The Sun.
London, England, 1860-03-01 00:00:00

THE COAL FIELDS AND COAL TRADB

OF FRANCE.

The Minister of Agriculture and Commerce has
just addressed a report to the Emperor on what
may be called "1 he Coal Question." The follow-
ing is an analysis of its contents :
After stating that the Emperor, in his letter of
the sth of January, indicated the opening of roads,
&c., for the conveyance of coal, as one of the
great material improvements projected, and after
remarking on the importance of cheap coal to
manufactures, the report says that French coal fields
are numerous; but that only a few of them
are calculated, by their extent or the quality of
their coal, to be developed on a great scale ; and,
moreover, most of them are situated in mountainous
districts which are difficult of access, and in which
there are few roads. These circumstances cause
coal to be much dearer at the place of consumption
than it is at the mouth of the pits. An official docu-
ment shows, for example, that in 1850 coal, which
was sold to consumers at 2f. the quintal (221.11b5.),
only cost at the pits 0.933 f., and at that price the
consumption amounted to 72,252,700 quintals ; in
1857, the average price of coal at the pits was 1.253 f.,
and the price at the places of consumption 2•536 f.
These last figures show that the cost of conveyance
more than doubled the price of coal consumed ; and
if it be taken into account that in that year (1857)
the consumption of native and foreign coal was
131,494,700 quintals, it will appear that the supple-
mentary charge on the consumer for conveyance
exceeded 160,000,000 f.

The report goes on to say, that figOm investiga-
tions made by his Majesty's orders, it appears that
of 62 coal fields in France more than half cannot
have the pretension to export their productions,
owing either to the small extent of the fields or the
cost of extraction; still good roads and railways
(the latter cheaply constructed) would enable them
to find local markets. Among the other felds some
are of great importance as regards number, extent,
the thickness of the bed; or the quality of the coal.
The first of these fields is that of the Loire, the next
that of Valenciennes (Nord and Pas-de-Calais), and
the next in order are Alais (Gard), Blanzy (Saone-
et-Loire), Commentry (Allier), and Aubin (Avey-
ron). Out of a total production of 79,000,000
quintals for all France in 1841, 22,426,000 were
from the Lo;re, 19,600,000 from Valencien-
nes, 7,540,000 from Alais, 5,806,000 from Blanzy,
4,845,000 from Commentry, and 4,635,000 from
Aubin. Eleven other fields produced quan-
tities not exceeding from 400,000 to 2,000,000 quin-
tals, and they sent to a distance part of their coal
for consumption. Two others (Ahun in the Creuse,
and La Sarre in the Moselle), though at present
supplying only local wants, may be made to assume
a considerable development.
The report then goes on to detail at great length
the roads, railways, canals, and rivers by which
the different fields are able to send away their pro-
ductions ; and it points out what new means of
communication are required. Thus for the Loire
field, which already possesses communication by
land and water, engineers recommended a road
from Rive-de-Gier to Givors, and a railway from
St. Etienne to St. Rambert, the latter principally
destined to reduce the distance to the lower
districts of the Rhone and the Mediterranean by
25 miles. For the Valenciennes field, which already
exports 35,000,000 quintals, which is 25 miles long
by nearly 5 wide, and in which 11 new concessions
have recently been accorded, the report proposes
that in addition to a railway. from Hazebrouck via
Bethune to the Northern line, with branches to-
wards Douai and Arras, which has been granted
to the Northern Railway Company, and to other
lines conceded to the Bully Grenay Company
:
e twenty railways and four canals, destined to put
the pits in direct communication with the Northern
c
sRt raunwt e—hexpense
Railway,
tor e withadjacente sctai canals,
a
ssht 7 shall
be
0n,200,000f.
The Blanzy and Creuzot field is to have rail-
way embranchrnents from Nevers Moulins, and
Chalons-sur-Saone to the Paris and Mediter-
ranean line ; the Commentry field, a railway
from
Montlugon to La Soutenaine,
After setting forth what is proposed to be lone
for the different coal fields, the report states in
general terms that in order to assure to the coal
mi
fields in different parts of the empire the
h aehantshe of
y
communication, and the developments w
require, what must be done
is
roads and to improve others 'to:---ex"eTcuotfeoromr
improvecertain
railwaysdifferen destinednavigablet
te lvnanltse; to construct different
ready executed or in course pitset. to
executionthe
;w
taey s al-
con-
cede new lines of railway in different parts of the
territoryre;adaynde,enlaeestdleyri. t
lines
to hasten the completion of
The report next declares
that the
expense of roads must be borne
partly by the State, partly by departments or com-
munes; the expense of navigable ways by the
State ; and that of the branch railways from pits
by the companies to whom the pits belong." The
report says further that measures will be taken for
causing the railways projected to be commenced as
quickly as possible, and that negotiations have been
opened with railway companies to obtain the com-
pletion of lines already -conceded within shorter
periods than originally fixed, also to obtain from
them reductions in their tariffs.
The document concludes by announcing that a
subsequent report will detail the measures which
may be considered desirable for facilitating the sup-
ply of fuel and ore to the principal iron works.

REPRESENTATION OF GREAT YARMOUTH.—In
anticipation of the unseating of the present Conservative
members for Great Yarmouth, several gentlemen are men-
tioned as probable candidates in the Liberal interest.
Among them are Mr. Torrens M'Cullagh, late M.P. for
Dundalk, and Mr. E. W. Watkin, of the Manchester, Shef-
field, and Lincolnshire Railway, who sat for the borough a
few months in 1857. The Liberals are not, however, very
harmonious on the subject. The evidence given before the
onmmittee of the House of Commons is exciting a profound
sensation in the neighbourhood. At the last general elec-
tion the return of two Conservatives at Yarmouth was
loudly boasted of as a signal triumph by the adherents of
Lord Derby; but the disclosures of the last few days were
fully anticipated by those conversant with the manter in
which the election was conducted.