ; but such execution shall only be put in force with 
 regard to the gold and silver ores and other produce of the mine, after 
 deducting what may be necessary to meet the expense of carrying on the 
 reducing of such ores, which is by no means to be interrupted, for which 
 purpose an interventor shall be appointed, to be approved of by the 
 plaintiff, if the latter does not choose to undertake the management of 
 the mine himself ; or by the defendant, in case the plaintiff shall take the 
 same on his own account ; and such interventor is to be immediately 
 withdrawn on the liquidation of the debts ; and in either case he shall 
 render weekly accounts of the produce and expenses of the mine, to be 
 in due time laid before the Judges in the cause, together with the several 
 receipts or vouchers, and proper affidavits on such items, which cannot 
 otherwise be verified, for the benefit of whichever party may be entitled 
 thereto, according to the definitive judgment or sentence pronounced in 
 the cause. 
 
 SEC. 24. If the defendant shall give up his property, and the same 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 99 
 
 shall comprise any mine or mines, notice shall be given to his creditor or 
 creditors to undertake the working thereof on their own account, and not 
 to suffer them to be suspended ; and in default of their compliance before 
 the expiration of the time to be fixed by these Ordinances, such mines 
 shall be considered as deserted and abandoned, and shall belong to the first 
 person who may denounce the same, to the exclusion of all former claims. 
 
 SEC. 25. The wages of the laborers of any mine or reducing establish- 
 ment taken in execution, and the salary of the interventor, shall by no 
 means* be placed on the same footing with the other debts, but shall be 
 paid immediately out of the first proceeds, although the whole of such 
 proceeds should not amount to more. 
 
 SEC. 26. In case of the suspension of the working, any one of the 
 creditors shall offer to undertake the same with his own capital, the others 
 having refused to contribute their proportions, such creditor shall have 
 the preference, not only in the satisfaction of his new demand, but also 
 with respect to his former claims, even where the same may not have 
 arisen from the supply of such mine or establishment. 
 
 SEC. 27. Whenever, in causes before other Courts, whether relating to 
 judgments concerning inventories, hereditary succession, general partner- 
 ships, consent of creditors, or cession of property, any mines and the 
 establishments, or other dependencies belonging to the same, are com- 
 prised amongst the other property depending in the cause, I ordain that 
 the Judge of such Courts shall transmit an official letter, with notice 
 thereof to the respective Court of Miners, whose duty in shall be to take 
 care that the working of such mine or establishment be kept without 
 prejudice to the rights or claims of the party or parties concerned ; and 
 the said Court of Miners shall reserve the proceeds thereof for the dis- 
 posal of the principal Judge in such cause, and shall also, in case of any 
 widows, minors, or absent persons being interested therein, effectually 
 protect and support their claims, and thus maintain that firm and recip- 
 rocal union which contribute to the preservation, welfare, and prosperity 
 of the whole body. 
 
 SEC. 28. In causes and suits relating to mines, an extension of the 
 whole term may be granted ; but be it understood, that this utmost term 
 allowed by the law shall not take place in behalf of certain privileged 
 persons, in which cases half of the original term may be granted. 
 
 SEC. 29. In all criminal causes, such as the purloining of ore, gold, or 
 silver, lead, tools and implements, or any other articles belonging to the 
 mines or the reducing establishments, offenses committed in the same, 
 whether by one workman against another, or in consequence of any 
 breach of subordination on their part towards the officers or captains set 
 

 100 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 over them, or by the misconduct of either of these classes towards their 
 masters, the proprietors of the mines ; and finally, in cases of insult, con- 
 tumelious language, or want of respect towards any of the Courts of 
 Miners, the Koyal Tribunal General in Mexico, or the Territorial Depu- 
 tations, shall take cognizance, each in their respective districts, proceed- 
 ing in and deciding such causes as are of minor importance, in the most 
 summary manner according to law, and the nature of such offenses, with 
 a strict regard to good faith, and in the order already established for civil 
 causes ; but in those which, on account of their magnitude and aggrava- 
 tion, require by law the infliction of severe penalties, mutilation, other 
 corporal punishments, the said Courts of Miners shall only exercise the 
 limited jurisdiction of apprehending the criminals, drawing up the pro- 
 cesses, and transmitting the same to the Royal Judge of the respective 
 provinces, in order that the latter may in due time lay them before the 
 criminal chamber of the Real Audiencia of the district for their final 
 decision. 
 
 SEC. 30. If in such criminal causes of minor importance as are treated 
 of in the preceding section, and the jurisdiction of which has been 
 granted to the Courts of Miners for their cognizance and determination, 
 provided they proceed in and decide the same in the manner directed, 
 any parties shall appeal, they are to be entitled to all the legal remedies 
 to be determined by the Courts of Appeal in the manner and form already 
 prescribed with regard to civil causes, observing the order required in 
 cases of this nature. 
 
 SEC. 31. Whenever any contentions shall arise between the Tribunal 
 General of Miners, the territorial jurisdictions, and any other Courts or 
 tribunals concerning the extent of their several jurisdictions, I ordain 
 and command that the Yiceroy of New Spain shall decide the same, and 
 that his determination shall be observed and complied with without any 
 other appeal ; and that the Yiceroy shall in such cases take the opinion 
 of learned and able lawyers not connected with either of the Courts 
 between whom such question may have arisen. 
 
 SEC. 32. I expressly prohibit the arbitrary application of the pecuniary 
 fines to be imposed by any of the Courts of Miners, in the exercise either 
 of the criminal or civil jurisdiction granted to them, and I ordain that 
 they shall be applied in equal third parts to my Royal Exchequer, the 
 expenses of justice, and to such further objects as by law directed. 
 
 SEC. 33. The Administrator and the Deputies General shall assemble 
 in Court every day (except on holy days and those on which it is neces- 
 sary to hear Mass), from the hour of eight to that of eleven, and also on 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 101 
 
 extraordinary occasions in the evening, and on any day whatever when 
 the urgency and importance of any affair may require it. 
 
 SEC. 34. The Director General shall have a vote in all matters relating 
 to the direction, administration, and management, the jurisdiction of 
 which has been granted to the Eoyal Tribunal General in Mexico, and 
 due and special notice shall be sent to him on all such occasions to attend ; 
 but I declare that he shall have no vote in the substantiation and deter- 
 mination of any pleadings or suits, except only in causes before the Court 
 of Appeal in Mexico, of which he has been appointed a member. 
 
 SEC. 35. All matters relating to public works or supplies, to those of 
 the roads or highways, and other objects of the same nature, are to be 
 under the peculiar cognizance and jurisdiction of the Eoyal Judges and 
 Magistrates of each district, but the Royal Tribunal General in Mexico 
 and the Territorial Deputations shall give such instructions as they may 
 deem expedient to the said Judges and Magistrates, in order that all 
 such works and supplies may be regulated and proportioned in the most 
 fair and equitable manner, proceeding therein with a mutual understand- 
 ing and acting in concert together. 
 
 SEC. 36. All taxes and duties, or imposts, as well public as private, 
 between individuals of the mining body, which immediately affect the 
 advancement and working of the mines and reducing establishments, the 
 remuneration or salaries of those who compose the territorial jurisdictions 
 of miners, and of persons appointed to any of the new offices or situa- 
 tions treated of in these ordinances, are to be proposed and regulated by 
 the Royal Tribunal General in Mexico, and by the Territorial Deputa- 
 tions, each in their respective districts, but the latter shall be obliged to 
 lay them, together with the requisite proofs or attestations, before the 
 Royal Court of the district for their sanction, but such taxes, duties, and 
 imposts shall not be established or carried into effect without having 
 been previously submitted to the Viceroy of New Spain, in order that, 
 after the necessary inquiries respecting them by his superior power, they 
 may be laid before me for my sovereign determination, for which purpose 
 a report thereof shall be transmitted to me by the Viceroy. 
 
 SEC. 37. The Royal Tribunal General in Mexico shall also immedi- 
 ately lay before the Yiceroy an exact estimate of the salaries to be 
 allowed to the principal individuals filling offices in the Tribunal, and of 
 the inferior" officers appointed or to be appointed in pursuance of these 
 Ordinances, in order that the same may be referred to me by the Yice- 
 roy, with his remarks thereon, for my royal approbation, which is neces- 
 sary to the secure establishment of the said Tribunal. 
 
102 MINING LAWS OP MEXICO. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ORDER OF PROCEEDING IN LAW SUITS IN CASES OF A VACANCY OR 
 NECESSARY ABSENCE OF ANY OF THE JUDGES OR OF THEIR REFUSAL. 
 
 SECTION 1. The Royal Tribunal General of the Mines shall not enter 
 upon any business which is in litigation without the assembling of three 
 of its members ; and if at any time on account of illness, necessary 
 absence, or any other just and lawful impediment whatsoever, as by the 
 Judge being interested in the question, or by his being related to any of 
 the litigating parties, that number of Judges cannot be assembled, such 
 of the advisers residing in the capital of Mexico as are properly eligible 
 to the same office by the rules already laid down, and the proper number 
 shall be thus completed ; and the same thing shall be done with regard 
 to the number of the Judges of Appeal, which is never to be less than 
 three, according to what has already been laid down in these Ordinances, 
 and whenever in consequence of any of the before-mentioned impediments 
 any one of the Territorial Deputies cannot or ought not to be Judge in 
 any such litigated cause, his place shall be supplied by the proper sub- 
 stitute accordingly. 
 
 SEC. 2. I prohibit the absolute refusal of all the Judges of the Koyal 
 Tribunal General, and of those of Appeals, but one or two particular 
 members may refuse, assigning reasons and giving security, it being 
 understood that those refusing shall not be heard, or any refusal admitted, 
 after a determination has been made concerning them. 
 
 SEC. 3. In the same mannejr the two Territorial Deputies acting as 
 Judges of the Mines shall not refuse though either of them may. 
 
 SEC. 4. In cases where the refusal shall be lawful and admitted, whether 
 in causes in the first instance, or in those before the Courts of Appeal, 
 the vacancy shall be filled up in the first instance according to the first 
 section of this present chapter, and in the latter by the appointment of 
 the respective Judges of Appeal according to section seventeen of chap- 
 ter three of these Ordinances. 
 
 CHAPTER v. 
 
 ORIGINAL OWNERSHIP OF MINES, GRANTS TO INDIVIDUALS, AND THE 
 DUTIES TO BE PAID. 
 
 SECTION 1. The mines are the property of my royal crown, as well by 
 their nature and origin as by their reunion declared by the fourth law of 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 103 
 
 the thirteenth title of the sixth book of the new compilation of laws 
 and statutes. 
 
 SEC. 2. Without separating them from my royal patrimony, I grant 
 them to my subjects in property and possession in such manner that they 
 may sell, exchange (pass by will either in the way of inheritance or leg- 
 acy) , or in any other manner dispose of all their property in them upon 
 the terms on which they themselves possess it, and to persons legally 
 capable of acquiring it. 
 
 SEC. 3. Be it understood that this grant is made upon two conditions : 
 first, that they (my subjects) shall pay to my Koyal Treasury the propor- 
 tion of metal reserved thereto ; and secondly, that they shall carry on 
 their operations in the mines subject to the provisions of these Ordinances, 
 on failure of which at any time the mines of persons so making default 
 shall be considered as forfeited and may be granted to any person who 
 shall denounce them accordingly. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MANNER OF ACQUIRING MINES ; NEW DISCOVERIES J REGISTERS AND DE- 
 NOUNCEMENT. 
 
 SECTION 1. As it is most just and proper to reward with particularity 
 and distinction those persons who devote themselves to the discovery of 
 new mineral places and metallic veins found therein in proportion to the 
 importance and utility of such discovery, I order and command that the 
 discoverers of one or more mineral mountains, wherein no mine or shaft 
 has been opened before, acquire in the principal vein as much as three por- 
 tions, together or separate where it best pleases them, according to the 
 measures hereafter signified ; and that on having discovered more veins, 
 they shall acquire a portion in each vein, fixing on and marking the said 
 portions within the term of ten days. 
 
 SEC. 2. The discoverer of a new vein in a mountain known and 
 worked in other parts may hold in it two portions together or separated 
 by other mines, on condition that he specifies them within ten days, as 
 mentioned in the preceding section. 
 
 SEC. 3. He who proposes for a new mine in a vein already known and 
 worked in part is not to be considered a discoverer. 
 
 SEC. 4. The persons .referred to in the preceding sections must present 
 a written statement to the Deputation of Miners in that district, or in 
 
104 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 case there should not be one in that district, to the nearest thereunto, 
 specifying in it his name, those of his associates (if he has any), the place 
 of his birth, his place of habitation, profession, and employment, together 
 with the most particular and distinguishing features of the tract, mount- 
 ain, or vein of which he claims the discovery ; all which circumstances, 
 as well as the hour in which the discoverer shall present himself, must be 
 noted down in a register kept by the Deputation and Clerk (if they have 
 one) ; and after this, the said written statement shall, for his due security, 
 be restored to the discoverer, and notices of its object and contents shall 
 be affixed to the doors of the church, the government-houses, and other 
 public buildings of the town for the sake of general notoriety. 
 
 And I ordain that within the term of ninety days the discoverer shall 
 cause to be made in the vein or veins so registered a pit of yard and a 
 half in diameter or breadth and ten yards (varas) in depth, and that 
 immediately on the existence of the vein being ascertained one of the 
 Deputies in person shall visit it, accompanied by the Clerk (if there is 
 one), or if there be no Clerk, by two assisting witnesses, and by the 
 Mining Professor of that territory, in order to inspect the course and 
 direction of the vein, its size, its inclination on the horizon, called its fall- 
 ing or declivity, its hardness or softness, the greater or less firmness of its 
 bed, and the principal marks and species of the mineral ; taking exact 
 account of all this in order to add the same to the entry in the register, 
 together with the act of possession, which must immediately be given to 
 the discoverer in my Royal name, measuring him his portion, and mak- 
 ing him inclose it by poles at the limits as hereafter declared ; after which 
 an authentic copy of the proceedings shall be delivered to him for the 
 security of his title. 
 
 SEC. %. If during the above named ninety days any one should appear 
 asserting a right to the said discovery, a brief judicial hearing shall be 
 granted, and judgment given in favor of him who best proves his claim ; 
 however if this should happen after the stated time he (the new claimant) 
 shall not be heard. 
 
 SEC. 6. The restorers of ancient mines which have been abandoned 
 and left to decay, shall enjoy the same privileges as discoverers, of choos- 
 ing and possessing three portions in the principal vein and one in each of 
 the others, and both revivers and discoverers shall, as an especial reward, 
 be on all occasions preferred to other persons under parity of circum- 
 stances. 
 
 SEC. 7. If there arises any question as to who has been the first dis- 
 coverer of a vein, he shall be considered as such who first found metal 
 therein, even though others may have made an opening previously ; and 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 105 
 
 in case of further doubt, he who first gets it registered shall be consid- 
 ered as the discoverer. 
 
 SEC. 8. Whoever shall denounce in the terms hereafter expressed any 
 mine that has been deserted and abandoned shall have his denouncement 
 received, if he therein sets forth the circumstances already declared in 
 section four of this chapter, the actual existence of the mine in question, 
 the name of its last possessor, if he is acquainted with the same, and 
 those of the neighboring miners, all of whom shall be lawfully sum- 
 moned, and if within ten days they do not appear, the denouncement 
 shall be publicly declared on the three following Sundays ; this meeting 
 with no opposition, it shall be signified to the denouncer that within sixty 
 days he must have cleared and reinstated some work of considerable 
 depth, or at least of ten yards perpendicular and within the bed of the 
 vein, in order that the Mining Professor may inspect its course and in- 
 clination and all its peculiar circumstances as is declared in the above- 
 named section four. The said Professor should, if it is possible, examine 
 the pits and works of the mine and see if they are decayed, destroyed, or 
 inundated ; whether they contain a draft pit or adit or are capable of 
 such ; whether they have an outer court, a whim, machines, rooms for 
 habitation, and stables ; and an account and register of all these circum- 
 stances must be entered in the corresponding book of denouncements, 
 which should be kept separately. And the said examination being made, 
 the portions being measured and bounded by stakes in the ground, as 
 shall hereafter be explained, possession of them shall be given to the 
 denouncer, without regard to any opposition, which cannot be attended 
 to unless made within the term before described; however, if dur- 
 ing that time any opposition is brought forward the parties shall have a 
 brief judicial hearing and the cause be determined accordingly. 
 
 SEC. 9. If the former mine owner should appear in order to oppose 
 the denouncement when the three public proclamations are over and 
 when the denouncer has commenced the sixty days allowed for reinstat- 
 ing the pit of ten yards, he shall not be heard as to the possession, but 
 only as to his right in the property ; and if he succeeds in establishing 
 this, he must make good the expenses incurred by the denouncer, unless 
 the latter is proved to have acted fraudulently, in which case he must 
 lose such expenses. 
 
 SEC. 10. If the denouncer does not make or complete the shaft as pre- 
 scribed, nor take possession within the sixty days, he loses his right, and 
 any other person has the power of denouncing the mine. If, however, 
 from the ground being entirely broken up or otherwise difficult and im- 
 practicable, or for any other real and serious obstacle he has been unable 
 
 6* 
 
106 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 to complete the same within the said sixty days, he must have recourse 
 to the respective Territorial Deputation, when his difficulties being 
 examined and proved, the period may be prolonged for as long a time as 
 the Deputation may think necessary for the purpose, and no more ; no 
 opposition to his claim being admitted after the ordinary term of sixty 
 days. 
 
 SEC. 11. If any one denounce a mine as forfeited on account of the 
 non-observance of any of these Ordinances which bear that penalty, such 
 claim shall be allowed to him, provided he can lawfully establish any 
 such cause of forfeiture. 
 
 SEC. 12. If the former possessor of the mine, or any person claiming 
 in right of him, shall declare the having left therein any exterior or mov- 
 able works made at his expense, such as coverings of outer courts, 
 machines, or other things of this class, and of which the denouncer may 
 usefully avail himself, he shall be paid for them according to the valua- 
 tion of surveyors. 
 
 SEC. 13. If any one shall denounce any intermediate space in the 
 vicinity of mines already occupied, it can only I e granted him in case 
 the owners of the adjoining mines, or any of them, should not desire it 
 for themselves ; however, if these persons have not occupied it, or shall 
 not do so within the time which the Deputations of that Territory, after 
 considering the circumstances of the case, shall prescribe, it shall be 
 adjudged to the denouncer. 
 
 SEC. 14. Any one may discover and denounce a vein not only on com- 
 mon land but also on the property of any individual, provided he pays 
 for the extent of surface above the same and the damage which immedi- 
 ately ensues therefrom, according to the valuation of surveyors on both 
 sides and^ arbitration in case of disagreement ; the same is to be under- 
 stood with regard to denouncing convenient places for erecting establish- 
 ments, and also waters for moving the machines employed for the reduction 
 of ores, commonly called reducing establishments, provided in each case 
 that no more of the water be used than is necessary for such purposes. 
 
 SEC. 15. If, however, any one denounces a mine or establishment within 
 a town or village, whereby its principal edifices might be injured, or 
 other similar inconvenience might arise, the denouncement shall not be 
 admitted without previous application to the Royal Tribunal General of 
 Mexico, in order that they, after consulting with the Supreme Govern- 
 ment, may determine the case with all due prudence and circumspection. 
 
 SEC. 16. Any one may denounce the ancient site of an establishment, 
 without paying anything for the same, although there may be found 
 thereon walls, drains, yard, washing-places, furnaces, chimneys, dwelling- 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 107 
 
 houses, etc., provided they are totally deficient in roofs, machines, tools, 
 and timber work ; if these latter exist the former proprietor must have 
 notice sent him to reestablish, sell, or let them, within the space of four 
 mouths, and on his failure to do so, they shall be granted to the de- 
 nouncer, on condition of his paying the said proprietor for useful mova- 
 bles, according to the appraisement and judgment of surveyors. 
 
 SEC. 17. I prohibit any one (not being the discoverer) from denouncing 
 two contiguous mines upon one and the same vein ; but I permit any 
 person to acquire and possess one by denouncement, and another or more 
 by purchase, gift, inheritance, or other just title. And I further declare 
 that if any one desires to attempt the re establishment of several inun- 
 dated or decayed mines, or other considerable enterprise of this kind, and 
 for this purpose claims the grant of several portions, although they be 
 contiguous and upon the same vein, such claim must be laid before the 
 Eoyal Tribunal General of Mexico, in order that the circumstances and 
 importance of the undertaking being ascertained, they may acquaint the 
 Viceroy therewith, who, on finding therein nothing prejudicial to the body 
 of the miners, the public, or my Eoyal Treasury, shall grant him this 
 and other privileges, exemptions, arid aids, on condition that my Koyal 
 approbation is previously obtained to all such favors, which cannot be 
 granted by the ordinary authority of the Viceroy. 
 
 SEC. 18. Beds of ore and other depositories of gold and silver, on be- 
 ing discovered, shall be registered and denounced in the same manner as 
 mines or veins, the same being understood of all species of metal. 
 
 SEC. 19. Inasmuch as the waste ground and earth heaps of abandoned 
 mines are generally the support of the widows and orphans of the work- 
 ing miners, the old men, and invalids, and all other distressed persons of 
 that employment, and even of all the inhabitants of the district, when 
 the mines are not in a course of working, I prohibit any individual from 
 denouncing them, in order to appropriate them to himself, unless he at 
 the same time denounces the mines to which they belong. 
 
 SEC. 20. The same prohibition is to be understood with regard to the 
 dross, rubbish, and refuse of those smelting houses and establishments of 
 which nothing is left but the walls ; but I order that if they have an 
 owner, notice shall be given to him, and a certain time allowed in which if 
 he does not avail himself of the vessels and other remains, nor the com- 
 munity derive any benefit therefrom, they shall be granted to any person 
 denouncing them. 
 
 SEC. 21. Though in the regular veins, or in the banks, beds, or other 
 mineral depositories great natural masses of virgin gold and silver may 
 be found, I declare that the owners of the mines are to acquire and 
 
108 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 possess them, on paying the just duties ; and I also declare that only 
 ancient deposits of money or jewels, of ingots or grains, and any other 
 fragments smelted by man, and buried by thieves, or in any other man- 
 ner from time immemorial, so that the owner thereof is unknown, shall 
 be retained as treasure. 
 
 SEC. 22. I likewise grant that, in the prescribed form, may be dis- 
 covered, claimed, registered, and denounced, not only mines of gold and 
 silver, but also those of precious stones, copper, lead, tin, quicksilver, 
 antimony, zinc, bismuth, rock salt, or other fossils, whether perfect or 
 mixed metals, bitumen or other production of the earth, the denouncers 
 thereof receiving grants of the same, according to the circumstances ; but 
 I declare that although the free discovery and denouncement of the 
 quicksilver mines is permitted, it must be on the express condition of 
 giving an account of them to the Viceroy, and of the sub-delegate of the 
 quicksilver mines of Mexico, in order that it may be considered and de- 
 dermined whether the said mine or mines shall be worked at the expense 
 and for the advantage of that individual who discovered and denounced 
 them, on his punctually delivering all the quicksilver extracted from 
 them into the royal storehouses, under the terms and prices stipulated ; 
 or whether it shall be done on the account of my Royal Treasury, idemni- 
 fying the party by some equitable award, having regard to the circum- 
 stances of the said discovery and denouncement, the whole of this im- 
 portant subject being regulated according to my sovereign intentions 
 recently declared upon this subject. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PERSONS WHO MAY OR NOT DISCOVER, DENOUNCE, AND WORK THE MINES. 
 
 SECTION 1. To all the subjects in my dominions, both in Spain and 
 the Indies, of whatever rank or condition they may be, I grant the mines 
 of every species of metal under the conditions already stated, or that shall 
 be expressed hereafter, but I prohibit foreigners from acquiring or work- 
 ing mines as their own property, in these my dominions, unless they be 
 naturalized or tolerated therein by my express royal license. [See De- 
 cree of President Comonfort.] 
 
 SEC. 2. I also prohibit regulars of religious orders, of both sexes from 
 denouncing, or in any manner acquiring for themselves, their convents, 
 or communities, any mines whatever ; it being understood that the work- 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 109 
 
 ing of the mines shall not devolve upon the secular ecclesiastics, 
 as being contrary to the laws, to the orders of the Mexican Con- 
 sul, and to the sanctity and exercise of their profession ; and there- 
 fore, in consequence of this prohibition, all such secular ecclesiastics 
 shall be expressely obliged to sell or place in the hands of lay sub- 
 jects, the mines or establishments for smelting ore, and reducing 
 establishments which have devolved on them by inheritance or other 
 cause, the same being completed within the term of six months, or 
 within such time as may be considered necessary to insure a useful re- 
 sult, which is to be fixed by the Viceroy, with a previous intimation to 
 the Koyal Tribunal General of the Mines, provided, that if it is ascer- 
 tained that by artifice or fraud the effects of this article are attempted to 
 be eluded, to the prejudice of the working of such mines and establish- 
 ments, in which the State is so much interested, they shall be denounced 
 and disposed of in the same manner as mines in general. 
 
 SEC. 3. Neither shall mines be held by Governors, Intendents, Mayors, 
 Chief Judges, nor any other public officers whatever, of the mine towns 
 and districts, nor their clerks ; but I permit such persons to hold mines 
 in any territory out of their own jurisdiction. 
 
 SEC. 4. Neither shall Administrators, Stewards, Overseers, Keepers 
 of Tallies, Workers or Watchers of Mines, nor, in general, any person in 
 the service of mine owners, whether of superior or subordinate class, be 
 permitted to register, denounce, or in any other manner acquire mines 
 within the space of a thousand yards round those of their masters, but I 
 allow them to denounce any mine for their said masters, even though not 
 authorized by them to do so, provided the aforesaid masters make good 
 the denouncement in the terms prescribed by section eight of chapter 
 six of these Ordinances. 
 
 SEC. 5. No one shall denounce a mine under any circumstances of 
 concealment or fraud for another, nor even publicly, unless he has his 
 power or letter of attorney for that purpose, according to established 
 usage. 
 
 SEC. 6. Neither shall one denounce a mine for himself alone, if he has 
 previously had partners in the transaction ; and I ordain that the de- 
 nouncer shall declare his partners in his written statement, under penalty, 
 if he fail so to do, of losing his share thereof. 
 
110 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 PROPERTIES, INTERMEDIATE SPACES, AND MEASURES. 
 
 SECTION 1. Experience having shown that the equality of the mine 
 measures established on the surface cannot be maintained under ground, 
 where in fact the mines are chiefly valuable, it being certain that the 
 greater or less inclination of the vein upon the plain of the horizon must 
 render the respective properties in the mines greater or smaller, so that 
 the true and effective impartiality which it has been desired to show 
 towards all subjects, of equal merit, has not been preserved ; but on the 
 contrary, it has often happened that when a miner, after much expense 
 and labor, begins at last to reach an abundant and rich ore, he is obliged 
 to turn back, as having entered on the property of another, which latter 
 may have denounced the neighboring mine, and thus stationed himself 
 with more art than industry. This being one of the greatest and most 
 frequent causes of litigation and dissension among the miners, and con- 
 sidering that the limits established in the mines of these kingdoms, and 
 by which those of New Spain have been hitherto regulated, are very 
 * confined in proportion to the abundance, multitude, and richness of the 
 metallic veins which it has pleased the Creator of his great bounty to 
 bestow on those regions, I order and command that in the mines where 
 new veins, or veins unconnected with each other, shall be discovered, the 
 following measures shall in future be observed. 
 
 SEC. 2. On the course and direction of the vein, whether of gold, sil- 
 ver, or other metal, I grant to every miner, without any distinction in 
 favor of the discoverer, whose reward has been specified, two hundred 
 yards, called measuring yards, taken on a level, as hitherto understood. 
 
 SEC. 3. To make it what they call a square, that is, making a right 
 angle with the preceding measure, supposing the descent pr inclination of 
 the vein to be sufficiently shown by the opening or shaft of ten yards, 
 the portion shall be measured by the following rule. 
 
 SEC. 4. Where the vein is perpendicular to the horizon (a case which 
 seldom occurs), a hundred level yards shall be measured on either side of 
 the vein, or divided on both sides, as the miner may prefer. 
 
 SEC. 5. But where the vein is in an inclined direction, which is the 
 most usual case, its greater or less degree of inclination shall be attended 
 to in the following manner. 
 
 SEC. 6. If to one yard perpendicular the inclination be from three fin- 
 gers to two palms, the same hundred yards shall be allowed for the 
 square (as in the case of the vein being perpendicular). 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. Ill 
 
 SEC. 7. If to the said perpendicular yard there be an inclination of 
 
 2 palms and 3 fingers, the square shall be of 112)^ yards. 
 
 2 " "6 " " " " " 125 " 
 
 2 "9 " " " " 137}^ " 
 
 3 " " " 150 " 
 3 " " 3 " " " " " 162} " 
 3 it it g 175 
 
 3 " " 9 " " " " " 187) " 
 
 4 <^ 200 " 
 
 so that if to one perpendicular yard there correspond an inclination of 
 four palms, which are equal to a yard, the miner shall be allowed two 
 hundred yards on the square on the declivity of the vein, and so on with 
 the rest. 
 
 SEC. 8. And supposing that in the prescribed manner any miner should 
 reach the perpendicular depth of two hundred yards, without exceeding 
 the limits of his portion, by which he may commonly have much ex- 
 hausted the vein, and that those veins which have greater inclination 
 than yard for yard, that is to say, of forty-five degrees, are either barren or 
 of little extent, it is my sovereign will that although the declivity may be 
 greater than the above-mentioned measures, no one shall exceed the 
 square of two hundred level yards ; so that the same shall be always the 
 breadth of the said veins extended over the length of the other two hun- 
 dreds, as declared above. 
 
 SEC. 9. However, if any mine owner suspecting a vein to run in a 
 contrary direction to his own (which rarely happens) , should choose to 
 have some part of his square in a direction opposite to that of his prin- 
 cipal vein, it may be granted to him, provided there shall be no injury or 
 prejudice to a third person thereby. 
 
 SEC. 10. With regard to the banks, beds, or any other accidental 
 depositories of gold or silver, I ordain that the portions and measures 
 shall be regulated by the respective Territorial Deputations of Miners, 
 attention being paid to the extent and richness of the place and to the 
 number of applicants for the same, with distinction and preference only 
 to the discoverers ; but the said Deputations must render an exact account 
 thereof to the Eoyal Tribunal General of Mexico, who will resolve on 
 the measures which they in their judgment may consider the most effica- 
 cious, in order to avoid all unfair dealing in these matters. 
 
 SEC. 11. The portions being regulated in the manner described above, 
 the denouncer shall have his share measured at the time of taking pos- 
 session of the mine, and he shall erect round his boundaries, stakes or 
 landmarks, such as shall be secure and easy to be distinguished, and enter 
 
112 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 into an obligation to keep and observe them forever without being able 
 to change them ; though he may allege that his vein varied in course or 
 direction (which is an unlikely circumstance) ; but he must content him- 
 self with the lot which Providence has decreed him, and enjoy it without 
 disturbing his neighbors ; if, however, he should have no neighbors, or if 
 he can, without injury to his neighbors, make an improvement, by alter- 
 ing the stakes and boundaries, it may be permitted him in such case, 
 with the previous intervention, cognizance, and authority of the Deputa- 
 tion of the District, who shall cite and*hear the parties, and determine 
 whether the causes, for such encroachment are legitimate. 
 
 SEC. 12. In the mines already opened and worked, the old measures of 
 the portion shall be retained ; but they may be extended to the limits 
 prescribed in these Ordinances, whenever such change can take place 
 without prejudice to third persons. 
 
 SEC. 13. The immutability of the stakes or boundaries already defined 
 in section eleven of this chaper shall also be observed henceforward in those 
 mines which are in the course of working, or which shall be denounced 
 as deserted or lost, the limits being ascertained in those cases where there 
 are none at present, and each being attended to in their order, beginning 
 with the oldest ; and as to any intermediate spaces, they shall be regu- 
 lated according to the provisions of section thirteen, chapter six. 
 
 SEC. 14. As it has been found that the license or permission of follow- 
 ing a vein by working lower down and within the vein, and having en- 
 joyment thereof, until the owner himself has bored it, has been and is 
 the most fruitful cause of bitter dissensions, litigations, and disturbances 
 among the mine owners ; and further considering that such intrusion is 
 more generally the result of fraud or chance than of the merit and indus- 
 try of the person so intruding, 'and that the consequences thereof occa- 
 sion, for the most part, nothing but serious detriment to, or the total ruin 
 of, the two mines and the two neighboring miners, to the great prejudice 
 of the public, and of my Royal Treasury, I order and command that no 
 mine owner shall enter the property of another, even though merely by 
 continuing his own vein at a greater depth, but that every one shall keep 
 and observe his own boundaries, unless he makes an agreement and stip- 
 ulation with his neighbor, to be permitted to work in his property. 
 
 SEC. 15. But if a mine owner, pursuing his operations fairly, comes to 
 the property of another while in pursuit of a vein which he is working, or 
 discovers it at that time, without the master of the property being aware 
 of its existence, he shall be obliged to give such proprietor immediate 
 notice thereof; and the two neighbors shall thenceforward divide the 
 costs and profits equally between them : one for the merit of the discov- 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 113 
 
 ery, and the other as the owner of the property ; all which, until there 
 shall be a communication effected between the mines, either by the prin- 
 cipal vein, or a cross lode, or in any manner that may be most convenient ; 
 whereupon, after erecting a mutual boundary, each proprietor shall remain 
 within his own boundaries. But if any one so discovering and following 
 a lode, into the property of his neighbor, fails to give immediate notice 
 thereof to such neighbor, he shall not only lose his right to the half of 
 all the metal that may be extracted, but also shall pay double the value 
 of what he has already extracted, it being understood, that before exact- 
 ing this penalty, fraud and misconduct of persons so encroaching must 
 be proved in the plainest and most satisfactory manner, according to the 
 form prescribed in chapter third. 
 
 SEC. 16. And in case a mine owner shall have advanced so much in 
 his subterranean operations as to have passed beyond the limits of his 
 own property, whether in length or square measure, I declare that he 
 shall not, on this account, be obliged j to turn back or suspend his work, 
 provided the ground he has entered be unclaimed, or within the limits of 
 a deserted mine ; he must, however, denounce this new property, which 
 shall be granted him, observing always that such new portion must not 
 exceed its former size, and that he must move his boundary marks to his 
 new limits, in order that they may be generally known. 
 
 SEC. 17. The mine owner shall not only possess a portion of the prin- 
 cipal vein which he denounced, but likewise of all those which in any 
 form or manner whatever are to be found in his property ; so that if a 
 vein takes its rise in one property, and passing on, terminates in another, 
 each proprietor shall enjoy that part of it which passes through his par- 
 ticular limits, and no one shall be entitled to claim entire possession of a 
 vein from having its source in his portion, or on any other pretense what- 
 ever. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WORKING, SUPPORTING, AND PROTECTING MINES. 
 
 SECTION 1. It being of the greatest importance that the lives of work- 
 men and other persons obliged continually to enter and go out of the mines 
 should not be endangered, and that the mines should be kept in the state 
 of security and convenience necessary to their being successfully worked > 
 even although they may have been judged useless and impracticable by 
 their first possessors, and abandoned accordingly ; and it not being possible 
 
114 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 to establish any general and absolute rule on the subject, on account of the 
 variety of circumstances of each mine, the greater or less hardness, ten- 
 acity, and adherence of the sides, and of the substance of the vein itself ; 
 its greater or less inclination, width, and depth, inducing much diversity 
 in the size and number of the pillars, arches, beams, cross-beams, and 
 other props which may be left or constructed to support the sides, and 
 also in the distribution of the works necessary to proper ventilation, 
 and the convenient removal of the substances extracted from the mine 
 all of which cannot be effected without true practical skill and science in 
 the working of mines I ordain and command as follows : 
 
 SEC. 2. It shall not be permitted to any one to work the mines with- 
 out the assistance and direction of one of those able and intelligent sur- 
 veyors, who are called in New Spain, miners, or mine- watchers, who 
 must have been examined, qualified and approved by the Mining Pro- 
 fessor, appointed to be in every mine town or district, of whom mention 
 will be made hereafter. (Chapter 18, Section 1.) However, in the very 
 poor and remote mine towns, where there may be neither Mining Pro- 
 fessor, nor qualified and approved surveyor, they may be allowed to pro- 
 ceed under the direction of the most accredited and intelligent surveyors 
 who can be found there, until these or others shall be examined and 
 licensed ; the same being understood in all cases which require the direc- 
 tion or intervention of a surveyor, in Border that, in judicial proceedings, 
 they may meet with the confidence and credit they deserve. 
 
 SEC. 3. For the design and execution of shafts, levels, or adits, and 
 other great and difficult works, which, if they do not turn out success- 
 fully, render useless the great expenses which have been bestowed upon 
 them, the direction of one or more of the Guardaminas, shall not be suf- 
 ficient, but the inspection or intervention of one of the aforesaid Profes- 
 sors of Mining shall be necessary, with the obligation on his part of 
 visiting the work once every month, or once in two months, as the pro- 
 gress of it may require, in order that, if he perceives any error in the 
 execution, he may amend it in time, and before it occasions further 
 expenses. 
 
 SEC. 4. In mines opened on a vein of which the sides and interior sub- 
 stance are soft, and have so little tenacity, or adhesive property, that on 
 being exposed to the air they moulder away, and open into cracks and 
 crevices, or which, from any other causes are perceived to be insufficient 
 by themselves to maintain the security and firmness of the mine, I ordain 
 and command that the works shall be lined and secured with large solid 
 timber of known durability, and such as is least liable to decay under 
 ground, .cut and prepared according to the rules of art ; or with good 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 115 
 
 mason work of stone and morter, if the value and other circumstances of 
 the mine permit or require it ; for which purpose there must be in all 
 the mining places, towns, and districts, a certain number of those arti- 
 ficers, carpenters, and masons, who are called liners, and these must have 
 journeymen and apprentices, in order to preserve and continue the 
 exercise of this important business, which ought to be well paid and 
 encouraged. 
 
 SEC. 5. In order to prevent the introduction of artificers who have not 
 the requisite experience and intelligence in subterranean architecture 
 none shall be admitted (in any place), who have not been examined and 
 approved by the Mining Professor of that place, or some other. 
 
 SEC. 6. If any mine owner, in consequence of the great richness of the 
 metallic substance in his vein, is desirous of substituting for the pillars, 
 beams, or sufficient and necessary supports, made of the metallic sub- 
 stance itself, others constructed of mason work of stone and mortar, he 
 may be permitted to do so, under the inspection of one of the deputies of 
 the district, assisted by his clerk, and with the approbation of the 
 Mining Professor. 
 
 SEC. 7. I strictly prohibit any one from taking away, or in any 
 degree weakening and diminishing the pillars, beams, and necessary sup- 
 ports of the mines, under pain of ten years' imprisonment, to be inflicted 
 according to the form prescribed by chapter three of these Ordinances, by 
 the respective judge in each case, upon any workman, searcher, or 
 investigator, who shall have committed such offense, and the same upon 
 the Miner or Mine watcher who has permitted it ; and the master of the 
 mine shall lose the same, together with half of his property, and be for 
 ever excluded from all mining employments. 
 
 SEC. 8. I ordain and command that the mines shall be kept clean and 
 unobstructed, and that the works necessary or useful for the circulation 
 of air, the carriage and extraction of the metal or other purposes, 
 although they may contain no more metallic matter than such as may 
 remain in the pillars and partitions, shall not be incumbered with rub- 
 bish and clods of earth, but that all these must be carried out and 
 thrown by each person on the earthmound of his own property, but on 
 no account upon that of another person without his express leave and 
 consent. 
 
 SEC. 9. In the mines there must be proper and safe steps or ladders, 
 such and as many as are considered necessary by the Mining Surveyor, 
 for the purpose of ascending and descending to the farthermost works, 
 so that the lives of persons employed in the mines may never be endan- 
 gered by their being weak, insecure, rotten, or much worn. 
 
116 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 SEC. 10. In order to avoid the violation of the provisions of any of 
 the sections contained in this chapter, it is my sovereign will that the 
 Deputies of the miners, accompanied by the Mining Professor of the 
 district, and by the Clerk, if there be one, or, in default him, by two 
 witnesses in aid, who shall once in every six months, or once in every 
 year, in places where the former is impracticable, visit all the mines in 
 their jurisdiction which are in a course of actual working ; and if they 
 find any failure in the points referred to in the above-mentioned sections, 
 or in any others whatever, which regard the security, preservation, and 
 better working of the mines, shall provide immediately a remedy for such 
 defect, and take means to assure themselves that such remedy is carried 
 into effect. And if the remedy be not applied, or if the same failure 
 shall occur again, the proper penalties must be exacted, multiplying and 
 aggravating them even to the extent of dispossessing the person so offend- 
 ing of the mine, which shall then belong to the first person who may 
 denounce it, provided the Deputies proceed in the form prescribed by 
 chapter third of these Ordinances. 
 
 SEC. 11. I most rigorously prohibit all persons from piercing through 
 adits, or cross levels, or other subterraneous passages, from works which 
 are higher and full of water, or from leaving between them and others 
 such slight supports as may allow the water to burst through ; on the 
 contrary, persons owning such works must have them drained by engines 
 before they shall attempt to communicate with new ones, unless the Min- 
 ing Professor should judge that such piercing through will not be 
 attended with danger to the workmen engaged in it. 
 
 SEC. 12. Also I prohibit all persons from introducing workmen into 
 any works containing noxious vapors, until they have been properly ven- 
 tilated, according to the rules of art. 
 
 SEC. 13. Whereas, the mines require incessant and continual working, 
 in order to procure the metals, certain operations being indispensable, 
 which cannot without much time be accomplished, and which, if inter- 
 rupted, generally require as great expenses in their reestablishment as 
 they did in their original undertaking ; wherefore, to remedy such incon- 
 venience, and also to prevent masters of mines, who either cannot or will 
 not work them, from keeping them in a useless state for a length of time, 
 by pretending to work them, and thus depriving them of the real and 
 effective labor which others might bestow on them, I ordain and com- 
 mand, that whosoever, during four successive months, shall fail to work 
 any mine with (at least) four paid workmen, occupied in some exterior or 
 interior work of real utility, shall, by so doing, lose all his right in said 
 mine, which shall belong to any person denouncing it, upon his satisfac- 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 117 
 
 tory proving, according to the provisions of chapter six, such act of 
 desertion on the part of the owner. 
 
 SEC. 14. Experience having shown that the provisions of the preced- 
 ing section have been eluded by the artful and fraudulent practice of 
 some owners of mines, who cause their mine to be worked during some 
 days in each [interval of] four months, keeping them in this manner 
 many years in their possession, I ordain that whosoever shall fail to 
 work his mine in the manner prescribed by the said section, during eight 
 months in the year, counting from the day of his coming into possession, 
 even though the said eight months should be interspersed with some days 
 or weeks of labor, shall by such labor, forfeit the mine ; and it shall be 
 adjudged to the first person who denounces the same, and satisfactorily 
 proves this second species of desertion ; unless for this, or the one men- 
 tioned in the preceding section, there be just cause assigned, such as 
 pestilence, famine, or war, in that same mining place, or within twenty 
 leagues thereof. 
 
 SEC. 15. Considering that many mine owners, who have formerly 
 worked their mines with ardor and diligence, expending large sums in 
 shafts, adits, and other undertakings, may often be obliged to suspend 
 their operations, while soliciting supplies, or for want of workmen, or 
 necessary provisions, and other just and sufficient causes, which, combined 
 with their former merit, render them worthy of equitable consideration, 
 I declare that any such mine owner, keeping his mine in disuse in the 
 manner and for the time above-mentioned, shall not forfeit it at once in 
 the manner described above, but his mine shall nevertheless be liable to 
 denouncement before the respective new Tribunals of Miners, in order 
 that both parties having been heard, and alleged merits and causes con- 
 sidered and proved, justice may be done between the parties. 
 
 SEC. 16. Since many mine owners abandon their mines, either for the 
 want of the capital necessary for carrying on operations therein, or be- 
 cause they do not choose to consume that which they may have already 
 acquired from them, or because they have not spirit to venture on the 
 difficulties of those undertakings, from which they may have conceived 
 great hopes, or for other causes ; and since persons are not wanting who 
 might be desirous of taking such mines, if they were informed of their 
 intended abandonment, and as it is much easier to maintain a mine when 
 in a course of working than to reinstate it after it has suffered the inju- 
 ries of time, it is my will that no person shall abandon the working of 
 his mine or mines without making the Deputation of the district ac- 
 quainted therewith, in order that the Deputation may publish the same, 
 by fixing a notification on the doors of churches and other customary 
 places, for the information of all persons. 
 
118 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 SEC. 17. In order to avoid the false or equivocal reports which are 
 often spread concerning deserted mines, the consequence of which reports 
 is to augment the distrust in which this profession is ordinarily held, 
 deterring many persons from engaging therein who do not otherwise want 
 inclination to follow it, I ordain : 
 
 SEC. 18. That no one shall abandon the working of his mine without 
 giving notice to the respective Deputation, in order that an inspection 
 may immediately be had thereof by the Deputies, accompanied by the 
 Clerk and Surveyors, who must examine and measure the mine, particu- 
 larizing all its circumstances, and draw up a map describing its plan and 
 outlines, which, together with all the necessary information, must be 
 preserved in the Archives, with liberty of access to all persons who may 
 wish to see it, or to take a copy thereof. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 DRAINS IN MINES. 
 
 SECTION 1. As in most of the mines springs and currents frequently 
 occur, from whence the water issues continually, and in such abundance 
 as might, in a short time, inundate and overwhelm the works, to the 
 hindrance of all progress in the extraction of the metals, I desire and 
 command that the owners of such mines shall keep their works con- 
 stantly drained and evacuated, so that at all times the operations may 
 be carried on, and the metals extracted without interruption. 
 
 SEC. 2. As it is much the most convenient and least expensive method 
 of draining to countermine the veins by means of adits, I ordain that in 
 all those mines which require draining, and whose situation will admit 
 of it, and where benefit is likely to arise therefrom, according to the 
 judgment of the Mining Professor of the district, the owners be obliged 
 to make an adit sufficient for the draining and clearing of the works, 
 provided the richness and abundance of the ores are likely to repay such 
 expense. 
 
 SEC. 3. Whereas, several mines may sometimes be drained and cleared 
 by one and the same adit, though each of them singly might be insuf- 
 ficient to support the expense thereof, I declare that the adit shall be 
 made and completed, and the expense divided among all the proprietors 
 in proportion to the benefits they will each derive from it ; and if this 
 proportion cannot at the time be ascertained, the expense shall be 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 119 
 
 divided amcmg them, in the mean time, in equal parts, such parts being 
 fixed according to the sum which the poorest of them can afford to pay, 
 and should this one improve in condition, then the said part shall be 
 regulated according to what the poorest of the others can pay, so that 
 the works of the adit may not be suspended ; and all these points must 
 be estimated and regulated by the Deputation of the district, according 
 to the judgment of the respective Mining Professors. 
 
 SEC. 4. If any individual should offer to make an adit by which one 
 or more veins, or the mines opened in them, might be drained and 
 cleared, although he be not the proprietor of any of them, either entirely 
 or in part, his denouncement shall be received in due form, and 
 immediate notice given to the owners of said mines, who, if they will 
 undertake such work themselves, are always to have the preference ; but, 
 on their refusal, it shall be assigned to the adventurer under the follow- 
 ing conditions : 
 
 SEC. 5. That the adit be really useful, and its formation practicable, 
 according to the judgment of the Mining Professor, who must be charged 
 with the tracing out and determining the plan of the work and directing 
 its execution in the manner above expressed. 
 
 SEC. 6. That the countermine shall be drawn, as far as it is possible, 
 in a right line, and at the least possible distance from the vein or veins 
 intended to be drained and cleared, or in the line and direction of one 
 of them. 
 
 SEC. 7. That the necessary openings for the admission of air be con- 
 structed, or that a counter level be made, or some other means adopted to 
 preserve a free circulation of air for the health and advantage of the 
 workmen. 
 
 SEC. 8. That its size (the size of the adit) must depend on the judg- 
 ment of the Mining Professor, which will be regulated by circumstances ; 
 but that it shall never exceed two yards in width, and three in hight, 
 and that it be properly secured and lined. 
 
 SEC. 9. That if the adventurer, in the progress of his work, meets with 
 one or more new veins, he shall therein enjoy the right of a discoverer, 
 and the reward which is assigned to him as such by these Ordinances ; 
 but if they are already known and opened in other places, I grant him 
 the liberty of acquiring one portion of each of them, and if there be not 
 sufficient space remaining for that purpose, he shall have the enjoyment 
 of all that may remain, until he enters upon the property of another. 
 
 SEC. 10. That if the work should pass through any deserted mines, 
 the adventurer shall thereby become master of the same, and may 
 denounce them as soon as he projects the work ; it being understood that 
 
120 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 he should maintain these and his new portions during the progress of his 
 operations as far as lies in his power. But I declare that as soon as his 
 work is concluded, he must have them distinctly portioned out, under 
 pain of losing them, as before enjoined. 
 
 SEC. 11. And finally, that if the adit should pass through mines 
 already occupied and situated in the direction of the vein, half of the 
 metals thence extracted shall belong to the adventurer, and half to the 
 owner of the property ; but the costs are to be all defrayed by the 
 adventurer ; and he must not exceed in his adit the dimensions before 
 prescribed, nor may he undertake any other works, unless with the con- 
 sent of the owner, in which case the expenses must be divided between 
 them. But if the adit should pass across the vein, the adventurer may 
 open other works in pursuit of the same, and the metals, as well as the 
 expenses, shall be divided equally between them, until there shall be some 
 communication established with the works of the master of the mines ; 
 and if the adventurer does not give notice immediately on discovering 
 the metal, he shall not only lose his right to the half thereof, but shall be 
 obliged to make restitution of all he may have already extracted, and to 
 pay double its value ; proof of such fraud and malice having been pre- 
 viously made out, according to the form declared by chapter three. 
 
 SEC. 12. All things contained in this present chapter, from the fifth 
 section inclusive, with regard to adventurers, is likewise to be understood, 
 as far as it is capable of being adapted, in cases where mine owners shall 
 be disposed to attempt the clearing of their own mines or those of others, 
 by means of an adit or countermine in common, whether the work is 
 undertaken by all jointly, or by some without the rest, or in company 
 with adventurers, in all of which cases the stipulations which they have 
 made must be punctually observed, provided they do not interfere with 
 the injunctions and objects of these Ordinances. 
 
 SEC. 13. The owners of mines which requre draining, but are in a sit- 
 uation which will not admit of the formation of an adit, must work 
 them by means of a general and continued shaft, which in New Spain is 
 called tiro, and serves by means of machines and engines to draw off the 
 water, and extract the ore and other materials from the mines ; and which 
 must be made in such situation, and of such dimensions, and be secured 
 in such manner a* the Mining Professor of the district may determine 
 and direct. And the Territorial Deputations are enjoined to take espe- 
 cial notice concerning this matter in their visits, inflicting and increasing 
 the corresponding penalties, in proportion to the offenses which may be 
 proved to have been committed. 
 
 SEC. 15. Inasmuch as experience has shown the general utility of the 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 121 
 
 above-mentioned works, as well as the omission and inattention by which 
 they are sometimes made of a less depth than the other works, in order 
 to avoid the expense of such undertakings which become much more 
 serious and expensive by the delay ; and if the owners have not sufficient 
 capital they are obliged to clear the lower works by interior drains, car- 
 rying up the water to the tiro, by means of engines moved by men, with 
 great expense and little effect, and at times with an intolerable waste 
 of human strength, I ordain and command that all owners of mines which 
 require draining, shall be obliged to make the base or foundation of the 
 tiro deeper than the lowest works, so that sufficient support may remain 
 for their being worked, and enough room in the tiro for the water ; the 
 observance of all which must be watched with particular care in the 
 visits of the Territorial Deputation, the proper penalties being imposed, 
 as enjoined in the preceding section. 
 
 SEC. 15. If any owner of mines requiring drains does not choose to 
 keep them up, contenting himself with working in the upper parts of the 
 mine which the inundation does not reach ; and any person shall denounce 
 the said mine or mines, offering to drain and clear the lower works, imme- 
 diate information thereof shall be given to the owner, in order that if he 
 be either unwilling or unable to drain them effectually, within the period 
 of four months, they may be adjudged to the denouncer, he giving secu- 
 rity for the expenses of the drain, according to the taxation of the proper 
 surveyors, and the satisfaction of the Deputies of the District. 
 
 SEC. 16. If the owner of any mine, of which the works are lower than 
 those of the mines belonging to his neighbors, whether from its situation 
 or from the circumstance of greater progress having been made in the 
 works thereof, should be put to extraordinary expense, by his neighbors 
 not draining such higher mines, or draining them insufficiently, in such 
 manner that the waters from the higher works shall descend upon the 
 lower, I ordain and command that the owners of the higher mines shall 
 keep up all the draining which they require ; or, on failure thereof, shall 
 pay respectively to the owners of the lower mines, in silver or good 
 money, the value of all the damage they may have sustained, estimated by 
 surveyors, who shall first of all inquire and make all possible experiments 
 to ascertain the real truth and circumstances of the case. 
 
 SEC. 17. To all persons who will take upon themselves the expense of 
 draining and cleaning several mines by making shafts in common, or 
 other works, and of constructing and maintaining costly machines 
 where an adit is not practicable I grant the ownership of all the desert 
 mines and portions which they shall effectually clear, even though they 
 may be contiguous and upon one of the same veins ; and I command 
 
 7 
 
122 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 that the Yiceroy, at the representation of the Royal Tribunal General of 
 Mexico, shall dispense to them all the customary privileges, exemptions, 
 and aids ; but I declare that the owners of occupied mines, deriving ben- 
 efit in any manner from such works, shall be obliged to contribute to the 
 expenses of the same, only in proportion to the advantage their mines 
 may have received, according to the valuation of surveyors, with the 
 approbation of the Deputies of the District. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MINES WORKED BY COMPANIES. 
 
 SECTION 1. Inasmuch as mines are often worked by miners joined in 
 companies, from the time of the denouncement of such mine, or accord- 
 ing to contracts entered into subsequently in various ways, to the great 
 advantage and improvement of the operations in mines, since it is much 
 easier to engage therein when many persons concur, each subscribing a 
 part of his capital, and as where the wealth of one alone is not sufficient 
 for great undertakings, that of an united company may be ample ; in 
 such cases I desire and command that such companies, whether public or 
 private, may be encouraged, promoted, and protected by all convenient 
 measures, my Ticeroy granting to those who may form themselves into 
 such companies, every favor, aid, and exemption which can be granted 
 them, according to the judgment and discretion of the Eoyal Tribunal of 
 Miners, and without detriment to the public or my Royal Treasury. 
 
 SEC. 2. Although by these Ordinances I prohibit any individual mine 
 owners working within the ordinary limits, from denouncing two adjoin- 
 ing mines on the same vein, yet notwithstanding, to those who work in 
 companies, although they be not the discoverers, and without prejudice 
 to the right which they might derive from becoming discoverers, I grant 
 the right of denouncing four new portions, or four deserted mines, even 
 though they should be contiguous, and on the same vein. 
 
 SEC. 3. The accustomed usage in New Spain of dividing a mine into 
 twenty-four imaginary equal parts, commonly called barras, subdividing 
 also each of these into suitable smaller parts, shall continue to be observed 
 as heretofore without any alteration. 
 
 SEC. 4. By consequence, no one of the partners may claim, or have a 
 right to work the part A, or any determinate part of the mine, or any 
 other to work the part B, or place therein fixed number of workmen ; 
 
MINING* LAWS OF MEXICO. 123 
 
 but they must work in common, as far as it is possible, and make a divis- 
 ion of the expenses, by sharing the amount of the same in equal propor- 
 tions among all the partners, and there shall be the like division of the 
 produce in metals of all kinds and qualities, whether in a rough state or 
 after they have been wrought, as may have been agreed upon by the par- 
 ties. 
 
 SEC. 5. In order to avoid the disputes and differences which usually 
 occur in mining companies about the direction of the works, applications 
 for supplies, the administration, and other points connected with the ope- 
 rations, I ordain and command that all the measures necessary to be 
 taken shall be determined by plurality of votes, with the intervention of 
 one of the Deputies of the District, who shall always endeavor to pre- 
 serve harmony among the parties. 
 
 SEC. 6. The votes shall be valued and counted according to the shares 
 which each partner shall possess in the mine ; so that if one or more 
 shall be owners of one and the same share, they shall have only one vote, 
 and he who holds two shares shall have two votes, and so on for the rest ; 
 but if one partner alone possesses twelve or more shares, the owner of 
 such a number of shares shall have a number of votes less by one than 
 half the number of such shares. 
 
 SEC. 7. In all cases where any dispute may arise, either from an equal- 
 ity in the number of votes, or from any other cause, the Mining Deputy 
 who shall preside at the Junta or Meeting, shall decide the same as above 
 declared, and I charge the said Deputy to attend always to justice, and 
 the common interest of all the partners. 
 
 SEC. 8. If, in the course of operations, a mine should be worked which 
 produces no profit, or which does not repay, either entirely or in part, the 
 expenses which have been bestowed upon it, and any one of the partners 
 does not choose to contribute his share of the expense, in this case, the 
 others shall give notice to the respective Deputation, in order that the 
 day may be noted down on which he ceased to contribute ; and if he per- 
 sists in his conduct during the continuance of four months, I declare 
 thereby he forfeits, reckoning from the day on which he ceased to con- 
 tribute, all his share in the mine, which shall go to increase the portions 
 of those who have contributed their contributions, without any obliga- 
 tion on their part to denounce the same ; but if, before the expiration of 
 the four months, he shall contribute his share of the expenses, he shall 
 still be a partner, provided he pays all arrears that shall have accrued 
 from the time when he ceased to contribute to the satisfaction of the 
 parties concerned. 
 
 SEC. 9. If, while any mine is in a course of profitable working, any 
 
124 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 partner should refuse to concur in the expenses of the dead works (estab- 
 lished according to the forms before prescribed) , upon the ground that 
 such dead works would consume a part or the whole of the produce of 
 the mine, the rest of the partners may retain and devote to this purpose 
 a part or the whole of the produce which falls to his share. 
 
 SEC. 10. If one or more mines are worked by two partners, and they 
 desire to break up the partnership, on account of disagreement, or other 
 cause, they shall not be reciprocally obliged to sell or buy their shares to 
 or from one another, but each of them has the right of selling his share 
 to a third person, giving his partner, however, the first offer thereof. 
 
 SEC. 11. The company is not to be considered as broken up by the 
 death of one of the partners ; but the obligation devolves on his heirs, 
 who have, however, the privilege of selling their share, according to the 
 terms prescribed in the preceding section. 
 
 SEC. 12. If any share in a mine, or any entire mine, should be sold, 
 after having been appraised and valued by surveyors, according to its 
 condition at the time of the sale, and it should afterwards become of 
 great value, I declare that the sale shall not on that account be rescinded, 
 on allegation of the great loss sustained, nor on demand of being restored 
 to his former situation (i. e., on the part of the seller) , nor of any similar 
 privilege. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 LABORERS IN MINES AND IN WORKS FOR THE REDUCTION OF METALS. 
 
 SECTION 1. Forasmuch as it is a notorious and well established fact, 
 that the working miners are a very poor class of people, and very useful 
 to the State, and that they ought to be adequately remunerated for the 
 severe toil they undergo, I ordain and command that no mine owner 
 shall presume, on any ground or pretext whatsoever, to alter the rate of 
 wages established by long usage, and adopted in all the mining districts, 
 but that the same shall be observed, as well in regard to persons em- 
 ployed in the works and machinery, as to the laborers in the mines, 
 under the penalty, if at any time any mine owner shall diminish the 
 established wages, of paying the said laborers the double thereof; and 
 the laborers shall be obliged to work according to the said established 
 rate of wages. 
 
 SEC. 2. The workmen in the mines must be registered by their own 
 proper names, and must mark with plain and distinguishable strokes each 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 125 
 
 occasion of their leaving their work ; so that they themselves may know 
 and recognize the same, even when they are not able to read, according 
 to the forms hitherto adopted in New Spain. 
 
 SEC. 3. The amount of the wages are to be paid every week to each 
 workman, according to his tallies, and with the greatest punctuality 
 delivered in ready money and into their own hands, in current coin or in 
 silver or gold bullion of good quality, if there be not ready money, or by 
 part of the metal which may have been extracted, if it shall have been 
 so agreed between the parties. And I strictly prohibit their being com- 
 pelled to receive such payment in merchandise, effects, fruits, or provi- 
 sions. 
 
 SEC. 4. At the time when their wages are paid, they (the workmen) 
 shall not be forced to satisfy the debt and charges for which they may 
 be liable, even though they be such as are usually termed privileged, 
 without a judicial order for so compelling them, except as to those which 
 they may have contracted with the mine owner, with an understanding 
 that the same should be paid out of their labor, and even in these cases, 
 not more than a fourth part of their wages shall be so retained. 
 
 SEC. 5. I prohibit the making demands upon the workmen for alms, 
 charity, collections for brotherhoods, or any similar purposes, until they 
 have received their dues, and these being settled, such donations shall be 
 left entirely to their free will and disposition. 
 
 SEC. 6. Where the workmen are paid by weekly rations and monthly 
 salaries, the rations supplied must be of good wholesome meat, wheat, 
 maize, Indian corn, pinola (a fruit of the country), salt, red pepper (cap- 
 sicum), and such other articles as may be usual, according to fixed and 
 exact measures and weight, to all which particular attention must be 
 paid in the visits of the Territorial Deputations. 
 
 SEC. 7. Each workman or servant of the mines, referred to in the 
 preceding section, must keep in his possession a paper, in which shall be 
 marked the parts of his monthly salary which shall have become due, as 
 well as every thing which he may have received on account, all written 
 by the accountant or paymaster of the mine and establishment, and the 
 dollars and reals distinguished by circles, lines and half-lines ; so that 
 each workman may adjust and understand his own account, and have a 
 proper statement thereof in his possession. 
 
 SEC. 8. The duties or tasks of the workmen shall be assigned by the 
 captain of the Barras, who must attend to the hardness or softness of 
 substance, the abundance, scarcity, and other circumstances of the work, 
 proceeding with the greatest justice and equity in moderating the said 
 tasks, in allowing good pay to those employed in such tasks, and in 
 
126 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 increasing the same, under any change of circumstances ; and in case 
 any party should complain of any particular grievance, the respective 
 Mining Deputation shall proceed to redress all injuries by a verbal decree, 
 or by judicial process, if the parties cannot otherwise be brought to an 
 agreement, all which shall be done in the form prescribed by chapter three 
 of these Ordinances. 
 
 SEC. 9. It is also my Royal will that no supplies shall be afforded to 
 the Indians of allotment, in order that immediately on concluding their 
 tasks they may return to their village and habitations, and others be 
 employed in their stead as the law requires. And that the free Indians 
 alone may receive supplies as far as five dollars to each, conformable to 
 an act granted by my Royal Audiency of Mexico ; although in cases of 
 any peculiar urgency, such as the celebration of their marriages, or the 
 funerals of their wives or children, I permit that on the same being 
 proved to the satisfaction of the mine owner, administrator, or over- 
 seer, by a certificate from the curate (of the parish of an Indian so 
 circumstanced), he may be furnished with what is necessary for such 
 purpose. 
 
 SEC. 10. Both the mine owners and the workmen shall be entirely at 
 liberty to agree between themselves whether they shall be paid for their 
 work by the task, by a share of the profit, or by salary and share of the 
 profit. Supposing this mutual liberty understood, when the mine is not 
 worked by share of the profits merely, the owner or administrator shall 
 pay the workmen such wages or salary as shall be conformable to the 
 first section of this chapter ; and if, when the arrangement is for task- 
 work, any one of the laborers, called Barreteros, having finished his task, 
 shall continue voluntarily for all or part of the time remaining to extract 
 further ores, the mine owner shall not be obliged to pay otherwise than 
 in money, and in proportion to his daily rate of wages, for all such ore 
 as may be extracted. But if in order to promote and stimulate the 
 exertions of the workmen, the mine owner or administrator should agree 
 to pay them at a certain rate for every sack or bag of metal which they 
 may extract beyond their task, or to pay them for the same with a part 
 of such metal, all such contracts shall be fulfilled according to the 
 engagements on both sides, provided the circumstances shall not have 
 materially changed in the opinion of the respective Mining Deputies ; 
 and if these should . disagree, the respective substitutes shall decide 
 according to the rule already established in such cases ; but in all that 
 regards the terms on which laborers are to work in the mines, whenever 
 there shall arise any dispute between them and the master or steward of 
 the mine, which may occasion injury to its working and progress, and 
 
MINING LAWS OP MEXICO. 127 
 
 consequently to the State, and either of the parties shall make an appeal, 
 the respective Deputation shall decide the same, and eventually, if neces- 
 sary, the said substitute, conformably to the practice established in the 
 mine in question, or, if it be a new mine, then in conformity with the 
 . practice of the district. 
 
 SEC. 11. The ore extracted in the course of the task-work, and that 
 extracted in working for a share of the ore, shall be received and attested 
 by the accountant or inspector, or other person appointed for that pur- 
 pose by the mine-owner, and if he thinks the ore delivered by any laborer 
 as his share-work better or purer than that of his task, they shall both 
 be mingled together in the presence of the workmen interested, and shall 
 be stirred about as much as he may desire, in order that he may choose 
 from whatever part of the heap so mingled he may prefer, as many sacks, 
 bags, or measures as there were in his share before such mixture was 
 made : it being understood that no mine owner, his steward, overseer, or 
 other servants shall, on any pretense whatever, prevent the laborers 
 interested from being present during all these proceedings, or cause the 
 sacks to be filled from any other part of the heap than that which the 
 said laborers shall choose. 
 
 SEC. 12. The inspector may examine all those who go in and out of 
 the mines, observing with the greatest care whether they are in a state of 
 intoxication, or whether they carry with them any intoxicating liquors ; 
 and he may also register all that comes in or out of the mines under the 
 head|of breakfasts, dinners, etc. ; and if he should discover any stolen 
 metal, tools, gunpowder, or any thing of the like kind, he shall preven- 
 tively apprehend, confine, and secure the thief ; and thereby give notice 
 to the Territorial Deputation, in order that due proceedings may be 
 instituted, conformably to the regulations established by chapter three of 
 these Ordinances. 
 
 SEC. 13. Idle persons and vagabonds,. of whatsoever cast or condition 
 they may be, who shall be met with in the mining districts or the neigh- 
 boring villages, may be seized and compelled to work in the mines, as 
 well also as the laborers who from mere idleness shall have withdrawn 
 themselves from this employment without engaging in any other ; for 
 which the mine-owners may appoint proper officers, by license of the 
 Courts and the Territorial Deputations of the districts, as usual in such 
 cases ; but it is to be understood that no Spaniard, or Spanish Mestizo, 
 the latter being considered as a Spaniard, can be included in such regula- 
 tion, as both one and the other are by law exempted ; and when such 
 persons have incurred punishment by their idleness or offenses, other 
 penalties must be inflicted on them by the proper Judge according to 
 the nature of their offenses. 
 
128 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 SEC. 14. ID the distribution and allotment of the Indians of the vil- 
 lages near the mining districts, commonly called the Indians of the 
 Quatequil or Mita, to the reducing establishments, the rights and pre- 
 tensions, acquired at different times by the proprietors of such establish- 
 ments, shall be maintained and observed in those which are in a course 
 of working, and have continued so without interruption ; but in the 
 establishments which have been deserted and abandoned, and whose 
 allotment of Indians may have passed to others more recently established, 
 the latter are to be maintained in the possession of the same ; and in 
 case the former shall be reestablished, they shall only be entitled to the 
 quatequil of such villages as shall have before belonged to them, and 
 shall not have since passed to other establishments ; and the same is to 
 be observed in respect of the working companies both of mines and of 
 reducing establishments ; but in neither case shall such distribution and 
 allotment of Indians exceed the proportion of four out of every hundred, 
 according to the established practice in New Spain ; and in order that 
 the Mitas may be regulated as much as possible in favor of the Indians, 
 I ordain and command that in the execution and fulfillment of the law, 
 (Art. 1, Chap. 5, Book 6, and Art. 4, Chap. 15, Book 7,) the negroes and 
 free mulattoes who wander about as vagabonds, and the mestizos of the 
 second class, who are without occupation, may be compelled to work in 
 the mines ; and that criminals condemned to hard labor, and not except- 
 ed by the preceding section, may be taken to work in the mines, with 
 the consent of the mine proprietors, who are to be in that respect entirely 
 free, either to admit such criminals to work in the mines, according to 
 the greater or less degree of facility which there may be of guarding 
 them during the intervals of their occupation. 
 
 SEC. 15. Working companies belonging to deserted establishments 
 shall not be allowed to establish themselves in villages, even though they 
 may construct a chapel and erect a belfry, because by so doing they 
 appropriate to themselves the earth and water intended for the supply of 
 such establishment, thus impeding and wholly preventing its reestablish- 
 ment ; to avoid which I desire and command them always to bear in 
 mind that such situation may be at any time denounced, and in case of 
 works being reestablished there, they are again to become part of the 
 working company, and to be dependent upon the proprietor of such 
 establishment. 
 
 SEC. 16. The laborers belonging to working companies of mines or 
 establishments shall be obliged to work on the establishment to which 
 they are attached rather than elsewhere, and shall only be allowed to 
 work elsewhere by the consent of the proprietor of such establishment, 
 or in case he shall have no employment for them. 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 129 
 
 SEC. 17. As it is found by experience that in unproductive mines 
 there is generally a default of workmen, by reason of their all flocking 
 to those mines which are in a course of working, particularly where the 
 proprietors allow them a share of the produce, thereby interrupting and 
 impeding the working of the other mines ; for remedy thereof I ordain 
 and command that the Territorial Deputations shall cause such workmen 
 as are in a vagabond state, and not attached to any establishment, to be 
 alternately employed in each of these classes of mines, so that they may 
 enjoy the benefit of being employed in those which are in a course of 
 profitable working, and not deprive the others altogether of their service ; 
 with the same view it is my sovereign will that no workman, going 
 from one mine into another, shall be admitted by the proprietor of such 
 other without producing a certificate of good behavior from the master 
 he has left, or his administrator ; otherwise such mine proprietor so 
 admitting him, as well as the workman himself, shall be punished in pro- 
 portion to the evil intention with which they appeared to have acted ; 
 the observance of all of which things shall be strictly attended to by the 
 Territorial Deputations, as pertaining to their jurisdiction. 
 
 SEC. 18. Workmen who, having contracted debts while working in 
 any mine, shall engage themselves to work in another, may be compelled 
 to return to the former, with a view to the discharge of such debt by 
 their labor therein, according to the fourth section of this chapter, unless 
 the creditor shall consent to accept security for his debt from the pro- 
 prietor of such other mine. 
 
 SEC. 19. In cases of thefts committed by the workmen of the mines 
 on the establishments, whether of metallic ores, tools, gunpowder, or 
 quicksilver, punishment shall be inflicted according to the nature and 
 circumstances of the offense, and the repetition of the same ; imposing 
 whatsoever is by law established, and measuring the punishment due to 
 offenses of the Indians by the damage surtained and the malice evinced ; 
 the respective judges in the cognizance of such causes regulating them- 
 selves by the rules laid down and declared by chapter three of these 
 Ordinances. 
 
 SEC. 20. Workmen who, for slight offenses, debts, or other causes, ar^ 
 imprisoned according to custom, and remain there a long time to their 
 own destruction, and to the distress of their families, may be removed 
 from prison and placed to work, provided that in the mine or establish- 
 ment where they are employed there may be the means of securing them 
 during the intervals of their labor, to the end that, after setting apart a 
 portion of their gains for their own support and that of their families, 
 the rest may be applied to the discharge of their debts, the confirmation 
 
 7* 
 
130 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 of their marriages, the payment of pecuniary penalties, and the satisfac- 
 tion of parties whom they may have aggrieved ; and of all this the pro- 
 prietor or administrator of the mine or establishment must keep a clear 
 and distinct account. 
 
 SEC. 21. If any barretero or other workman, or person serving in the 
 mines, shall work improperly, leaving any metal adhering to the surface 
 of the mine, or in any other manner maliciously concealing metal, he 
 shall be punished in the manner prescribed by section nineteen of the 
 present chapter. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. . 
 
 SUPPLY OP WATER AND PROVISIONS. 
 
 SECTION 1. The supply of water for drinking being an object of the 
 greatest importance in mining districts, I ordain and command that its 
 introduction thereto, the preservation of its source, and the good condi- 
 tion and cleanliness of the conduit pipes be particularly attended to, and 
 that no water be used that is impregnated with mineral particles. 
 
 SEC. 2. I prohibit most rigorously the emptying of any water from 
 the mine drains, and from the washing places of the works and smelting 
 houses, into the streams or aqueducts by which the population is sup- 
 plied ; and I command that the said water be carried off by canals or 
 otherwise. 
 
 SEC. 3. I desire and command that in the immediate neighborhood of 
 mining districts, there may be a sufficient number of grazing places and 
 watering places for the cattle which work the machinery necessary to the 
 reduction of the metal from the ore, or which are employed in the trans- 
 portation thereof, or who shall be paid for the same, if their possession 
 be lawful, according to the valuation of a surveyor appointed on each 
 side, and of a third in case of disagreement ; with the express under- 
 standing, however, that such sales shall only happen in cases of lands 
 which can lawfully be granted, and to the extent which may be necessary 
 for the above mentioned purpose, and, as to any excess over and above, 
 that shall only take place with the free consent of the owner of such 
 lands. 
 
 SEC. 4. All persons are permitted to go with and drive the said cattle 
 through all common and public lands, meadows, or pastures belonging to 
 other mining districts, or through places not possessing any mines, with- 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 131 
 
 out paying anything on that account, although their masters may not 
 reside in such district ; and they shall enjoy the like exemption from such 
 payments on lands belonging to individuals where it is not the cus- 
 tom for other passengers or mule drivers to pay ; but where it is the 
 custom for others to pay, then they also shall pay what is usual and just ; 
 and I declare that persons going about to search for mines shall be 
 allowed to have one beast to ride on, and one to carry their luggage, 
 without paying anything for their pasture, either on public or private 
 property, and whether it be customary or not to pay for the same ; but 
 in order that this privilege may not be abused any excess shall be watched 
 with the greatest care, and if such be committed to the prejudice of a 
 third person, application shall be made to the respective Koyal Court for 
 the proper remedy. 
 
 SEC. 5. In order to restrain any extraordinary rise in the price of pro- 
 visions and clothing in the mining districts, when they are in a flourish- 
 ing state, and that the same may be equitably regulated according to 
 the circumstances which ought to influence it, the Territorial Deputations 
 shall make proper representations thereupon to the Courts of the Dis- 
 trict, according to what is laid down in section thirty-five of chapter 
 three of these Ordinances ; and also for the restraining and punishment 
 of monopolies, extortions, usuries, and all unfair or fraudulent contracts 
 or practices whatsoever. 
 
 SEC. 6. All persons shall be at liberty to carry to the mines maize, 
 wheat, barley, and other provisions and necessaries, such as charcoal, 
 wood, tallow, hides, etc., more especially when they have been sent for 
 them by the miners themselves ; and for this purpose I grant them per- 
 mission to bring such provisions from all cities, towns, villages, and 
 establishments whatsoever, even if situated in other districts, provinces, 
 or governments, provided there be just cause for so doing ; and, there- 
 fore, I command all Governors and Magistrates of the different places 
 not to obstruct them in so doing, nor to allow the price of such articles 
 to be improperly raised, but rather to assist and favor them in order that 
 the mines and persons employed in them may be always sufficiently pro- 
 vided with what is necessary. 
 
 SEC. 7. Without prejudice to the jurisdiction and cognizance granted 
 to the Royal Courts by section thirty of chapter three of these Ordi- 
 nances, the Territorial Deputations are to be allowed frequently to visit 
 and inspect the fountains and sources which supply the waters for putting 
 the machinery of the mines in motion, in order that they may be able to 
 make representations thereupon to the said Courts as occasion may 
 require, and in order that all persons may be prevented from cutting 
 
132 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 down any of the woods in the neighborhood which serve to protect them, 
 or clearing them away for tillage, or otherwise reducing them ; as also 
 from making any hollows in the neighborhood lower than the waters, or 
 doing any other thing by which they may be drained off, or diminished ; 
 but on the contrary, they may be cleansed and purified with all the pre- 
 cautions of scientific practice. 
 
 SEC. 8. The said Deputations shall likewise take care that the rivers 
 and streams preserve their ancient course and beds, representing to the 
 Royal Courts in proper time, and before the said evils shall have become 
 irremediable, the impediments which have occurred either from the cur- 
 rent leaving islands, or banks which change the direction of the stream, 
 or from the overflowing of the banks, or from other causes, which might 
 be remedied by proper diligence in many cases ; and to the end that the 
 provisions of this and the preceding section may be carried into effect, 
 the Deputies and the Surveyor of each mining district shall twice in 
 every year visit the fountains and springs within their boundaries, once 
 just before the rains and once immediately after, carefully examining 
 them, and if they find that they require any cleansing, repairing, altera- 
 tion, or amendment, in order to preserve their proper channel and direc- 
 tion, they shall make representation thereof to the Royal Courts, who shall, 
 with the intervention of the said Deputies and Surveyor, order the same 
 to be repaired at the expense of the owners of the estates and others 
 interested in such waters ; and in case of there being no such interested 
 persons, or their contributions not being sufficient, the said Deputies 
 shall appoint such arbitrators as they shall consider competent and 
 impartial, who are to determine, according to the provisions of section 
 thirty-six of chapter three of these Ordinances, whether or no such 
 repairs shall be undertaken at the public expense. 
 
 SEC. 9. To the end that the high roads and private ways necessary for 
 the intercourse of villages in the neighborhood of mines, with the rest of 
 the district on which they depend for supplies, may be kept in as good 
 and secure a condition as possible, considering that generally those in 
 the immediate neighborhood of the mine districts are much broken up, 
 difficult, and dangerous, particularly during the rainy season, I ordain 
 and command that the Territorial Deputations shall promote this import- 
 ant object by all the means in their power, before the respective Royal 
 Courts, by carrying the same into effect either at the expense of the 
 owners of mines or establishments, or by imposing a toll upon passengers 
 and mule drivers, if this be agreeable to the practice of such place, or in 
 any other manner ; provided, only, that the Court be guided in this 
 respect by the provisions of the said section thirty-six of chapter three. 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 133 
 
 SEC. 10. For the better preservation and security of private roads 
 between villages and mines, between mines and mines, and also between 
 mines and establishments, the provisions of the preceding section shall 
 be acted upon, even though such works ought in the particular case to 
 have been effected by the owners of the respective mines or establish- 
 ments ; moreover, the Territorial Deputations are enjoined to visit the 
 said roads frequently with the utmost attention and care, inasmuch as 
 the said roads and ways, being in general narrow and broken, are ren- 
 dered still more dangerous by the constant traffic, carelessness, and neg- 
 ligence of those who frequent them. 
 
 SEC. 11. As to rivers, streams, and currents which it is necessary to 
 pass over in order to go to or from the mining districts, there shall be 
 built substantial bridges of stone and lime-work, or at least of timber, 
 on solid foundations of stone and cement, which are more proper for such 
 rivers, as those which run between high grounds at no great distance 
 from each other are generally deep and rapid rather than of great width ; 
 for the necessity of their construction, the amount of their expense, and 
 the ascertaining of the parties upon whom such expense is to be levied, 
 proceedings are to be had according to sections thirty -five and thirty-six 
 of chapter three of these Ordinances. 
 
 SEC. 12. The mountains and woods in the neighborhood of mines are 
 to be used for the purpose of providing them with timber for their 
 machinery, and with wood and charcoal for the reduction of the ores, 
 and the same is to be understood with regard to those which are private 
 property, provided a fair price be paid to the owners ; and I hereby pro- 
 hibit all persons from exporting or removing their timber, wood, or char- 
 coal from their respective districts to others which might be more prop- 
 erly supplied elsewhere. 
 
 SEC. 13. The cutters and carriers of wood shall not cut at any other 
 time, nor deliver in any other manner, than shall be prescribed by the 
 particular regulations which are to be drawn up by the Koyal Tribunal 
 General of Miners, by which they are to be regulated ; provided, that 
 these regulations shall in the first instance be approved by the Viceroy 
 and authorized by my Royal approbation. 
 
 SEC. 14. All dealers in wood and charcoal are strictly prohibited from 
 cutting young shoots for firewood or charcoal, and I ordain that planta- 
 tions of young trees shall be formed where there are none ; particularly 
 in those places where there have been such plantations formerly, as from 
 the consumption and failure of reproduction the two species of wood 
 most necessary in the working of mines and reduction of metals have 
 become scarce ; and be it understood, in order to attain this important 
 
134 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 object the Royal Tribunal of Miners shall draw up particular instruc- 
 tions and directions, which must be observed under certain penalties to 
 be named therein for that purpose, there being the same necessity for the 
 approval of the Viceroy and my approbation as in the preceding section. 
 
 SEC. 15. Wells of salt water and veins of salt rock, which are fre- 
 quently met with in some mining districts, may be denounced, the great- 
 est care being used to authenticate such discoveries, and no impediment 
 being thrown in the way thereof by any Judge or individual ; provided, 
 however, that notice thereof, and of such denouncement, be given to the 
 Superior Government, in order that they may take account of and deter- 
 mine as to the working and distribution and price of the salt, so that no 
 injury shall accrue to my Royal Revenue, and that the miners, and more 
 particularly the discoverer and denouncer, may derive the utmost benefit 
 therefrom ; observing, however, that the Indians are by no means to be 
 deprived of the salt works which are conceded to them by law, nor pre- 
 vented from the use thereof in the same manner as is now permitted to 
 them. 
 
 SEC. 16. The Judge and Deputies of each mine establishment shall take 
 particular care that in the prices of timber, wood, charcoal, hides, tal- 
 low, cordage, salt, magistral (sulphate of iron) (chalk), ashes, barley, 
 straw, and other things of indispensable necessity in the working of 
 mines, the sellers thereof shall not act with extortion ; for which pur. 
 pose the said Judge, acting in concert with the Territorial Deputation , 
 shall fix the prices of the said articles, with due regard to justice and 
 equity, so that neither the seller shall lose the regular profit of his trade, 
 to which he is justly entitled, nor fall into the other extreme of demand- 
 ing exhorbitant prices, which would paralyse the labor of miners, who, 
 generally speaking, are not in flourishing circumstances. 
 
 SEC. 17. The distribution by retail or parceling out of quicksilver in 
 small quantities shall be provided for in the manner directed by my 
 Eoyal Orders of the twelfth of November, 1773, and fifth of October, 
 1774. 
 
 SEC. 18. Whoever shall work mines in a different district to that in 
 which he resides, and shall derive considerable advantage from such 
 working, shall be obliged either to build a house in that village which is 
 in the neighborhood of his mine, or to construct some work of public 
 utility to be estimated by the Deputies of Miners, and shall also be 
 liable to all the charges which are or ought to be paid by the miners of 
 the said district. 
 
 SEC. 19. No dealer or miner shall, under any pretense whatsoever, 
 intercept on the roads the sellers of fruit, grain, or other commodity, 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 135 
 
 even though they pretend that they are buying for their own consump- 
 tion, and not for the purpose of selling such articles again ; but I grant 
 the mine owners liberty to purchase such articles in other villages, and to 
 conduct them, on their own account, to the mines, and I permit the sel- 
 lers generally to carry them thither withont obstruction. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MILLEKS, PERSONS WHO REDUCE ORES FOR THE MINERS BY AGREEMENT, 
 AND PURCHASERS OF METAL. 
 
 SECTION 1. Considering the measures which may best promote the 
 advancement of the mines, as well as the increase and support of the 
 mining population, and observing the customs which have hitherto pre- 
 vailed in New Spain, by which it is permitted to all persons to buy and 
 sell ores, and also to erect establishments for reducing the same, although 
 they may not themselves be the possessors of mines, I will ordain that 
 both these customs be kept up and encouraged, provided that in so doing 
 the strictest attention is paid to the enactments of the eleven following 
 sections : 
 
 SEC. 2. All persons are prohibited from purchasing ores otherwise 
 than in the outer courts of the mines, or in some public place adjoining 
 thereto, within the view and by the permission of the owner, administra- 
 tor, or accountant of the mine, from whom such purchaser must receive 
 a ticket expressing the day on which the metal is purchased, its weight, 
 quality, and price, and whether it be the property of the master, or of 
 any person working or serving in the mine. 
 
 SEC. 3. If any miner shall lay information of any of his metal, which 
 has been stolen, being in the possession of a purchaser, and such pur- 
 chaser, on examination and comparison of the metal, cannot justify him- 
 self by the production of such a ticket as is mentioned in the preceding 
 section, the same shall be considered as having been stolen, without the 
 necessity of farther proof, and shall be restored to the miner ; but if the 
 latter by any other means shall clearly prove it to have been stolen, and 
 there shall have been a repetition of the offense, the offending party shall 
 not only restore the stolen property to the miner, but such penalties shall 
 be inflicted on the offender by the proper Judge as are directed by sec- 
 tion twenty-nine of chapter three of these Ordinances, with attention to 
 the nature and all the circumstances of the offense. 
 
136 MINING LAWS OP MEXICO. 
 
 SEC. 4. No one shall be allowed to purchase, from persons working or 
 serving in the mines, quicksilver, either fused or in a crude state, metallic 
 grains, gunpowder, ashes, chalk, or lead, under a penalty to the buyer of 
 paying double the amount thereof on conviction, and to the seller of 
 being severely punished, according to the nature of the offense, even 
 though no one should come forward expressly to convict him. 
 
 SEC. 5. In order that the owners of establishments for reducing the 
 metals may not exhorbitantly raise the price thereof, to the prejudice of 
 the miners, and on the other hand may not fail to realize a fair profit, I 
 ordain and command that the Judges of the respective mining districts 
 shall every year, acting in concert with the Territorial Deputations, 
 establish and fix the proper dues to be taken that year for every quintal 
 of ore, regulating the same according to the price of timber, of iron, 
 and of labor, and of whatever else ought to be considered for the pur- 
 pose ; and shall establish the same by a table of fees, which is to be pre- 
 pared under the authority of the said Judges, and to be affixed to and 
 exhibited in public places, and to be kept in every establishment where 
 metals are reduced in the manner here mentioned, and its provisions to 
 be strictly complied with. 
 
 SEC. 6. The said reducers are on no account to charge the owners of 
 the metals a higher price for quicksilver than is paid for it in the same 
 district by those mine owners who procure it on their own account and 
 for their own consumption. 
 
 SEC. 7. In the article of salt, magistral, chalk, powder of lead, char- 
 coal, wood, and other ingredients used in the reduction of metal by 
 quicksilver or by fire, the said reducers shall not be allowed to take more 
 than twelve per cent, profit on the actual price at which they may be 
 bought at first cost by those who purchase them on their own account 
 and for their own consumption. 
 
 SEC. 8. The tickets which are usually given to owners of metals, con- 
 taining an account of the expenses and produce, are not only to express 
 the same generally, but are to particularize the reducing expenses, the 
 price of each ingredient, the price of the labor, the consumption of 
 quicksilver, and the produce of gold, etc., and must be signed by the 
 owner and administrator of the establishment, and by the amalgamator 
 or smelter; and in the event of any of the preceding sections being 
 transgressed, proceedings shall be had by the production of such ticket 
 against the owner or administrator of the establishment, so as to identify 
 the owner of the metal ; and if intentional fraud shall be proved against 
 them, they shall pay him three times the value. 
 
 SEC. 9. No reducer of metal shall compel the owner of metals to pay 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 137 
 
 the costs of reduction with the silver or gold so reduced, but only in 
 money ; but if there shall have been an agreement to pay in bullion, the 
 same is to be taken at its full value, without any premium or reduction ; 
 and the same thing is to be observed with respect to the amalgam (silver 
 and mercury combined), which it may be sometimes necessary to leave at 
 the establishment as a pledge during the continuance of such agreement. 
 
 SEC. 10. In order to prevent the frauds and impositions which fre- 
 quently arise from the uncertainty of the reduction by quicksilver and 
 by fire, sometimes to the injury of the owners of the metal by taking 
 away part of the silver or gold produced ; sometimes to the injury of the 
 reducers, when the metal is not sufficient to pay the costs of its reduc- 
 tion, I ordain and command, that until the establishment of a Public 
 Office in the mininng districts, which ought to be done as soon as possi- 
 ble, for the reduction by way of assay of one or more quintals of metal, 
 for the purpose of ascertaining its intrinsic richness, either the owner of 
 the metal, or of the reducing establishment, when he shall entertain any 
 doubts concerning the results of the reduction, may choose out and have 
 deposited one or more quintals of the metal, to be reduced afterwards 
 for his satisfaction by surveyors appointed in the usual manner, one on 
 each side, and a third in case of their disagreement. 
 
 SEC. 11. With the same view that directed the preceding section, no 
 owner of metal who sends it to be reduced by such an establishment, 
 belonging to another person, shall be prevented from attending, either 
 personally or by a confidential agent, all the operations of the reduction, 
 from making trials, from assaying any part of the mass in various ways, 
 and doing everything else that he may think conducive towards the bet- 
 ter reduction of the metal, or the satisfying himself of the manner in 
 which it is done. 
 
 SEC. 12. The amount of carriage to be paid to the mule drivers upon 
 metals taken from the mines to the establishments, whenever any exces- 
 sive charge is made, shall be settled by the Judge of the district, acting 
 in concert with the Territorial Deputations, having a due regard to jus- 
 tice and equity, and making a difference between the dry and rainy sea- 
 sons. 
 
 SEC. 13. And if any of the said mule drivers shall be proved to have 
 stolen or sold any of the metal on the roads, replacing the same by other 
 materials, they shall be proceeded against accordingly, by the proper 
 judges, and section twenty-nine of chapter three of these Ordinances 
 shall be observed in the infliction of penalties on such persons ; and also, 
 in case of the offense being repeated, always with due regard to the 
 nature and character of the offense, deciding the same according to law, 
 
138 MINING LAWS OP MEXICO. 
 
 and in the form prescribed in said chapter three ; and be it understood, 
 that if any of the cases comprised in section thirteen of this chapter, the 
 imposition of penalties, or the loss of property, beasts of burden, or 
 other thing whatever, come under consideration, proceedings shall be had 
 according to section thirty-two of chapter three. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 CONTRACTORS FOR SUPPLYING MINES WITH MONEY AND OTHER ARTICLES. 
 
 SECTION 1. It often happens that mine owners carry on the works in 
 their mines with the capital of other persons, either because they have 
 not at first sufficient funds of their own, or from having exhausted their 
 own funds in various operations before the extraction of sufficient metal 
 to make them a return, and in such cases they are in the habit of agree- 
 ing with contractors for supplies in one of two methods : either by let- 
 ting them have the gold or silver which they may extract at a price 
 somewhat below the real value, leaving said contractors the benefit of 
 the difference, which method is called allowing a premium upon the met- 
 als, or by giving the contractor a share in the mine, making him a per- 
 petual proprietor thereof, or of the metals for a certain time by a species 
 of partnership ; and whereas the necessities of the miners, and the facil- 
 ity of some of the contractors, often lead to contracts which, being 
 unjust, or usurious, or ill understood from the beginning, or appealed 
 against by one or the other of the parties, give rise to litigation, which 
 suspends the supplies, and occasions injury to the mines, and a loss of 
 the capital laid out upon them ; it is my sovereign will and pleasure that 
 no mine owner shall conclude any agreement for supplies without a reg- 
 ular signed contract, leaving it at his option to complete the same, or 
 not, before a notary or witnesses ; and no agreement that may have been 
 entered into without such signed contract shall be capable of being 
 enforced, but such cases to be determined according to the general rules. 
 
 SEC. 3. In all agreements of the first mentioned kind, attention and 
 consideration must be given to the number of marks (eight ounces to a 
 mark) in each delivery, and how often such deliveries take place, so that 
 if, through any accidental circumstances in the mine, the number of deliv- 
 eries should increase or diminish considerably, either of the contracting 
 parties may be allowed to increase or diminish the premium upon the 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 139 
 
 metals, without violating the original contracts in other respects ; for 
 which purpose in the instrument as originally drawn up, the number of 
 annual deliveries shall be specified, and the number of marks in each 
 delivery, or the parties, if they please, may renounce altogether any right 
 to avail themselves of such accidents as above-mentioned, in which cases 
 the original contracts shall remain in force for all purposes. 
 
 SEC. 3. If the mine owner shall secure to the mine contractor a cer- 
 tain sum for the supplies, either by deposit or security, to the satisfaction 
 of the contractor, the latter shall not receive in the way of premium 
 more than would amount to five per cent, per annum on the capital 
 advanced. 
 
 SEC. 4. The contractors shall furnish the supplies in ready money, or 
 in bills payable without discount or loss ; or, if the mine owners should 
 prefer having goods and effects, such shall be delivered to him of a good 
 quality and in a good condition, and at the price at which they could be 
 bought for ready money, at the place where the contractor resides, and in 
 no other manner whatsoever. 
 
 SEC. 5. Risks and accidents happening upon the road in the transport 
 of supplies, and the freight and (excise) duties payable upon the supplies 
 shall be at the expense of the mine owner, where the contract is by pre- 
 mium upon the metals ; but where the contract is in the way of partner- 
 ship, such costs shall be at the expense of both, unless any other mode 
 be particularly expressed in the deed of agreement. 
 
 SEC. 6. In case of the capital supplied being entirely expended, or of 
 a part of it not being covered by the remaining effects, the mine owner 
 shall not be responsible for the same, in his person, nor in any other 
 property which he may possess, excepting only that connected with the 
 mines and the reducing establishments, supposing this latter to be erected 
 out of the capital advanced ; but the mine, and the effects, and profits 
 thereof, after deducting the expenses, shall go to the payment of the con- 
 tractors, one after another, beginning with the last or most recent ; be it 
 understood, however, that this being a privilege granted by the law only 
 to creditors who advanced second supplies for the restoring and refitting 
 of mines, it is necessary that the three qualifications should all concur, 
 in order to its being enjoyed ; but if the mine owner, from actual neces- 
 sity, shall abandon the mine, without any fraudulent intention, and hav- 
 ing given notice thereof to the creditors, it shall not remain liable for 
 former claims, when it is in the hands of the new possessor ; and it is 
 further declared, that if the capital supplied to such mines, and in regard 
 to which such deficiency occurs, has not been furnished in the way of 
 partnership, between the contractor and mine owner, in which case the 
 
140 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 profit or loss is to be in common between them ; but in the way of loan, 
 and the mine owner shall have made his property answerable, either by 
 choice or because the contractor required it for greater security ; under 
 such circumstances the said obligation shall remain complete in all its 
 parts, notwithstanding the general provisions of this section. 
 
 SEC. 7. If no agreement shall have been made at first, as to the mode 
 of securing the advances contracted for, when they are supplied in the 
 way of premium upon the metal, the contractor shall not acquire the 
 same in any manner prejudicial to the mine owner in the working of his 
 mine by cutting off the supplies ; nor shall he be obliged to receive back 
 from the mine owner, in small sums, the supplies he may have advanced. 
 
 SEC. 8. Although the mine owner may not have observed at any time 
 that his silver contains a mixture of gold, the separation of which from 
 the silver would be expensive, or that there be silver amongst the gold 
 of a baser quality, and the contractor should have discovered the same, 
 either by assaying or other method ; be it understood that the profit 
 thereof shall not go to the said contractor, but shall be placed to the 
 credit of the mine owner, or proprietor of the metal, in the account kept 
 between him and such contractor. 
 
 SEC. 9. When the contract of supply is made in the way of partner- 
 ship in the property of the mine, be it understood that the capital 
 invested, until the time when there shall be a surplus profit, over and 
 above the expenses, is not to be immediately deducted from the profits, 
 with preference to the contractor, but the profits are to be divided, the 
 capital remaining so invested during the continuance of the partnership. 
 
 SEC. 10. The Merchants or Dealers in silver, who receive it without 
 having advanced anything to the owners, or encountered any risk, shall 
 pay for it at the full value ; and if they give in exchange for it any 
 goods, the latter shall be charged at the regular price, and shall be of 
 good quality ; and I strictly ordain and command, that the said mer- 
 chants or dealers in silver shall receive it from the mine owners, being 
 assayed, and the fifth part deducted therefrom (as Royal Duty) , conform- 
 ably to law, and as repeatedly enacted by Royal Decrees, in order to 
 prevent its being illegally disposed of in any of the different ways in 
 which my Royal rights are infringed. And I further declare, that in 
 those districts where such assaying and deducting of the fifth part can- 
 not be conveniently managed, on account of their distance from the 
 Royal Treasuries, or marking offices, the merchants or dealers shall bind 
 themselves before the Royal Court and Territorial Deputation to take 
 the metal forthwith to the office of the district, in order to fulfill the said 
 obligation of paying any Royal dues, and to verify the performance of 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 141 
 
 the like, as regards quicksilver, according to the established custom in 
 New Spain ; the said Court and Deputation allowing them a certain 
 time for carrying all this into effect, and giving notice of the said obliga- 
 tion to the Koyal officers whom it may concern, so that if the said per- 
 sons should fail to fulfill the same, such silver shall be deemed to be con- 
 fiscated, and the said officers shall take steps to obtain possession of it, 
 and to inflict the other penalties imposed by the laws upon the defraud- 
 ers of my Koyal rights. 
 
 SEC. 11. All the Merchants of the Mining Districts shall keep a cor- 
 rect and light balance and scales, in which only all the silver and gold 
 shall be weighed ; and they shall never use for this purpose steelyards, 
 however large the masses or quantities of the metal may be ; and they 
 must also keep weights marked and properly adjusted according to those 
 which they have received from the proper Royal authorities ; and I per- 
 mit the respective deputies to inspect the same from time to time (with- 
 out prejudice to the regular inspection by the Royal Court and Public 
 Magistrate), and to take care that the weighing be always justly and 
 correctly performed, to the end that in case any fraud should be discov- 
 ered, and also in case of the repetition of such fraud, proceedings may 
 be had before the competent Royal Court for the imposition of penalties 
 proportioned to the nature and character of the offense, the said Court 
 hearing and receiving information on the subject from the deputies of 
 the district. 
 
 SEC. 12. All the working Miners must keep their tools and utensils 
 marked, and if any one shall purchase them from any workman, or re- 
 ceive them in pledge, he shall pay for them double the value. 
 
 SEC. 13. The aforesaid Merchants and Contractors may, for their satis- 
 faction and that of the owner, heat the blocks or ingots of silver (mixed 
 with quicksilver) over a charcoal fire, but not over a flame, or in any 
 manner by which it might be reduced to a state of fusion, except in cru- 
 cibles ; and they may also be allowed to separate them so as to examine 
 them within, but this must be done as well as trying its quality by heat- 
 ing it upon a counter, or in such manner that the owner may be able to 
 collect and carry away all the waste and refuse fragments of his silver. 
 
 SEC. 14. Every contractor has the right of appointing at any time 
 an Inspector to any mine owner whom he contracted to supply, although 
 it be not so expressed in the contract ; but be it understood, that such 
 interventor is only to attend to the correctness of the accounts, and to 
 have power over the money and effects, but not to interfere with or 
 obstruct the working of the mine, which belongs entirely to the mine 
 owner ; he may, however, defer the carrying on of the operations, by 
 
142 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 presenting an account to the Deputies, requesting the appointment of 
 Surveyors, but this only in cases which will admit of such delay. 
 
 SEC. 15. Whereas the operations of mines in a course of working, 
 particularly where they relate to the draining thereof, cannot be impeded 
 without great injury, I command that if the contractor for furnishing 
 supplies from time to time, shall neglect to provide them in such man- 
 ner that at the proper time of paying the wages there shall not be suffi- 
 cient to pay them, and the mine owner foreseeing this event, shall have 
 called upon the contractor accordingly, and given notice thereof to the 
 Deputation, then, not only the wages shall be paid with the best fur- 
 nished part of the mine, and even with the very implements and utensils, 
 but the mine owner shall be entitled to demand immediate execution 
 against the contractor for what is due to him, and to apply for money 
 to any other person, or treat with a new contractor, whose claim shall 
 be preferred to that of the preceding one, whenever the mine begins to 
 yield a profit. 
 
 SEC. 16. Those who, under pretense of obtaining supplies of min- 
 ing operations, shall in any way misapply the capital and effects fur- 
 nished to them for that purpose, shall not only be bound in their persons, 
 and all their property, for the repayment of the same, and for all dam- 
 age done, or interest due to the party, without being allowed the privi- 
 lege of miners, or any other whatever, but shall be punished in manner 
 suitable to the nature, heinousness, and circumstances of the offense ; 
 more particularly so, if they shall have received the advances in confi- 
 dence or trust all this being regulated by the dispositions of section 
 twenty-nine of chapter three. 
 
 SEC. 17. The searchers workers who are paid by receiving part of the 
 metal and laborers in general, and other persons who shall offer stones 
 and specimens, falsely pretending that the same are the produce of a 
 mine, thereby soliciting supplies for such proposed mine, with intent to 
 defraud and deceive the unwary, shall be punished with all the rigor of 
 the law, according to the circumstances, heinousness, and maliciousness 
 of the offense, to be proved before the proper Court, according to the 
 provisions of section twenty-nine of chapter three of these Ordinances. 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 143 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 FUND AND BANK OF SUPPLIES. 
 
 SECTION 1. Where as by my Royal Decree of the 1st of July, 1776, 1 
 was pleased to relieve the body of miners of New Spain from the double 
 duty of one real in each mark of silver, formerly paid to my Royal 
 Treasury, under the name of seigniorage, granting them at the same 
 time, the right of imposing upon their silver the half or two-thirds part 
 of the said contribution, for the purpose of aiding and promoting the 
 new and respectable establishment, to which these Ordinances have 
 reference ; and considering at the same time, that the destination of the 
 same, most conformable to my beneficent intentions in this respect, 
 would be the formation of a fund for advancing supplies to the mines ; 
 the present insecure and fluctuating state of the mines in general, being 
 for the most part, occasioned by the want of capital, with the aid of 
 which, there is no doubt, they would be put in a more secure and 
 flourishing condition, to the great advantage of my Royal Treasury and 
 of the public. For these purposes, and keeping in view the propositions 
 laid before me by the Royal Tribunal, of the important body of the 
 said miners, I have thought proper to decree and command, that all 
 silver entered in my Royal Mint in Mexico, or in any other that may 
 be established in the kingdom of New Spain, and all silver that shall be 
 remitted to those in Spain on account of individuals (and which must 
 at all times have been at first assayed and the fifth part deducted), shall 
 henceforward pay two-thirds of a real (probably, per mark) towards the 
 formation, preservation, and increase of a fund for the mines, and that 
 no mine owner whatever, shall be exempted from such contribution, not 
 even those to whom, for any just cause I may have granted, or may 
 in future grant, a remission or diminution of the duties on metal, which 
 appertain to my Royal Treasury. 
 
 SEC. 2. The management, collection, and custody of the moneys to be 
 raised in this manner, shall be always at the disposal, and under the con- 
 trol of the said important body of miners to whom they belong, by 
 means of their Royal Tribunal General in Mexico, which represents 
 them. After deducting from these moneys whatever may be necessary 
 for the support of the said Royal Tribunal, and of the college, and for 
 the instruction of young persons intended for the mining business, of 
 which mention will be made hereafter, and all extraordinary and partic- 
 ular expenses, which may be incurred for the common interest and 
 advantage of said body of miners, all the rest, and the successive 
 
144 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 augmentations thereof, shall be entirely devoted to furnishing supplies for 
 the Corking of the mines throughout the kingdoms and provinces of 
 New Spain, a bank being established for that purpose, according to the 
 regulations laid down in the following sections : 
 
 SEC. 3. For the management and business of the said bank, there 
 shall be one principal Factor, or more if necessary a person of intelli- 
 gence and experience in the method of supplying mines by contract, 
 who shall be subject to and dependent upon the Royal Tribunal General 
 of the Miners, and be appointed by them in the election, by a majority of 
 votes, they also having the power to remove him at pleasure, and with- 
 out being obliged to assign any reason for such removal. 
 
 SEC. 4. Such Factor either may be paid by a per centage on the 
 property of the bank, or by a fixed salary, or in both these ways, as may 
 be deemed expedient by the Royal Tribunal, according to circumstances, 
 but he must give bail and such securities for his conduct as shall be 
 satisfactory in the opinion of the chiefs of that tribunal. 
 
 SEC. 5. The gross amount of the capital of the bank, which shall be in 
 money, or in gold and silver bullion, shall be preserved in chests, of which 
 there shall be four keys, which shall be in the possession and keeping of 
 four of the principal persons belonging at the time to the Royal Tri- 
 bunal ; but the goods and merchandise for the supplies of the mines, and 
 such part of the capital as shall be necessary for the current business and 
 operations, shall be in the possession and at the disposal of the said 
 Factor, he and the said persons above mentioned, being respectively 
 responsible for what may be intrusted to his and their care. 
 
 SEC. 6. The Royal Tribunal General of Miners shall cause to be 
 made out in the factory every year, in the month of December, an 
 account of the contents of the warehouses and stores, and a cash account 
 and balance, two of the said principal persons of the Tribunal assisting 
 at such operations ; and, moreover, they shall take the accounts of the 
 Factor, without prejudice to their right of inspecting the said accounts 
 at other times, whenever they shall think it proper and prudent to do so. 
 
 SEC. 7. The Royal Tribunal shall keep an account and correspondence 
 with the mine owners who have their supplies by contract from the 
 bank, and shall receive and reply to their letters, and give the necessary 
 orders to the Factor for these purposes. 
 
 SEC. 8. For carrying on the business of the factory there shall be 
 such writing clerks engaged as the Factor shall think proper, he having 
 the power of proposing them ; but they are to be appointed and their 
 salaries are to be fixed by the Royal Tribunal, and they are to be paid 
 by the bank, and the Factor is to have the power of diminishing them, 
 on giving verbal notice thereof to the Royal Tribunal. 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 145 
 
 SEC. 9. The Factor shall receive all silver which is remitted by mine 
 owners contracting for their supplies with the bank, and shall exchange 
 it for coined money at the Mint in Mexico, paying, in the first instance, 
 into the principal Treasury all duties on the metals which may not have 
 been paid in the Provincial Treasuries, with this understanding, how- 
 ever, that before it is remitted to Mexico the said mine owners shall 
 make declaration at the Treasuries, or marking offices, in their respective 
 districts, of the quantity of silver intended to be remitted without pay- 
 ing the duties on metals, and shall take out the proper permits for its 
 removal, under an obligation to make a return afterwards to the said 
 Treasuries, showing that the said duties have been paid, so that all 
 frauds may be avoided, and the necessary quicksilver properly purified, 
 under the penalty of confiscation of all that shall be sent in any other 
 manner, and of incurring the punishments imposed by law upon 
 defrauders of my Koyal Eights ; and the officers in the districts shall 
 give notice to those in Mexico, in order that the latter may take care 
 that the provisions of this present section be complied with. 
 
 SEC. 10. The said Factor shall pay the interest on the capital received 
 at the bank, the salaries of persons employed, and all other sums whatso- 
 ever, upon warrants from the Koyal Tribunal, by means of which and 
 the corresponding receipts, he shall make out and justify his account ; 
 but for the purpose of remitting supplies, whether in money or in effects, 
 to persons with whom an account current is kept, no particular warrants 
 shall be necessary, but it shall be sufficient for him to act under the gen- 
 eral orders of the said tribunal given conformable to section eight of this 
 present chapter, as to whatsoever shall be at his disposal, according to 
 section six of the same. 
 
 SEC. 11. It shall be the duty of the Factor to buy goods and merchan- 
 dise necessary for the supplies of the mines, according to the best of his 
 judgment, and agreeable to the orders of the Koyal Tribunal, entering 
 them in a separate book, and preserving the invoices. 
 
 SEC. 12. All goods delivered on account of the bank in the way of 
 supplies to mine owners must be of the best quality ; and, when in Mex- 
 ico, at the current prices of Mexico ; and when in raining districts, at 
 the current prices of those districts, if the ban shall have a warehouse 
 or magazine in the same, or the goods be carried thither on account of 
 the bank. 
 
 SEC. 13. To qualify all proposals or demands relating to the supply 
 
 of mines, the Koyal Tribunal shall require the owners to produce their 
 
 titles of property and possession, and such certificates, informations and 
 
 further proofs as may be necessary to establish whatever they may have 
 
 8 
 
146 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 asserted concerning the actual state and condition of the mine, in order 
 that, after the papers have been properly examined by the assessor, the 
 required credit may be given if the proposals appear to be fair and well- 
 founded ; in which cases the Royal Tribunal is to make all necessary 
 inquiries, both officially and secretly with the greatest prudence and cir- 
 cumspection, taking, or causing to be taken, such measures, judicial or 
 extra-judicial, as shall appear to them necessary for regulating their con- 
 duct with regard to such supplies ; and all these documents are to be 
 kept in their archives. 
 
 SEC. 14. During the time that the funds of the bank shall be sufficient 
 to furnish all the mines for which there shall appear to be a fair and well- 
 grounded claim to be supplied, the claims of those mine owners shall be 
 first attended to who are most in want thereof, without any distinction of 
 persons, and without any preference being shown, except on the score of 
 the necessity and urgency of the case, the Royal Tribunal in such cases 
 acting with that justice and impartiality which ought to be observed in 
 all their transactions. 
 
 SEC. 15. When the claim is thus ascertained to be proper and admis- 
 sible, the terms and conditions under which the supplies are to be fur- 
 nished shall be settled with the mine owner, and before the contract is 
 concluded, it shall be laid before the Royal Tribunal, conformably to the 
 provisions of chapter fifteen of these ordinances ; the great bank of sup- 
 plies not enjoying any privileges to the prejudice of other banks, or of 
 individuals who supply mines ; and afterwards the contract, thus ap- 
 proved of, shall be executed in writing before the clerk of the Tribunal, 
 and orders shall be given for furnishing the supplies accordingly. 
 
 SEC. 16. In mines which are thus supplied by the bank, Interventors 
 shall be appointed, who shall be trustworthy persons of good character ; 
 and they shall, jointly with the mine owner receive and keep the moneys 
 and goods supplied by the bank in cellars and chests, whereof there shall 
 be two keys ; they shall apply them in a manner they think best, and 
 they shall be present at the payment of the wages ; shall sign the ac- 
 counts ; shall watch and inspect the workmen as they go into and out of 
 the mines, and also the metals that are taken thereout, and shall be pres- 
 ent at the reduction of the metal from the ore ; and in short shall con- 
 cern themselves in all that is done in the name of the bank, agreeable to 
 the instructions given them, until the time when the supplies shall have 
 been repaid. 
 
 SEC. 17. The Interventors shall not oppose any arrangements that are 
 made by the mine owner or administrator in regard to the economy and 
 management of labor, or any works which may have been determined on 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 147 
 
 in the mine ; provided, however, that in cases where considerable expense 
 must be incurred, the Royal Tribunal shall first of all be consulted. 
 
 SEC. 18. The Interventors shall not interfere in the appointment of 
 persons employed in a subaltern situation in the mines, but they may 
 observe the conduct of such persons, in order to represent to the mine 
 owner anything which they may think requires amendment ; and if the 
 same be not amended, they shall inform the Royal Tribunal thereof, in 
 order that this latter body may make provisions for its amendment, and 
 may do all in its power to keep the Interventor and the mine owner upon 
 good terms, acting in concert together, and uniting their services towards 
 the advancement of the operations. 
 
 SEC. 19. The Interventors shall be paid weekly the salaries that are 
 allowed them, on account of supplies ; and when these shall have been 
 repaid, their services shall be rewarded in proportion to the benefit which 
 the bankers receive from them, and to the time and labor which they 
 devoted to the cause, and their good conduct ; but if, on the contrary, 
 any fraud, concealment, or other improper practice shall appear on their 
 part, whether to the prejudice of the bank, or to the mine owner, they 
 shall be severely punished in proportion to their offenses, by the proper 
 Judge, according to the provisions of chapter three of these Ordinances. 
 
 SEC. 20. In case of any competition arising between any individual 
 and the said bank as to the supplying of a mine, I declare that the indi- 
 vidual contractor shall have the preference ; provided, that the proposed 
 terms of supplying the mine are the same in both cases ; and in order 
 that the said bank may not throw any impediments in the way of a free 
 supply of the mines, I declare also that this kind of business shall con- 
 tinue to subsist as before, the bank having no other object but to remedy 
 the scarcity of supplies, and to promote as much as possible the flourish- 
 ing condition of the mines. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 SURVEYORS FOR THE OPERATIONS OF MINES AND REDUCTION OF METALS. 
 
 SECTION 1. In order that the mines may be worked with stability and 
 good effect, and that the full attainment of riches they contain may be 
 accomplished, it is desirable that their operations should be directed 
 by persons well acquainted with the principles and rules of the natural 
 and practical sciences and arts connected therewith, and who understand 
 
148 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 the means of applying such knowledge, in consequence of their own expe- 
 rience ; for which purpose, and in order that mine owners may not be 
 misled in the appointment of persons whom they shall take into their 
 employment, accounting perhaps, some persons to be well informed who 
 may only possess a superficial knowledge, or choosing others, who may 
 be no otherwise qualified, than by having resided a certain time in the 
 mining districts, without possessing either judgment or science, and with- 
 out any claim but the recommendation of their friends ; and observing 
 how much difficulty there is in correcting such errors, be they voluntary 
 or involuntary, all which leads the mine owner into placing a blind and 
 dangerous confidence upon important points in persons unworthy of 
 such confidence, and has occasioned them very serious losses, in order to 
 guard against these evils, and that the Surveyors may be worthy of pub- 
 lic confidence in all things connected with their art, I ordain and com- 
 mand that in every mining district there shall be one or more intelligent 
 persons, who are well instructed and particularly acquainted with geogra- 
 phy, subterraneous architectures, and hydraulics, and also with mechanics, 
 and the arts of carpenters, smiths, and masons, as far as such arts are 
 necessary in the operations of mines, which persons are to be called 
 Mining Professors. And also other persons, well skilled in the science 
 of minerals, commonly called mineralogy, and in the modes of extracting 
 metals from ore and reducing them to a state fit for use, commonly called 
 metallurgy, which persons are to be called Surveyors of Reduction ; and 
 these latter, as well as the former, are to be examined, approved, and ap- 
 pointed by the Royal Tribunal General of Miners, and without such 
 qualification they shall not be entitled to any credit in causes which 
 may arise, or otherwise, but shall be considered as intruders, and shall 
 be excluded and fined whenever they shall interfere with anything which 
 relates to the Surveyorship of Mines, although they may offer themselves 
 as Bachelors of Arts, Land Surveyors, Architects, or Masters of Works, 
 or as having been Administrators of Mines, or as having been in any 
 way employed in the same. 
 
 SEC. 2. The said Mining Professors shall have in their possession the 
 necessary and proper instruments for measuring mines, whether subter- 
 raneously or on the surface, which instruments must always be true and 
 correct, and made according to rule, so that there may be no failure or 
 irregularity in the performance of such operations ; for which purpose 
 they shall be inspected and examined at the time when the said persons 
 are appointed, and afterwards on the occasional visits of the Deputies. 
 
 SEC. 3. The Surveyors of Reduction shall have a suitable public labo- 
 ratory, provided with furnaces and machines for grinding and washing 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 149 
 
 the metals, as also with the proper ingredients, utensils, and correct bal- 
 ances and weights, and everything that may be necessary for making 
 assays on a small scale, and also for reducing by smelting one, two, or 
 three quintals of ore. 
 
 SEC. 4. The Mining Professors are to examine at the proper time and 
 to give certificates of examination to all persons desirous of being em- 
 ployed as miners, or mining captains, to direct the underground opera- 
 tions, and to persons employed in the lining of mines, and in the brick 
 work, and to the carpenters and smiths. And I prohibit all persons from 
 exercising such offices, or from employing themselves in the quality of 
 masters in any place where such business shall be going on without hav- 
 ing the above certificates of examination, under the penalty of three 
 months' imprisonment for the first offense, and of being banished from 
 such place for the second, which punishments are to be imposed by the 
 respective Territorial Deputies. 
 
 SEC. 5. The Surveyors of Reduction of each mining district shall 
 examine and give a certificate of approbation to all persons offering 
 themselves as amalgamators, smelters, and refiners, without which certifi- 
 cate no one shall be capable of being employed in any of these capaci- 
 ties at any work, or Reducing Establishment, under the penalties con- 
 tained in the preceding section ; and I ordain, that all these examina- 
 tions, and all others treated of in the present chapter, shall take place 
 without any fees being received thereupon, and altogether gratis. 
 
 SEC. 6. If any person shall pass from one mining district to another, 
 after having been examined and approved of by the proper authorities 
 in that which he has left, there shall be no necessity for a further exam- 
 ination ; but he shall produce his certificate, signed by the proper Pro- 
 fessor, and attested by the Clerk, or in default thereof, by the Deputies 
 of the district and two witnesses. 
 
 SEC. 7. The said Mining Professors and Surveyors of Reduction shall, 
 at the time of their appointment, take a solemn oath before the Royal 
 Tribunal, in due form, but gratis, that they will at all times and in all 
 cases discharge their offices well and faithfully, to the best of their knowl- 
 edge, without fraud, deceit, or any bad intention whatsoever ; after which 
 they shall not be required upon every occasion which may arise, judi- 
 cially or extra-judicially, to repeat the same, since when the oath has 
 been once administered, as above, they are ever afterwards to remain 
 bound by it. 
 
 SEC. 8. The most perfect credit is to be given to the said Mining Pro- 
 fessors and Surveyors of Reduction in all matters connected with their 
 office, but they may be objected to in case they have been appointed by 
 
150 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 the Judges ; and when one has been appointed by one party in a suit, 
 the other party may appoint another, and the Judge elect a third in case 
 of their disagreeing, although they need not belong to the same district. 
 But these objections and appointments of new Professors shall not take 
 place where there is reason to suspect that they originate in fraud or 
 malice, or a wish to delay the determination of the case. 
 
 SEC. 9. The Mining Professors and Surveyors of Reduction shall be 
 present at all the visits of the Deputies to the mines and establishments, 
 and shall observe and comply with everything that is laid down in these 
 Ordinances, and shall give their assistance in all cases properly belonging 
 to their business, in which it may be required by the Judges and Depu- 
 ties ; taking on account thereof, such fees as shall be settled by a proper 
 table of fees, which fees shall be proposed by the Territorial Deputation 
 to the Royal Tribunal General, and when that body shall have gained 
 information upon the subject, and consulted with the Viceroy, thereupon 
 the said Viceroy shall by means of such information resolve and determ- 
 ine what fees are to be received, and without this previous authority the 
 taking of fees shall not be carried into effect. 
 
 SEC. 10. In the interval that must elapse before the College for the 
 education and instruction of young persons intended for the business of 
 metallurgy, mineralogy, and other sciences necessary in the operations of 
 mining (the establishment of which College will be treated of in the 
 next chapter), shall supply a number of persons, properly qualified 
 according to the provisions of the preceding section, to fulfill the objects 
 of these Ordinances, I command that all persons at present employed in 
 the operations of measuring mines, projecting shafts and pits, and other 
 important works connected with the operations of mines, whether ap- 
 pointed from having the name of land surveyors and measurers of mines, 
 or from having been highly esteemed in the mining districts for their 
 practical knowledge, shall present themselves before the Royal Tribunal 
 General, in order to be examined and to obtain the certificate of exam- 
 ination, without any fees being required (as is provided by section five of 
 this chapter), and to exhibit the instruments which they use in order 
 that they may be examined and approved of, and in default thereof they 
 shall not be entitled to any credit, either in causes which may arise or 
 otherwise ; and if in any works directed by them any mischief shall hap- 
 pen, the mine owner or Administrator who has employed them shall not 
 be excused from the responsibilities and penalties imposed by these Ordi- 
 nances, and by the laws in general, upon all persons acting without 
 authority of surveyors in cases where surveyors are required. 
 
 SEC. 11. All persons to be appointed Mining Professors, or Surveyors 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 151 
 
 of Reduction, must be either Spaniards, Mestizos derived from them, or 
 noble Indians of known birth, parentage, and education, and of good 
 life and manners, under which circumstances these employments are 
 always to be accounted honorable and meritorious, and persons who have 
 served in them with fidelity shall enjoy all the privileges of miners, and 
 shall be eligible to higher occupations, either in the mines or otherwise, 
 having their seat in the public sittings next to the Judge and Deputies 
 of the District in the order of the seigniority of their appointments, and 
 without any distinction being made between the Mining Professors and 
 Surveyors of Reduction, who are to be treated with like and equal 
 honors and distinction. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 EDUCATION AND INSTRUCTION OP YOUNG PERSONS INTENDED FOR THE 
 MINING BUSINESS. 
 
 SECTION 1. To the end that there may never be wanting a supply of 
 persons of good education, and instructed in all the learning necessary 
 for carrying on the operations of the mines, and that what has been 
 hitherto acquired by long and painful experience in the course of many 
 centuries, being the result as well of the progress of the different mining 
 countries as of the individual skill and industry of the American miners, 
 may be preserved in a more certain and effectual manner than by mere 
 tradition, which is usually scarce and fallacious, I will and ordain that 
 the College and Schools of Miners which have been proposed to me for 
 these purposes by the Deputies General of the said important body of 
 miners shall be erected and established, or if already established, that 
 they shall be maintained and supported in the form and manner contained 
 in the following sections : 
 
 SEC. 2. There, shall be for the present maintained, and provided with 
 board and clothing in a suitable manner, twenty-five children, either 
 Spaniards or noble Indians of legitimate birth, the near relations or 
 descendants of miners, having always a preference in such appointments, 
 and particularly those whose ancestors have resided in the mining 
 districts. 
 
 SEC. 3. I grant besides free entrance into the schools, and gratuitous 
 instruction therein, to all children whose fathers or tutors may wish to 
 bring them up to the mining business, such children being sent every day 
 from their homes to attend their lessons ; and I further command that 
 
152 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 all children of the above mentioned quality and birth shall be admitted 
 to live in the College as pupils upon paying the expenses of their main- 
 tenance while they are in the College. 
 
 SEC. 4. The necessary secular professors are to be appointed at the 
 said College, with proper salaries, for the purpose of teaching the math- 
 ematics and experimental physics, which are conducive to the carrying 
 on and advancement of mining operations. 
 
 SEC. 5. There shall also be appointed masters in such parts of mechan- 
 ics as are necessary for the preparing and working of timbers, metals, 
 stones, and other materials used in the construction of buildings, 
 machines, and instruments for carrying on the operations of the mines 
 and the reduction of the metals, and there shall also be a master of the 
 arts of drawing and designing. 
 
 SEC. 6. The said College is to bear the title of " The Eoyal Seminary 
 of Miners," and two secular Priests of mature age are to reside in it, 
 one as Chaplain-Kector and the other as Vice-Rector, who are to super- 
 intend the religious and political education of the children, to see that 
 they devote a due proportion of their time to these purposes, and to say 
 Mass to them every day in the year. 
 
 SEC. 7. The immediate control and direction of the said Royal Semi- 
 nary shall be intrusted to the Director General of the Miners, to whom 
 I grant the privilege of proposing to the Royal Tribunal the proper per- 
 sons to be appointed to the professorships, and to other employments ; 
 and also the nomination of the children who are to be admitted as col- 
 legians or pensioners, supposing them to possess the necessary qualifica- 
 tions ; and he shall also, after hearing the opinions of the respective 
 masters of the College, propose the arts and sciences proper to be taught 
 therein, and the method to be pursued in teaching them, so that the 
 Royal Tribunal may b3 able to determine upon what is most proper ; 
 and it shall also be intrusted to the said Director to observe and take 
 care that all persons employed in the College fulfill the duties of their 
 situation, and to form particular rules for government in the details of 
 the said College, which he shall also lay before the Royal Tribunal, by 
 them to be submitted to the Viceroy who, after obtaining the necessary 
 information on the subject, shall lay them before me for my Royal 
 approbation, having obtained which the said regulations shall be observed 
 and carried into effect with exactness and punctuality. 
 
 SEC. 8. The expenses of erecting, preserving, and supporting the said 
 Royal Seminary shall be defrayed out of the general fund of Miners, 
 according to the provisions of section three of chapter sixteen of these 
 Ordinances, 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 153 
 
 4> 
 
 SEC. 9. The said Seminary shall be under my Royal protection, and 
 immediately subject to and dependent upon the Royal Tribunal General 
 of Miners in all its concerns and appurtenances. 
 
 SEC. 10. For the election and appointment of master professors of the 
 sciences which are to be taught in the schools of the College, there shall 
 be issued, at a certain fixed time and place, letters of convocation, and to 
 those who present themselves for the appointments certain problems in 
 the respective sciences shall be delivered by lot, which they are to return 
 with their solutions within three days, on condition, however, that before 
 the delivery of problems to such persons the Director shall have pre- 
 sented to the Royal Tribunal the solutions of each of them separately 
 folded and sealed up, which are not to be opened till each candidate shall 
 have delivered in his solution, when a due comparison shall be made 
 between the sealed solutions and the solutions of the candidates respect- 
 ively, and on the day when all this takes place the candidate shall hold a 
 public sitting of two hours, lecturing upon such points as the Director 
 shall propose to him at the moment, in the presence of the Royal Tri- 
 bunal and its Secretary, who shall attest all that has been done upon 
 this occasion and enter it in his register. 
 
 SEC. 11. After the conclusion of said public act, the Director shall 
 propose three of the candidates for each professorship, one of whom shall 
 be elected by the Royal Tribunal by secret ballot, and in case of a diffi- 
 culty arising by there being an equal number of votes (for any two or 
 three of them), he who was first proposed shall have the election. 
 
 SEC. 12. The said Master Professors of the College, besides lecturing 
 every day theoretically and practically, shall be each of them obliged to 
 deliver, once in every six months, a treatise or dissertation upon some 
 useful subject connected with the mining business and the sciences 
 relating thereto, which dissertations shall be read to the Royal Tribunal, 
 and preserved in their archives in order to be printed and published at a 
 convenient opportunity. 
 
 SEC. 13. The Collegians and Students of the Seminary shall every year 
 hold public exercises in the presence of the Royal Tribunal, in order 
 that, having shown the progress they have respectively made, they may 
 be rewarded and distinguished according to their merit. 
 
 SEC. 14. The above-mentioned young persons, when they have con- 
 cluded their studies, shall go for three years to assist in the mining dis- 
 tricts, and to practice the several operations under the Mining Professor, 
 or the Surveyors of Reduction of that district to which they are attached, 
 in order that, having received a certificate signed by such Professors or 
 Surveyors, and by the Territorial Deputies, they may be examined beforo 
 
 8 
 
151 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 the Koyal Tribunal, as well in theoretical as in practical knowledge, and 
 on being approved of by the same, shall receive their diploma without 
 paying any fees whatever ; and they may be then appointed Mining Pro- 
 fessors, or Surveyors of Eeduction of the mining districts, or Interventor, 
 where the supplies are furnished by the bank, or to any other suitable 
 situation. 
 
 SEC. 15. In order more effectually to advance the cause of instruction 
 and improvement in the several important objects of the said College, 
 and in the manner .most useful to the mines, I ordain and command that 
 the mine owners and mine suppliers who bring their silver to Mexico, 
 shall be obliged to deliver to the said College specimens of their ores, in 
 sufficient quantities to admit of their quality and properties being exam- 
 ined, and of the most advantageous method of reduction thereof being 
 ascertained, in order that, the Royal Tribunal, judging by the result of 
 these experiments, may determine what will be most conducive to the 
 improvements which are the object of the present arrangements. 
 
 SEC. 16. Considering that industry and ingenuity will make the most 
 common productions of nature useful to man, and that, on the other 
 hand, without them the great advantages and profits expected from pro- 
 ductions naturally rich and abundant are often altogether defeated : I 
 ordain and command that industry and ingenuity in the mining business, 
 which is of such vast importance therein, be excited, encouraged, and 
 supported with all possible activity, intelligence, and discretion ; and 
 that particular care and attention be bestowed in observing the use and 
 effects of the machinery, and the operations and methods at present 
 employed in the application of it, in order that, whatsoever is really use- 
 ful and complete in its kind may be preserved in full perfection, without 
 being gradually lost or depreciated, as often happens in such cases ; and 
 that whatsoever, by comparison with better or more complete methods, 
 shall appear capable of reform, may be brought into practice with the 
 greatest degree of perfection and efficacy, without either suffering ancient 
 prejudices founded on ignorance and caprice, to obstruct the progress of 
 ingenuity, or ill-founded innovations, to disturb what is good and perfect 
 in its present state. 
 
 SEC. 17. All persons who shall invent or propose any kind of machines, 
 engines, expedients, operations, or methods for facilitating the working 
 of the mines, which shall produce any advantage, however small the same 
 may at first appear, shall have a fair hearing and attention ; and if, on 
 account of their poverty, they are unable to make the experiments requi- 
 site for exhibiting their invention, the expense thereof, as well as the 
 construction of the necessary machines, shall be defrayed out of the gen- 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 155 
 
 eral fund of the miners ; provided, that they shall demonstrate and cal- 
 culate the effects of such projects ; and that, the Director General of 
 Miners and the Professor of the College shall approve the same and con- 
 sider them capable of being carried into effect ; but ill-founded projects, 
 arising out of erroneous principles, or want of practical knowledge, and 
 from which the deluded authors are easily led to expect vast and imagin- 
 ary profits, shall be rejected as useless and contemptible ; and if the 
 authors of such products shall renew their applications, they shall receive 
 no attention, unless they make the experiments at their own expense, and 
 establish themselves the utility of their inventions, and in all cases, the 
 papers relating to such inventions shall remain in the archives of the Royal 
 Tribunal in order to be referred to if necessary. 
 
 SEC. 18. All useful and improved inventions which, after being estab- 
 lished and put into practice generally for the space of more than one 
 year, shall be found to succeed, are to be rewarded with a patent to con- 
 tinue for the life of the author, in order that no one may make use of his 
 invention, without his consent, and without allowing him a reasonable 
 share of the profits, actually derived from the use of such invention. 
 
 SEC. 19. Whoever, from his experience, study, and observation, or 
 from having traveled in other countries, shall offer for adoption any 
 machine, expedient, or mode employed in other countries or in former 
 times, and the same on examination and experience be approved of in 
 the manner laid down by section seventeen of this chapter, he shall be 
 considered and rewarded in the same manner as if he had been the actual 
 inventor ; since, although his ingenuity may be less, his merit and trouble 
 may have been greater, and the public advantage will be exactly the 
 same, whether such mode result from an invention absolutely new, or 
 from the introduction and application of a practice never before adopted 
 in the place where it may be proposed. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PRIVILEGES OF THE MINES. 
 
 SECTION 1. Although the regulations laid down in these Ordinances 
 for the discipline, economy, and method of working, which are to be 
 adopted in the mines of New Spain, are calculated to diminish consider- 
 ably the dangers and difficulties which have hitherto occurred in carrying 
 on this most important business, rendering by their powerful cooperation 
 
156 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 the richest of the mines more accessible, and the lawful modes of acquir- 
 ing them less hazardous ; nevertheless, considering the difficulties and 
 uncertainties which usually attend operations of this kind, and that their 
 precious produce is the especial grant and favor of Providence to my 
 dominions in Spanish America, and is the chief source of the prosperity 
 of my subjects, the support of my treasury, and the spring and moving 
 power of the commerce of all my dominions, and to a great degree of 
 that of the whole world I have therefore granted and do grant to those 
 persons who apply themselves to the working of the mines of New 
 Spain all the favors and privileges which have been granted to the 
 miners of Castile and Peru, in all respects in which they are capable of 
 being adapted to the local circumstances of Spanish America, and are 
 not at variance with anything established by these Ordinances. 
 
 SEC. 2. Moreover, I award to the scientific profession of mining the 
 privilege of nobility, to the end that all persons who devote themselves 
 to that important study and occupation may be esteemed and treated 
 with all the distinctions which are due to so honorable an employment. 
 
 SEC. 3. Mine owners shall not be liable to be arrested for debts, neither 
 shall the administrators, superintendents, keepers of tallies, nor other per- 
 sons serving in the mines or establishments be so liable, provided that 
 each of these persons in every such case remain in confinement within 
 the mine or establishment to which he belongs, with an obligation upon 
 his master to apply the third part of his salary or dues to the payment 
 of his debts, as long as he remains in the service of such mine or estab- 
 lishment, and if he quits the same, without engaging himself in any other 
 mine or establishment, then he may be imprisoned. 
 
 SEC. 4. If a sequestration be laid on the mines or establishments of 
 any proprietor, in the interval during which the silver extracted there- 
 from is being applied in the satisfaction of the debt, he shall only receive 
 out of the produce what is absolutely requisite for his support, accord- 
 ing to the circumstances of his family and condition ; but always with a 
 view to this circumstance, that the situation of the creditor be not prej- 
 udiced, instead of amended, by the sequestration. 
 
 SEC. 5. If an execution be levied on the other property of a mine own- 
 er, there shall always be reserved to him a horse, with bridle and saddle, a 
 baggage mule, his arms, bed, and the clothes commonly used by himself, 
 his wife and children, and absolutely necessary to their decent appear- 
 ance ; but all costly dresses, ornaments, jewels, or trinkets, may be seized 
 under the execution. 
 
 SEC. 6. The Royal Tribunal of Miners shall inform me, through the 
 Viceroy, of all deserving persons belonging to the mining profession, 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 157 
 
 especially such as may have quitted it on account of it having consumed 
 their capital therein, or being too old and infirm to pursue it ; pointing 
 out also such of them as the Tribunal may consider to be the most de- 
 serving of my Royal favor, in order to their being appointed to the 
 offices of Judges in the mining districts or establishments, if that should 
 appear expedient ; as well for the purpose of rewarding them according 
 to their merits, as of filling the said office with practical and intelligent 
 persons, such as the law requires. 
 
 SEC. 7. The children and descendants of mine owners and mine suppli- 
 ers who have been extensively concerned in the mines, deserve also par- 
 ticular consideration ; and for that purpose, the Royal Tribunal shall 
 also inform me, through the Viceroy, of the merits of their ancestors, in 
 order that my Eoyal favor may appoint them to civil, military, and eccle- 
 siastical appointments in America, if I shall think proper to do so. 
 
 SEC. 8. I declare that mine owners and administrators shall not be 
 prevented, or in any way impeded by their said employments, from ob- 
 taining and serving the offices of magistrates and governors of the cities, 
 towns, and places of the mining districts, or of any others ; but they are 
 not compelled to accept such offices, nor to be fined for declining the 
 same, during the time of their employment in the mines, if they desire to 
 excuse themselves on that account. 
 
 SEC. 9. In the allotment of ground for the purpose of building houses, 
 in renting such as may be already built, and in providing themselves in 
 the squares and market-places of the mining villages, towns, and districts, 
 not only with the articles necessary for the mines and establishments, but 
 also with the supplies and provisions which may be wanted for their 
 homes and families, the miners are to be preferred to other persons, and 
 to be treated with that respect which is due to their important profes- 
 sion. And I grant them the liberty of hunting and fishing in the moun- 
 tains, forests, and rivers, of cutting wood and making charcoal, and of 
 pasturing their cattle in the grazing places and watering places, in the 
 same manner as any other inhabitant is permitted to do, supposing such 
 mountains, forests, rivers, grazing places, and watering places, to be pub- 
 lic property for in all such as are private property, they must pay the 
 proper dues as before enacted. And, finally, they are to enjoy all the 
 customs and privileges enjoyed by the inhabitants of any mine town, 
 although they (the miners) may not reside therein ; provided, only, that 
 in order to entitle them to these privileges, their mines or reducing estab- 
 lishments be situated in the same district as such mine town. 
 
 SEC. 10. The excessive profusion of miners in the employment of their 
 capital, and their extreme imprudence and irregularity, whereby them- 
 
158 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 selves and their families are speedily reduced to distress, and their cap- 
 ital is diverted from the operations of mining into other channels, being 
 as notorious as they are destructive I will and ordain, that the Judges 
 and Deputies of the mine towns and districts shall advise thereupon, 
 and in cases of necessity expostulate with the miners, particularly with 
 those who are in prosperous circumstances, cautioning them against ex- 
 travagant expenses or idle profusion ; and if this should be found insuffi- 
 cient, then that they shall make a report to the Royal Tribunal General 
 of Miners, in order that the latter, after satisfying themselves of the rep- 
 rehensible conduct of the miner concerning whom such report is made, 
 may appoint a person to watch over his interests, or in some other man- 
 ner provide for the preservation of his property, as in the case of an 
 incorrigible spendthrift. 
 
 SEC. 11. In order to avoid the evil and injury, spiritual as well as 
 temporal, occasioned by games of stake and hazard, and even by those 
 which are permitted, when carried to excess, and also by other public 
 diversions and festivities I prohibit most rigorously, in all mine towns 
 and districts, among masters, as well as workmen, all those games of 
 cards which have been before prohibited by Royal edicts and decrees, 
 and also all playing at those games which are permitted for a larger stake 
 than is compatible with fair and moderate relaxation and amusement. 
 And with equal rigor, I prohibit all playing at dice or tabas, and also 
 cock-fighting, and all other shameful diversions, since they not only occa- 
 sion the loss of time which might otherwise be devoted to labor, but lead 
 to vast loss of property, and sometimes even to outrages and murders. 
 Wherefore, I strictly enjoin the Judges and Deputies of all mine towns 
 and districts to enforce, with the utmost vigilance, the provisions of this 
 present section, on pain of being themselves wholly responsible for the 
 neglect of the same, and of being liable to the penalties imposed by the 
 said Royal edicts and decrees against all transgressors. 
 
 SEC. 12. The Royal Tribunal General of Miners shall observe and 
 carry into effect whatsoever is contained in the present Ordinances, and 
 shall cause them to be observed and fulfilled by all the subalterns, de- 
 pendents, and inferior persons of all their body, each in his particular 
 department, without any injurious evasions which might alter and cor- 
 rupt their true spirit and intent, maintaining them always in their full 
 vigor, and causing others to do the like. And the Territorial Deputa- 
 tions of Miners shall also observe and carry into effect whatsoever re- 
 lates to them in these Ordinances, and shall cause them to be observed 
 and executed with the utmost punctuality and correctness ; and they shall 
 not, any more than the Royal Tribunal General, act or permit others to 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 159 
 
 act in contravention of their real tenor and meaning, in any manner 
 whatsoever ; and I only allow, in case of any point arising which is not 
 comprehended herein, or provided for in the Royal orders which I have 
 issued upon this subject, that both the one and the other (the Royal 
 Tribunal General and the Deputations) should regulate themselves, in 
 the decisions thereof, according to the form and practice of the Consul- 
 ates of Commerce of my European and Spanish dominions, as far as the 
 same shall be practicable in such cases ; but all doubts which may at any 
 time arise as to the true meaning of any one or more of the sections of 
 these Ordinances, shall be proposed by the Royal Tribunal General to 
 the Viceroy, in order that he, after obtaining the necessary information 
 thereupon, may transmit them to me for my Royal determination. 
 
 SEC. 13. Finally, I order and command the Governor and persons 
 composing my Supreme Council and Chamber of the Indies, the Royal 
 Audiences and Tribunals of New Spain, the Viceroy thereof, the Cap- 
 tains and Commandants General, the Governors, Intendentes, Ministers, 
 Judges, and all other persons whatsoever, whom these enactments may in 
 any degree concern, to conform themselves precisely to these Ordinances, 
 observing and fulfilling them, each in his respective department, with the 
 most rigid exactness ; regarding their contents as positive and perpetual 
 laws and statutes, and maintaining them and causing them to be main- 
 tained inviolably, notwithstanding any other laws, ordinances, observ- 
 ances, customs, or practices, which might militate against them ; since, if 
 any such there be, I revoke them expressly, and declare that they shall 
 be of no effect, prohibiting as I hereby prohibit, that they (the present 
 Ordinances) should be explained or in any manner whatever, since it is 
 my will that they shall be understood literally, as they are written. And 
 in like manner I most strictly enjoin all Tribunals, Magistrates, and 
 Courts comprehended in this and the preceding section, to give their 
 most effectual aid and assistance to the provisions and enactments of 
 these my Royal Ordinances ; preventing, as far as it is possible, all kinds 
 of disputes and contentions, which will always incur my Royal displeas- 
 ure, as being prejudicial to the administration of justice, and to the good 
 government, tranquility, and happiness of the important body of miners 
 of those my dominions ; for which purpose I have commanded the dis- 
 patch of this present decree, signed by my Royal hand, sealed with my 
 private seal, and countersigned by my underwritten Secretary of State, 
 and of the General Department of the Indies, and which shall be entered 
 in the General Office for the dispatch of the affairs of the Indies, and in 
 the several offices of New Spain which it may concern. Done at Aran- 
 
160 MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 juez, the twenty-second day of May, in the year one thousand seven hun- 
 dred and eighty-three. 
 
 I, THE KING, 
 
 JOSEPH DE GALYEZ. 
 
 Entered in the General Office of the Indies, Madrid, the twenty-fifth 
 day of May, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three. 
 
 JOSEPH DE GALVEZ. 
 A true copy. 
 
 D. FRANCISCO MACHADO. 
 
 The foregoing code of mining laws published in 1783, and the code of 
 Gamboa published in 1761, constitute the principal mining laws which 
 have been in force in Mexico during the past century. The code of 1783 
 and the changes subsequently made in the mining laws of Mexico are 
 referred to by Rockwell in his work on Spanish and Mexican Law, 
 vol. 1, page 21, as follows : 
 
 "From the year 1761 to 1783 no material alteration took place in the 
 mining laws of Spain and her colonies. In the latter year, however, a 
 code of laws was issued under the title of " Mining Ordinances of New 
 Spain." It was framed, as the title imports, for New Spain alone, but 
 was subsequently adopted in all or most of the other Spanish Colonies. 
 In the regulations which concern the working of the mines this code 
 very closely follows the former ordinances, and where alterations are 
 made, they are, not un frequently from the suggestions offered in the 
 work of Gamboa. As to the other points, the most important changes 
 introduced by the ordinances of 1783, were, the erection of the Tribunal 
 general de Mineria and the Diputaciones de Mineria, or general and 
 local tribunals, to which the exclusive jurisdiction in mining affairs was 
 confided ; the establishment of a Bank of Supplies and the organization 
 of a School of Mines. But this code left the former ordinances and 
 other mining laws in force, so far as they should not be at variance 
 with the regulations it established, and hence the work of Senor Gam- 
 boa which was, previous to the year 1783, the paramount authority in 
 all doubtful cases in mining affairs, continued after that date to be 
 regarded with the highest respect, and was and is still constantly referred 
 to in the Courts of Mexico, and as is presumed of the other new repub- 
 lics of America also, as a great authority on such subjects : 
 
 " Upon the establishment of the independence of the Spanish Colonies, 
 they all, or most of them, adopted, in reference to mining, the laws exist- 
 
MINING LAWS OF MEXICO. 161 
 
 ing previous to their separation from the mother country, with such 
 modifications only as were rendered necessary by the alteration from a 
 monarchial to a republican and federal form of government. In Mexico 
 the principal of these alterations consisted as follows : 
 
 " First, in the abolition of the General Tribunal of Mining, the func- 
 tions of which were devolved upon the Mining Deputations or local 
 Mining Tribunals of each State ; and. second, in a decree of the Sov- 
 ereign Congress of Mexico, promulgated in the year 1823, empowering 
 foreigners to hold shares in the mines furnished by them with supplies of 
 money or stores. 
 
 " The following changes have also been introduced in several of the 
 States of the federation : 
 
 " By a decree of the Congress of the State of Durango, dated the 
 twenty-third of November, 1824, it was resolved that a Tribunal de 
 Mineria, or Mining Court for Appeals in the second instance, should be 
 established, to consist of a lawyer and two miners ; and by another de- 
 cree of the same Congress, dated the eighteenth of January, 1825, it was 
 ordered that the Tribunal of Mining Appeals should exercise the same 
 functions in that State as had been previously granted to the Tribunal 
 established at Guadalaxara. 
 
 " By an order of the Congress of the State of Chihuahua, dated the 
 sixteenth of March, 1826, the contentious jurisdiction of the Mining 
 Deputations was transferred to the ordinary Courts ; and by a decree of 
 the same Congress, of the seventh of October, 1826, the Mining Depu- 
 tations were made subject to the Supreme Government of the State in 
 all matters as to which they had previously depended on the General 
 Tribunal of Mexico, not being inconsistent with the present republican 
 system. 
 
 " Finally, by a decree of the Congress of the State of Guanaxnato, 
 of the twenty-fourth of April, 1827, the contentious jurisdiction of the 
 Mining Deputations was transferred to the ordinary Tribunals of Justice 
 their ministerial and economical authorities, as well as the ministerial 
 and economical authorities of the extinct General Tribunal, remaining 
 vested in them. 
 
 " These are the only regulations by which any changes of importance 
 are understood to have been introduced into the mining laws of the 
 Republic of Mexico since the establishment of its independence." 
 
RIGHTS OF FOREIGN RESIDENTS IN MEXICO. 
 
 DECREE OP PRESIDENT COMONFORT, FEBRUARY IST, 1856. 
 
 1. Foreigners settled in and residents of the Republic may acquire 
 and possess real estate, either in town or country, including mines of all 
 classes of minerals, coal included, either by purchase, adjudication, 
 denouncement, or any other title known to the common laws or mining 
 ordinances. 
 
 2. No foreigner shall, without previous permission from the Supreme 
 Government, acquire any real estate in the States or Territories, near the 
 frontier, within twenty leagues from the line thereof. 
 
 3. Foreigners wishing to obtain the permission referred to in the fore- 
 going article, should make their petition to the Secretary of Fomento, 
 that in view of the same, and upon the report of the Government of the 
 State or Territory, it may determine what is fit in the premises. 
 
 4. In the acquisitions which by virtue of this law foreigners may wish 
 to make of real estate, either in town or country, the actual lessees or 
 occupants will have the right to remain under the same circumstances 
 and conditions. 
 
 5. Foreigners acquiring real property by virtue of this law are sub- 
 jected in all appertaining to it to the provisions already made, or which 
 may be directed in future, relative to their removal, the use and preserva- 
 tion of said property in the Republic, as well as to the payment of all 
 kinds of taxes, without being permitted to allege at any time their priv- 
 ileges as foreigners in this respect. 
 
 6. All questions which may arise about such property will be adjudged 
 in the tribunals of the Republic, without foreign intervention of any 
 kind. 
 
 7. Foreigners acquiring real estate in town or country, or mining 
 property, in accordance with this law, will be obliged to take up arms 
 
EIGHTS OF FOREIGN RESIDENTS IN MEXICO. 163 
 
 and serve as soldiers, when it may be necessary for the preservation and 
 order of the settlement or city where they may reside. Except in these 
 cases they cannot be compelled to such service. 
 
 8. Foreigners having acquired property in the Republic, wishing to 
 become citizens of the same, will only have to prove that fact before the 
 political authority of their residence. The evidence whereof, together 
 with the corresponding petition, on being presented to the Secretary of 
 Foreign Relations, the ncessary certificate will be issued to them. 
 
 DECREE OF PRESIDENT JUAREZ, MARCH 16TH, 1861. 
 
 1. In order that foreigners residing in the Republic may be enabled to 
 prove their nationalities and enjoy the privileges to which they are enti- 
 tled by the laws and existing treaties with their respective governments, 
 there shall be opened in the office of the Secretary of State and Foreign 
 Relations, a register, where their names may be entered. 
 
 2. A term of three months from the publication of this decree said 
 term not to be extended is hereby granted to all foreign residents desir- 
 ous of enjoying the privileges accorded to them as such, to have their 
 names recorded in said register. 
 
 3. Those foreigners residing outside the Capital shall present them- 
 selves with the necessary documents and proofs, to the Governors of the 
 States and Territories in which they reside, who will communicate directly 
 to the Secretary of State and Foreign Relations, and to whom they shall 
 send a list of the names, and full description of those who may present 
 themselves, as aforesaid. 
 
 4. Foreigners coming to the Republic must report themselves to the 
 first political authority of the port at which they land, and obtain the 
 certificate hereinafter referred to. 
 
 5. The Port Warden shall forward, with the quickest dispatch, a list 
 of the persons landing there, with their names, and describing their 
 nationality. 
 
 6. Foreigners neglecting to have their names registered within the 
 above period shall be subject to a fine of ten dollars, aud one dollar for 
 every month thereafter from the time at which they should have so reg- 
 istered themselves. 
 
 7. No officer or public functionary shall recognize as a foreigner any 
 one not having the requisite certificate issued by the Minister of Foreign 
 Relations. 
 
 8. The Tribunals and Justices, whenever a suit is brought before them 
 by a foreigner, shall exact from him the certificate aforesaid, and when 
 
164 RIGHTS OP FOREIGN RESIDENTS IN MEXICO. 
 
 presented shall note its date and number ; and no foreigner shall be heard 
 in Court or out of it, without presenting said certificate. 
 
 9. No Notary Public shall acknowledge any instrument executed by 
 a foreigner, without previously having seen the aforesaid certificate, 
 which he shall specifically refer to in the instrument which he may 
 acknowledge. 
 
 10. No claim or demand made by foreigners shall be admitted in any 
 public office of the Republic, without previous presentation of said cer- 
 tificate, which shall be noted in the proceedings commenced by them. 
 
 11. Foreigners can obtain said certificate and prove their nationality 
 by the passport with which they came to the Republic, or by a certifi- 
 cate of their Consular or Diplomatic Agent of their nation, without 
 having to make a written petition to the Secretary of Foreign Relations. 
 
 12. Any public officer acting in contravention to this decree shall be 
 suspended from his office one month ; and if he be a Notary Public he 
 shall be fined fifty dollars. 
 
 13. To those inscribing their names a certificate shall be given by the 
 Secretary of Foreign Relations, who shall be the only officer authorized 
 to issue them. 
 
 14. All fees for the issuance of said certificates shall be two dollars 
 each, to be paid on entering the name in the register. 
 
 15. The Civil Judges are by this required to report monthly to the 
 Secretary of Foreign Relations all changes that may take place in the 
 civil state of foreigners. 
 
 DECREE OP PRESIDENT JUAREZ, MARCH 13-ra, 1863. 
 
 1. Every foreigner who, for himself or in copartnership with other for- 
 eigners, should purchase land for agricultural purposes, they and their 
 colonists are exempted for the term of ten years, reckoned from the day 
 in which the deeds of purchase are signed, from the payment of all taxes, 
 except the municipal ones which they may impose upon themselves, pro- 
 vided they file within one year a plan or draft, showing the boundaries of 
 their land, with the Secretary of Fomento. 
 
 2. The foreigners comprised in the foregoing article will enjoy five 
 years longer the privileges granted, provided that at the expiration of 
 the first period they can show that they have in their employment, on 
 their lands or colonies, a number of Mexicans employed constituting at 
 least one-third of all the laborers or colonists. 
 
 3. They will not pay, for the period of two years, any import or inter- 
 nal duty, for all the effects directly consigned for the use of the colonies, 
 
EIGHTS OF FOREIGN RESIDENTS IN MEXICO. 165 
 
 or tools and utensils for the use of the colonists, provided that any 
 imported from Europe for their use, if thrown into the market, shall be 
 confiscated. 
 
 4. The colonies formed under the foregoing laws, the principle of 
 which is they shall be formed with foreign capital, will, without restraint, 
 dispose of the municipal funds they may themselves create ; and the 
 Government shall not intervene in other than the administration of that 
 revenue which he may please to assign to the colony. 
 
 5. The lands cultivated and colonies so formed will enjoy, during two ' 
 years, in all things, the privileges hereby granted, and those given by the 
 Constitution of the Eepublic to foreigners, according to the nationalties 
 of the owner of the farm or a majority of the colonists. 
 
 6. In all cases not expressly designated by this law, the owners of 
 property and the colonists are entirely subject to the laws of the coun- 
 try, and so will be all others at the termination of the different periods 
 expressed in the foregoing articles. 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 FORMS. 
 
 CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION. 
 
 STATE or CALIFORNIA, ) 
 County of ) 
 
 We, the undersigned, being desirous of forming a corporation for the pur- 
 pose of mining, under and in pursuance of the laws of the State of Califor- 
 nia, do hereby certify and declare as follows, viz. : 
 
 First. That said corporation shall be known by the name of the " 
 
 Mining Company." 
 
 Second. That the object of said corporation shall be to carry on and con- 
 duct the business of mining for in the Mining District 
 
 County, State (or Territory) of 
 
 Third. That the amount of the Capital Stock of said corporation, shall 
 
 be dollars, which shall be divided into shares, of 
 
 each. 
 
 Fourth. That said corporation shall exist for the term of years. 
 
 Fifth. That the principal place of business of said corporation, shall be 
 located in the City of. County of State of California. 
 
 Sixth. That the number of Trustees who shall manage the concerns of 
 said corporation for the first three months, shall be and the follow- 
 ing are the names of the said Trustees, viz. : 
 
 In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals this 
 
 day of A.D. 186 
 
 [See Section 2, Act of April 14th, 1853, p. 1.] 
 
 DEED. 
 
 MINING CLAIM TO INCORPORATED COMPANY. 
 
 THIS INDENTURE, made this day of in the year 
 
168 APPENDIX. 
 
 of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty- between the 
 
 undersigned, parties of the first part, and the Mining Company, 
 
 party of the second part : Witnesseth, that whereas, the said 
 
 Mining Company has been duly incorporated under the laws of the State of 
 California ; and whereas, the said parties of the first part, the present owners 
 of the mining ground or lode hereinafter described, are desirous of trans- 
 ferring to said corporation all the right, title, and interest which they and 
 each of them have or claim therein. 
 
 Now, therefore, know all men by these presents, that the undersigned, parties 
 of the first part hereto, and each of them, for and in consideration of the 
 sum of one dollar to them, jointly and severally, in hand paid, at or before 
 the execution and delivery of these presents, the receipt whereof is hereby 
 acknowledged (and for the further consideration of certificates of stock in 
 
 said Mining Company, hereafter to be issued to them, and each 
 
 of them, their heirs and assigns, in proportion to their several interests as 
 hereinafter mentioned), do hereby grant, bargain, sell, and convey unto the 
 
 said Corporation, called the Mining 
 
 Company, its successors and assigns, all the right, title, and interest, posses- 
 sion, claim, and demand, whatsoever, as well in law as in equity, of said 
 parties of the first part, and each of them, of, in, and 'to all that certain 
 
 mining ground or lode, situate, lying, and being in Mining 
 
 District, County, State (or Territory) of , known 
 
 as the Which said mining ground or lode was located by 
 
 on the day of , A.D. 186. ., and 
 
 recorded in Book , page . . . ., of the Mining Records of said District. 
 
 Together with all the dips, spurs, and angles of said mining ground or 
 lode, and all and singular the tenements, hereditaments appurtenances, and 
 privileges thereunto belonging. 
 
 To have and to hold the same, and every part thereof, with the appurte- 
 nances and privileges thereunto belonging unto the said 
 
 Mining Company, its successors and assigns 
 
 forever. 
 
 In witness whereof, the said parties of the first part have hereunto set 
 their hands and seals the day and year first above written. 
 
 [Interest of Grantor.] [Names.] [Seal.] 
 
 POWER OF ATTORNEY TO RECEIVE CERTIFICATES OF STOCK. 
 
 Know all men by these present that I, , do hereby make, 
 
 constitute, and appoint my true and lawful attorney, for 
 
 me and in my name, place, and stead, to receive certificates for 
 
 shares of the capital stock of the Mining Company, and to 
 
APPENDIX. 169 
 
 sign and execute all necessary papers to that end ; hereby ratifying all law- 
 ful acts of my said attorney done by virtue hereof. 
 
 Witness my hand and seal, at , this day of , 
 
 A.D. 186 . 
 
 Witness : [L.S.] 
 
 POWER OF ATTORNEY TO VOTE AT A MEETING OF STOCK- 
 HOLDERS. 
 
 Know all men by these presents that I, , do hereby make, 
 
 constitute, and appoint my true and lawful attorney, for 
 
 me and in my name, place, and stead, to vote as my proxy at 
 
 meeting of the Stockholders of the Mining Company 
 
 according to the number of votes to which I should be entitled if person- 
 ally present ; with full power of substitution and revocation. 
 
 Witness my hand and seal, at , this day of , 
 
 A.D. 186 . 
 
 Witness : [L.S.] 
 
 [If this proxy is used at an election of officers, a ten cent Revenue Stamp 
 must be affixed.] 
 
 BY-LAWS. 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 NAME AND CAPITAL STOCK. 
 
 This Company shall be known as the " Mining Company,'* 
 
 and shall have a capital stock of dollars, which shall be 
 
 divided into shares of dollars each. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 CORPORATE POWERS. 
 
 The corporate power of this company shall be vested in a Board of 
 
 Trustees, and the other officers of the company shall be a Presi- 
 dent, Secretary, Treasurer, and Superintendent. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS. 
 
 The annual meeting of stockholders for the election of Trustees and trans- 
 action of other business, shall be held at on the 
 
 of each year. Notice of all meetings of stockholders shall be given by pub- 
 lication for two weeks in some newspaper published in and 
 
 by special notice from the Secretary to each stockholder. No meeting of 
 the stockholders shall be competent to transact business unless a majority 
 of the stock is represented. In case a majority of the stock is not repre- 
 
170 APPENDIX. 
 
 sented at the annual meeting, a similar notice shall be published and given 
 by the Secretary calling another meeting within thirty days thereafter. 
 Each share of stock shall be entitled to one vote, and each vote may be 
 cast by proxy at all meetings of the stockholders. The proxy shall be in 
 writing, and filed with the Secretary. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 TRUSTEES. 
 
 The Trustees elected at the first annual meeting of the stockholders shall 
 serve for one year, and until their successors are elected. Their term of office 
 shall commence immediately after their election. Vacancies in the Board 
 of Trustees shall be filled by the other Trustees in office within thirty days 
 after such vacancy shall occur, and the person so elected shall hold office 
 until the next annual election thereafter. No person who is not at the time 
 of the election an owner of stock in the company, standing in his own name 
 on its books, shall be eligible to election as a member of the Board of 
 Trustees. 
 
 The Trustees shall present a full statement at the annual meeting of the 
 stockholders, showing in full and in detail the assets and the liabilities of 
 the company, and the general conditions of its affairs. They shall call a 
 meeting of the stockholders, and present at the meeting a similar report 
 whenever so requested in writing by stockholders representing one-third of 
 the whole number of shares. 
 
 The Board of Trustees shall have power to call meetings of the stock- 
 holders whenever they deem it necessary. To appoint and remove at plea- 
 sure all officers, agents, and employes of this company, and to prescribe 
 their duties, fix their compensation, and require security for faithful service. 
 To make rules and regulations not inconsistent with the laws of the State of 
 California, or the By-Laws of the Company. To declare dividends out of 
 the surplus profits of the company whenever they may deem it advisable. 
 To levy such assessments as in their opinion may, from time to time, be 
 necessary for the purposes of the company ; provided, that no assessment 
 shall be levied exceeding per share. To make all con- 
 tracts which in their judgment will subserve the interests of the company ; 
 and the signatures of the President and Secretary to any contract or obliga- 
 tion, when authorized by a vote of a majority of the Trustees, shall be valid 
 and binding upon the Company. To incur such indebtedness as they may 
 
 deem necessary ; provided, however, that no debt exceeding 
 
 dollars shall be contracted on behalf of the company, except with the ex- 
 press stipulation that the stockholders shall not be held liable in their 
 individual capacity ; and provided, further, that the debts of the company 
 
 shall not at any time exceed in the aggregate the sum of 
 
 dollars. 
 
APPENDIX. 171 
 
 It shall be the duty of the Trustees to cause to be kept a complete record 
 of all their official acts, and full minutes of the proceedings of all meetings 
 of the Board and of the stockholders. To require the Secretary and Treas- 
 urer to keep their books and accounts in a proper manner. To cause to be 
 issued to the stockholders, in proportion to their respective interests, cer- 
 tificates of stock ; provided, that the aggregate amount of the certificates so 
 issued shall not exceed the capital stock of the company. 
 
 At the first meeting of the Board of Trustees they shall select one of their 
 number to act as President, and elect a Secretary and Treasurer. 
 
 ARTICLE Y. 
 
 PRESIDENT. 
 
 The President shall preside at all meetings of the Trustees and of the 
 stockholders. He shall sign, as President, all certificates of stock, and all 
 contracts and other instruments of writing which have been first approved 
 by the Board of Trustees, and affix the corporate seal to all instruments 
 requiring a seal. He shall draw all warrants on the Treasurer. He shall 
 have the casting vote at all meetings of the stockholders or Trustees. He 
 may call a meeting of the Trustees or stockholders whenever he shall deem 
 it necessary, and shall have, subject to the advice of the Trustees, direction 
 of the affairs of the company. In case of his absence or inability, from any 
 cause, to discharge the duties of the office, the vacancy may be filled by the 
 remaining members of the Board, permanently or temporarily, as the cir- 
 cumstances may require, and the person so elected shall be vested with all 
 the powers of the office. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 TREASURER. 
 
 The Treasurer shall safely keep all moneys and bullion belonging to the 
 company, and disburse, the same under the direction of the Board of Trus- 
 tees, and in conformity with the By-Laws of the company. At each annual 
 meeting of the stockholders, and as often as may be required by the Board 
 of Trustees, he shall present a full statement of his accounts, with proper 
 vouchers. He shall make no payment except on a warrant drawn by the 
 President, and countersigned by the Secretary. He shall discharge such 
 other duties as pertain to his office, and as may be prescribed by the Board 
 of Trustees. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 SECRETARY. 
 
 The Secretary shall keep a full record of the proceedings of the Trustees 
 and of the stockholders. He shall keep the book of blank certificates of 
 stock, fill up and countersign all certificates issued, and make the proper 
 entries in the margin of such book on the issuance of certificates. He 
 
172 APPENDIX. 
 
 shall cancel all certificates surrendered to him before issuing new certificates 
 in lieu thereof, and shall preserve the certificate so surrendered and canceled as 
 voucher. He shall keep a transfer book, and a stock ledger in debit and credit 
 form, showing the number of shares issued to and transferred by any stock- 
 holder, and the date of such issuance or transfer. He shall countersign all war- 
 rants drawn on the Treasurer, keep proper account books, and perform such 
 other duties as pertain to his office, and as are prescribed by the Board of 
 Trustees. 
 
 The books of the Secretary, and such papers as may be placed on file by 
 vote of the Trustees or Stockholders, shall at all times during business hours 
 be subject to the inspection of any stockholder. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII. 
 
 SUPERINTENDENT. 
 
 A Superintendent shall be elected by the Board of Trustees, and be re- 
 moved at their pleasure. It shall be the duty of such Superintendent to 
 reside at the mine of the company, and take charge of all property there 
 belonging to the Company, and control and direct all labor and business 
 pertaining to the interests, object, and operation of the company at the 
 mine ; subject, however, as far as practicable, to the advice of the Trustees 
 residing there, and entirely subject to the direction and control of the Board 
 of Trustees. He shall make monthly returns to the Board of Trustees of 
 all persons employed by the company, their wages and time employed, and 
 shall present therewith a statement of all expenditures made by him, and his 
 vouchers therefor (duplicates of which shall be kept by him), and he shall 
 also report the general condition of the mining work ; should he require 
 funds, he shall make a requisition on the Board of Trustees therefor, stat- 
 ing the objects for which they are required. If approved by the Board of 
 Trustees, the money shall be transmitted to him in such mode as they may 
 direct, or he may provide funds by the sale of ore or bullion, if so author- 
 ized by the Board of Trustees. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 CERTIFICATES OF STOCK. 
 
 Certificates of stock shall be of such form and device as the Board of 
 Trustees may direct. Each certificate shall be signed by the President and 
 countersigned by the Secretary, and bear the seal of the company, and 
 express on its face its number, date of issuance, the number of shares for 
 which, and the person to whom it is issued. Several certificates may be 
 issued to the same person, provided that in the aggregate they do not exceed 
 the number of shares belonging to such person. The certificate book shall 
 contain a margin in which shall be entered the date, number of shares, and 
 name of the person expressed in the corresponding certificate. No certifi- 
 
 
APPENDIX. 173 
 
 cates of stock shall be delivered by the Secretary until the person entitled 
 thereto shall have signed the By-Laws of the company. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 TRANSFER OF SHARES. 
 
 Shares in the company may be transferred at any time by the holder 
 thereof, or by attorney legally constituted, or by their legal representatives, 
 but no transfer shall be valid except as between the parties thereto, until 
 the surrender of the certificate, and acknowledgment of such transfer on the 
 books of the company. 
 
 No transfer of any share shall be valid upon which any assessments are 
 then due and unpaid, or if the holder thereof is indebted to the company on 
 any account whatever, until such account or debt is paid, or arranged to 
 the satisfaction of the Board of Trustees. 
 
 ARTICLE XI. 
 
 COMPENSATION. 
 
 Neither the President, Treasurer, nor any member of the Board of Trus- 
 tees, as such, shall receive compensation for their services. Reasonable 
 traveling expenses shall be allowed by the Trustees to the President, or 
 other member of the Board, engaged, by authority of the Board of Trustees, 
 in the business of the company. 
 
 The Superintendent and Secretary shall respectively receive such com- 
 pensation for their services as the Board of Trustees may from time to time 
 determine. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. 
 
 VALIDITY OF CONTRACTS. 
 
 No contract by any officer of the company, other than for work and labor 
 done and materials furnished, shall be valid without the previous approval 
 or subsequent ratification by the Board of Trustees. 
 
 ARTICLE XIII. 
 
 AMENDMENTS. 
 
 These By-Laws may be altered or amended at any meeting of the stock- 
 holders of which notice has been given as provided in Article III, by a 
 majority vote of all the shares. 
 
174 APPENDIX. 
 
 MINING DISTRICT LAWS. 
 
 REESE RITER MINING DISTRICT, NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 
 SECTION 1. The District shall be s known as the Reese River Mining 
 District, and shall be bounded as follows, to wit : On the north by a distance 
 of ten miles from the Overland Telegraph Line, on the east by Dry Creek, 
 on the south by a distance of ten miles from the Overland Telegraph Line, 
 and on the west by Edward's Creek, where not conflicting with any new 
 districts formed to date. 
 
 SEC. 2. There shall be a Mining Recorder elected on the first day of June 
 next, for this District, who shall hold office for one year from the seven- 
 teenth of July next, unless sooner removed by a new election, which can 
 only be done by a written call, signed by at least fifty claim-holders, giving 
 notice of a new election to be held after said notice shall have been 
 posted and published for at least twenty days, in some newspaper published 
 in or nearest this District ; and the Recorder shall be a resident of this 
 District. 
 
 SEC. 3. It shall be the duty of the Recorder to keep in a suitable book or 
 books, a full and truthful record of the proceedings of all public meetings ; 
 to place on record all claims brought to him for that purpose, when such 
 claim shall not interfere with or affect the rights and interests of prior 
 locators, recording the same in the order of their date, for which service he 
 shall receive One Dollar ($1) for each claim recorded. It shall also be the 
 duty of the Recorder to keep his books open at all times to the inspection 
 of the public ; he shall also have the power to appoint a deputy to act in 
 his stead, for whose official acts he shall be held responsible. It shall also 
 be the duty of the Recorder to deliver to his successor in office all books, 
 records, papers, etc., belonging to or pertaining to his office. 
 
 SEC. 4. All examinations of the record must be made in the full presence 
 of the Recorder or his deputy. 
 
 SEC. 5. JSTotice of a claim of location of mining ground by any individual, 
 or by a company, on file in the Recorder's office, shall be deemed equivalent 
 to a record of the same. 
 
 SEC. 6. Each claimant shall be entitled to hold by location two hundred 
 feet on any lead in the District, with all the dips, spurs, and angles, 
 offshoots, outcrops, depths, widths, variations, and all the mineral and other 
 valuables therein contained the discoverer of and locator of a new lead 
 being entitled to one claim extra for discovery. 
 
 SEC. 7. The locator of any lead, lode, or ledge in the District shall be 
 
APPENDIX. 175 
 
 entitled to hold on each side of the lead, lode, or ledge located by him or 
 them, one hundred feet; but this shall not be construed to mean any distinct 
 or parallel ledge within the two hundred feet other than the one originally 
 located. 
 
 SEC. 8. All locations shall be made by a written notice posted upon the 
 ground, and boundaries described, and all claimants' names posted on the 
 notice. 
 
 SEC. 9. Work done on any tunnel, cut, shaft, or drift, in good faith, shall 
 be considered as being done upon the claim owned by such person or 
 company. 
 
 SEC. 10. Every claim (whether by individual or company) located, shall 
 be recorded within ten days after the date of location. 
 
 SEC. 11. All miners locating a mining claim in this District, shall place 
 and maintain thereon a good and substantial monument or stake, with a 
 notice thereon of the name of the claim, the names of the locators, date of 
 location, record, and extent of claim. It is hereby requested that owners in 
 claims already located do comply with the requirements of this section. 
 
 SEC. 12. The Recorder shall go upon the ground with any and all parties 
 desiring to locate claims, and shall be entitled to receive for such service 
 One Dollar for each and every name in a location of two hundred feet each. 
 
 SEC. 13. It is hereby made the duty of the Mining Recorder upon the 
 written application of twenty-five miners, to call a meeting of the miners of 
 the District by giving a notice of twenty days through some newspaper 
 published in the Reese River District, which notice shall state the object of 
 the meeting, the place and time of holding the same. 
 
 SEC. 14. The laws of this District passed July 17th, 1862, are hereby 
 repealed. 
 
 SEC. 15. These laws shall take effect on and after the fourth day of June, 
 1864. 
 
176 APPENDIX. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 MINING LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 [The following Sections were omitted in their proper place] : 
 
 AN A CT to regulate Official OatJis. 
 [Approved April 30th, 1861. Laws Nevada T., 1861, p. 37.] 
 
 FORM OP OATH TO BE TAKEN BY TRUSTEES OF CORPORATIONS. 
 
 SECTION 1. That all officers elected, appointed, or chosen, before entering 
 upon the duties of their office, and all Attorneys, Counselors, and Solicitors 
 in Chancery, in all the Courts of this Territory, before being admitted to 
 practice, shall take and subscribe to the following oath, viz. : 
 
 " I, [here name the person and the office to which he has been elected, 
 appointed, or chosen] do solemnly [swear or affirm] that I will support, pro- 
 tect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States, against 
 all enemies, whether domestic or foreign, and that I will bear true faith, 
 allegiance, and loyalty to the same, any ordinance, resolution, or law of any 
 State, Convention, or Legislature, to the contrary notwithstanding ; and fur- 
 ther, that I do this with a full determination, pledge, and purpose, without 
 any mental reservation or evasion whatsoever ; and further, that I will well 
 and faithfully perform all the duties which may be required of me by law, 
 so help me God." 
 
 Sworn to and subscribed before me, this day of 
 
 AN ACT to regulate Proceedings in Civil Cases in the Courts of Justice of 
 
 the Territory of Nevada. 
 [Approved November 29th, 1861. Laws Nevada T. 1861, p. 410.] 
 
 USAGES AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 SECTION 561. In actions respecting mining claims, proof shall be admit- 
 ted of the customs, usages, or regulations established and in force in the 
 mining district embracing such claim ; and such customs, usages, or regula- 
 tions, when not in conflict with the laws of this Territory, shall govern the 
 decision of the action in regard to all questions of location, possession, and 
 abandonment. 
 
 Page 47, after title of act, read " Wood's Digest, p. 244." 
 Page 79, fifth line from bottom, for "p. 35" read "p. 38." 
 
INDEX. 
 
 STATUTES OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 SECTIONS. PAGES. 
 
 ACTIONS against Stockholders 16 11 
 
 evidence in 16, 18, I 11, 17, 21 
 
 respecting mining claims 45 47 
 
 limitation of 1,2 45 
 
 receiver may be appointed in 63 46 
 
 duties of receiver in 64 47 
 
 proof of usages and customs in 621 47 
 
 ALPHABETICAL LIST of Stockholders shall be kept. . 18, 1 17, 21 
 
 what shall be shown thereby 18, 1 17, 21 
 
 shall be kept open for inspection 18,1 17,21 
 
 Stockholders or creditors may make extracts 
 
 therefrom 18, 1 17, 21 
 
 such book or certified copy therefrom shall be 
 
 evidence in actions 18, 1 17, 21 
 
 penalty for neglect to keep in proper manner 19, 2 18, 22 
 
 ASSESSMENTS, under Act of April 14th, 1853 10 8 
 
 under Act of March 5th, 1861 . 1 28 
 
 under Act of April 4th, 1864 24 
 
 power of Trustees to levy 1 24 
 
 limitation as to amount of 2 24 
 
 how, shall be levied 3 24 
 
 what shall be specified in the order levying. . 4 24 
 
 notice of, shall be published 5 24 
 
 form of notice 5 25 
 
 how and where notice of, shall be published . 6 25 
 
 notice of, may be served by delivering copy. . 6 25 
 
 sale of stock for non-payment of 11 27 
 
 shall not be rendered invalid by failure to 
 
 publish notice 14 28 
 
178 INDEX. 
 
 SECTIONS. PAGES. 
 
 BY-LAWS, power of corporations to make 4 3 
 
 to provide for filling vacancies in Board of 
 
 Trustees 5 5 
 
 shall be entered at length in a book 1 21 
 
 for regulation of transfer agency 3 32 
 
 CANAL COMPANIES, for what purposes, may be formed 1 33 
 
 rights granted to 2 33 
 
 power of 3 33 
 
 shall construct and repair bridges 4 34 
 
 CAPITAL STOCK shall be stated in certificate 2 1 
 
 shall not be reduced except as prescribed .... 13 10 
 
 distribution of, upon dissolution 13 10 
 
 debts not to exceed amount of, paid in 14 10 
 
 may be increased or diminished 20 18 
 
 before, diminished excess of debts to be satis- 
 fied 21 19 
 
 manner of increasing or diminishing 21 19 
 
 CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION, number of persons 
 
 to sign 2 1 
 
 what shall be stated therein 2 1 
 
 certified copy of, to be filed on incorporation 2 1 
 
 certified copy of, shall be received in evidence 3 3 
 certified copy of, shall be filed on removing 
 
 office 2 30 
 
 certified copy of, shall be filed on removing 
 
 office from Aurora, Nevada Territory. . . 2 31 
 
 defective certificates validated 1 3 
 
 CERTIFICATE OF PROCEEDINGS shall be filed when 
 
 capital is increased or diminished 22 19 
 
 how, shall be made 22 19 
 
 what shall be shown thereby 22 19 
 
 on petition for dissolution 24 20 
 
 what shall be stated therein 24 20 
 
 CERTIFICATE OF TRUSTEES on removal of office ... 2 31 
 CERTIFIED COPY of certificate of incorporation shall 
 
 be filed 2 1, 30, 31 
 
 shall be received in evidence 3 3 
 
 of list of stockholders, etc., maybe demanded 18, 1 17, 21 
 
 shall be evidence of facts stated 18, 1 17, 21 
 
 CONVEYANCE OF MINING CLAIMS (Act of April 13th, 
 
 1860), what may be evidenced by 1 42 
 
 need not be under seal 1 42 
 
 must be accompanied by delivery of posses- 
 sion 1 42 
 
INDEX. 179 
 
 SECTIONS. PAGES. 
 
 CONVEYANCE OF MINING CLAIMS, or must be ac- 
 knowledged and recorded 1 42 
 
 limitation of act to gold mining claims repealed 2 43 
 
 CORPORATIONS (under Act of April 14th, 1853), for 
 
 what purposes may be formed 1 1 
 
 liabilities of 1, 16, 27 1, 11, 21 
 
 powers of ? 4,15 3,10 
 
 debts of, shall not exceed paid-in capital 14 10 
 
 penalty of, for neglect to keep list of stock- 
 holders 19, 2 18, 22 
 
 settlement of affairs on dissolution of 23 19 
 
 manner of dissolution of 24 20 
 
 CREDITORS, when trustees are individually liable to. . 14 10 
 
 may inspect list of stockholders 18, 1 17, 22 
 
 DEBTS, trustees individually liable for excess of 14 10 
 
 shall be satisfied before capital is reduced ... 20 18 
 
 to be settled ,by trustees after dissolution. ... 23 19 
 
 DISSOLUTION OF CORPORATION 23, 24 19, 20 
 
 DIVIDENDS shall not be made except from surplus 
 
 profits 13 10 
 
 ELECTION OF TRUSTEES, manner of conducting 5 5 
 
 EVIDENCES OF DEBT shall not be issued to circulate 
 
 as money 15 10 
 
 EXECUTOR, Administrator, etc., may represent stock. 11 9 
 
 liability of 17 17 
 
 FOREIGN MINERS shall have a license 90 58 
 
 rate of license 92 58 
 
 mode of collection 93 58 
 
 who shall be considered miners 93 59 
 
 employers made liable 97, 98 59, 60 
 
 power of Collector 97 59 
 
 penalty for refusing to pay 97 60 
 
 GROWING CROPS, etc. (Act of April 25th, 1855), 
 
 owners of, protected 1,2 36 
 
 penalty for violation of act concerning 3 37 
 
 IMPROVEMENTS, meaning of word, as construed by 
 
 Act of April 25th, 1855 2 37 
 
 INCORPORATIONS, defective acts of 1,2 3 
 
 LIABILITIES (under Act of April 14th, 1853) of cor- 
 porations 1, 16, 27 1, 11, 21 
 
 of trustees 13,14 10 
 
 of stockholders 16 11 
 
 of person pledging stock 17 17 
 
 of executor, administrator, etc 17 17 
 
 of mining copartnerships 1 28 
 
180 INDEX. 
 
 SECTIONS. PAGES. 
 
 MINERAL LANDS occupied by growing crops, etc., 
 
 how, may be used 2 37 
 
 may be worked after crops are harvested 3 37 
 
 settlers upon, shall not preclude working of 
 
 of mines 1 37,38 
 
 NOTICE of assessment and sale (Act of April 14th, 
 
 1853) 10 8 
 
 of assessment and sale (Act of March 5th, 
 
 1861) 1 28 
 
 of assessment (Act of April 4th, 1864) 46 24, 25 
 
 of meeting to increase or diminish capital. . . 21 19 
 
 of petition for dissolution 24 20 
 
 of sale of delinquent stock (Act of April 4th, 
 
 1864) 79 24 
 
 times fixed in, may be once extended 13 27 
 
 of assessments, etc., in mining partnerships. 2, 4 29 
 
 of sale in mining partnerships 3 29 
 
 of intention to change principal place of busi- 
 ness 1 30 
 
 PARTNERSHIPS FOR MINING PURPOSES 1 28 
 
 liabilities of 1 28 
 
 failure of member of, to pay assessments, etc. 2 29 
 
 notice when shall be given 2 29 
 
 interest of delinquent may be sold 2 29 
 
 notices of sale 3 29 
 
 rights acquired by purchaser 3 29 
 
 notice when delinquent partner is absent from 
 
 the State 4 29 
 
 POWERS OF CORPORATIONS 4, 15 3, 10 
 
 who, shall be exercised by 5 5 
 
 PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS may be changed. . . 1 30 
 written consent of stockholders shall be first 
 
 obtained 1 30 
 
 notice of intended change shall be published. 1 30 
 certified copy of articles of incorporation shall 
 
 be filed 2 30 
 
 certificate of trustees shall be filed 2 30 
 
 shall not be removed out of the State 3 31 
 
 removal of, from Aurora, N. T 1 31 
 
 steps necessary to be taken 2 31 
 
 former removals validated 3 31 
 
 REPRESENTATION OF STOCK held by executor, etc. 11 9 
 
 when pledged 12 9 
 
 RESOLUTIONS AND ORDERS, how, shall be entered . . 1 21 
 
 SALE OF STOCK for non-payment of assessments 10, 11, 1 8, 27, 28 
 
INDEX. 181 
 
 SECTIONS. PAGES. 
 
 SECRETARY, penalty of, for neglect 19, 2 18, 22 
 
 shall make affidavit to proceedings 22 19 
 
 shall publish notice of assessment 5 24 
 
 shall publish notice of sale 7 26 
 
 shall sell delinquent stock 11 27 
 
 STOCK shall be deemed personal estate 9 6 
 
 how, shall be transferred 9 6 
 
 transfer of, not valid until entered on the 
 
 books 9 6 
 
 sale of, for non-payment of assessments 10, 11, I 8, 27, 28 
 
 how, shall be sold 10, 11, 1 8, 27, 28 
 
 how, may be pledged 12 9 
 
 held by executor, administrator, etc 11 9 
 
 person pledging, shall be considered owner . . 17 17 
 
 STOCKHOLDERS, liability of 16 11 
 
 actions may be instituted against 16 11 
 
 property to be divided among, after dissolu- 
 tion 23 19 
 
 alphabetical list of, shall be kept 18, 1 17, 21 
 
 evidence for and against, in actions 16, 18, 1 11, 17, 21 
 
 meeting of, to increase or diminish capital . . 21 19 
 
 TAXATION of mining claims on private property .... 1 57 
 
 of foreign miners 90 58 
 
 TRANSFER AGENCIES in other States authorized .... 1 32 
 
 stock issued by, shall be valid 1 32 
 
 how stock shall be signed 2 32 
 
 mode of issuance and transfer 2 32 
 
 stockholders may pass by-laws for regulation 
 
 of 3 32 
 
 shall be under control of trustees 3 32 
 
 TRANSFER OF STOCK 9 6 
 
 by transfer agent 2 32 
 
 TRUSTEES, vote necessary to remove 4 3 
 
 vote necessary to elect 5 5 
 
 number composing board of 5 5 
 
 qualifications necessary 5 5 
 
 when, shall be elected 5 5 
 
 vacancy in board of, how filled 5 5 
 
 failure to elect, on day designated 6 6 
 
 acts of, valid until successors elected 6 6 
 
 majority of, shall form a board 7 6 
 
 decision of majority of, assembled valid .... 7 6 
 
 how first meeting of, shall be called 8 6 
 
 powers of, relative to assessments 10, 1 8, 24 
 
182 INDEX. 
 
 SECTIONS. PAGES. 
 
 TRUSTEES shall not make dividends except as pro- 
 vided 13 10 
 
 shall not withdraw or divide capital stock. . . 13 10 
 
 when, are individually liable 13, 14 10 
 
 may cause dissent to be entered on the minutes 13, 14 10 
 
 shall cause list of stockholders to be kept ... 18, 1 17, 21 
 shall sign notice of meeting to increase or 
 
 diminish capital stock 21 19 
 
 shall certify proceedings of such meeting .... 22 19 
 
 power of, upon dissolution of corporation ... 23 19 
 
 certificate of, on removal of office 2 30, 31 
 
 usages and customs of miners 621 47 
 
 VOTES, number of, to which stockholders are entitled 5 5 
 
 number of, necessary to elect trustees 5 5 
 
 number of, necessary to increase the capital. 21 19 
 
 number of, necessary to dissolve corporation . 24 20 
 
 number of, necessary to remove office 1 30 
 
 LAWS OF NEVADA TERRITORY. 
 
 MINING CORPORATION LAW (Act of Dec. 20th, 1862) 63 
 
 SUITS against joint tenant, etc 72 
 
 against delinquent stockholder 73 
 
 for damages caused by working of mine 74 
 
 against mining companies 76 
 
 for recovery of mining claims 76 
 
 MINING CLAIMS, contractor's lien for labor on 76 
 
 conveyance of 77 
 
 mortgagee of 77 
 
 partition of 78 
 
 taxation of 79 
 
 OATH to be taken by Trustees 176 
 
 USAGES AND CUSTOMS, evidence of, in actions 176 
 
 LAWS OF MEXICO. 
 
 MINING ORDINANCES OF MEXICO (Code of 1783) 81 
 
 CHAPTER I. Tribunal General 83 
 
 II. Judges and Deputies 89 
 
 III. Jurisdiction in mining causes, and the mode of proceed- 
 
 ing and opening judgment 92 
 
 IV. Order of proceeding in lawsuits in cases of a vacancy 
 
 or necessary absence of any of the 'Judges, or of 
 
 their refusal 102 
 
 V. Original ownership of mines, grants to individuals, and 
 
 the duties to be paid 102 
 
INDEX. 
 
 183 
 
 PAGES. 
 
 CHAP. VI. Manner of acquiring mines, new discoveries, registers, 
 
 and denouncements 103 
 
 VII. Persons who may or not discover, denounce, and work 
 
 the mines 108 
 
 VIII. Properties, intermediate spaces, and measures 110 
 
 IX. Working, supporting, and protecting mines 113 
 
 X. Drains in mines 118 
 
 XI. Mines worked by companies 122 
 
 XII. Laborers in mines and in works for the reduction of 
 
 metals 124 
 
 XIII. Supply of water and provisions 130 
 
 XIV. Millers Persons who reduce ores for the miners by 
 
 agreement, and purchasers of metal 135 
 
 XV. Contractors for supplying mines with money and other 
 
 articles 138 
 
 XVI. Fund and Bank of Supplies 143 
 
 XVII. Surveyors for operations of the mines and reduction of 
 
 the metals from ore 147 
 
 XVIII. Education and instruction of young persons intended 
 
 for the mining business 151 
 
 XIX. Privileges of the mines 155 
 
 RIGHTS OP FOREIGNERS RESIDENT IN MEXICO. 
 
 Decree of President Comonfort (February 1st, 1856) 162 
 
 Decree of President Juarez (March 16th, 1861 ) 163 
 
 Decree of President Juarez (March 13th, 1863) 164 
 
 DIGEST OF DECISIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF 
 CALIFORNIA, see CONTENTS vii 
 

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