The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1855-01-10
Communication
For the Spirit of Democracy.
Coal and Coal Mining.


muse myself with Howi,t's Visits to Re-
Places and journeyed with the
luthor to New Castle on the Tyne. Per-
laps your readers may be interested to
Know about the colliers; will therefore
n AXE an sxsrao, for their qualification, and
hus let Mr.. Hewitt speak FOR himself.
Before going into New Castle, there is
ret another class Of people that we ought
o take a peep at, and that is the oolliers
This class is, Of course. very numerous
one, and it is as peculiar as it is numer-
ous. To gain a true idea Of these men,
and indeed Of the staple trade and ma
lure of the neighborhood OF New Castle,
we should first visit one Of its GOAL pits
imagine yourself there at ono OF those
huge engine houses that we have seen.-I
Here you find oiroalar shaft descending
into the earth to depth beyond your pow
er of vision; in fact to a depth Of per-
haps THREE HUNDRED YARDS. Down this
yawning gulf you see men seated in bask-
cts or in a mere loop at the end Of a rope
or chain. let down rapidly by the steam
engine to the dismal regions below; and
you see the Goals which they have dug
ascending and conveyed away. If you
have curiosity SO strong as to wish to
descend yourself, and see what is going
on below, you must obtain leave Of a
viower, change your dress. put on fan.
mel one, with strong boots TO preserve your
feet dry, and an old hat.
Putting yourself then into the loop.
you are for few moments, suspended
over the mouth Of the, pi, and then let
down with amazing rapidity. There are
some collieries that are worked horizon.
tally, that is, the shaft is cut into the side
of a hill, and you may enter. aod pro-
oeed perhaps two or three miles to the
works; but at your first entrance, the
darkness, the sound. of wagons fastened
to each other by chains, and running at
the rate of ten miles an hour in these
subterranean passages with noise like
thunder, are perhaps more terrific than
the descent of the perpendicular shaft.
If you descend by the shaft, you come
TO the first seam or stratum, where the
coal has been got, perhaps at the depth
Of two hundred yards Here you find
-
the stables for the horses, the steam en-.
gines for raising the GOALS from the low
er scam. and the veniilating furnace by
which the impure .vapors are drawn of.
Here the process has to be repeated. You
must be let down the second shaft, which
as it is in those regions Of subterraneous
darkness, and itself as dark as death, is
tenfold terrific. You will probably have
yet to descend to third depth, before
you reach the scene of action. where per.
haps, three hundred wards from the sur
lace, you will find q multitude OF hum an
beings busy hswing ea. the oosls, and
conveying them on little wagons to the
shalt up which they have to slcend.-
Here you may have to traverse great re-.
gion Of darkness till you reach the face
of the coal where the men are at works.
There with a candle fixed by bit ofclsy
to the face OF the coal, each man is pur.
suing his labor: He Is saatsd oross-leg-
ged on the aoor. undermining with his
sharp picks. . certain portion OF the coal
as far as he can. lie then cuts this por.
ton off from the rest down the front, and
driving in wedges at the top brings it to
his feet. 1t is then filed into coryes OF
baskets and conveyed away on little rail
ways by ponies. or by mon or even bJ
women. on their backs to the shafts.''
Then after some detail about the oper
ations, he adds:
q Thus engaged in these moulde
warpe operations deep in the eartl
you will find men, boys, horses and en-
gines, all busy az bees, and the human
creatures merry, as if daylight did no
make any part Of their rejoicings. ."-How
it's Nsit, Second Series, page a36.
Now here is something for our consid
Grafton. New Castle itself, it appears. tn
great coal market Of the world fstches u
its Goals from mines nine hundred feet be
low the surface, Some Of the inlan
. counties of England and some in Vale,
-
have coal6elds but they mus, be equal
difficult of access as those upon the Tyne
or New Castle could not m aintain its pre-
eminence as coal market. And Nc
Caulay and every other writer on the sui
,Iiect affirm, that the manufactures Of Eng
land and Wales are confined to the Goa
regions, or to few seaports. whore co,
can be carried by water. The inhabitan,
OF London call il sea.coaL as. ii alway
comes to them in ships. s5....
Now compare things. Our county Z
boundsin coal aud iron, and the most de-,
pondent croaker amongst US does not b,
sho< he 4c II