BOOK IV.
HE third book has explained the various and manifold varieties of veins and stringers. This fourth book will deal with mining areas and the method of delimiting them, and will then pass on to the officials who are connected with mining affairs[1].
Now the miner, if the vein he has uncovered is to his liking, first of all goes to the Bergmeister to request to be granted a right to mine, this official's special function and office being to adjudicate in respect of the mines. And so to the first man who has discovered the vein the Bergmeister awards the head meer, and to others the remaining meers, in the order in which each makes his application. The size of a meer is measured by fathoms, which for miners are reckoned at six feet each. The length, in fact, is that of a man's extended arms and hands measured across his chest; but different peoples assign to it different lengths,
- ↑ The nomenclature in this chapter has given unusual difficulty, because the organisation of mines, either past or present, in English-speaking countries provides no exact equivalents for many of these offices and for many of the legal terms. The Latin terms in the text were, of course, coined by the author, and have no historical basis to warrant their adoption, while the introduction of the original German terms is open to much objection, as they are not only largely obsolete, but also in the main would convey no meaning to the majority of readers. We have, therefore, reached a series of compromises, and in the main give the nearest English equivalent. Of much interest in this connection is a curious exotic survival in mining law to be found in the High Peak of Derbyshire. We believe (see note on p. 85) that the law of this district was of Saxon importation, for in it are not only many terms of German origin, but the character of the law is foreign to the older English districts and shows its near kinship to that of Saxony. It is therefore of interest in connection with the nomenclature to be adopted in this book, as it furnishes about the only English precedents in many cases. The head of the administration in the Peak was the Steward, who was the chief judicial officer, with functions somewhat similar to the Berghauptmann. However, the term Steward has come to have so much less significance that we have adopted a literal rendering of the Latin. Under the Steward was the Barmaster, Barghmaster, or Barmar, as he was variously called, and his duties were similar to those of the Bergmeister. The English term would seem to be a corruption of the German, and as the latter has come to be so well understood by the English-speaking mining class, we have in this case adopted the German. The Barmaster acted always by the consent and with the approval of a jury of from 12 to 24 members. In this instance the English had functions much like a modern jury, while the Geschwornen of Saxony had much more widely extended powers. The German Geschwornen were in the main Inspectors; despite this, however, we have not felt justified in adopting any other than the literal English for the Latin and German terms. We have vacillated a great deal over the term Praefectus Fodinae, the German Steiger having, like the Cornish "Captain," in these days degenerated into a foreman, whereas the duties as described were not only those of the modern Superintendent or Manager, but also those of Treasurer of the Company, for he made the calls on shares and paid the dividends. The term Purser has been used for centuries in English mining for the Accountant or Cashier, but his functions were limited to paying dividends, wages, etc., therefore we have considered it better not to adopt the latter term, and have compromised upon the term Superintendent or Manager, although it has a distinctly modern flavor. The word for area has also caused much hesitation, and the "meer" has finally been adopted with some doubt. The title described by Agricola has a very close equivalent in the meer of old Derbyshire. As will be seen later, the mines of Saxony were Regal property, and were held subject to two essential conditions, i.e., payment of a tithe, and continuous operation. This form of title thus approximates more closely to the "lease" of Australia than to the old Cornish sett, or the American claim. The fundgrube of Saxony and Agricola's equivalent, the area capitis—head lease—we have rendered literally as "head meer," although in some ways "founders' meer" might be better, for, in Derbyshire, this was called the "finder's" or founder's meer, and was awarded under similar circumstances. It has also an analogy in Australian law in the "reward" leases. The term "measure" has the merit of being a literal rendering of the Latin, and also of being the identical term in the same
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