Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1862-01-08
IRON AND COAL.

The weakness o. France, compared with Great
Britain, consists in its deficiency in iron and coal.
But for this deficiency the mechanical development
of France would have rvalled that Of England, and
besides being the most warkc power on the globe,
France would also have been, like England, the
wealthicst There are few who appreciate the tran
scendcnt importance which iron has attained to in
modern times. That nation which possesses the
greatest resources for the manufacture of this ma
tcrial may be said to be the wcalthiest and most
powerful That nation which possesses the largest
quantities of the best iron ore, and the most con-
venient beds Of coal suitable for its manufacture,
can be safely pronounced the most powerful ration
IN proportion to population. We over estimatc the
importance and value of cotton when We give it su-
l,crorty over iron and coal. Gold is fourth rate
commodity in the staples of country compared
with these black minerals.
The power Of Great Britain rests upon her iron
manufactures and coal beds. 1t was her early de-
velopmcnt of these Incompatible resources which
placed her far in the van of ratlons in respect
to wealth and political control She could not have
subsidized all Europe for twenty years, and great
portion Of Europe, from tire whereof the memory
of man ruaneth not to the contrary, but for the
control Of capital and trade and the resources of
profit, which her manufactures gave her; and the
basis of all her manufacturing and mechanical
wealth is that grim substratum Of iron and coal.
The power of the North rests this day upon its
unparalleled resources in iron and coal 1t required
many years for the development of them, during
which period that section remained secondary to
England in manufactures and commerce. But lat
tery these interests have received most rapid and
prodigious development and to-day the North is
the admitted rival of Great Britain in all depart
mcnts of national wealth and power dependent upon
these resources. The danger of the South from the
North at this moment consists solely in the Supe-
r;orty of the North over her in its resources of iron
and coal.
1t is needless in this enlightened age to trace and
distinguish the modes in which iron has become
the very snews of national power and the tc'~" &c
national wealth. If you wish to find the
and most prosperous cities in the world,
those which are most intimately connect
iron and coal New York, Boston, Phils
Baltimore, Pittsburg, Cincinnati and Richn
striking examples upon this continent; Lon
almost every city in gland on the other
The Southern States are in more dangq
trcss this hour from deficiency in iron thu
other commodities whatever. And yet Virginia and
portions of Tennessee and North Alabama are pecu-
liarly prolific of iron Most of the FORCES in
Virginia afford an abundance of the best iron, but
are dependent exclusively upon wood for smelling
it. A few years ago. there were fifteen or twenty
+ FORCES in full olast in the Commonwealth. But
I they could not be carried on with wood as fuel
while the prices remained low; and of late years,
since the depression of prices all but four or five
had ceased to operate. Probably no country in the
world abounds so richly in iron ore as Virginia but
in large portion of the State the non-contguity of
coal, and the necessity Of employing wood alone,
greatly interferes with mining and manufacturing
! the metal.
Yet there are regions of country in the South.
States in which abundant supplies Of the species
of coal suitable for the manufacture of iron exist in
positions accessible to beds of iron ore. The safety
Of the South requires carly steps to be taken by the
Confederate government to bring the resources Of
those districts into requistion. One of the regions
alluded to is the extreme Southwestern corner Of
Virginia, embracing the counties of Scott and Lee,
and parts Of Russell and Wise, where there are
large beds Of anthracite COAL The other portion
stretches southwest of this some hundred or more
miles, reaching into North Alabama e--.
Until the resources of the South in iron and coal
are developed, we cannot pretend to be classet
among the great powers of the earth. Richmond
should look with great into the subject for he,
prospects as first-cass city depend absolutely up
on their Development. The Confederate govern
nent should look after these interests, for the quss
ton Of independence may. soon become no othe
than the question of an abundant supply of iror
and coaL-Richmond Dispatch. - -.