The Sun.
London, England, 1839-11-16 00:00:00

Devon . . Devon Iron C 0..... 2
Shott's ...... ...Shott's Iron C 0.... 2 —
Nlonkland llonkland Iron Co. 5

Garb,herrie ...W. Baird and C 0... 7

Dundyvan ....Dunlop and C 0.... 5
Summerlee ...Wilsons and Co—. 4 ......
Castle-hill ....Shott's Iron C 0.... 2 ......
Bona ..Bona Iron Co
Govan W Dixon, Esq.... 2 — .....
Wilsontown...W. Dixon, Esq. ... I
Coltness Mr. Holdsw orth ... 2 —
Omea W. Young
Carubroe*....Alisen and Co ..... 2 — ...... 2
Galston . lI(Callam and Co. 1 —
Blair Mr. J. M'Donald 2
Housle ... Mr. Galloway I —

52 5 7
* The new furnaces at " Carnbree" have yielded the extra-
ordinary quantity of 130 tons per week of very strong iron,
and frequently run out ten tons at a cast.

Supposing the whole of these furnaces to be in full ac-
tivity by the end of the year 1842, and giving the ave-
rage produce of 100 tons per week to each furnace, we
shall have Scotland alone producing 457,600 tons of
foundry cast-iron per year, equalling the make of
the United Kingdom twenty years ago. Sixty-five rut
of eighty-eight turnaces I have enumerated, are siteated
in or about the Monklands, to the south and seuth-eest of
Glasgow, ar.d distant from that city seven to ten miles.
The works in that district have the command of the black_
band ironstone, the possession of which my inforriatt
states to be so great an advantage, that without it the
trade would not be worth following. The furnaces in the
Monklands, by using this combustible biackhand irenstorie,
may average 100 tons iu seven days each, but these which
have not this material do not yield nearly so large a quantity.
Three of the largest makers of iron in Scct:and are
directing their attention to the manufacture of bar-iron,
and with every prospect of most complete success.
The Monkland Iron Company are erecting mills and
forges capable of making 230 tons malleable iron per
week. Dunlop, Wilson and Co., of Dundyvan.-
arc making preparations to enable them, when in foii,
operation, to make 300 tons of bars, &c., weekl;
they will be partially at work in two mouths. Wi'ajam
Dixon, Esq., of Govan Iron Works, has now terAy for
immediate working, capabilities for producing '2OO tons of
malleable iron per week. His mills and forges are on the
outskirts of Glasgow, and are known as t!de Glasgow Iron
Works, Town Head.
The Muirkirk Iron Company have four blast furnaces,
three of which are in blast, with au average produce of
about forty tons of bars weekly, with the capability of ex-
tending to 100 tons, without increase of power.
This statement comprises the present; and so far as is
known, the prospective operations in the malleable iron
trade in Scotland, with the exception of two small forges,
the Lancefleld and the Gartness, where they Pud ale a lit-
tle from white iron.
It was for a long time considered ioubtfta whether the
Scotch cast-iron, made as it is With raw bituminous coal
and heated air, would answer :or malleable iron, and several
experiments have lately been made with a view to ascertain,
more nearly than had hitherto been done, its applicability for
this purpose. So far as I have been able to learn, these ex-
periments have been attended with most satisfactory results.
I was informed a few days ago by Edmund Buckley, Esq., of
Mcnchester, who has for a long time past taken a very lively
interest in these matters, that in some trials recently made
by Messrs. Bcecrolt, Butler, and Co., at their works, at
Kirkstall, near Leeds, they found 4 ewe 2 qrs. of Scotch
pig-iron to yield, by the process of boiling instead of paid
dling, blooms of 4 cwt. 1 qr. 8 lbs. each, showing only the
comparatively trifling waste of 20 lbs. in a charge 014_ cwt.
2 qrs., and the quality of the iron was found to be at least
equal to any made with cold air ; indeed, many thousand
tons of Scotch cast-iron have been purchased cro'rn time to
time by the iron masters of South Wages to mix with their
own country metal in their puddlit,,g furnaces, thus afford-
ing unquestionable proof of its fitness for conversion into
malleable iron. I have ne
doubt that we may speedily re-
ceive extensive suPPlic.4 of bar-iron from Scotland, such as
we have hitherto received principally from South Wales
and Staffor(-4:dire.

I must tlo;ask your indulgent attention for a little
requestw:ihniyieonlonagevr,eryanidnteresting tour through the nr.neral
the favour of your
.er,m-
pdistricts of the counties of Gloucester, Monmote‘h, and
Glamorgan. I class the iron works of tire Forei:
of Dcan with those of South Wales, as well from their
proximity to the latter, as from the circumstr.nces of t:neir
being worked by those eminent South Wales iron mr.sters,
Messrs. Guest, Lewis, and Co., and V. Crawsbav and
Sons. At the Cinderford works there are four furnaces
(three in blast, and one out), producing on an average
from 100 to 120 tons each of excellent forge pig-iron
weekly. At the Sewdley works there arc two furnaces
(cue in, and one out of blast), producing about ninety tons
of iron per week ; and at the Park End works there are
tawbooutfuerignhv furnaces (one i
ne,erinwebelak.st, and the other out), making
The differences in the produce of furnaces may be ac-
counted for in a variety of ways ; some are larger than
others, some have superior blowing engines, and others
may be under better management. The furnaces I have
named are all that are on the Forest of Dean ; but large
quantities ofi,rdol.eore
:Ilatrevvroarikssedi
n here,so South
hd
\RvraClesse sent,
,
Star=
'well
faosrdir
thsheire.on, to
The shipments are made at a wharf a little
below Newnham.
Leaving the Forest, we will proceed to Newport. Here
you will find a most excellent river navigat,.on—the Uxk—
and at all seasons of the year may he sP,en large numbers
of vessels of various tonnage, wait'..ig to receive the mi-
neral produce of Monmouthshire., in the shapes of coal
and iron. Having th. 4 port, and noticed all its
facilities for shipmr:ot—and especially the magnificent
dock now constr,-4eting for affording to the shipping in-
creased conveAences—we will, if you please, proceed to
the inter'.or of the county, and notice the various works in.
the .rder in which we reach them.

The first works we arrive at arc those of Capel Hanbrlry
Leigh, Esq., near Pontypool, and are called the Pontypool
Iron Works. Here you will find three furnaces is blast,
and one out ; all of which are blown with cold air. There
are not any furnaces erecting, or about to be erected here.
The make of these three furnaces is about 300 tons per
week. The pigs are sold chiefly for foundry purposes, but
a considerable quantity is used by Mr. Leigh, for tin-plates,
of which he has been for a long time past a very eminent
maker. The yield of the ironstone at these works is about
30 per cent. ; but Mr. Leigh imports large quantities of
the richer ores from Lancashire and Cornwall, fcr the
provement of the quality of his iron.
A little further up the valley we reach the works of the
Pentwvn and Goi‘ nos Iron Comrany, where you will find
five furnaces all in blast, and one about to be erected ; three
are blown kith hot air, and two with cold. The product?
the five furnaces is about 450 tons per week. They have just
completed first-rate forges and rolling-mills, calculated to
make 350 tons of bar and other malleable iron per week.
About a mile above these works you find those of the Bri.
tish Iron Company, at Abersychan. Here are four fur—
naces in blast, all blown with cold air, and two out o

ETENING- EDITION.

The four make about 380 tons of pig-iron per week, fr .m
Which they make about 270 tons of malleable iron, and tho
remainder is made into castings, Sic.
We nazt arrive at the Varteg Iron Company's works,
where you will find five furnaces all in blast, four blown
"frith hot, and one with cold air. They produce about 350
tons of pig-iron per week, from which they make about
I♦o tons of bars -and rails, about twenty tons of castings
ter engine uses, &e., and the remainder is sold for foundry
Purposes.
Pursuing our course for two miles further up this valley,
we arrive at the works of the Blaenavon Iron Company,
where we find five furnaces all in blast, blown with cold air,
emit aim others erecting. This mineral property, I am told,
is one of the best and most valuable in the county of Mon-
mouth, and these works have been long distinguished for
the superior strength, and general excellence of their iron.
These five furnaces produce about 400 tons of cast-iron per
week, about one-half of which is refined, and part of it
Blade into cable iron, and the remainder of it is sold for tin-
plates and foundry work. This company is erecting ex-
Wash's forges and rolling-mills, and will, in a few years,
contribute largely to the supply of bar-iron and rails.
We have now arrived at the extremity of the first

avalley, nd crossing the mountain, we will descend to
Abergavenny. The rolling-mills on the left-hand side
ar, those of the Garndyrris Iron Company, and have been
worked for many years by the late firm of Messrs. Hills
and Wheely, They are now united to the Blaenavon Iron
Works, and are carried on by the same Company.
By the time we have reached Abergavenny, I strongly
suspect that you will feel disposed to enjoy the comforts
of a good dinner, an evening walk in that delightful coun-
try, and a refreshing sleep—for all of which gratifications
you will here find the most ample provision.
Next morning, after the usual and very necessary. preli-
minaries, we resume our tour, and in about five miles we
reach the works of the Clydach Iron Company, at Llanelly.
Here are four furnaces at work, and all blown with
cold air. They produce about 320 tons of pig-iron per
week, from which they make about 230 tons of bars, &c.,
and the remainder is run into castings and ballast iron.
The Nant-y-glo Works are the next we arrive at, tu-
tuated, as their name imports, in the Valley of Coal.
Here, some years ago, was expended. upwards of 50,000/.
in attempts to establish a profitable iron work, but without
success; and not until the property was purchased by the
present talented and enterprising proprietors, Messrs
Joseph and Crawshay Bailey, was any remuneration rea-
Him& These works now r.ank amongst the very first class.
Messrs. Bailey have, within the last few years, purchased
the Beaufort Iron Works. At the two establishments they
have fourteen furnaces in blast, ten blown with cold and
four with hot air, and I am informed that they intend
erecting four others very soon. Their make of pig-iron
is from 1,200 to 1,300 tons per week, from which they
make about 750 tons bars, rails, and rods, and the remainder
is sold for foundry purposes.
Near the Nant-y-glo works, and situated in the same
valley, are the Coalbrook Vale Compam's works, consist-
ing of three furnaces, all blown with cold air, and another
is about to he erected. The make of the three furnaces is
I*o to 180 tons of cast-iron per week, all of which they
Mike into castings, or dispose of for that purpose.
A mile lower down this valley you reach the Blaine and
Cwm Celyn Iron Company's iron works. These two
properties have recently been purchased by a joint stock
company, and promise well for their proprietors. Messrs.
Russell and Browns, the former proprietors, are the ma-
naging directors. At Blaine they have two furnaces in
blast, and one about to be erected, all blown with cold air,
They yield about 120 tons of pig iron per week, which
,is nearly all made into castings on the spot. At Cwm
Cetyn they are building four furnaces, the entire produce
of which is to be made into malleable iron.
We have now finished our inspection of the works in the
second valley, and will proceed to the third, which is
called Ebbw Vale, from the river Ebbw flowing through it.
The first works we reach are the Beaufort, which I have
already informed you belong to Messrs. Bailey, and their
produce I have included in the return for Nant-y-glo.
Proceeciing onwards, we arrive at the Ebbw Vale Works,
the property of Messrs. Harfords, Davies, and Co., who are
also the owners of the Sirhowey Iron Works, situated in the
next valley. At Ebbw Vale they have three furnaces in
operation, and are building a fourth. They blow one fur-
nace with hut, and two with cold air. These furnaces are
very productive, yielding 100 tons per week each At Sir-
hiewey they have four furnaces in blast, and one undergoing
nepoirs ; two are blown with hot, ant two with cold air,
Then, • furnaces also make about 100 tons per week each,
so that ,at the two works they make about 700 tons of cast-
iron week.!e ; the whole of which is converted into bars,
rail., and roar. Their make of malleable iron is from 600
to 630 tons per week.
One mile lows* down the Ebbw Vale, you will find the
Victoria Iron Works, recently established under the able
superintendence of Hopkins, Esq. These works
belong to the Monmouths:-ire and Iron Coal Company.
Only one furnace is yet at v‘C'ky but another is ready to
be blown in, and they are erecting •two others. They have
just commenced the manufacture of L:ssr iron. I have oeen
informed that they intend building ten additional furnaces
lower down the valley, near to Auercarner.• When in full
operation they calculate on making 1,000 tonsof wrought
or iinalleable iron per Week; but this expecta.'",n will pro-
bably require a few years for its accomplishmesq.
Having seen all the works in the third vaileys we
proceed to the fourth. and we here find, fir: t, the
Strhowy Works, to which I have already alluded
a ad, next to these, the works of the Tredegar Iron
Company. At Tredegar they have five furnaces iu
operation, all blown with cold air; they are build-
ing two others, and contemplate the erection of two more,
making sine altogether. They now produce 400 to 450
tons aast-iron weekly, which is nearly all made into bars,
rails, and rods; of these they make about 330 tons per week.
We must now travel on to the fifth valley, in which we
find only the Rhymney and Bute Iron Works, belonging
to the joint stock company of that name. This is a very
extensive and most valuable mineral property, and these
works bid fair very soon to rival the largest establishment
i ; n South Wales. They have now six furnaces in blast,
two blown with hot and four with cold air—and they are
building four others. They make about 550 tons pie-iron
per week, from which they produce 450 to 480 tons mal-
leable iron in the same period of time.
The whole of the works we have visited since we left
Newport, send their iron to that port for shipment, and it
is conveyed chiefly down tramroads by locomotive engines
and by canals.
We must now take a stretch of five or six miles to the
westward, and this will bring us io the hitherto unrivalled
establishment of Sir John Guest, Lewis, and Co., at Dow-
lais. Here you will find fifteen furnaces in full activity, and
four others building. I find that I have omitted to note how
many were blown with hot, and how many with cold air, but
if my memory serves me correctly, I think five with the
former and ten with the latter. These fifteen furnaces
make, on an average, 1,350 tons of pig iron per week,
nearly the whole of which is converted into malleable
iron, say about 1,000 tons bars, rails, and rods per week.
At this establishment they employ upwards of four thousand
bands.

The next works we reach are those of the Pen-y-darran
Iron Company. They have six furnaces in blast, and one
out, making about 400 to 500 tons cast-iron per week,
and they convert nearly the whole of it into malleable
iron, of which they produce about 410 tons per week.
I believe the whole of these furnaces are blown with cold air.
We have now, gentlemen, performed a very good
day's work, and I am sure you will heartily join me• in a
proposal to take up our quaaters for the night at the Castle
Hotel, at Merthyr Tydvil, where I give you my word
that you may make yourselves comfortable if you chum, e-
You must take care to muster for breakfast at eight o'clock
to-morrow morning, and at nine we will go to see Mr.
Crawahay, who is a very early man of business.
The preparations of the morning over, and our arrival'
having been announced at the Cyfarthfa office, we are now
on our way to see the Cyfarthfa Iron-works, belonging to
Messrs. Crawshay and Sons, and shall no doubt be willingly
accompanied by Mr. Williams, their talented engineer.
These works are, in my opinion, the neatest and best ar-
ranged in all South Wales, and Mr. Williams, I am sure,
will have pleasure in showing you the whole of the machi-
nery. Amongst other interesting objects for your attention,
you may here see the largest pump I ever heard of. The
diameter of the working barrel is six feet, and the length of
the lift in the barrel is four feet. It pumps up the whole
of the river Taff, and the water, after turning all the wheels
about the works, is discharged into the bed of the river.
This may appear, at first view, an expensive way of
obtaining power, but experience shows that it is cheaper

V than erecting a number of small engines, or transmitting
power through complicated machinery. Besides the Cy.
.ferthfa, Messrs. Crawshay have the Hirwain works, which
am situated about some six miles from Merthyr. At the
twcr establishments there are, in the whole, fourteen blast
flu-naves, twelve at work, all blown with cold air, and two
inoperative. They make about 900 tons of cast-iron per
week, wad the greatest part of it is made into malleable
iron, of which they produce 600 to 650 tons per week.
We next visit the Plymouth Iron Works, belonging to
Messrs. Richard and Anthony Hill. Here are seven fur..
Tile") all in blast, and all blown with cold air, making
700 tons of cast-iron per week on an average, and from
whichthey make about 600 tons into bars, &c., weekly.
About six miles from Merthyr, over a mountain, ar e
situatedL the works of the Aberdare Iron Company. Thoy
have six
,furnaces in blast, two blown with hot, and fountn
with cold air, producing 350 to 400 tons cast-iron per
week. The
the remainder make
about 220 tons bar-iron per week, and
purposes.
At the Pentyrcle
of their produce is disposed of for foundry
Iron
two furnaces in blast, Works, near Cardiff, there are
iron made
aasuiro: blown with cold air, and making
about 150 tons
I' he whole of the
works is
shipped
at ca'rdiiiff,m4de at the seven last named
a vary commodious dock
has recently been constructed
noWoontillmiaomda
of by the Marquis of Bute,
under the superintendence
Ctiounbiottf,
veTscof
F. R. S., C. E., for the better
entering that port.
is
The statistical information I promised
found I should have great difso. to obtain,
even had my business engagements pYermuil, procuring-,
,devote the time that would have ,
rted me to
th e efficient accomplishment of my be
ob
jeoetrire_d for
desirous of ascertaining for you the number of I was
of :each sex employed at the respective works, and
their different rates of wages, the state of education,
amongst the people, and also the proportion of religious
instruction enjoyed by them, distinguishing the sources
from whence it was supplied ; but I am compelled to
offer you, on these subjects, the opinion of an excellent
friend of mine, who has ample means of forming a to•
lerably correct estimate. His remarks are very general,,
and as such I offer them. He says, " To make 1,000
tons of bar-iron weekly, requires about 4,000 persons of
every description, but I cannot give you the proportionate
numbers to each process. The rates of wages for men
range from 12s. IV 0., r women 6s. to 10s. an for boys
74 to
lls. per we6esk'fo He further says, "'The d state of
moving very much in this neighbourhood"
Merthyr Tydvil-..." a very great propoic-
ig can read, and many of them CS n
'emery days, those who belong to Sund3 y
trocession to the number of 5,000
rrs f the Temperance Societies ar e
and also the Odd Fellows, both of whicl 1
lit in
walking
as often as possible it i

public procession, on which occasions they apte ar
quite as respectable as we see them on festival day,
in England. In the houses of the workmen there is a I
marked improvement ; most of them have good oak chests
of drawers, bright as silver, cupboards, with a di,play
of fancy china cups and glasses ; some of they ounger
women have a veneered work -box, and all these little
things display an attention to the lesser comforts and luxu-
ries of life, of which, a few years ago, they had no idea.
On the whole, I should say there is a decided improve-
ment in the general condition and circumstances of our
workmen—but you must bear in mind that these are very
flourishing times."
There is another branch of the statistics of the iron
trade on which I felt desirous of affording yousome informa-
tion, and in obtaining this I have been somewhat more suc-
cessful, though it was not procured without very great dif-
ficulty—l mean the proportions of the materials used in
each process, and the waste of the iron. I am glad to
say that I can inform you on these most important points
with the utmost exactness. Fifteen furnaces, averaging
ninety tens each per week, will produce 1,350 tons of cast-
iron, with a consumption of 50 cwt. of coal per ton of
iron, inclusive of calcining—say 3,375 tons of coal to
furnaces and calcining, and to the blowing engines 10
cwt. of coal per ton of iron, or 675 tons. If the furnaces
make 1,350 tons of cast-iron, 100 tons may be deducted
for ballast iron. Then, refining 1,250 tons, at 22 cwt. 1
qr. of pig to the ton of refined iron, will produce 1,110
tons refined metal, with a consumption of 9 cwt. per
ton, or about 500 tons of coal weekly for the refine-
ries; 1,110 tons refined metal will yield of puddled
iron, at 21 cwt. per ton of the metal, and 18 cwt. of
coal per ton of iron, 1,045 tons, with 940 tons of coal ;
and then the rolling-mills, at twenty-two and a
half cwt. of puddled iron, and 20 cwt. of coal per
eon, will produce 916 tons of merchant bars, or what is
called No. 2 iron, with a consumption of 915 tons of coal.
And here, Sir, had I been addressing you three years
ago, my remarks en the iron trade of South Wales, as well
a s our, I hope not uninteresting excursion, might have
euded. There certainly were a few small works in the
western part of the county of Glamorgan, but their pro-
' duce was comparatively trifling, and their accounts would
have formed but a very unimportant feature in my paper.
To the curiosity of those persons not immediately con-
nected with the trade, this part of the country affords, even
at the present day, but few gratifications ; so, with your
permission, I will leave you to enjoy yourselves at Cardiff,
whilst I go and explore a district in which recent dis-
coveries have created quite a new era in the history of the
iron trade.
Within the last three years, Mr. George Crane, of the
Yniscedwyn Iron Works, has discovered that, by using
heated air, he can melt iron ores with the anthracite coal.
When I was last in South Wales I visited Mr. Crane at
his works, near Swansea, in order that I may see and
judge for myself of the merits of this discovery. To en-
able you to form some idea of its value and national im-
portance, I need only inform you that it has added to the
available resources of this kingdom, for the purposes of its
iron trade, a district sixty to seventy miles long, by six to
eight miles broad, abounding with the anthracite or
carbon coal, lime, and iron-stone ; and, further, that
it has already trebled the value of this extensive
mineral property. The Third Annual Report of the
Swansea Philosophical Literary Institution, for the
year 1837, in alluding to Mr. Crane's discoveries, states—
" The benefits likely to arise from this valuable discovery
will be extensively felt, but it will no where be found of
more immense importance than in our own neighbourhood ;
for it will be the means of opening to commercial enter-
prise a portion of our extensive coal-field, which, though
abounding in the metal pronounced the most useful to man,
has hitherto been excluded from the influence of that inge-
nuity by which he moulds it to his will."
Mr. Crane received me in the most gentlemanly manner,
and accompanied me over the whole of his works, to afford
me an opportunity of seeing to the full extent his mode of
operation. He had three furnaces in blast, all blown with
heated air, and he is about to erect two more. To con-
vince me of the superior strength of iron made with anthra-
cite coal alone, be requested one of his men to break a pig
for my inspection. The maw took the first pig he could
lay hold stf, and placing it flat on the ground, struck it
fitty-three blows with a sledge hammer, about twenty to
twenty-two pounds weight, but was not able to break it.
The strongest pigs of iron made in the ordinary way may
be broken by from three to six blows. This iron of Mr.
Crane's I found to be so rich and soft, as well as strong,
that it flattened, or rather plated, under the action of the
hammer, and shelled off in pieces about the size of a siiil-
ling, such as I now show you. Before the pig could be
broken, it had to be cut with a chisel, the marks of which
you may see on the piece of iron I have brought for your
inspection.
Mr. Crane has two furnaces at work, and it is really
astonishing to see the anthracite coal toming out of them
quite uninjured, even after having been exposed for five
days to the intense heat required for the smelting of iron.
These two pieces I picked up from the scorim, as the fluid
ran from the furnace, when they were red-hot, and had
been five days in passing- through.
Mr. Crane has vet only one small cupola furnace, in
which he uses anthracite exclusively; for firing the other
two, he uses two-thirds of anthracite to one-third of coke ;
and by using anthracite in this comparatively small propor-
tion, be effects a saving of 121. to 13s. per ton in the cost of
making iron, and very materially improves its quality. His
furnaces also yield a better produce, in proportions of 35 to 50
p'r cent. His small cupola furnace, No. 2, from which,
vvliel using cold air and coke, he could obtain only twenty
to twenty-two tons of cast-iron per week, by being fired with
anthracite coal alone, and blown with hot air, has produced,
on an average of many months, thirty-five tons per week,
and the larger furnaces, in which he uses the proportions
I have before stated, have increased, the No 1 from thirty-
four to thirty-five tons up to forty-five to forty-nine tons,
and the No. 3 from fifty to fifty-five up to sixty-five to
eighty tons per week. All his furnaces are very small, and
his blowing machinery not so good as it ought to be—
hence his very limited produce.
The quality of this iron is very highly spoken of—Mr.
Crane has received assurances from several parties who had
used it for various purposes, that, " for bars it had given
great satisfaction ;" " for foundry work it was admirable ;"
that, " in re-melting, it was found very fluid, and at the
same time very strong"—a union of qualities most desir-
able, but rarely to be met with.
With respect to the economy of this process, Mr. Crane
has, on the average of several months, produced the ton of
cast iron with the before unheard of small quantity of 27
cwt. of coal, and he entertains the greatest confidence that
he will be able to reduce the quantity still further, say 22
cwt. His main bed of anthracite coal is 18 feet thick. I
produce a sample of it as obtained from the mine.
The maturing of this most important plan has cost Mr.
Crane much time, and money, and anxiety, and it is so be
hoped that he will be most amply repaid for his valuable
services ; though, lam sorry to say, that attempts are
making by some persons to deprive him of his just due and
only means of remuneration—viz.: one shilling per
ton on the iron they make according to his patent,
improved as, they have admitted to me on se-
veral occasions, it is, both in fluidity and strength,
.and quadrupled in value as the mineral property of this ex-
tensive country is by this most important discovery.
This new feature in the iron trade soon attracted the
attention of capitalists, both here and in London, and the
counties of Pembroke, Carmarthen, and the western part
of Glamorgan, give fair promise soon, at least to rival
Monmouthshire and the eastern part of Glamorgan, in the
manufacture of iron. I will first enumerate the works
already in operation in the Swansea and Neath districts,
and then intorm you of the extent to which new establish-
ments are being erected and others contemplated.
The Maesteg Iron Works are worked by Messrs.
Robert Smith and Co., with bituminous coal and hot air ;
they have two furnaces at work, producing from 180 to
200 tons per week of cast-iron. A part of this they make
into malleable iron, but I am not aware of the exact quan-
tity—perhaps about sixty to seventy tons per week.
' The make of Mr. Crane, at the Yniscedwyn Iron
Works, I have already acquainted you with.
The Neath Abbey Iron Company have two furnaces in
bl ast, blown with heated air, and fired with three-fourths
bit uminous, and one-fourth anthracite coal. They make
abo ui' 160 tons of cast-iron per week, the chief part of
whi eh is made into castings on the spot, for their very ex-
tensive engineering establishment.
The Millbrook Iron Company have two furnaces in blast,
producing about forty tons per week, blown with cold air.
The works erecting in the anthracite district are the
Venallt, in ale vale of Neath, and belonging to our enter-
prising
townswen, Messrs. Jevons and the Messrs. Ar-
thur, of Neath. They are carried on under the firm
of Jevons, Arthuv, Wood and Co. They are building
two furnaces, and hope to be in blast by the end of the
year. They have a very abundant supply of both kinds
of coal and ironstone.
The Ystal-y-fera works, near Swansea, are also being
erected by a Liverpool company, at the head of which stands
our spirited and excellent fellow-townsman, Sir Thomas
Brancker. This Company is building four furnaces, and I
am told that they intend building four more. Their fuel
is all of the anthracite kind.
The Cambran Iron Company are erecting four furnaces
near Pile, on bituminous coal, and I have been informed,
intend building four furnaces in the anthracite district.
Messrs. Mellins and Co. have one furnace near Pile.
The Gwendrath is a new work about to be established by a
London company near Swansea, but I could not ascertain
the extent to which they intend going. Mr. Crane informed
me that he knew of twelve to fourteen new iron works, of
from two to eight furnaces each, erecting, and about to be
erected, in the anthracite district, the existence of which
will be solely attributable to his invaluable discovery.
The aggregate number of furnaces in blast in South
Wales we have found to be 122 ' • out of blast, 7; building,
31 ; and contemplated, 91 ; and, allowing for the twelve
works that Mr. Crane alludes to, as being likely to be
erected soon, only five furnaces each, Or sixty in all, we
thus find that probably within the next five years the
number of furnaces i, South Wales will be doubled, and
number 244. Allowing an average produce of eighty
tons per week for each furnace, we have the astounding
quantity of 1,015,040, or, in round numbers, 1,000,000
x ons of cast-iron produced in this district alone—a 9,uan_
ti,*y equal to that produced last year in the whole of lereat
Beitaire
I fancy I bear some of you remarking that we shall cer- I
tainly have iron very cheap soon ; and doubtless the vastly
increased production will have its effect on the market. But
I have nos the most distant apprehension of production
ever outstripping consumption to any great extent. We
may have, as we have hitherto had, occasional depressions
and fluctuations, but there will always be found that power-
ful and very sensitive governor, self-interest, which. with
its sleepless eye, will not fail narrowly to watch, and ulti-
mately to regulate,. the proportion between our wants and
their supplies. When we look at the increased consumption
of the last ten b
via I
r ottst. etos for
hniln only
etwhichrhyat h tehi
recentlys
years, and bear
t
a in mind the multifarious pur-
p
usbteebne found'a now
boldtebe used, and to which it
man
de cannot
place
limits to its demand any more than to its production.
Eighty-eight years ago there was scarcely one blast fur-
nace
in South Wales; snd what conceivable reason
be assigned wby the requirements of this century
r il can
n '
increase in a rats° at ]east equal to that of the past.a '
As a people, I trust we are growing wiser and better,

and that we shall never again madly indulge in
wicked toliy of wastmg tee strength and th,,
the nation in inflicting the devastations, the horrors, the
complicated mental blightings and physical miseries o
war, but that, on the contrary, our attention shall con-
tinue
to be turned to the promotion of useful works,
such as railways and steam-boats, and other improved
means of intercourse between man and map, and
nation and nation ; and that when our own country
shall have ceased to require all our materials and talents
for these really beneficial pursuits, we shall be tound ever
ready and willing to extend those humanising influences to
every quarter of the globe, and find Christianity, philan-
thropy, and science traversing their utmost bounds, and
diffusing their blessings over the whole human race.
Strange as it may appear to some of those who hear
me, these elevating principles and pursuits have a most
powerful influence on the commerce of our country, and
on none of its branches is this influence more immediately
or more directly felt than on the iron trade.
Whether we choose to transport ourselves, or our
productions, across the nighty waters of the ocean, in
vessels made of wood or of iron, and wafted over their
bosom by the winds of heaven, or in others taught by
steam to " walk their surface like a thing of life," we are
still dependent, more or less, for a supply of this most
valuable metal ; and, even when we come to require loco-
motion on land, it matters not however rude or however
finished the means of transit we avail ourselves of, we must
still have iron ; and it has not unfrequently occurred to me,
that in proportion to our increased wants of this very
necessary material, have been our increasing means
of obtaining it ; and I think we may rest satisfied, that so
long as British skill, and energy, and wealth, and enter•
prise shall exist, we shall never be at a loss either for
minds to devise, or hands to execute schemes that will
enable us to improve, to their full extent, the inexhausti-
ble stores of elementary materials, with which a bountiful
providence has surrounded us; and, by converting them
into the active instruments of social comforts, promote the
happiness of all our fellow-creatures, and thus fully carry
out his wise and beneficent purposes.

THE CURRENCY AND THE CORN

LAWS.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Six,—There was once, according to history, a Greek
wrestler named Milo, so formed by nature and exer-
cise that he could carry a live bull a mile and kill him
with one blow of his fist. Infuse a particle of putrid
matter into the veins of the said Milo, and his mighty
frame sinks by its own weight. If this be a fair illus-
tration, the Corn-laws are that obstreperous burthen
which the vitality of England is able to bear or able to
remove without danger, until the circulation is irreme-
diably vitiated and no longer,—
Till more capricious than the Southern gale,
Commerce on other shores has spread her sail;
And nought remain of all that riches gave,
But towns nnmann'd, and lords—without a slave.
It may appear presumptuous to speak on two sub-
jects so intricate, hut they throw a mutual light on each
other. Lord Melbourne said, it would be the maddest
thing possible to repeal the Corn-laws, and leave the
landed interest no protection. But this should be taken
in connection with what he had long before declared,
namely, that this repeal would be ridiculous, without
adjusting the monetary system. Besides, it appears in
modern times quite de rigueur for Statesmen on the ere
of grasping the highest offices to say, they should he
mad, or worse than mad, to think of such things. Such,
in terms, was the apology of Napoleon, Wellingl.on,
and Brougham, a few days before their respective eleva-
tions, and, perhaps, this little attention was due to ex-
piring machiavelism, that Lord Melbourne, the servant
of the Queen and the interpreter of the people to her
ear, should qualify by the vocable madness a plan so
lofty as arranging these vast questions. If this was his
meaning, never Minister spoke so wisely, or so well ; bud
if, moreover he will except O'Connell as a respecif
monitor and grateful ally in Irish affairs, he will mtain
a rank which Napoleon himself had not wisdom to ..1-
tempt. It would, indeed, be "madness" to say to 0.0
industry of the country, pledged to a vast public (':• ,t
Your liabilities have been doublediby a series of mistnl, s,
but they shall remain doubled. It would likewise
madness to say to a nobility loaded with mortg,.. s,
True, your mortgages have been doubled, but your i, t
shall also be lowered. Lord Roden stated, that an 1: i,ii
gentleman of 5,0001. a year had usually about 700! to
spend : can he be expected to give up that 700/. ? le
industry and the nobility of England are jointly and se-
verally in the situation of that debtor who rushed into
the Roman forum covered with wounds, and thus ro-
ducal not merely a revolt but a revolution. What rash-
ness, to treat such a claimant with jeers about " ii re-
deemable paper," " mere traffic," "a few more or a few
less one pound notes!"
The exclusion of corn, though in the peculiar em-
barrassments of England far less injurious than , ur
contracted and perfidious currency, deserves a sor; of
precedence because it is on pretence of a necessity :or
gold in case of a bad harvest, that the Bank claims „he
right of throttling industry at discretion. In a hapless
hour the present Corn-laws were represented only as
hurtful to particular interests and particular counties :
they are still more injurious to agriculture itself and to
business in general. It is well known, for example,
that the prosperity of Liverpool, and its dangerous har-
bour withal, is owing to the salt and coal which prevent
any ship from leaving the port in ballast, so that the
principle of exchange is never departed from. The efT,!ct
of the corn exclusion is not only that it derogates from
profits by increasing expense of production, but that ,11
business in corn is done or left undone at a loss to all
parties. While we are talking about reciprocity the Corn-
growing nations are not allowed, however willing, to insti-
tute channels of commerce with us. Ina general way, the
ships which bring corn must carry back not goods ut
gold. Gibbon says, that in the latter times of the Ro-
man empire famine was unknown, the plenty of so-ne
provinces always supplying the scarcity of others ; how
much more applicable is this principle to our own
times, with an inconceivable breadth of land adapted
for tillage and the command of the sea still ours!
But the main pressure of the Coin-law is on farmine.
itself. The heart of agriculture has been mentioned,'
but the land is out of heart, and the state of farm
buildings displays this to the most careless observer.
Variety of crops is the essence of tillage. Belgium
is enriched by a rotation of eight or nine different
crops, and Mr. Jacob found a district in Germany where
wheat is never grown on the same spot more than once
in thirty years. Among ourselves it is well known that
clover ought not to recur with a less interval than
seven years, but let the wisdom of Parliament set
a premium on clover and this circumstance would be
forgotten. The same is true of white crops, and yet
the famous four course shift includes two of thes-i in
four years, while in Ireland they get three of the same
in four years, and then " turn out the land," (which is
immediately covered with the finest white clover never-
theless). Such is the corn tax. If the nobles like
protective duties, let them protect their Irish tenants,
and let the tax on ejectments amount to prohibition
when the tenant has no fault but being poor.
Have we not seen, at Pleasure's lordly call,
The smiling, long-frequented village fall ?
Seen Opulence, her grandeur to maintain,
Lead stern Depopulation in her train?
Is it a time to talk plaintively about " squaring farms,"
and' clearing estates," because " disfigured" by cabins ?
k In fact, there is little or no georgic simplicity among the
fashionable agricultural interest. Destroy the foxes or
the pheasants, and how many would then patronize the
' country?
The legislation of Peers has long hinged on this perqui-
site of theirs, 60 per cent. or more, on all bread copse nod.
When Canning died of his wounds, some of his men
served under the Duke of Wellington : the latter c,isily
saw what was,the key of the position ; Mr. Huskisson,
attempting to throw supplies into the country. was
cashiered on the spot " and no mistake," which phrase
remains a cant vulgarism ever since.
And yet exclusion has never profited them ; the ani-
musfurandi which, perhaps unconsciously, lurked there
has prevented it. Rents have been lowered, by neglect
of the principles of trade and money which regulate
prices, by exhaustion of the grae,nd in defiance of every
principle of agriculture, and by the grlut which exclusion
itself produced ; for in the latter year: of the war the
ports were utterly closed, which seemed,Coto hold oat a
price beyond the dreams of avarice ; thou nand of acres
were broken up, and in particular the quanti.,ty of Irish
corn was more than doubled in two years. Th t$ caused
the low prices of 1815—but did the Lords re)'oice in
this plenty, this independence and defiance of ether
nations ? No, they sought only to raise prices, tt'k eY
stood out for. their petits profits, their sos
'
of England alarmed at the moment by Bonaparte'e
descent from Elba, and always too easily " tired of
agitation." in de; site
No landlord seems to deny the evils of fluctuating
prices, because no one is permanently interested in deny-
ins, it. In Ireland particularly, the ejectments for arrears
and the consequent agrarian miseries have never been ex-
tensive except when leases have been nullified by a
great fall of prices, ribandism being merely an inflam-
mable train laid ready for disgust and despair to apply
the torch. This important truth I have frequently
stated, and never been contradicted. Perhaps the
privilege of being answered is reserved for mor,. dis-
tinguished persons ; but the real answer is, that under
the present law no business can be done in corn with-
out artificial fluctuations. The merchants take care
not to leave more than a fortnight's consumption with
the farmer at harvest time, as appeared in evidence ;
ttiey hire the press, and stimulate the thrift essential to
farmers into avarice, by proclaiming a general tarnine.
The prices of 1838 were raised in this way till the
cheap foreign corn was admitted by the sliding scale of
duties, ala sold at high prices, after which they fell to
their naturA level ; and even the prices of 1839 sPern
to have been kept up by similar speculations, for the Home
Secretary in his place in Parliament last Se 'ion,
denied the existt'uce of scarcity here, while even the
bulls' of the Core Exchange acknowledged the har-
vests on the coast of the Black Sea to be immense,
and those of America favourable. Probably, the spe-
culators (us the Continent have followed our example ;
in numerous towns and cities the people, under the in-
fluence of these protracted illusions, have forcibly pre-
vented exportation, though Governments whose safety
was concerned well knew there was abundance.
It was in order to conceal the extent of fluctuation

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