Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1866-06-19
GLADSTONE q AMERICAN COAL.

on "the budget" should tell strongly in ia
vor Of American securities held in Europe.
But he is not so well informed on the sub
ject Of the mineral wealth Of this country,
although he seems to have been looking
somewhat into that subject also. For ex-
ample, in the speech to which we have al
ready referred he branches of from the
question Of finance proper to consider the
probable exhaustion lin the next century,
Of that prime source of England's wealth
and power, her coal. Whilst doing this,
he mentioned incidentally the vast coal
deposits of the United States, and speak
ing Of them as thirty-seven times greater
than the whole coal surface Of England,
he further said that "most OF the coal
there contains so large an amount OF an
,hracise that it is not fit for steam or for
smelling purposes"
This little passage contains two con-
s~picuous errors, and it is hard to under
stand how so able and learned q statesman
could have committed them. First, 1t is
no, the fact that "most Of the coal" in the
United States contains anthracite" That
description of coal is peculiar to one OF
the coal fields of Pennsylvania, but 1t is
small in proportion to the aggregate OF the
coal fields of the whole Of this n State
even. 1t has so happened that this an
thracite field has been more thoroughly
worked than any other in the United
| States, and that circumstance may account
for its prominence in England. But out
| side Of the anthracite field of Pennsylva-
mia are the vast deposits of bituminous
coal beyond the susquehanna river, ex-
tending under almost every foot Of soil to
the Ohio river.
Beyond this are the immense fields OF
coal in Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky,
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Georgia,
Alabama, Tennessee. Missouri, California
and other States and Territories. The
veins extend, in fact, entirely across the
continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
and from Texas to the great lakes, and
outside of the Pennsylvania anthracite
field it is al 6itxminous. The coal area OF
twelve of the above named coal-producing
States Is estimated at 1873, 1872 square miles,
or an extent equal to about o%ne-fourth OF
their entire surface. or this immense
area the anthracite field covers but 437
square miles, or less than one thrss.h.n.
Greth part Of the whole. The fact is, there
is a vastly greater proportion Of anthra.
cite, etc., in the British coal fields than in
ours. Statistics which the Chancellor
should have consulted, would have shown
him that $3.50 square miles Of the coal
area of Great Britain and Ireland contain
anthracite and culm, out Of q total surface
in the United Kingdom Of 1850 square
miles. This is a proportion Of nearly
one.third, against n hree-hwdreh in the
above States, or, in other words, the coal
| fields there contain more than q hundred
times as much anthracite, culm, ETC., as
we have in the coal fields of our principal
coal States. Here, then, is Mr.. Gladstone's
frs; great error.
The other is in his statement that " an
thracite is no, fit for steam or for smelt-
ing" This will be news to the iron men
Of our Nation. Nearly all the smelling
in the furnaces in the great iron region
cas-, Of the Susquehanna is done by an.
thraci,e. It will be news to the vas'
manufacturing establishments of New
York and New England, that "anthracit'
is not fit for steam" where oil the ma
chinery is driven by steam generated BY
anthracite coal. And it will be very
novel intelligence, indeed, to the navy
me enormous steam marine Of which, dur
ing the war, was propelled entirely BY
means Of anthracite coal. The tremendou;
feet, which blockaded a continent, usec
no other fuel. II was that which CAV
our vessels q great advantage, for while
anthracite generates no visible smoke, anc
their whereabouts were to some extern
concealed by this popularity, the dens'
black smoke from the bituminous Goa
used by the Anglo-rebel ~privateers ano
blockade-runners made their presence
visible on the horizon long before the yes.
sells themselves could be discovered. The
people of the United States should derive
no pleasure from the probable exhaustion
of English coal, but il is we'll enough foI
her greatest living stateman to know that
whilst our coal fields contain more than
half of the known coal surface OF the
world, "mos. Of it" is also bituminous,
and that the anthracite even is equal to
any demands upon ii either for smelling
or for steam"