gems, corundum, Burma.12

Contains the Upper Burma Ruby Regulation, 1887. The cited section of The Burma Code contains the statutory provisions governing the Burma ruby-mining industry, particularly the rights of the government and its lessees in the Ruby Mines District. It defines and regulates the extraction and possession of rubies and other precious stones, establishes the legal authority under which mining may be conducted, and provides powers for controlling unauthorized mining, searching persons and premises, seizing illicitly obtained stones, and prosecuting offences. [208–216] The legislation reflects the special economic importance attached by the colonial government to the Mogok gem deposits and the need to protect the monopoly or licensed rights granted for their exploitation. It is consequently an important primary source for the legal and administrative framework under which the ruby, sapphire, and spinel deposits of Upper Burma were worked during the British period.