Art. 81 (Modified By The Act Of 27th July 1880)

The working of open-air quarries requires a simple declaration made to the Mayor of the Commune, and forwarded to the Prefect. It takes place under supervision of the Government, and must conform to the laws and regulations. - The general regulations shall be replaced by regulations made in the form of State Council decrees, in departments where these are in force.

Art. 82 (Modified By The Act Of 27th July 1880)

When the workings are carried on in subterranean galleries they are under the supervision of the mining administration as foreseen in Arts. 47, 48, and 50. - In Paris the working of underground quarries of any kind is forbidden. - The two decrees, with force of law, dated 22nd March and 4th July 1813, and the decree of general regulation dated the 22nd March 1813, relating to the working of quarries in the departments of Seine and Seine-et-Oise, are repealed.

Art. 83

Peat can only be worked by the owner of the land, or with his consent.

Art. 84

A proprietor who wishes to work the peat-beds on his land cannot do so, under penalty of 100 francs, unless he has previously made declaration at the sub-prefecture and received a permit.

Art. 85

A Government regulation will fix the direction of the works of extraction in the land where the peat is situated, that of the drying-trenches, and in fact all the measures for facilitating the flow of water in the valley, and the deposit of the peat cuttings.

Art. 86

The owners working the peat, whether private individuals, commonalties, or public institutions, must conform to the above under penalty of being obliged to cease working.

IX. Of Expert Arbitration

Art. 87

In all cases foreseen by the present law, and in other cases arising from special circumstances in which expert arbitration is necessary, the regulations of Cap. 14 of the Code of civil procedure, Arts. 303 and 323, shall be carried out.

Art. 88

The experts shall be chosen from among mining engineers, or men eminent and experienced in mining matters.

Art. 89

The Imperial Procurator shall always be heard, and shall give his opinion on the reports of the experts.

Art. 90

No plans shall be admitted as evidence in a contested case, unless submitted or approved by a mining engineer. The verification of plans shall always be made gratis.

Art. 91

The expenses and fees of experts shall be assessed and fixed, according to circumstances, by the courts; also the honoraria of mining engineers; all being in accordance with the scale fixed by a Government regulation. Nevertheless, there shall be no honoraria for mining engineers when the operations have been conducted either in the Government interests or in consequence of police supervision.

Art. 92

The deposit of the sums considered necessary for paying the expenses of expert evidence may be required by the court from the party who seeks such evidence.

The Act of 21st April 1810, from which we have given extracts referring to the industry we are discussing, was completed by the Act of 27th April 1838, relating to the draining and working of mines, which, when several mines situated in different concessions are attacked or threatened by a common inundation which is likely to imperil their existence, public safety, or the needs of consumers, gives the Government power to oblige the grantees of those mines to carry out, jointly and at their own expense, the works necessary either for draining the whole or part of the flooded mines or to check the progress of the inundation. As this Act has only a limited interest, we think we may forbear from printing the text of it here.