The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-27 00:00:00

Our Coal Supply,

(From the Builder.)
On the main point a general accord is now hapPiVe
arrived at. The coal supplies of Great Britain have
hitherto given her, together with other advantages'
the foremost place among producing and raanufae‘
turing people. This supply has its limits ; first, those
of actual quantity; second, those of available quan-
tity. The quantity available depends on the expense
of working, an expense which, to a great extent,
creases with the depth at which the coal is won• lee
ascertain, as far a may be done, the probable nature
of these limits, to collect and verify information fret
all existing sources, and to satisfy the public mind en
a subject of such vital national interest, the Govera-
naent, with the general assent of the House of Col'
mons, have agreed to the appointment of a coannla;
sion as moved for by Mr. Vivian. It only remains
that the person selected to serve on that commisaieer
should be such as fully to carry out in the best mane
this important duty. On one point, we trust, the
Government will be on their guard. It is too much
the fashion of the present day to overtax the powers
:
of any human brain that is known, or thought, 1-
be of more than ordinary capacity. In medicine'
in law, in different departments of business life,
the first effort is made to secure the first, that is to
say the most busy, man. The subject matter °f
inquiry lies for the most part within the proper
metier of the civil engineer. The geological ques-
tions of formation, the surveyor's mensuration
area, the mining surveyor's delineation of seams all
beds, the direction of the miner as to the finest
economic mode of working the coal in the most ex,
haustive manner, the mechanism of shafts, and gln
and pumps, and steam-engines, the whole treatnael
of the coal until it is placed on the salesman's whar,
or on board the merchant vessel, all this is his Pr.',
per province. The great question of labour, wine:
directly constitutes 60 per cent., and indirectly
u
much larger proportion of the price of coal, all
which will most directly and sensitively be affected
by any increase of difficulty in its winning, is an
y
engineering question. The sole parts of the ,
that lie outside the proper province of the profes%
are the commercial questions, as to export, onwin
and
direct information will be supplied in evidence
„f
such questions of general policy, or internatio;
relation, as may fall beneath the cognisance of le,
statesman or the diplomatist. Such, for examPh„
is the question, how far the mineral needed for t
propulsion of ships of war should be treated dig;
rently from the minerals needed for the propulal..l4
of projectiles ; or, in other words, why coal shoo r,
or should not, be regarded as contraband of Na
Above all, the result to be hoped for from the e°,
mission is a full, clear, and unprejudiced rePoiti.rt
vat
based on a lucid precis of the evidence, bringing
in brief, incisive lines the great lessons learned I,
the commission, and placing them so plainly Wier
the public that further legislation will either aPPiovs
totally unnecessary, or that its course and provisn „d
will be made so evidently requisite as to comma ~i,
general assent. Let the commission thus deal sve'd
this great subject, and Mr. Vivian will have earole,
the gratitude of the country, and the late Hon); e
cretary will have added another to his existing
claims on our respect.

The Duke of Hamilton left town yesterday °li:d
our of visits. Lord Charles Hamilton Douglas erali3-
yesterday for India. - ret
The Duchess of Buccleuch and Lady 3131.16,, 010
Scott have returned to Montagu House, Whitehall, ':ear
visiting Lord and Lady Henry Scott, at Beaulieu, from
Southampton. The duke returns to town todayfr°
Hants.
The Marquis and Marchioness of Salisbury an
family are staying at Hatfield House, near Hero.