EXTRACT FROM TAVERNIER’S VOYAGES.

24 6

CHAP. IV.— Of the various forts of Weights ufed at the Mines for 'Weighing the Dia-monds ; of the different Gold and Silver Goins there current; of the feveral Roads

leading to the Mines , and of the Rule they have to afeertain the price of Diamonds .

I NOW come to fpeak of fome particulars obferved in the diamond trade, which Idoubt not will be acceptable to the reader, no one having before ‘written on thisfubject.

In the firft place, I come to fpeak of the various forts of weights in ufe, as well at themines as in the other parts of Afia.

At the Raolconda mine they weigh by mangelins, and the mangelin there is 1] ofa carat, that is to fay feven grains.

At the mine of Gani or Coulour they ufe the fame as at Raolconda.

At the mine of Soumelpour in Bengala, they weigh by the ratis, which is f of a ca-rat, or 3 } grains, and they ufe the fame weights throughout the Great Mogul’s empire.In the kingdoms of Golconda and Vifapour they likewife make ufe of the mangelin,but in thefe places it is only i f of a carat. The Portuguefe alfo ufe the fame kind ofweight in Goa , but there it is only five grains.

I come in the next place to fpeak of the coins ufed for buying diamonds in theIndies.

Firft, at the kingdom of Bengala in the territory of the Rajah before mentioned,being tributary to the Great Mogul, they make their payments in roupees.

At the two mines, which are in the kingdom of Vifapour, in the neighbourhood ofRaolconda, the payment is made in new pagodas, which the King caufes to be coinedin his name, as being entirely independent of the Great Mogul. The new pagodas arenot always of the fame value, fometimes going for three roupees and a half, fometimesfor more, and fometimes for lefs, rifing and falling according to the courfe of trade,and the agreement entered into by the money changers with the princes and governors.

At the Coulour or Gani mine, which belongs to the King of Golconda , the paymentis alfo made in new pagodas, which are of the fame value as thofe of the King of Vifa-pour. Although they are fometimes obliged to buy them, at from one to four per cent,more, on account of their being better gold, and their not taking any other at thismine. Thefe pagodas are made by the Englilh and the Dutch, who are privileged bythe King, either of his own accord or from necefiity, to coin them in their forts. Thofeof the Dutch coft one or two per cent, more than the Englilh, becaufe they are of afiner ftandard, and the miners like them much better. But as the merchants in gene-ral are prepoffeffed with the falfe opinion, that the people at the mine are rude and al-moft like favages, as alfo that the roads from Golconda to the mines are very dangerous,they generally remain at Golconda , where thofe who fpeculate in mining have theircorrefpondents, who fend them the diamonds. They pay there in old pagodas, coin-ed feveral centuries ago, bearing the impreffions of the various princes who reigned inthe Indies before the Mahometans had got footing there. Thefe old pagodas pafs forfour rupees and a half, that is one roupee more than the new ones, although they haveno more gold in them, and of courfe do not weigh more, which might occafion fomefurprife, did I not explain the caufe, which is, that the cherafs or money changers to in-fluence the King in their favour, pay him annually a large fum, they themfolves de- »riving a great profit; for the merchants never receive any of thefe pagodas, without hav-ing one of the money changers to examine them, fome being defaced, others of a bad

ftandard,