316 Mr. Taylor on the Economy 



man who looks to tlie receipt and due delivery of articles used in 

 working the mine, and a principal carpenter and blacksmith, though 

 the two latter are often employed by contract. 



3. The Mode of emploving and paying the Miners and Workmen in 

 Use among the Agents of the principal Mines, 



W'e now come to that part of the economy of the Cornish mines, 

 which is most deserving of consideration from the effects it has pro- 

 duced, not only by procuring regularly a great deal of effective 

 labour in proportion to the money paid for it, but also by turning 

 that labour into such a direction as to make it the interest of the 

 workmen to increase the discoveries of ore, and to work it and 

 make it saleable in the most economical manner. Thus the owners 

 of the mine have the advantage of all the intellect and skill that the 

 men collectively possess, and have only to guard against the chances 

 of fraud which such a system may be supposed to be subject to, 

 but which are in fact under intelligent and faithful agents of too 

 trifling a nature to be accounted of any importance. 



The work of the mines, on the surface as well as underground, is 

 universally performed by contract, and in this particular the practice 

 of this district is probably similar to that of .other mining establish- 

 rnents in diiTerent parts of the kingdom. Day work is in general 

 disrepute in the stannaries, and is seldom resorted to, but where jobs 

 are to be performed which either hardly admit of a previous estimate, 

 or are too trifling to be worth contracting for ; so that the charges 

 under this head, among all the various operations of a large and 

 well-managed mine, usually amount to but a very small proportion 

 of the whole. 



I'he plan of making the contracts with the miners, which it is 



