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50
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DIAMONDS.
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Mr.
Medlicott declines to believe in the instinct of the natives, as
evinced by the capricious distribution of these surface diggings. There
are many valleys in which the relation to the underlying rocks is such
as to make it almost certain that the alluvial deposits contain
diamonds, and yet there are no traces of workings. On the other hand,
some of the workings prove the former extended range of the rock
matrix, which has been broken up by denudation. He believes, further,
that the occasional occurrence of diamond-bearing deposits at higher
levels than the original rock matrix may be accounted for by a
distribution of the materials which took place under a general
submergence of the country.
The
following account of the Panna mines, which seems to be well worthy of
reproduction, I have extracted from an Indian newspaper. I am unable to
give the author's name :—
The
finances of the Maharaja are principally derived from his diamond and
iron mines, and the following particulars as to how the mines are
worked will prove interesting :—
In granting licences to natives the invariable rule of the Raja is to restrict the claim to diamonds below six rattis in
weight, on which a percentage of Rs. 25 or upwards is charged. The
party is then allowed to search in any spot within the territory,
excepting such as are given to Brahmins for sacred purposes or are
reserved for the Ranis or other relatives of the chief. The mines of
Kahmura and Panna are the most celebrated, and are excavated at a depth
of fifteen to fifty feet. They lie within the bounds of the rocky
matrix. Those at Maj-gouan have also been very imperfectly used, the
mining not going below fifty feet, at which depth the water overflows,
and the tuadars (or masters of the mines) are com-
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