LAND 0' THE SCOT.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1879, 13 October 1913, Page 8

LAND 0' THE SCOT.

REMARKABLE REVOLUTION,

LARGE COALFIELDS OPENED.

A very vivid idea of the remarkable new industrial revolutions and expansions now taking place in Scotland, in the county of Fifo, is given by an able series of articles in the "Glasgow Herald."

These articles in brief show the development of enormous coalfields, and how they revolutionise'rural life, cause the migration of men, the growth of new towns, and result in a. set of problems—personal, domestic, social, and religious. Scotland's Croat Coalfield. "No one can have read tbo articles on tho progress of Fifeshire without realising the enormous potentialities of the district, and at tho same timo,boing impressed by tho social and economic problems which inevitably follow tho mccption of new industries and the expansion of old ones," says the "Glasgow Herald" in a loader. "it. is in tho western part of tho shire, and particularly in tho area of wliioli Dunfermline is the centro, that tho population is rising by leaps and bounds, and what but a short timo ago were sleepy villages are now busy and flourishing townships. For this pleasant prosperity Fife is primarily indebted to tho rich and practically incxhaustiblo coal deposits, which are at present being tapped at tho rato of ovor 9,000,000 tons a year. The export trade from Fife ports is now by far the largest in tho United Kingdom. Tho Pall of Smoko. " "It is ono of tho penalties of industrial supremacy that it subtly transforms tho social character of the community, and even- the stubborn - ciannishness of tho inhabitants of tho 'Kingdom' lias fought in vain against the inevitable. "Although scores of rural workers have forsaken the plough for the more remunerative pick and shovel, this has not prevented a steady influx of workera—mostly Irish—from tho mining districts in tho West of Scotland. "Tho outward aspects of industrialism aro seen in tho pall of smoko which enshrouds tho mining districts, in tho monotonous, though not always grimy rows of colliers' houses, and in the vast heaps of slag which dominate the landscape at every turn. Tho contrast is specially marked in Fife, where tho shortest of journeys will carry tho traveller away from his murky surroundings to tho quaint, cobbled fishing burgs or the undulating. links and § olden sands which fringe the Firth of 'orth. ' _ "Coal, linoleum, and linen are tho staples of industrial Fifeshire, agriculture of rural Fifeshire, and golf of tho Fifeshiro of pleasure. The Fifeshire of pleasure lies chiefly on the coast, and its capital is St. Andrews. Thero golf is at onco tho chief industry of the natives and tho only occupation of tho visitors. "Tho growth of the mining population in Fife," says tho writer of the articles, "is reflected in.tho fact that it includes 26,634, or 31.5 per cent., of tho working malo population, an increase of 70.9 por cent, compared with 1901."

A Coal King. Horo is a glimpse of tho growth of Scotland's largest mining ccncern. "Tho dust of the pits at Cowdenbeath'clings to overy brick dwelling, darkens the air, and renders the green earth comatose. Tho transformation has been accomplished easily within living memory. Cowdenbeath was a rural hamlot 20 years ago. Remnants of tho Cowdenbeath hamlot remain, houses of uncertain poiso, some of them with' boarded windows, more of thorn with cracked walls indicative of strenuous .subterranean labour, tho prime cause of tho development of Cowdenbeath from its hamlot stato to a town of 15,000 inhabitants. Cowdenbeath has reached its industrial zenith in 20 years. Within that period its rich coalfield has been exploited if not exhausted, and there arc no now Cowdenbeath voina to tap. It inay continue tho capital of a great mining district, but the town itself is not likely to develop appreciably. " The industrial mainspring of mining Fifcshiro in tho west is tho Fife Coal Company, which under the accomplished direction of Mr. Charles Caraow may be said to dominate the coal industiy of the ' Kingdom.' It is active in the east as well as in tho west, controlling over a score of large collieries, and employing moro than 14,000 men. Its genesis was in Kelty with a colliery whoso modest output was 70,000 tons. To-day it is tho largest coalmining concern in Scotland, tho annual output of .its pits approaching 5,000,000 tons.

"The enterprise of the company has mado mining history in Fifeshire. The opening of the great Aitkcn Pit in Kelty led to tho discovery in Fifeshiro of navigation coal. Tho limit of the Aitlcen Pit, which has a daily output of over 2000 tons, has by no means been reached. Tho prospects of development are exceptionally bright, for it is situated in the heart of one of tho most prolific coalfiolds in the Kingdom. "The development of the Fife Coal Company is duo largely to the tireless onergy of Mr. Carlow. Nor is he concerned merely with the commercial side of Fifeshiro mining. Ho is almost dafly in personal contact with the districts the company controls, and has interested himself in tho social life of the thousands who depend upon its prosperity. He has been quick to resent the aspersions cast upon these great mining communities, whoso life ho knows bettor than their critics. Practically Inexhaustible. "Tho now pit at Valleyfield, opened a couple of years ago, is still only in its beginnings, and that district promises in tho course of a few years to rival Cowdenbeath in mineral wealth and population. . The Valleyfield coal is somewhat similar to Welsh coal, which is used by the Admiralty, and now that there is to be a naval base in the immediate vicinity there is hope that tho Admiraly will draw some of its supplies from tho Valleyfield pits. "The Fife coalfield may ho regarded as practically inexhaustible. The Parliamentary Commission of 1905, anticipating the developments indicated, 4-e----po'rted that about two-thirds of the coal under the Forth would be worked by Fifeshire collieries, and that tho available resources at less than 4000 feet would amount to something like 5,700,000,000 tons, sufficient to tain tho present output for nearly 1000 years." Now Coal Ports. To ship this enormous output of coal new coal ports have been dovelopod, of which Methil now ships more coal than any in tho United Kingdom. "It has grown from 500 people twenty years ago to a population of 20,000. "It is Methil that jives vitality to tho great community "which extends from Leven to Denbeath.

"An idea of its magnitude may be (Jained b.y the statement that tliero is a sea wall from Methil Pier to tho mouth of tho Leven, a distance of moro than a mile, a total quay spaco of 6000 ft., and an entrance 80ft. wide, sufficient to permit of easy handling of the largest trading steamors. Tho conspicuous features in tho equipment of the dock are tho Armstrong Whitworth hoists, of which there aro nine in operation. Tho ultimate number aimed at js twclvoj and when these aro workin? something like 200,000 toils of coal will bo dealt with weekly. As it is, Mothil is easily tho largest coal shiplji"2 port in the country.