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CHAPTER III.
GOLD.
The subject
of Indian gold is one of vast extent. Not only does the precious metal
occur under varying circumstances over many more or less detached areas
of country, but the methods of extraction practised by the natives seem
to have originated long before the Christian era, and the out-turn
gradually accumulated through long periods of time, even by such
imperfect operations, may not impossibly account for the great stores
of gold which, according to historians, were undoubtedly possessed by
the Rajas in some parts of India formerly.
Thus
there may be said to be two wholly distinct aspects of the question :
I. The geological. II. That which belongs to the province of the
antiquarian, historian, and political economist. It will be possible
for me to allude only very briefly to the second aspect, since not only
are many of the necessary works of reference inaccessible to me at
present, but also because such a topic requires the hand of a
specialist in that kind of inquiry for its adequate treatment.
The
ultimate derivation of the gold throughout India is chiefly from the
quartz veins which occur in the different series of more or less
metamorphosed rocks which are recognized as existing in that country. I
say chiefly, because I have reason to believe that in some localities
gold is contained in certain chloritic schists, and possibly, too, in
some forms of gneiss.
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