Cornish WM, who was a native of Illogan. In 1830 he was appointed editor of The Cornubian, but resigned after two years to experiment in the production of arsenic. Prosecution for endangering public health led him to sell his own works and join the British Arsenic Company, simultaneously taking charge of a local mine.
His educational activities included the promotion of working men's libraries and book clubs, and association with the Camborne Literary Institution and the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society. His own prose and poetry, together with staunchly Liberal comments on political issues, were collected by his brother Charles and published in 1868 in Memorials Literary and Religious of Thomas Garland.