SULPHUR TRADE. Sulphur exists in Sicily, Iceland, Teneriffe, St. Vincent's, and some other places ; but the expense of obtaining it from most of those countries is eo great, that Sicily is almost. the only source of supply. Front that country England and France take more than 90 per cent. of the whole quantity exported. The average con sumption of England in the five years, from 1820 to 1824, was 7060 tons. In 1825 the duty was reduced from 151. to ] Os. a ton, and in the following ten years the annual consumption averaged 15,140 tons ; in 1837 it amounted to 37,4S6 tons. The Sicilian sulphur-awes are the property of individuals, and several English firms settled in Sicily are engaged in the trade. In 1836 M. Taix, a Frenchman, laid before the Sicilian government a project for establishing a company which was to have the exclusive right during ten years of purchasing Sicilian sulphur at fixed prices, on condition of spending 10,000/. a year in constructing roads, and exporting one-third of the quantity produced in Sicilian vessels. The British merchants becoming alarmed, the Sicilian govern ment, in reply to the British ambassador, stated that no such project would be adopted. it would have been in direct contravention to certain commercial treaties between the two governments. Tho Sicilian govern ment did, however, enter into a contract with M. Taix ; and on the 4th of July, 1838, notice was given at Palermo that the monopoly would come into operation on tho 1st of August ensuing. The negotiations respecting this monopoly were conducted with great secrecy, and it came into operation so suddenly that twenty-four vessels lost their cargoes. The British lessees of mines, and all others, were compelled to produce only a fixed quantity of sulphur ; prices rose front 61. 10s. or 71. to 13/. and 14/. per ton, and contracts could not be completed. At length the British government took very decided steps to put au end to a monopoly established iu the face of commercial treaties : tho coasts of Sicily and Naples were blockaded by our ships of war; and the Sicilian government, no longer daring to uphold the monopoly, accepted the mediation of the king of the French in adjusting the dispute with the British government. The monopoly was abolished in July, 1840, and a mixed English and Sicilian commission was appointed iu November to investigate the claims of British subjects whose inte rests had been injured by it. The claims amounted to 65,6101., of
which 21,307/. was awarded; and as it was stipulated that the awards should bear interest at the rate of 6 per cent. so long as they remained unsettled, the Sicilian government agreed, in January, 1842, to pay them without any delay. The sulphur trade was thereupon placed on the same footing as before the date of the contract with M. Taix.
A correspondent of the Times newspaper, while noting and recording the exploits of Garibaldi in Sicily in 1860, turned aside to visit the principal sulphur district, and to give an account of the present mode of conducting the trade. The chief mines are at Villarosa, Santa Catania, and Terra di Falco. The sulphur lies imbedded in tufa, gyp sum, or limestone, mostly at the sides of mountains. Sometimes the vein is so thick as to require pillars of sulphur to be left to support the roof of the mine. The smelting, or preparation for market, used to be conducted in the open air ; but as this injured the quality, and moreover tainted the air of the neighbourhood, another plan is now adopted. A round space is cleared on the side of a mountain, about sixty feet in diameter, with a high wall to bound it on the outer or lower side. An orifice in this side is formed, temporarily plastered over. The sulphur-stone is placed in regular layers ou the open space, heaped up conically very high, and is well covered with the rubbish resulting from former smeltings. Fire is applied through a small opening, which is then closed up ; and the stone burns for about three weeks, as much excluded from the air as possible. When the whole of the sulphur in the stone has become liquefied, the hole is tapped, and a black pitchy liquid runs out Into troughs; this liquid cools to a yellow solid, clean or dirty according to its quality. The price of the sulphur thus obtained is greatly increased by the difficulty of transport. There is no ro.u.1 from the mines suitable for vehicles. Mules carry the sulphur to the nearest town, whence it is conveyed in two-horse carts to Girgenti.