INDUSTRIES 



written notice ; 1 fourthly, the right of joint 

 management ; fifthly, the continuance of the 

 adventure as long as any remained to work it ; 

 sixthly, the frequent settlement of accounts in 

 the periodic cost-book, and the enforcement of 

 contributions by the purser in the stannary 

 court ; seventhly, the right of excluding de- 

 faulters from participation in the profits ; eighthly, 

 the liability of mine, machinery, and produce to 

 the claims of creditors ; and, lastly, the fact that 

 the adventurer's interest lies, not in any capital 

 which he may have advanced, but simply in the 

 mine itself. 2 



It should be noted that the liability of the 

 adventurer, though restricted in kind, is un- 

 limited in amount, so that during his partnership 

 he is liable for the whole of the engagements 

 incurred in the ordinary course of mine manage- 

 ment. Should a mining company attempt to 

 default its dues, its creditors have action, solely 

 against the purser, 3 by petition, in the vice- 

 warden's court, and, upon non-payment, the 

 court will order a sale of the mine materials and 

 produce. 4 On the other hand, the purser may 

 obtain his remedy in the stannary courts against 

 an adventurer who defaults his obligations. 4 



Under this system the control of operations 

 rests with the purser. 5 He keeps the accounts, 

 authorizes the purchases of materials and stores, 

 hires the labourers, recommends assessments 

 upon the adventurers, summons the shareholders 

 to monthly or bi-monthly meetings, and, at each, 

 reads his report and prepares his statements. 6 

 Next in importance to the purser stands the 

 chief captain, or manager, who superintends the 

 entire mine 7 and the general routine of surface- 

 work, and under him are sub-captains, usually 

 selected from the most intelligent workmen, who 

 act as foremen or inspectors of the work under- 

 ground, are held strictly responsible for the work 

 of their section, and are stimulated by prospects 

 of advancement. 8 



It is, however, the wages system which has 

 attracted most attention. The Cornish miner's 

 year is divided into various periods, and at the 

 end of each occurs a ' setting day.' Some time 

 before, the agents or captains go through the 

 mine and decide what work is to be done in the 

 succeeding period that is, what shafts are to be 

 sunk and what levels driven. They also de- 



1 The retiring shareholder is entitled to withdraw 

 in cash his share of the mine machinery and materials, 

 the value of which is usually left to arbitration (Rep. 

 on Stannary Act Amend. Bill (1887), Q. 14). 



* James, Pseudo-Cost-Book Companies, 22, 45. 



3 Convoc. Cornw. 2 Jas. II, c. 6. 



4 James, Pseudo-Cost-Book Companies, 15. 



5 Cf. Pryce, Minerabgia Cornublensls, 173. 



6 Bartlett, Treatise on British Mining, 24 ; Watson, 

 Compendium of British Mining, 1 1 . 



7 Pryce, Minerahgta Comubiensls, 174. 



8 ' The Economyof Mining,' English's Quart. Mining 

 Rev. iv, 265. 



termine how many 'pitches' or divisions of the 

 lode are to be worked. They estimate the 

 quantity and quality of the ore which these 

 pitches are likely to yield, and the amount of 

 labour that must be devoted to the work ; and, 

 in a similar manner, they decide upon the 

 amount of labour which can be done in a given 

 time, in preparing the way for the extraction of 

 the ore, and determine, for example, the quality 

 of the ground through which the shafts, or 

 winzes, are to be sunk, or the levels driven. 



On the setting day, the men employed in the 

 mine, with those who have come from else- 

 where, desirous of work, assemble around the 

 account-houses or a platform, where the chief 

 agent, or captain, takes his stand. He reads the 

 rules under which the mine is to be worked, and 

 then auctions off, to small groups of workmen, 

 different pitches or pieces of work in the mine, 

 to the lowest bidders, who, in this case, represent 

 bodies of from two to eight men and boys, who 

 work together. When the men go to work 

 they are charged for the materials they use, in 

 the shape of tools, candles, powder, and other 

 necessaries, as well as for the cost of hauling the 

 rubbish to the surface. At the end of the period 

 for which the contract is let, a balance-sheet is 

 prepared ; they are credited with the amount of 

 work they have done and debited with its cost, 

 and frequently also with a subscription for 

 medical attendance and the maintenance of a 

 club, which supplies them or their families with 

 aid in case of accident. Sometimes, in addition, 

 these ' tut workers,' as they are called, are credited 

 with the small percentage of ore that may be 

 extracted in the course of their operations in 

 order to induce them to keep it as separate as 

 possible from the rubbish, and, during the pro- 

 gress of the work, they frequently receive pay- 

 ments on account. 



So far, then, for the work of preparing the 

 way. We have next to consider the actual work 

 of excavation. In this case the work to be done 

 is divided into small compartments, or pitches, 

 and, in like manner, put up to auction, except 

 that here the men offer to do the work in con- 

 sideration of receiving a percentage of the price 

 realized from the ore, after paying the cost of 

 reducing it to a saleable state. This is the so- 

 called 'tribute system.' As is the case with 

 ' tut ' work, the miners pay their own costs in 

 tools and materials, while to provide for their 

 support, until the balance is handed over to 

 them, they obtain certain customary advances 

 from the adventurers known as ' subsist.' 9 



This system, described in the nineteenth 

 century by Tuckett, 10 Laing, 11 and Watson, 18 to 



9 ' West Barbary,' by L. L. Price, Journ. Roy. 

 Statist. Soc. li, 494-566. 



10 Tuckett, Present State of the Labouring Population 

 (ed. 1846), 223-226. 



11 Laing, National Distress, 40, 41. 



" Watson, Compendium of British Mining, \ 114. 



555 



