THE STAXXARIES OF CORNWALL. 303 



The Cornish factors and others are not the onl3' causes of 

 the poor tinners' atflittions, against which it appears he might 

 set off some of liis great privileges. Tlie Cornish Lawyers do not 

 escape eastigation — "For as the Factors grind the poor Tinners 

 to gratify the principal Traders and thereby increase their 

 commissions, so the Lawyers upon the discovery of a rich mine 

 (taking the advantage of the Tinners' ignorance of the Stannaiy 

 Laws, they heing not set forth and published in print),'-' do use 

 all means (by way of pretended Justice) to right those clients 

 against the Bounder, the Landloi-cl, or their fellow adventurers, 

 when in truth it is in the main a contrivance to make themselves 

 masters of these mines and the profits thereof and the Tinners 

 the Slaves to dig the Oar (sic) for them. And this they the 

 sooner do liecause their Fees are so great and the Law Suits 

 which they create so dilatory that (in proportion) they exceed all 

 other grievances. Whereas the Tinners' privilege (as I am 

 informed) is to have their proceedings at Law altogether in 

 English, and upon payment of a penny only they are at liberty 

 to appear in person and to speak and act for themselves that 

 their causes may be the sooner heard. Upon the whole it may 

 be said that it is with the Tinner and his Tin as it is with the 

 Spaniard and his Silver, and indeed the Tinner takes all the 

 pain and others take away the profit." 



The writer concludes his spii'ited pamphlet hj a tabidar 

 statement of the amount of Tin coined in Ooi'nwall in 1692 

 which was shipped off month by month at the Port of London 

 for that year, with each merchant's name and the name of the 

 several ports to which it was sent. 



The other pamphlet is entitled "A State of the Proceedings 

 of the Convocation or Parliament for the Stannaries of the 

 County of Cornwall, held at Lostwithiel, on Tuesday, the 28tli 

 day of August, 1750, and at Helstone by Prorogation on 

 Saturday, the 20tli October following, and also the point in 

 dispute between the Lord Warden and the House of Stanators 

 [sic) impartially stated and fairly discussed Together with some 



19. The author appears to be right here. 



