The New York herald., 1869-09-20
CHEAP coal.

To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD:-
Having observed the zeal With which the HERALD
has for some time past urged the repeal Of the duty
COAL not from any desire to please or benent the
miners Of Great Britain Nova Scotia but as act
Of simple justice TO our own people, have been led
to inquire carefully into the matter to ascertain
what extent the abolition Of the duty would really
benefit the American public whose rights and neces.
sites you always 30 ably and warmly advocate. I
beg to lay the result Of my investigations before you
for such use as You may deem IT.
It has frequently been asserted that with the
duty taken or Nova Scotia coal could not be re.
tailed for very much less than anthracite now Is,
and that It could not be imported BY the cargo for
manufacturing purposes to compete with Cumber.
seven dollars per ton. Now this statement Is not
true, as can be easily proved. Even at the present
81 IS gold equivalent to say q 70 Sarrency per ton
one 81 our leading houses informs me that they are
bapai' brated Albion Mines COAL rom Plctou' N. s,
or the wellHnowh Syaney COAL at seven dollars per
ton Of 224o pounds when taken In quantities OF 100
good provincial Goals be furnished at even lower
prices. II the duty were taken OF entirely, s. TO
from these facts we may draw the following conciu.
sions:-If Nova Scotia Goals were admitted free OF
duty our manufacturers, steamboat companies ana
from the anthracite and Cumberland Goals, now In
use to the provincial GOALS and thereby greatly DE-
CT6uB0
now selling at such ext0ruonate figures. The Pic.
tou coal has been used FOR forty years as On excel
lent coal for use In the manufacture Of iron glass,
gas &o aud IL sti used to considerable extent par
ticuary In the New England States though the heavy
duty imposed since the aorogaton Of the reciprocity
treaty has conspired to lessen the importation
seventy Eve to eighty per cent: The sydney coal Is
also well known as an excellent steam or house
COAL while the other Goals alluded to are more par
ucuiarly useful In the manufacture OF gas. With
the demand for American Goals very muca reduced,
the prices would fail materially and could not pc put
up CRITICALLY by combinations Of operators or miners,
as they have been the past few years. for the prices
were forced beyond certain point not ony would
the large consumers cease TO use II, but families or
all classes, even those VINO buy but fractions
Of o ton at q time would be found using
sydney and other Nova Scotia Goals II II De urged
tnat these btuminons Goals are not suitable Tor our
stoves and furnaces, but can only be Used IN open
CRATES, say, very true but with the steam and
manufacturing demand for our domestic Goals re-
moved to great extent, prices would probably rule
so low that anthracite would be retaled a. low or
lower than sydney could be--say at 80 TO SO o0 per
ton that We should nave no occasion 10 burn Nova
Scotia Goals In our houses and offices II we did not
wish TO. think, however, we should IND open
CRATES coming into much more general use. NO
doubt they are far more healthy and pleasant. AZ
any rate we can see that without the duty foreign
coal would act as regulator and keep prices down.