THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR RESOURCES.

Press, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3779, 1 September 1877, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR RESOURCES.

TO THB EDITOR OF THB PBBBS,

Sib,—-May I be permitted to ask what efforts the people of Christchurch, aa a community, have ever made to test the value of the coal deposits in this province ? Have they ever manifested any sense of the' importance of an abundant, good and cheap supply of fuel; and if they have, what steps of a practical character have they at any time taken to bring about an accurate knowledge of their position in relation to this very important matter? For that it is very important there cannot be a shadow of doubt. Talk of establishing manufactures in Christchurch ! Why a cheap supply of good fuel is the very basis upon which manufacturing industries rest. How do we stand in that respect? In London, under ordinary circumstances, the price of best coal varies from 18s to 24s per ton. In Christchurch, the price of Newcastle coal is from 50s to 56s per ton. That is a pretty heavy handicapping of the youngster to start with. Bnt the price of artizan labor in the colony is, as it ought to be, twice as dear as in England. There are a good many other contingencies which operate adversely to the colonial manufacture, but these two are pretty good for a Start. I have no desire to bring the price of labor down, far from it. On the contrary, by increasing the means of employment the value of labor is increased. But if we are seeking the establishment of manufactories, the first object to attain is cheap and good coal. But it is not alone for the sake of manufacturing industries that an effort should be made to find good coal; nor for the sake of the money that would be saved to the community—considerable as it is—that now finds its way across tho water; nor for the additional employment that the establishment of flourishing coal mines would afford; but the question of cheap coal is one that affects the domestic economy of every household, speaking feelingly to the heart of every gudewife. Every fireside, that of the wealthy unemployed as well as the poor unemployed, is affected by this question, although to the latter it commends itself with an urgency and a force that will not be denied. Yet as far as I have beqn able to ascertain, absolutely nothing has been done by this community in the matter, and this is one fact, amongst many, that shows the want of public spirit and enterprise of the citizens of Christchnrch. Dr Ferdinand Yon Hochstetter (Physical Geog. and Geol. of New Zealand, 1875) states that "in the vicinity of Auckland, Nelson, in Golden Bay, Malvern Hills, near Christchurch, some mines have been opened, which were as often given up as worthless. Closer investigation has, however, proved that upon the North and. South Islands the coal varies greatly in quality, and is of very different geological ages. It is not only lignite of a comparatively inferior value that is known, but also thick beds of excellent brown Coal of a tertiary age, and, moreover, coal of a probably secondary age, which in quality is scarcely second to the best English coal." Dr J. Haast discovered extensive coal fields on the Buller and Grey rivers, including a magnificent bed, eight feet thick, at a height of 1500 ft above the level of the sea, and extending over an area eight miles in width and fifteen miles in length. The coal, as to quality and appearance, is said to be comparable to the best English coal. I'notice also in your issue of the 23rd "instant a paragraph informing us " the Greymouth Coal Company have sunk through the main seam of coal, which is 17ft in thickness and of very superior quality. Five feet of fire clay underlie the coal, and experts pronounce it to be the best they have seen this side of the line. A contract for cutting coal has been let to Mr Batty, who is now shipping coal of splendid quality." I trust, sir, I shall be pardoned for hunting up these extracts for the benefit of your readers, and for pointing out, first—That New Zealand coal is of different geological ages. "Thick beds of excellent brown coal of a tertiary age, and moreover coal of a probably secondary age " have been, and there is really nothing to show why'coal of a primary age should not be, discovered. Second—That the coal " varies greatly in quality," and has been found " equal to the best English coal" ; and thirdly, that considering the price now paid fer coal in Christchurch it would pay to construct a railway across to Greymouth to secure a supply of the "splendid coal" that Mr Batty is now raising, if we are still determined to do nothing in the way of exploring our own resources in this direction.

At the artisans' meeting held a few days ago, it was mentioned incidentally that Government had been interrogated in the House of Assembly as to what they were doing in tlie way of New Zealand coal, and the reply of the Minister was that the Government were calling" or were about to call for samples to be sent in. I could not but note that this circumstance appeared to give the assembled artisans a great amount of satisfaction. Of course, if anything is to be done, it is the Government must doit. The idea of doing anything ourselves is out of the question.. Government are colling- for samples, and np doubt vast results may be expected to flow from their calling. So far as Canterbury is concerned, I do not know of any place where sample of coal can come from, except from, the mines at Malvern Hills. Wed, sir, during last summer I was taken by a friend to see a 5 New Zealand coal mine. I did see one. I do not know whether the mining at the other mines is of. 1 the same character. I saw one only, andit was enough, I do not pretend to have any knowledge of English mines. I never was in a coal pit. But during twentyseven years of life in Victoria I have managed to pick up a pretty, tolerable experience' of mining—alluvial and quartz—as it is practised in the different parts of that colony. I have never seen nor read, nor in wildest dreams imagined, anything like that mine at Malvern. It was a tunnel. Tunnelling is a favorite system with Italian miners. Thereused to be a considerable population of Italian miners at a place called Jim Grow, the hills of which are now pretty well pierced with j samples of their handiwork, and all the adI vantages to be derived from the tunnel system aie pretty well illustrated. There is not one of them at all like that tunnel at, Malvern. The miner at Malvern got a sight of a bit of coal, or lignite, cropping out on the surface, atd he followed that in, sometimes swelling out into a bay,-anon passing through straits, but always dirty, generally dangerous, with a recklessness and determination positively awful. But as for there being any j coal of a superior character lying below the j seam he had got hold of, he as ;i matter of couise knew as little as I did. It. is suniy; plain to the veriest tyro that in prospecting for a seam of good coal the mining must be vertical and not horizontal in character. To put down a shaft and prospect the ground in good style required a plant quite different From the asthmatic toy I saw straggling with accumulated difficulties. Samples from such a mine are altogether fallacious and injurious, for they cannot be regarded as showing our best coal or as any test of what the province is capable'of producing. I am sure that the owners of the coalfields at Malvern have not the plant, nor do I believe they have the requisite capital, for such a work as the testing of the coal producing powers of Canterbury. Such work should be taken in hand by public companies, with ample capital to enable them to go down 500 ft. if necessary. There is not a third rate town in Victoria where such an ehterp- ise could not be floated in an hour and which would not be in full work in a week. Why, in Ballarat for many years there were companies floated every day, any one of which would be sufficient to put our resources in coal beyond a doubt; but here such a work is beyond our leading men. Their forte does not lie in organisation or practical performance. I notice, however, by your issue of to-day that we have a newlyappointed President and Committee of the Chamber of Commerce. Perhaps, sir, they will not find it beyond the sphere of their duties to give some attention to the present condition of our coal supply, more especially in regard to the matter of our'local mines, and the possibility of discovering deposits 6f better quality than those at present operated on.' Should they do so, and be the means of in. dueingthe public to put a little of the* capital now lying idle in the Banks into an enterprise t frought with. _uch immense results to the

welfare of the province, I feel pursuaded they will accomplish more than has ever been achieved by any of their predecessors, or perhaps by the whole of them put together, to foster industries and establish the prosperity of Canterbury on a suro and stable foundation. Yours, _c, Jasok. August 29th, 1877.