Tinstone or cassiterite is now found in Cornwall, Malay Straits, Peru, Bolivia, Queensland, New South Wales and Nigeria, but the oldest of these tin-bearing areas is Cornwall, the mines of which, in spite of the efforts of the Phoenicians to keep them secret, soon , became famous to the ancient world. Diodorus Siculus, a century before Christ, relates that the inhabitants of Britain ” prepare tin, working the earth which yields it with great skill. The ground is rocky but has earthy veins, the contents of which are brought down, melted and purified. After casting this into the form of cubes they carry it to a certain island adjoining Britain, called Iktis. During the ebb of the tide the space intervening is left dry and they transport there quantities of tin in carts. From hence the merchants buv tin from the natives and carry it into Gaul, and through Gaul on foot for thirty days to the mouth of Rhone.”

At a later date Cornish tin became one of Britain’s principal exports, and English monarchs dabbled in tin speculations, not always successfully. In this connec¬tion Sir Isaac Newton tells an interesting story of Queen Anne:

” The 1600 tunns of tin bought annually in Cornwall amounts, in merchant’s weight, to 1714 tunns yearly, and in all seven years to be 12,000 tunns. Between April 6, 1704, and September 12, 1705, there has been sold by the Pewterers 600 tons, by the officers of the Mint 488 tons, and by Mr Drummond about 1000 blocks, or 144 tons—in all 1232 tons. The Queen pays annually for tin, £112,000, salaries £3000, carriage by sea £3000, incidental charges about £1200—in all £118,200 ; and in all the seven years £827,000, besides interest. Her Majesty has received . . . £65,360 annually, and in all the five and a quarter years to come £343,140. Deduct the £65,860 from the £118,200, and the £343,140 from the £827,400, and the Queen will run in debt yearly £52,840, and at the end of the time of the bargain will be in debt £484,260, besides interest, which amounts to about £72,000 more; so that the whole debt will be about £556,000.”