The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1871-07-16
tCommunicAted.l
The Origin Of Coel.


Many philosophers and geologists. who do
not wish to believe the account OF the creation
ories T to account for the appearance Of the earth
as they find it, and for the various changes
they suppose it has undergone. Winston i'm
agined the earth to have roamed for number
less ages through space, until the period of the
creation as recorded by Moses. Hally supposes
the agitation of the ocean produced by the
shock of comet to have occasioned the de-
teria1 of the globe was in fluid or IN nebu-
lar state from the presence of internal heat,
and that the radiation of heat from its surface
has produced the present solid state.
But the most popular theories with geolo-
gists are those of Werner and Hutton. Wer-
ner supposes that the surface of our globe pre-
sented at one time q chaotic mass, In which
the materials that compose its solid parts were
held in solution in water. Hutton supposes
that the present dry land was formed from
the ruins of q pre-e1isting cont'nept oy the
action of internal heat.
By the combination of these last two theo-
ries geologsts have thought that they could
account for the origin OF the various forma-
theory had to be invented to account for the
origin of it, for it could not be even supposed
that coal owed its origin to fire OF water. Coal
therefore, ia supposed to consist entlrely OF
vegetable matter.
ITO form the coal-beds, vegetable matter is
supposed to have accumulated in some dense
forest for many then This % forest th becomes
table matter is covered with deposit from
the water. This deposit in lapse Of time be-
comes q mass Of rock Again the land is raised
submerged, and this alternating process is
supposed to have continued as often as there
are coal beds in the district.
elm adopting euch views, we must suppose
the lapse Of vast periods of time, as the thick
ness OF the coal strata in some parts of Eng
land ere immense" Phillips says: cit has
ths sns
carbonic acid gas. and thus promote the rapid
growth of those immense forests that must
then have existed"
gists, resembles that of wood. 1t exhibits
traces of organization, and contains very
| nearly the same materials as timber-.oxygen,
hydrogen and carbon abOunding in both.
Trunks, branches and leaves of trees have
been discovered in coal and Ignite or brown
| coal is made the connecting link between true
such are some of the theories of coal forms-
| tion advanced by chemists and geologiste, who,
seeing the absurdity Of supposing coal to be
to the vegetable world. We viii in a. few
words ~ possible place the subject in differ
ent point Of view by giving some rev 20. OF fas 80
true mineral, and was brought into existence
| as we find it. like other minerals by the act OF
creation as recorded by Moses, offer in support
| of their theory.
Some modern geelogists suppose enormous
pressure and elevated Temperature necessary
agents In the conversion of wood into coal, and
such indeed would seem indispensable II TINS
we arc told that coal is being actually formed
without either elevated temperature or extra
ordinary pressure. Now if coal can be formed
from wood without great pressure, now comes
it that the specific gravity of coal is far greate
than that Of ordinary vegetable matter, al
though We are informed by chemists that wooH
in becoming coal has parted with most OF l{s
oxygen and some of it's hydrogen" Now, cdr
} any one imagine that vegetable matter DecomS'
heavier by parting with its gases, when y.
same cause besides coal contains more ga.
. than an equal quantity of wood, although q
the geological theory, which we are compaS
ing, the wood which formed the coal Paseed
with most of its gases. This then is an evloenl
absurdity.
But wood subject to great pressure, could
not retain its delicate foliage, bending oranch-
es graceful festoons etc. If, as geologlsts say,
coal is anthractious and bituminous according
: to its age, why are not the lower beds OF
. bituminous coal fields anthracitious and tue up
per beds of anthracitious coal fields bitumlnous 81
Beds Of the same species of coal alternate
], with different mineral strata, as sandstone
iren stone, limestone, shivered> carbonate % .,
lime, etc., which offers geological PROOF '.h ths
# the lower beds in one must be as oid as tns
upper bed in the other-which would go v
:. prove that bituminous and anthracitious Goa
fields are co-eval.
The geological theory affords no eatisfactor!
: explanstion as to the manner in which the Goa 90,
., beds of Peru could have been formed at ths
elevation of Is, 600 feet above the level OF tn'
" oe& nor now coal anu CluuAuHL Va -
l. mercury exist together in the siicious lime I'M,
stone of the Andes or how iron Wiz
70 the coal beds of Pennsylvania, Maryiand' tha y
"a ginia, and other places. We are tola Sodiss Shs
q metals are simple or uncompoupdeo .p IoutI0 tb
!, and, consequently, were createo " oool h
~ other elmentary substances. Now, II coaa al " "
not mineral, bow comes 1t to pass ass. 'aSs ssome
times found in coal mines Are we to to sapR obancs
,s after the vegeteble matter of the coal heios nn
l. been collected and arranged in the Snr,Sus
coal bedf The different minerals are 30 anSi Sis
mingled in the earth's csust that the the most ssp Ji
at simiIar are often found united. Tin cohsa;t ,
iron and copper silver is found united dts T'
le lead; gold with iron copper silver, ,und eUS an
be there also but hoT tge tsey fst SSS
- creation is a mystery which the geolog'''
II theory of coal formation cannot explain. or
81 Some of the coal fields are very large az
10 deep. One coal field in England is said 20
er three hundred yards in depth, aud os e1'eae ar
lg from a few inches to forty feet in tnlcknes
Ie Now the quantity of vegetables necessary