STATUTE LAW REVISION: SIXTEENTH ... - Law Commission

PART X
MISCELLANEOUS
159 Group 1 - Stannaries
160 Stannaries Acts 1869 and 1887
10.1 The Stannaries Acts 1869 and 1887 dealt principally with the regulation of
aspects of the constitution and operation of cost book companies operating in
the stannaries in Cornwall and Devon. Cost book companies were a species of
company peculiar for the most part to that part of the country. They were
characterised by unlimited liability for members and by an extremely restricted
power to borrow. They were originally simple partnerships between small groups
of working miners, the term ‘company’ in practice referring to persons working
together as an unincorporated association. The Stannaries Act 1869 was
passed to regulate the operation of cost book companies in the stannaries of
Cornwall and Devon. It covered matters such as the convening of company
meetings and the transfer and forfeiture of company shares. The Stannaries Act
1887 was concerned more with protecting the rights of the miners working in the
stannaries. It covered matters such as disputes over the payment of wages and
the keeping of proper records. These provisions have been superseded by more
modern legislation.
10.2 The disadvantages of cost book companies, particularly the unlimited liability of
members, caused all such companies to be converted over a period to limited
liability companies, the last such conversion taking place in 1920. Thereafter the
cost book company was extinct and the legislation dealing with it contained in the
two Stannaries Acts became obsolete. Accordingly both Acts may be repealed in
their entirety. 1 These repeals would permit two consequential repeals to the
Partnership Act 1890. None of the repeals would affect the ancient Cornish
custom of tin-bounding, nor would they affect the jurisdiction in relation to this
formerly vested in the stannaries court and now exercised by the county courts in
Cornwall. Most importantly these repeals would not affect continuing tin-mining
operations in the stannaries. The provisions proposed for repeal do not govern
rights to mine: rather they concern obsolete provisions relating to the constitution
and procedures of companies engaged in mining operations in the stannaries.
Amongst those consulted over these proposals have been the Duchy of
Cornwall, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Cornwall Law Society and
the Cornish Chamber of Mines. No objections have been made.
161 Group 2 - Sea Fish
162 Sea Fisheries Act 1883
10.1 The main object of the Sea Fisheries Act (the 1883 Act) was to give effect to an
1882 international Convention (the 1882 Convention) which provided a
1 The 1887 Act also in terms made provision with respect to incorporated companies mining
in the stannaries; to the extent that it did so, that Act has either been superseded or is no
longer of practical utility.
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