THE PHILIPPINES.
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send ' the Chinese home at his own expense. Then, when he had got his ore into the market, the royal stores refused to buy it on t he ground that it had been worked by men who were not Christians! H e was thus obliged to give up the enterprise, and the governmen t claimed renewed possession, leaving him a ruined man . Though really a valuable mine, nothing has ever been done with it since. Another story is told by Foreman, where in the Bulacan province an
SCI9NE TN UULACAN.
ll'on mine was attempted by a couple of Englishmen at the hegimung of the present century . They erected at great expense machinery necessary to carryon the work, and then engaged' all tbe bead men r Olmd about tbe count ry to hire help for them at a fixed salary . For a time tbis scheme worked well ; then the agents began to demand their wages in advance and grew importunate, though the number of the miners was steadily decreasing. In vain the Englishmen tuied to secure a sufficient number of labourers to catrry on their under taking, and finall y, having spent over twenty million