New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-03-29
a new albeit extremely necessary pledge OF his
intention to abide by Parliamentary Govern
TIE MINERAL COILS or THE UNITED
STATES

TIE MINERAL COILS or THE ONiiHD
STATES.
Some traces of the use Of Mineral Goals are
found before the Christian Era; but their I'M
portance as a fuel was not known until ABOUT
the middle of the fifteenth century; and only
within q brief period has Coal become the
great promoter of civilization. About l64'
London petitioned Parliament to abate the
nuisance of the Goals of Newcastle, as an
offensive commodity" and, within about fifty
years, the hapless countryman who introduced
tho Anthracite Coal as fuel, into Philadelphia
was threatened with prosecution for fraud and
Misrepresentation in selling worthless article
The City of London now uses about 100000
tuns per annum of the Bituminous Coal, and
England's power would vanish like dream
without this offensive commodity" whiie
PENNSYLVANIA draws from her Anthracite Coal
the sinews of her strength and prosperity. Id
1873. it was estimated that the whole Coal area
of the earth was about 100000 square miles,
distributed in part as follows:
United States 1872 France ;-..''''. i',is s
British America. 1000 belgium ''-''''''' ~
swain. s,4O8l Total. .les,6s6
This estimate is found, by recent discoveries,
IN he far too small for the United States, but
NAV be nearly correct as to Europe. The sur
vevs and explorations of our continental IN
terror have brought to light extensive fields Oh
Bituminous Coal, and even Anthracite Is SAID
to have been found on the Pacific Slope. Inc
Coal area of the United States Is, Deyond
question, more than 100000 square miles, or
1923. 100000 acres. Calling 80 cubic feet tun,
and the average thickness of its Coal SIX 1eet,
the number of tuns in the COal-fields or the
United States would be 2,230,272, 100000. About
three -fourths of the Coal deposits of the whole
world, SO far as they are yet discovered, are IN
the United States-eleven times as much as IN
all Europe, and seventeen times as much as IN
Great Britain. The Coal-felds of Virginia and
West Virginia, containing about $4,000 square
miles are of extraordinary thickness and of
superior quality, embracing all the varieties OF
Bituminous, Splint and Camel Goals. These
magnificent treasures of Mineral Goals. when
once the grand railways and canal from the
Chesapeake to the Ohio shall have been COM
pleted, may be placed on shipbOard in the
harbor of Norfolk at $3i to 81 per tun, and
delivered in the Mediterranean ports at prices,
considering their superior excellence as steam
Goals, below the present cost of English Goals.
IT. is easy to understand why the Great Pow
ers of Southern Europe should be DESTROYS OF
opening trade with the United States, to Sc
cure, among other things, supply of Coal for
their marine and naval service; and 1t Is
equally evident why England, and those IN
her interest should use all means in their
mower to dwarf American shipping interests
and retain a monopoly of the Coal trade.
The French Government, with its usual sagacity,
made an effort indirectly to secure this
Coal-trade; but the negotiations were defeated
by the civil war. "The Mediterranean and ORR
"cntal Steam Navigation Company of New
york u will make Norfolk one of their chief
ports, and engage largely in this Coal-trade.
Norfolk will thus become most important point
for the distribution of Coal for household and
manufacturing purposes to the great Atlantic
cities of the Union, az well as for the supply
of orr marine and naval service, and will be
able to compete successfully with England for
the supply of Southern Europe and the trade
of the Indies through the Suez Canal. In ad-
dition to this almost incredible thickness, the
richness of these Camel and semi Camel Goals
in the Kanawha Valley is such that some OK
them will yield from 40 to GO gallons of
Coal Oil per tun. This important article
of commerce, with all its products, so
essential in manufactures and the arts,
may yet be produced by distillation as
cheaply, considering the certainty of supply,
as from the oil-wells in Pennsylvania, espe-
ciaIly when it is considered that the excel
lent Coke produced by this process of distilla-
ton is a valuable fuel for domestic uses and
for smelling Iron. These various products Of
the Virginia Goals will become staple articles
of export from Norfolk in the ships OF the
Company, and may be furnished in quantities
sufficient for the consumption of the world for
centuries TO come.