§ Mr. SIMMasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state how much of the Royalties paid by the tin mining industry, together with wolfram and arsenic, are tributes paid to private individuals; what proportion is paid as dues to the Crown and what does the average Royalty on tin production in Cornwall amount to per ton?
§ Mr. BRIDGEMANThe Royalties paid by the mining industries in Cornwall are dues to owners of the mineral rights. In some cases these rights are held by the mine-owners themselves; in others by a limited company; and in the cases of two submarine mines by the Crown. The rates of Royalty vary, and are usually in the form of a percentage of the value of the ores raised. In some cases they are percentages of the profit made. In the cases of the Crown leases, the Royalty payable is a percentage of the value of the ore raised with reductions when the amount payable in respect of Royalties exceeds the profit made by the mines. Information is not available as to the Royalties paid by all mines in Cornwall, but the average Royalty is, I understand, about one-thirtieth of the value of the produce.