Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/608

MINERVA. 544 MINES AND MINING. the Greek conception of Athena almost com- pletely supplanteil the earlier Italian belief. MINERVA MED'ICA, Temi-i.e ok. The name erroneously j,Mven in the seventeenth century to the ruins of a decajronal nymphieum on the Esqui- line in Konie, formerly helonying to the Lieinian Uardens. The name was wronjily based on that of the famous statue of Minerva in the Vatican Jluseum, which was not found cm the Ksquiline, but near the Church of Santa Maria sopra Mi- nerva. The title niedica also rests on a miscon- ception, as the serpent at the foot of the statue is not the serpent of .Esculapius, l)ut the protec- tor of the olive gardens. The ten sides of the nyni- plueiim, once adorned with mosaics and porphyry, are occujiied on the lower story by a door and nine niches, with (en windows above them. It was covered by a dome which was destroyed in 1828. When the ruins were excavated in the six- teenth century, numbers of statues and architec- tural marl'lcs were recovered. MINERVA PRESS. The name of a I.ondon printing house, from which issued, late in the eighteenth and early in the nineteenth century, an immense number of sentimental and trashy novels. MINERVINO MTJRGE, nie'ner-ve'no moor'- jA. A walh'd town in the Province of T!ari. Italy, situated about 25 miles southwest of Bar- letta (^fap: Italy. L 0). It produces fruit and vegetables. Population, in lOOl, 17.353. MINES AND MINING-. See Mining. MINES AND MINING (in Law). The law relating to iTiincs in the I'nited States has been almost wholly developed within the last lifty years. By the laws of England all mines of gold or silver, wherever found, belonged not to the ow-ner of the land, hut to the sovereign. There is some doubt as to whi'ther this doctrine was ever generally adopted in the United States. It was, however, undoubtedly recognized by several East- ern States immediately after the Revolution, and in New York a statute, still in force, expressly reserves to the State the right to mines of gold and silver. In general, however, the Government, of the I'nited States was considered to reserve all mineral rights in lands conveyed or given to citi- zens, unless such rights were expressly granted. For a time the Government leased mineral lands on royalties, or fixed rents, but. owing to the great dilliculty in ascertaining and collecting the amounts due, the policy was finally abandoned, and rights to take minerals were granted out- right. The law was in this condition when gold was discovered in California, and thousands of per- sons, many of them without previous experience, rushed I here. anil discovered ami ojH'ned up mines. To avoid the frequent shedding of blood and other disagreeable consequences of dispiites over the extent of each other's rights, il became the cus- tom for the niners in n new district to meet and pass rules and regulations on every subji'Ct relat- ing to their calling, and these were enforced by committees ajipointed for the purpose. Subse- quently, when courts were established in Cali- fornia, they adopted those rules ami regulations ■whieh had become so recognized and fixed in min- ing communities ns to become in elTect the common law- of mines. The claims of the miners were protected upon the fiction that they had origi- nally obtained a license from the tiovcrnment, and if they followed the rules of their particular dis- tricts they were lield to have a properly right in their mines or claims, as they were called. These rights or claims could be conveyed, would descend to the heirs, and were in every way treated as real property. In July, 18Gti, Congress passed a law providing that title to public mineral lands might be acquired by payment of a small juice or fee and by complying with certain prescribed formalities. This act was superseded by an act in IS?;! ( AVr. t<tfif.. tit. xxxii., (-h. ti) which sub- stantially incuriiorated the provisions of the for- mer act, and supplemented them with others sug- gested by the new development in mining law-. The act of 1873 also provided for the judicial recognition of the rules and regulations then prevalent, and such as might thereafter obtain recognition in mining districts, where they were not contrary to its own provisions or the laws of the States in which such districts were situated. One of the important provisions of the last act was to prescribe the maximum limits of claims. The extent of a lode i-laim. that is one where the ore runs in a well-detined vein, is fixed at .'idO feet on either side of the vein by 1500 feet in length : and placer claims, that is where the ore is loosely mingled with the surface earth, are not to exceed 20 acres to one individual, or 100 acres to an association of individuals. The areas of both lode and placer claims may be changed by the statutes of the various States or by the rules of a mining district, provided they do not exceed the above ti.xed limits. The owner of a claim may follow- a well-defined vein of mineral for 3000 feet from the oj)ening of the shaft in any direc- tion, and he may follow- a vein the general course of which is downward through its 'dips' and vari- ations indefinitely. The common-law rule that a man owns every- thing beneath the surface of his land is, there- fore, not followed in our modern law relating to mines. It often happens that two lodes inter- sect, and in such a case the one w-ho first ojiened his mine is entitled to the ore at the point ot intersection; but each is entitled to follow- his lode farther, and each has an easement or right to cross the tunnel of the other at that point in the proper working of his mine. Owing to the great dilficulty in ascertaining whether a person is trespassing in this manner, any owner of lands who has reasonable cause to suspect that another is doing so may ol>tain from a eourt of equity an 'order of inspection' to determine whether he is encroaching on the land of the complainant or not. Rights to water, whieh is so essential in min- ing operations, vary in ditTerent jurisdictions; but in general the one who first appropriates the waters of a stream for his use in mining is con- ceded the right to use all that is rcascmabjy neces- sary in his operations. However, when some one else locates on the same stream the first person can only continue to take the amount he was using when the second person located his claim. The owner of a mine must jiroperly support the earth surrounding his tunnels, and is liable for any damage caused to the lands of others by settling of the earth if he is negligent in this particular. The rules and customs of the miners which were given the elTect of law- by the statute of IH73, and those which have since come into ex- istence, are loo numerous and complicated to be