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This system was closely associated with small, isolated and/or rural communities, where uneducated workers did not have a wide choice of employment, and would quickly become indebted to their employers so they were unable to legally leave the system. | This system was closely associated with small, isolated and/or rural communities, where uneducated workers did not have a wide choice of employment, and would quickly become indebted to their employers so they were unable to legally leave the system. | ||
According to the West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser newspaper, in Cornwall, England, in 1848 one person sued for wages owed. He had an ill child, but could not buy the medicine the doctor ordered, as the store did not happen to have it, and all he had to use for money was script, so he could not visit any shop in town. The child died, and he could not buy a stamp to send word to his family of what had occurred. His employer pointed out they had given him 5s. for a coffin, and allowed him the afternoon off so he could bury the child. The court held that the man had agreed to be paid in script by accepting the job offered, and he was not working as a miner since he operated dubbers in a china clay pit; therefore, the 1831 laws | According to the West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser newspaper, in Cornwall, England, in 1848 one person sued for wages owed. He had an ill child, but could not buy the medicine the doctor ordered, as the store did not happen to have it, and all he had to use for money was script, so he could not visit any shop in town. The child died, and he could not buy a stamp to send word to his family of what had occurred. His employer did not dispute any of his testimony, but pointed out they had given him 5s. for a coffin, and allowed him the afternoon off so he could bury the child. The court held that the man had agreed to be paid in script by accepting the job offered, and he was not working as a miner since he operated dubbers in a china clay pit; therefore, the 1831 laws against the truck-system of paying wages did not apply to his situation. | ||
In most accounts of china-clay mining even today, employees are referred to as "workers", rather than "miners", despite the places of their work always being termed "mines". Perhaps this is a remnant of the "truck system" days. | In most accounts of china-clay mining even today, employees are referred to as "workers", rather than "miners", despite the places of their work always being termed "mines". Perhaps this is a remnant of the "truck system" days. | ||
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The West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, "An Account of the Recent Trials" February 24 1848, Truro, Cornwall; Mrs. Heard, publisher | The West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, "An Account of the Recent Trials" February 24 1848, Truro, Cornwall; Mrs. Heard, publisher | ||