MR. PRITCHARD MORGAN (Merthyr Tydvil)asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he would state, or if 1793 he would consent to a Return, showing what amounts have been paid to the Treasury annually, by way of royalties for minerals raised on the Crown lands of Wales, from the year 1860 up to the present time, and for what metals and minerals have such royalties been paid; what amounts have been received by the Treasury as royalty from "mines royal" on freehold lands during the same period, and what amount for gold and what for silver; what has been the approximate cost per annum of administering this department of the public service, and of collecting these royalties; and whether the Government intends in future to charge any royalty upon gold and silver obtained from mines royal on freehold property when such gold and silver is not being obtained at a profit to the adventurers?
§ * THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Mr. GOSCHEN, St. George's,) Hanover SquareI cannot state the particulars asked for in the first paragraph of the hon. Member's question without a Return; and a Return distinguishing the royalties received for each mineral for 28 years would be a long and costly business. As the total amount derived from these royalties has been less than £8,000 a year on the average for the last eight years, I do not think I should be justified in authorizing the expenditure of time and money necessary to obtain such a Return. As to royalties received by the Treasury from "mines Royal" on freehold lands during the same period, they were quite insignificant till the present financial year, when they amounted to £832. The cost of administering the Crown mineral property in Wales cannot be separately stated. The cost of collection and local supervision somewhat exceeds 8 per cent. The Commissioners of Woods and Forests will be willing to consider the claim of adventurers working "mines Royal" without profit to be exempt from royalties; but it must depend upon the circumstances of each case. I think the hon. Member can call to mind the case of a mine being sold to a company for, in shares and cash, £190,000, not so long ago. If the company in question were, in consequence of paying such a price, to make no profit, I should not consider that a reason for remitting the royalty due to the Crown. Until a 1794 few years ago, the Crown would have received one-fourth of the profits of the sale in question, and I am sorry that the Exchequer does not get such a share now.