SECTION XVIII.

To the Director-General shall also belong the offices of Fiscal and Promoter of the important body of Miners, and he shall, in consequence, represent, suggest, and propose to the Royal Tribunal, whatever he may judge conducive to the advancement and success of that establishment; giving them also, in proper time, such advice and caution as might tend to obviate whatever he may consider as prejudicial to their interest.

SECTION XIX.

The Royal Tribunal shall transmit to me annually, through the Viceroy, 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 seem necessary.

SECTION XX.

The Royal Tribunal may have a representative at the city and court of Madrid, for the protection of its interests; and, in ease 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 Viceroy 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 Licence.

SECTION XXI.

The Clerk of the Royal Tribunal shall keep a minute book of resolutions, in which shall be entered, all the determinations relative to the administra tion and economy of the mines, whether the same be intended only to last for a time, or to be permanent and perpetual.

SECTION XXII.

There shall be preserved in the Royal Tribunal, the originals of the Royal Letters Patent, Orders, and Declarations, which have proceeded, or may pro ceed, from me; as also the official letters from the Viceroys, and copies of the Orders that have been, or shall be, received through their hands; and lastly, all Acts and fundamental Decrees relating to the creation or administration of the Royal Tribunal; all which shall be carefully 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.

SECTION XXIII.

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.

SECTION XXIV.

The Secretary of the Royal Tribunal shall be one of the Royal Notaries (Escribanos Reales), 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 honour, and that he who holds it may be respected and esteemed both in the Tribunal and elsewhere, and he is to be addressed by the title of Don.

SECTION XXV.

The Secretary shall propose to the Royal Tribunal three persons, one of whom is to be appointed chief Official (Oficial Mayor) 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.

SECTION XXVI.

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.

SECTION XXVII.

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.

SECTION XXVIII.

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.

CHAPTER II.

OF THE JUDGES AND DEPUTIES OF THE MINING DISTRICTS.

SECTION I.

THE respective Royal Courts (Justicias Reales) 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 by these Ordinances to the Deputations of the body of Miners.

SECTION II.

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 capital, labour, or personal attention and care, shall be enrolled amongst the Miners of the district, and their names shall be noted in the book of enrolment to be kept by the Judge and Clerk of that mining district.

SECTION III.

The Miners so enrolled, and the Mine-Suppliers (being Miners), the person who reduce by contract (Maquileros)," and the Proprietors of Works for stamping and smelting ores in each district, shall assemble in the beginning 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 Depputy 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, trust-worthy and possessed of all the qualifications requisite for such office.

SECTION IV.

Every one of the Miners thus enrolled shall have one vote at such elections; moreover, of the Mine-Suppliers, being Miners as aforesaid, the Reducers by Contract, and the Owners of such works as are mentioned 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.

SECTION V.

Where there is a very great number of voters, as in Gaunajuato, 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 the Deputies.

* Literally Millers-the persons who reduce the ores into metal; they are so called from the mills used in their operations,

SECTION VI.

The Administrators of Mines may vote instead of their principals, provided the latter do not reside in that neighbourhood (Territorio), and provided 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.

SECTION VII.

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 dispute, the vote of the Judge shall be decisive, and those persons who have the greater number of votes, qualified and computed as before determined, shall be considered as duly elected.

SECTION VIII.

In each Mine-Town, or establishment, there shall be a deputation, 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 provision cannot be complied with at the second Election (i. e. at the and 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.

SECTION IX.

There shall also be elected in the same manner, in each Mine Town, or establishment, four Substitutes (Substitutos), 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, observing, 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 preferred, 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.

SECTION X.

The said Substitutes shall also be Recorders (Procuradores Sindicos) of their respective districts; and shall observe and procure whatever may appear necessary for the common interests of the Miners in their neighbourhood, and by virtue of this office shall have a superior claim to be elected as Deputies, or to other offices connected with the Mines.

SECTION XI.

The persons elected as Deputies must accept the cffice within three days of the time of their election, under a penalty of $1000, which penalty is to go to the fund of that district, and the person refusing to accept shall be obliged to serve the office, notwithstanding 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.

SECTION XII.

It is forbidden to re-elect 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 re-elected, after such interval, must accept the same office under a penalty of 500 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 Mexico, and he must serve the office in the mean time as directed by the preceding Section.

SECTION XIII.

All the Mine-Proprietors, Mine-Suppliers, persons reducing by contract, and Owners of reducing establishments of the respective districts, shall confer on the new Deputies power to promote their interests 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 Orlinances (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 cogni

zance.

SECTION XIV.

As soon as the election is over, an account of it, and proper notice, shall