The Sun.
London, England, 1866-05-11 00:00:00

The Coal Question.

(From a Cdent of T tou
Several hundreds of et
orresponousands ofthe
years since since a
2,000 millions of tons of coal were stored under the Vila/
of Great Britain, but the existence of coal was a matter of
little more than curiosity until about five centuries re-
the present .
About twotime centuries since the woods became exhausted'
and the coal rose in importance, but for another centu;
the gegf
its recovery being only effected by horse-power,
part of the store was inaccessible, and the exhaustion
the workable coal was generally regarded as inerelY:s
question of but a few years, and its consumption 11
principally limited to its substitution for fuel for hetise-
hold purposes.
But when the exhaustion of the recoverable coal lc. a!
ean
l();
expected the discovery of steam power and its apOl
the drainage and winning and the ventilation of inieesa all -
open what appeared to be inexhaustible resources, an- r
apprehensions were set at rest for 100 ears.
at
jr.
Hull demonstrated that, owing to the increasing Ilea" t
mines, as they descend towards the interior of the ea',.-oif
would be difficult to work the coal beyond a dePtu
4,000 ft., and recently that limit of 4,000 ft. ha! been
neof
connected with the principle that the exhanat.°l-ot
coal will progress in a geometrical ratio for the be..
t 100 years at the rate at which it has progressed t.OO
in 1961
the years 1854 and 1861, and the cons co
1961 will exceed 2,000 millions of tons of el)" the
limiteach of 4,000
to
feet
thatwill eexnhsauues taihoonu
about
o the
coalyear
d2o ;A;
00an
stated that the quantity of workable coal -00
fthe
ee
within ,
of the surface is 86,000 millions of tons, and °jilt t at
annual consumption in 1861 was 83 millions, s° but
that
that rate the coal would last nearly a thousand year the
that the consumption may be expected to increase a the
rate of 31-- per cent. in each year, making in 19
annual consumption 2,670 millions of tons. ;n polo°
~
The truth of this theory depends upon two be
—the one, that 4,000 feet will a hundred years hen" the
the extreme depth at which coal will be worloth10;
61 is a
other, that the rate of increase between 1854 and 19
fair rate to assume throughout the next 100 years. ainly
On the first point it may be said thatthe question ter° of
turns on the possibility of introducing the tetuPeraopt:l) at
the surface (or any temperature under 80 degte'-,the
depth of 4,000 feet, and that it is difficult to deo be
limit of the power of science when it has occasion ti°,ti4
directed to that particular point. But the second fa
which capable of being tested by the consideration of the 'a-
which it is based. savir
Agreeing to 83 millions of tons as the annual e°' in
•t
tion, it is necessary first to divide the total qua-Lry
otewA
i
the separate objects of consumption to which it is
and, although there pxe no means for its accurate al-
an approximate division will be sufficient. a to
The consumption for household purposes is asslinaillios
be a ton for each unit of the population—say, 4;ivolvti
of tons a year ; and the theory we are considering seal
that the consumption of coal for household purposesotri
be in 1961 576 millions of tons, and that, as the eer-a the
will be neither hotter nor colder, and coals will Aff°lll- oion
a
os same mTt warmthheheeEnieixtßritish
hs
nit osoilee:,icwthe
impl
le
ibrsseo thean
l,
stochosen7correspond
o.i nf g
coal Pop... b t
wayou
travelling, amounting at the present time t° 'a
five millions of tons for 10,000 miles of railway Wheitrbiof
Great Britain. The theory involves that the 11033 - 961
tons supposed to be consumed for this purpose 'ziPlis
will be 120 millions of tons; so that either the raPaT at
must extend within Great Britain to 24 times their P,tlre•
length, or the train services must be 24 times:the' pre'
sent number, or both compounded must involve
crease of the aggregate consumption. bent
The present consumption in the iron trade is 3 pa'
millions of tons of coal, operating to produce and :nfolfee
late 41 millions of tons of pig iron, and the theory urpoe
that the quantity of coal consumed in 1961 for this 24
Tphreesseen three
present meeak objects
j of pig
employii-on.
more than half of .--e tots
will be 472 millions of tons, which would produce 2'
isi
the
consumption, and it may be assumed that the °the f th
is employed e
in trade purposes, and that an extensiell of
latter
quantity to 24 times its present amount in Luc
increase of trade, and consequently of wealth, t°
r Dap
A tan 24 its present amount.
ccorhding totimes the rate of increase established 11 to" 6-1. caw;
lation returns, the total amount of population in 1' f coal
not exceed 90 millions, involving a consumptions ei co
oale
,
soPe
household purposes of the same number of ton ot
for
that there is a discrepancy between the result of. {be
so
of
the increase of consumption of coal of 480 Milli°
or five-sixths of the total assumed consumption• f coal
Few persons will consider that the consumptioil °root
for
railway transit can more than double its 003
amount, so that there will be a discrepancy under tb,,:guraeciA
of 110 million tons, or more than five-sixths of the tioae"
consumption. The only one of the three above-ee 10 of
items of which the amount is not limited is thie t 7 arl;
iron. This would involve an increase of poPu'3-I°,,pd, '
st b° 0
ployod in that trade from 60,000 to 1,444,000 ; ~obese'
'
may be added, that the coal miners mu
pondingly increased in number from 25°'.,,00 0
crei
6,000,000 persons. The same proportionate 1-- otbef
must take place in the persons engaged ill; coal'
trades dependent on the consumption
si
Taking only three trades—cotton, wool, and
d to 1"
the
at 500,000 persons, their number must be increase
millions, irrespective of a corresponding increase onir
persons engaged in the trades connected with those
carcelar'
1
factures.
The expected increase in the consumption c`/-:weicilo
be admitted without further consideration. If' ho
any one should believe in an annual consumptiont -4.10 t
s'
millions of tons of coal in 1961, we would sugge„4, e 5
should calculate and explain the proportion NOTia
th
of.
tional debt of 800 millions of money would un%sjtli
circumstances bear to the population and to rho
videvell;
Great Britain. The increase of population, tile,Uo Oho
went of railway transit, and the extension of, the m-for t"
and of our trade generally, afield special teas
°/19
recent increase in the consumption of coal.