The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-09-16
Conl IN E.,x,ns.,s s..sk, America.

second commission is now sitting charged
with similar duty--namcly, TO look into the
causes Of high prices Of coal. The first COM
mission gave what was intended to be an as
suring report that the supply would. with
"lcss wa>tcfulncSS in consumption, last for
twelve hundred years to come The real
result Of the inquiry, however, was to excite
| doubts about the abundance of supply, and
10 show that in future coal could only be-
raised TO the surface at continually increas-
ing cost.
The following remarks by Mr.. +. Jones, o
mining engineer, at = meeting Of engineers
in Wolverlampton, and printed in the Lon
on this important subject in the minds OF
scientific men and of coal-land proprietors
fIe .kctchcd the growth of the alarm
! which had from time to time found expires.
sion as to our coal supply, and spoke Of the
appointment Of the first Royal coal com.
mission. Subsequent events, he said, had
proved that there WAS cause for alarm, FOR
experience had shown that the quantity of
fuel left unworked in our best coal-fieldS was
less than the coal commission estimated.
He WAS therefore inclined to the opinion of
Sir William Armstrong that the country was
nearer the end Of its fuel supply than the
outside world had any idea Of. Lot the
members take as An illustration the counties
Of Stafford, Worcester, and Shropshire, and
view them in relation to our future supply.
The first yielded IN annual output Of TO-
600, 900 tons. and the quantity brought to
bank throughout Shropshire was in proper
ton 10 tina, in StsfIordShire. At this rate Of
consumption, and il no further fields were
discovered, few more yeirS would see the
exhaustion Of the supplies of best furnace
, and house coal in those counties. Speaking
of his own county Salop-he regretted to
.av that the end was not far off. They were
making no new discoveries. Boring in the
-, north OF the county, ut ChildS Ercal, had
been conducted TO depth Of LOO feet with
, out trace of coal, and though &c, 900 and five
wears Of time had been spent, yet ii had now
to bc suspended. The borings made OH the
| Preston Hospital estate. near Wellington,
touched the igncous rocks at q depth OF
three hundred feet, thus confirming the
- opinion he had expressed in paper to the
severn Valley Field Club in 1866. As re-
Gently rs Saturday last, Lord Hill ceased
buriu- at Wollcrtsn, the igneoils rocks hay
n~ been found ut two hundred ard eighty
five feet. He had recommended that the
work should stop ut three hundred feet, for
previous sinking had led him to conclude
= that there was nothing but drift clay over.
living the upper new red sandstone. Finally,
on the east side of the field, near to Shifnal
the ground was found 10 be much broken
and faulty, with strong evidences Of dcnu
date Unless the trial sinkings ut Sand
well and other places should prove success
IL Il
make ND for the rapid exhaustion of the
: thick coal in and around Bilston, Dudley
and other places. The great prosperity OF
this country had been often said to be due
to the cheap production Of its mineral fuel
The great increase in the get of coal at 10 y
prices in the ten years preceding ISL
, MAS the primary cause Of the great
DEVELOPMENT Of the iron trade, the extension
of railways. the extension of our colossal
steam marine which largely contributed tc
the expansion of our factory, our engineer
, ing. and even our agricultural operations
Such, indeed, was the demand which the
: abundance and chcapnesS OF our fuel caused
for it from all parts Of the world that the
demand could not ct last be met. The re-
suit was a panic. accompanied with result;
with " hich they were all familiar, and which
continued to exist. If this panic was th'
effect of ~ inability to meet demand II
point of time, what would be the result Of {
deficient supply which no lapse Of time eoulc
furnish? The duration OF our mineral Tue
supply depended largely on the application
scientific improvements in promoting acce.;
to cur extensive coal mines. At great depth
) We must apply improved steam, compressed
: air and hydraulic power, and when manua
istor was incapable of the work machinery
and science must prolong the duration O
Englsnd's wealth and happiness.
While the people in England are alarmed
at The discovery of the real limits of the
stock. and the memorable cost Of production
Of their future supplies Of fue, we in Anne
= RIGA. on the other hand, are just beginning t
v appreciate the magnitude Of our deposits
the virtually imitless abundance of Oh
: store. The immense advantage Of our posi-
! ton in this respect may be better understood
by remembering that the area OF the Engisl
:. coal-GcIds is only about G,oO0 square miles
and that the whole of ii lies buried from so
To !. 500 wards deep under the surface, Whenc
: il must DO drawn by artificial aid, ct th
>. same time that the miaes must be Grsine
If and ventilated by machinery. Yet, unde
' these natural drawbacks, England brougf
+ into market last year 123, 100000 tons Of Goa
= and tho estimated output for the currer
e year is 1870, 100000 tons.
. Now, contrast the position of soma of on
J. own coal fields. We msy pass by the snthrs
. cite coal-feld Of Pennsylvania, for the reaso
e that the English have mono OF it, and becsus
the American supply seems to be at presen
+ in the hands Of few capitalists and trans
j porting lines. Take, as an example, In
a West YIrQinia portion Of the Great Alleghan
i. bitumnous coal-ba,in. which contains lo,0o
$ souare miles, with fourteen Of the thirt
seams of workable size, from three to clever
y feet in thickness all high above tho surfsc
6 and water.leyel,, and therefore cheap.
: mined, and loaded by gravity, and ventilated
and drained without machinery. This IS pro
badly one Of the richest coal-felds! In the world
5, whether for the accessibility, quantity, or pu
" rity of the different varieties Of coal. 1t is cu
J, by the kanawha river and it's tributaries, 81
,! as to form natural series Of shafts anC
5 gangways, exposing the coal-beds on hume
II rollS hillsides, so that mine may be opened
: for few hundred dollars, and the coal rollet
u into cars for the mere cost Of the construc
It ton of the necessary inclnes and "shoots.'
u This vast storc-house of fuel, together will
: others adjacent to it in Eastern Kentucky, il
n Western Pennsylvania, Indiana, and else
! where, are SO far from being exhausted thai
II thew are but just scratched, rs it were, il
5 places. though every year gives indications
that we can rapidly expand our bituminou
coal product to any required dimensions.
i II is 4 fortunate circumstance at this crisis
) in ,ha rooI s1IppIy of England and while WI