Show the mineral wealth of japan these islands says a spanish writer of the seventeenth century scare are excessively byrich rich in gold and silver the abundance of these metals is scarcely credible in jeddo theca the pital capital not only the palace of the emperor but also many houses of great lords are covered with riel rich plates of gold 5 the greatest riches richea of the japanese soil says the careful and accurate kampfer band and those wherein this empire exceeds most known countries consist in all sorts of min minerals and metals particularly in gold silver and copper on this pot point all the old writers are agreed gold is dug out of the mines in in muy many provinces the greatest quantity of it 15 is melted out of its own ore some is washed out of gold sand and small quantities are said to be contained in the copper tue tile richest gold ore and that which contains the finest gold is mined in one of the northern districts of the great island ciphon there is also a very rich gold sand in the same part of the ib fand but bait gold ore or gold in dust appears appears to be found in innumerable parts or 0 the japanese archipelago i deterred by superstitious fears the native miners have seldom penetrated far into the earth but have rested eadi satisfied fied with the gold found surface in a memorandum laid bea before ora the dutch govenor general at batavia in 1744 it is a cal calculation dation showing that in the beginning of the se seventeenth century when the trade with japan was an open one the export of I 1 gold and silver was ton ten millions of dutch fiorina florins flor fior ins or about per annum this export was first contracted and in 1680 I 1 entirely forbidden zhe the same calculation goes on to prove that in the couric course of years vears the export of gold and silver must mast have amounted to the enormous value of from twenty twenty diveto five 40 fifty millions sterling in a goo good many old accounts of india both french and en english aish we find frequent mention of the gold r 0 d ingots ingols of japan 2 about the middle of of the seventeenth century centary these ingots ingols appear to h have abounded in bengal but bet mt at an an early period or between 1545 and 1615 it is notorious that the portuguese obtained in japan in exchange for merchandise enormous quantities of the precious metals silver mines are described as quite as numerous nu as the gold mines and their produce as excellent in quality jn one year we and the portuguese exporting 2850 2350 chests of this enis fine silver valued in round ji numbers umbers at sterling to the east of japan lie two islands called par excellence 1 th the 11 gold old and silver islands 9 these have neverseen never teen been touched by europeans copper abounds all through the group and some is is said to be the finest in the worm world it is refined and cast into small cylinders about a foot long and an inch thick it was formerly one of the chief commodities purchased 4 in japan by the dutch who b brought it into europe and carried on a great trade in it there is ii also a coarser kind of copper which is cast into large roAn digh lumps or cakes the dutch have in some years I 1 carried off from thirty to forty forta thousand of this copper each being about pounds weight 0 |