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 haPPiIY
arrived at. The coal supplies of Great Britain have
hitherto given her, together with other advantages,
the foremost place among producing and manufac"
turing people. This supply has its limits ; first, those
of actual quantity; second, those of available
tity. The quantity available depends on the expense
of working, an expense which, to a great extent, la'
creases with the depth at which the coal is won. I.°
ascertain, as far as may be done, the probable nature
of these limits, to collect and verify information from
all existing sources, and to satisfy the public mind on
a subject of such vital national interest, the Govern'
anent, with the general assent of the House of Cora'
mons, have agreed to the appointment of a commis"
sion as moved for by Mr. Vivian. It only remains
that the person selected to serve on that commissi°n
should be such as fully to carry out in the best manner
this important duty. On one point, we trust, the
Government will be on their guard. It is too mileii
the fashion of the present day to overtax the powers
of any human brain that is known, or thought, to
be of more than ordinary capacity. In medicipef
in law, in different departments of business life,
the first effort is made to secure the first, that is tl
say the most busy, man. The subject matter °
inquiry lies for the most part within the prof
metier of the civil engineer. The geological clues;
tions of formation, the surveyor's mensuration oi
area, the mining surveyor's delineation of seams °Il
beds, the direction of the miner as to the 103 t
economic mode of working the coal in the most a'
haustive manner, the mechanism of shafts, and gins'
and pumps, and steam-engines, the whole treatment
of the coal until it is placed on the salesman's wharf'
or on board the merchant vessel, all this is his Pr°-
per province. The great question of labour, w
hoeh
directly constitutes 60 per cent., and indirectly a
much larger proportion of the price of coal, 06.3
which will most directly and sensitively be affected
by any increase of difficulty in its winning, is an
engineering question. The sole parts of the inclu."o
that lie outside the proper province of the professl%
are the commercial questions, as to export, on `shied
direct information will be supplied in evidence anAI
such questions of general policy, or interna/0
elation, as may fall beneath the cognisance of
statesman or the diplomatist. Such, for examPito
is the question, how far the mineral needed for
propulsion of ships of war should be treated for,
tll,OO
rently from the minerals needed for the proplilsid,
of projectiles ; or, in other words, why coal shoo r,
or should not, be regarded as contraband of Ifa ni,
Above all, the result to be hoped for from the CO,
mission is a full, clear, and unprejudiced OPort
based on a lucid précis of the evidence, bringing by
in brief, incisive lines the great lessons learned
befcr
the commission, and placing them so plainly' ear
the public that further legislation will either aqoo
totally unnecessary, or that its course and provis.,„a
will be made so evidently requisite as to conly°':th
general assent. Let the commission thus deal vg_iea
this great subject, and Mr. Vivian will have or ii,e,
the gratitude of the country, and the late How °try;
cretary will have added another to his c%is -
claims on our respect.

The Duke of Hamilton left town yesterday °110:1
our of visits. Lord Charles Hamilton Douglas oulbtir
yesterday for India. ,nret
The Duchess of Buccleuch and Lady Mar 6;,,02
Scott have returned to Montagu House, Whitehall/ ';:or
visiting Lord and Lady Henry Scott, at Beaulieu' frou3
Southampton. The duke returns to town to-dal
Hants. AO4
The Marquis and Marchioness of Salisbury
fatally are staying at Hatfield House, near Herts.

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