WEST BRITON AND CORNWALL ADVERTISERFriday, 7 November, 1856 - part 3 LETTER TO THE EDITOR – . Capt. Charles Thomasson on Mining Education. [Please note that the name is THOMASSON at the start, but is printed as THOMAS at the end.] . To the EDITORS of the WEST BRITON . Sir, --Mr. Bond, in this letter which you published on the 31st ult., defends with great ability the position taken by the promoters of the Mining School, Truro, and makes the best excuse of the case admits of, for the attack which Mr. Punnett made on the Cornish miners. He also seems to think that my strictures were uncalled for. I beg to thank Mr. Bond for so kindly reprieving me, and to state that I cannot doubt of the good intentions which the gentlemen referred to, were influenced by, in every step they took in this matter. I cannot, however, approve of Mr. Punnett's speech. If any ungracious word dropped from my pen respecting any of them, I now beg to express my sorrow for it. . After criticizing my letter, Mr. Bond has presented to the general reader a view of the whole subject very different to that which every miner will take. Mr. Bond thinks it a matter of great importance, that the German miners are well acquainted with the scientific terms in geology and mineralogy;;but he does not appear to think very much of the Cornish miner having so correct a knowledge of the bearing and non-bearing rocks of Cornwall, as the Germans have of theirs, nor of the Cornish miners having taught the Germans some important mechanical lessons, as to the more economical working of their mines, and preparing their ores for market. In the judgment of the practical miner, and of the mine adventurers, these things are the only important matters - the scientific terms used, only the outer adorning - "the tinsel." . In my comparison of the class-educated German miners, and the Cornish with a common school education, and a training on the mine, I wished to present to every one who had any interest in mining, the great superiority of the latter. In one case which came under my notice, I thought that by the expenditure of a very small sum, three horses would accomplish all that twenty-four men had been doing. In another case that but few Cornish tin mines could be worked to meet the cost with such stamps as I saw in Germany. In the third case I thought Cornish management would result in handing over to the adventurers GBP 2000 a year, when the German mode of working would yield no profit. These are the telling, the sterling facts which do, and must, weigh with all capitalists. .On this subject I take the liberty of giving an extract from Mr. Hopkin's letter published in the Mining Journal, on the 25th ult; - . "Notwithstanding our apparent ignorance and the want of refinement, we are beforehand in the great industrial improvements - manufactories, mines, commerce, and navigation. Our private and public companies are developing the hidden mineral treasures of the continent by means of Cornish miners, in the very countries where it is alleged that more refined miners are available. How is it then that neither foreign nor English companies will entrust the charge of their establishments to any of those who have been trained in the continental schools? The industry of the Spanish nation has been almost ruined from the system of educating all for doctors and professors, and none for working purposes. " . "The demand for good, steady, practical Cornish miners, is much greater than the supply, whilst none apply for the so much lauded school-trained miners. Most stringent orders have been received from India and from the colonies, not to send out any but real practical men; and they complain that our foreign possessions are overcrowded with the diplomas and certificates of unpractised hands. The practical men alone appear to make the mineral discoveries, and convert the same to useful purposes, and not the highly educated young men. I have seen men who have been trained in the silver mines of Saxony, the lead mines of the Hartz, and the iron mines of Belgium and Prussia, quite equal to the best of our practical men, but they have been trained in the same kind of schools as our own." . The writer of the excellent letter from which the above extract is taken, has seen indifferent parts of the world, probably, so much of mines and miners as any man alive, Mr. Henwood, of Penzance, alone excepted. Would not Mr. Henwood write so strongly as Mr. Hopkins has, taking similar views of this matter, if he could be induced to express his sentiments on this subject? The fact is that gentlemen who have no personal knowledge of practical mining cannon possibly form any correct ideas of the qualifications required for battling with hard rocks, deceptive appearances in lodes, torrents of water, and heated and impure air, and for setting tribute and tutwork bargains to the sharp, clever, working miners. We think the Truro school will never send forth men fitted for such work. .. It is all very well for young men to be taught chemistry and mathematics, but the most profound knowledge of these, if possessed by the miner, would not much improve him for practical purposes; and if a young man spends much of his time in the acquisition of knowledge of chemistry and mathematics, he cannot pay that attention which is necessary to prepare him for performing all the duties of a mine agent. If the young miners, captain's sons, as well as others, are to be rendered more efficient by education, the means must be placed within their reach, and all that is necessary, we think, can be had in existing schools, and at the institution rooms. If some assistance could be had from government, or from private subscriptions, to enable parents to keep their children longer at school, and to furnish them with suitable books and maps, there can be no doubt that young men brought up in the mines would, according to the variety of their native talents, be qualified for carrying on to the benefit of their employers every department of mining. These, we believe, are the views entertained by almost every person who has any personal knowledge of, or interest in, mining. . Is it not then to be regretted that the almost unanimous voice of the county, and the opinion of the government officers, in favour of assisting local schools, was by any means turned aside. . I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, . CHAS. THOMAS .Killivose, Camborne, November 4th, 1856.