INDUSTRIES counties the parliaments were probably an ex- pansion of and an offshoot from the grand juries in the stannary courts, which, as we have seen, were called upon to declare the customs, and which often prefixed to their presentments of criminals a confirmation of existing stannary law. 1 It is stated in the older local histories that until 1305 the tinners of Devon and Cornwall met in one parliament, on Kingston Hill, near Callington, 2 and that after the charters of that year the two counties held their parliaments apart. 3 All that can be stated, however, is that the records of the Devon parliaments go back only to 1 5 io, 4 while those for Cornwall begin with I588, 5 by which latter date the convoca- tions were assembled in accordance with the articles of the Charter of Pardon. This docu- ment was the indirect result of the cupidity of Henry VII, who, in consequence of violations of the stannary laws on the part of the tinners, especially of the regulations initiated by Prince Arthur, 6 had declared the stannary charters for- feited, and restored them in 1507 only upon pay- ment of a fine of 1,100. To the original document he added a grant of new powers to the Cornish parliament. Twenty-four ' stannators ' were to be nominated, six by the mayor and council of each of the towns of Lostwithiel, Truro, Launceston, and Helston, representing the stannaries of Blackmore, Tywarnhail, Fowey- more, and Penwith and Kerrier, and the convo- cation so constituted had power to allow or disallow any statute or proclamation made by the king, or by the Prince of Wales, which should be 'to the prejudice of any tinner, or other person having to do with black or with white tin.' 7 Under these auspices began the parliaments whose records can still be traced. 8 The question as to whether they represented all classes of tinners requires to be answered with some circumspection. Although in Devon- shire the manner of election was highly demo- cratic, 9 in Cornwall the case was different, due to the fact that the nomination of stannators was 1 The lead mines of Derbyshire and of Mendip do not seem to have held parliaments, but the great Bar- mote Courts of the former really performed the functions of a parliament, together with those of a court (Comfleat Mineral Laws of Derbyshire). The Devon parliaments were spoken of as ' Great Courts,' and the members as jurates.
- Carew, Survey of Cornwall (ed. 1811), p. 17.
3 Add. MS. 6682, fol. 507. 4 Laws of the Stannary of Devon (ed. 1575). 5 Add. MS. 6713, fol. 195, et seq. 6 Ibid. fols. 101-104. 7 Pat. 23 Hen. VII, pt. vii, m. 29, 30, 31. 8 The order of procedure observed differed little from that of the House of Commons. See Add. MS. 6713, fols. 415, 456. 9 ' The Ancient Stannary of Ashburton,' by R. N. Worth, Trans. Devon Assoc. viii, 321. the privilege of the mayors and councils of the stannary towns. How they exercised their powers for the first century and a half we do not know, but in 1687, inconsequence of the failure of the convocation to ratify a royal contract for the preemption, we find the warden suggesting to the king the possibility of so returning mem- bers ' that they will consist of loyal, sober persons,' 10 and ten years later complaint was made that the mayors of the stannary towns who returned convocators were the bitterest enemies the tinners had. 11 Even where appointments were free from bias, it is doubtful if the Cornish parliaments repre- sented any class but that of the large mine-owners or tin dealers, inasmuch as a perusal of the lists of members reveals few who were neither knights, baronets, gentlemen, nor esquires." Further evi- dence to the same effect is supplied by the origin of the body known as ' the assistants.' As early as Elizabeth's reign the stannators had petitioned the queen that their numbers be doubled, and that the additional members from each stannary be chosen by the stannary courts as in Devon. 13 The request was not granted, but by 1674 we find the stannators each nominating an assistant, and the latter summoned by the vice-warden to consult with the convocation, the idea being that by this means the latter would be kept better informed of the situation among tinners of the lower ranks. 14 It is questionable whether this was the effect. The assistants as well as their principals appear to have been gentlemen, 15 and, whatever their station, their sole function seems to have been to say yes or no to propositions submitted for their approval. They were allowed no votes, they were not even present at the ses- sions, but were placed in a separate apartment, and called in only on rare occasions ; nor does it appear that they ever ventured to dissent from any bill upon which their opinion was sought. As to the actual power which these parlia- ments could exert in the face of royal or of princely opposition, the meagreness of the records does not permit of a satisfactory answer. So far as they go they reveal two or three instances in which the royal will was thwarted. Thus in the reign of Charles II we find the appointment of Penzance as a coinage town nullified for some time, by the neglect of the convocation of tinners to extend to it the ordinary laws of the coinage. 16 In 1674, again, the parliament was at 10 Treas. Papers, ii, io. 11 The Tinners' Grievance. " Add. MS. 6713, fols. 194, 223, 353, 415, 456. Treas. Papers, ii, 58. See also Hist. MSS. Com. Rep. ix, pt. ii, 90-94. 13 Convoc. Cornw. 30 Eliz. c. 5. 14 The practice is referred to as having been in use previous to 1674 (Add. MS. 6713, fol. 392). 15 See Add. MS. 6713, fol. 393 et seq., 459. 16 T. Pearce, Laws and Customs of the Stannaries, 103. 535
