| Management.... Once underground mining had become established, most mines worked on a Cost Book System, by which a group of ADVENTURERS, or shareholders, would provide the initial finance, appointing one of their number as Purser. the financial officer. 
Every quarter they would meet at the mine's Count House, to approve the accounts and to share out any profit or loss.
The dinners which followed these business meetings became famous for their extravagance; it. is even said that
the mines vied with each other to produce the most potent punch.
But the system meant that there were never any reserves left for hard times, because profits were not ploughed
back into the company, and Cost Book Companies eventually disappeared after the I860 Companies Act limited the
liability of individual shareholders
The MINE CAPTAIN. usually dressed in a white drill coat, was the Manager who looked after the day to day running
of the mine.
Large mines had several Captains. each responsible for a particular section and a 'Grass Captain for
the surface workers...... and workers 
In contrast to the Adventurers, mine workers themselves had an extremely hard existence. As TRIBUTERS they would
bid against each other to work particular pitches, or 'setts', underground, being paid a percentage of the value of the
ore they brought to surface. But they had to supply their own equipment, such as candles, rope and gunpowder
these were often obtained, at a cost, from the Adventurers. The system worked well, in that the Tributer retained
his independence, like a sub.contractor and the Adventurers could be sure that his considerable mining skills
and the lure of high earnings would lead him to search out the richest deposits in the mine.
Tributers worked in' pares', or groups, usually of two or three , but often more. There were other, more lowly paid workers,called TUTWORKERS, who were paid a fixed rate for every fathom they worked ; they were usually employed on work
such as shaft-sinking or loading |
