310 Mr. Taylor on the Economy 



The mines of England have no assistance from the government, 

 but must rely for their success upon their own resources, and the 

 spirit and energy of their ow^ners ; and it is probably to this cause 

 that we may attribute the activity and economy which, when their 

 constitutions are duly examined, may be found to prevail in the 

 principal mining districts. 



The peculiar system invented and gradually improved to its 

 present state in the mines of Cornwall, and more recently adopted 

 in the undertakings of the same kind in the adjoining county, so 

 completely answer the purpose of combining the interests of the 

 working miner with those of his employer, that if benefit is to be 

 expected from such a plan, it is worth describing, as a detail which 

 may furnish hints that may prove useful to all who are interested 

 in the subject. 



The economy of a mine may be considered under the following 

 general heads : 



1. — The nature of the agreements between the owner of the soil 

 and the mine adventurers. 



2. — ^The arrangements between the partners or adventurers 

 themselves, and the system of controul and management 

 appointed by them. 



3, — The mode of employing and paying the miners and work- 

 men, in use among the agents of the principal concerns. 



4. — The purchase of materials for carrying on the undertaking. 



5. — The sale of the ores from the mine adventurers to the 

 smelting companies. 



In reviewing the whole system, it may appear that there are parts 

 subject to censure as well as others worthy of imitation ; but the 

 detail will not be the less useful on this account, and it is to be un- 

 derstood that different mines in tlie Stannaries vary from each 



