Stannaries Act 1887
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1887 c. 43 |
| Year | 1887 |
Stannaries Act, 1887
(50 & 51 Vict.) CHAPTER 43.
An Act to amend the Stannaries Act, 1869, and for other purposes relating thereto.
[16th September 1887]
B E it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
Preliminary.
1 Short title.
1. This Act may be cited as theStannaries Act, 1887.
2 Interpretation.
2. In this Act—
The term ‘the stannaries’ means the stannaries of Cornwall and Devon:
The term ‘vice-warden’ means the vice-warden of the stannaries for the time being:
‘Court’ means the vice-warden's court:
The ‘registrar’ means the registrar for the time being of the court:
The term ‘company’ means any persons or partnership body, joint stock company, company constituted under the Companies Act, 1862, or any statutory modification thereof, and whether corporate or unincorporate, and whether limited or unlimited, engaged in or formed for working mines within the stannaries:
The term ‘purser’ means the purser for the time being of a company, or if there is no purser then the secretary for the time being, or if there is no secretary, then the principal agent or manager for the time being of a company:
The term ‘cost book’ includes all books and papers relating to the business of a mine which are for the time being kept by a purser, or which, according to law or the custom of the stannaries, ought to be kept by him:
The term ‘lessors’ means the lessor or grantor of any lease, or grant of any mine, or licence to exercise mining rights and powers, and includes every person entitled under any such lease, grant, or licence, or any other instrument whatever, to receive the rents or dues payable in respect of any mine:
The term ‘mortgagees’ includes all holders of mortgage-debentures, mortgages, or other charges issued by any company:
The term ‘sheriff’ includes any officer charged with the execution of a writ or other process:
The term ‘miners’ includes all artizans, labourers, and other persons working in and about a mine, except the purser, secretary, agent, or manager:
The term ‘wages’ includes all earnings by miners arising from any description of piece or other work, or as tributers or otherwise:
The term ‘mining effects’ includes machinery, materials, goods, and chattels, and all ores and halvans, and all other personal property appertaining to a mine, or used or intended to be used for mining purposes.
3 Extent of Act.
3. This Act extends only to metalliferous mines and tin streaming works within the stannaries.
4 Wages to have priority.
4. Miners employed wholly or in part in or about a mine, in respect of their wages in relation to the mine, not exceeding an amount equal to three months wages to each person, shall have for such wages a first charge upon all mining effects in and about the said mine, belonging to the said mine or to any company by whom the said mine is worked, and upon all money of the company in the count-house or in charge of the purser, agent, or secretary, or other person on behalf of the company, or at the credit of the company at their bankers, and upon all other assets whatever of the company in respect of the said mine, and such first charge shall, subject to the provisions of the tenth section of this Act, have priority over all claims for rents, royalties, dues, or otherwise by the lessors of the said mine, or by mortgagees, or judgment, execution, or other creditors of the said company, or by any other persons whatever.
5 Claims of miners on leaving or death to be communicated to the manager.
(1)5.—(1.) If any miner upon leaving a mine shall leave with, or forward to the manager of the said mine, a written memorandum of the wages which he claims to be then owing to him, and also of either his own name and address, or the name and address of some person to act in his behalf, the manager shall forthwith enter such name and address and claim in the books of the company.
(2) (2.) On the notification to the manager of the death of any miner to whom wages are due, the manager shall forthwith enter in the books of the company a memorandum stating the fact of the death and the amount of wages due or claimed.
6 Sheriff after levy to deposit wages due at date of levy.
6. A sheriff in execution of any process against a company shall, in the first instance, seize for the amount of the judgment debt and costs, and on such seizure shall forthwith require and receive from the purser a full and correct statement of the total sum appearing by the books of the company to be due to the miners or their representatives for such wages as aforesaid, including a fair estimate of moneys earned as wages and not yet ascertained; and thereupon the sheriff shall enlarge his seizure so as to seize and sell sufficient to satisfy all the aforesaid moneys appearing to be due for such wages in addition to the judgment debt and costs, and such other charges as by law are allowed to the sheriff; and out of the proceeds of such sale shall, after payment of his own costs and expenses, but before paying the judgment debt and costs, pay to the purser the amount of such wages, whose receipt shall be a sufficient discharge for the same, and who shall distribute the same to the persons entitled thereto.
7 Orders for payment of wages made by justices to have priority.
7. After the commencement of this Act when orders for the payment of wages due in respect of work done at any mine have been made by any of Her Majesty's justices of the peace, and the several amounts payable thereunder have not been discharged within the time allowed by law for that purpose, a distress may be levied on and sale made of any such mining effects, in or on such mine, as are by law liable to be distrained for rent.
8 Court to enforce priority.
8. In addition to every other remedy for obtaining payment of their wages, the said miners, or any of them, may institute proceedings in the court, by way of summons, for enforcing the said first charge given to them by this Act, and the vice-warden may grant and make (ex parte or otherwise) all such injunctions and orders as he may think necessary and proper in order to secure such miners from loss; and if any amount ordered to be paid shall not have been paid within the time mentioned in such order, execution may be levied on and sale made of any mining effects in or on such mine as are by law liable to be distrained for rent.
9 Under winding-up proceedings money may be borrowed to pay wages.
9. If at the commencement of the winding-up of any company, whether by the court or otherwise, any wages, not exceeding such an amount as under the fourth section would be made a first charge, are unpaid, the same shall be paid by the official liquidator or liquidator forthwith in priority to all other costs except such costs of and incidental to the making of the order for the winding up as in the opinion of the court shall have been properly incurred, and, subject to the tenth section of this Act, to all claims, whether by mortgagees, execution creditors, or any other person whatsoever; and, subject as aforesaid, the court may by order charge the whole or any part of the assets of the company, in absolute priority to all claims and to all existing mortgages or charges thereon, with the payment of a sum sufficient to discharge the said wages, with interest thereon at a rate not exceeding five per centum per annum, and such charge may be made in favour of any person who is willing to advance the requisite amount, or any part thereof, and as soon as the said sum has been so advanced the said wages shall be paid without delay, so far as such advanced amount extends, and in such order of payment as the court directs.
10 Saving of rights of clerks and servants.
10. Nothing in the fourth or eighth section of this Act is to be taken to have the effect of defeating or abridging or extending the right conferred upon clerks and servants by the Companies Act, 1883, to be paid in the winding up of a company in priority to other creditors, pari passu with labourers and workmen out of such assets only as are distributable by the liquidator or official liquidator within the meaning of the said Act, except that such priority shall only be given to the extent of three months, and shall not extend to the principal agent or manager, purser or secretary.
11 Time for payment of wages.
11. After the commencement of this Act it shall be lawful for a company to retain in its hands from the wages earned by any miner working at surface during the continuance of his employment seven days wages and no more. Subject to the light of the company to retain such seven days wages, all surface miners shall be paid once a fortnight, and the amount so retained shall be paid to the miner within seven days of his ceasing to be employed by the company. All wages that may become due to miners employed by contract underground shall be payable within fourteen days from the expiration of the contract. At the end of twenty-eight days from the commencement of the contract, and also at the end of every subsequent fourteen days during the continuance of the same...
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