The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1566.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 206, 1 November 1866, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1566.

The following is the substance of the prospectus issued by the Nelson Coal MiningCompany, West Coast, New Zealand. The capital is £50,000, in 10,000 shares of £5 each, with power to increase, by consent of three-fourths of the shareholders, to £70,000 if necessary. The company has for some months been working the coal measures on the Grey, under a lease from the Government of 21 years, renewable at the end of that period for an equal term. The quantity of land is 1280 acres, the rental nominal. The coal has been proved by experiment to excel the best New South Wales coal for steam and other industrial purposes; and "its cooking qualities are, equal to those of the best Euglish coal. The seam is fifteen feet thick, and the coal can be carried by water from the mouth of the mine to the shipping place at Cobdeu. As the annual consumption of coals is greatly on the increase, the company expect to find an easy market for their produce. The rapidly increasing population of the West Coast, and the prospect of a railway from Nelson to Cobden, are regarded as circumstances likely to facilitate the operations o'f the company. Meaas will be taken to construct a tramway from the mine to the port, which, with iron rails, trucks, and horses, would cost about £15,000. Numerous testimonials are given from high authorities as to the value of the coal. Experiments have shown that 4 cwt. of Grey coal lasted as long and did the same amount of work as 5 cwt. of Sydney coal. Sydney coal has been shown to be better suited for smiths' work than English, while the Grey coal is as much superior to the Sydney coal as the latter is to the English. Brewers have shown that there is a saving of 18 per cent, by using the Grey instead of the New South Wales coal. Mr. Burnett reported last year that the seam was calculated to last for centuries, thus furnishing an inexhaustible supply. The proprietor of the Soho Foundry, Ballarat, has pronounced the coals delivered from the Nelson Coal Company, superior to any he has burnt from the Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire, North Wales, and New South Wales coal pits. The Woolwich Dockyard report of the trial of Grey coal, December 18, 1865, is a most satisfactory one. There are many reasons for believing that the coal as it eventually reached the dockyard, was not equal to what could be now sent from the Grey ; yet Mr. Trickett, the chief engineer, reports that the evaporative power of the Grey coal is about the average of that of the North of England coal as supplied to the service. That a coal mine so valuable is not well worked, can be accounted for only on the ground of the great difficulty in procuring the necessary means. We hope to learn that the efforts of the company have been attended with success.