WHITE: COAL

NZ Truth, Issue 1052, 21 January 1926, Page 5

WHITE : COAL

■ _ .- . ♦ ■ Harnessing World's Waterways X INDUSTRIAL SLUMP i (From "Truth's" Special London Rep.) t Some amazing figures are given as to the potential supply of hydroelectric power from the waterways - of the world. „ In a gloomy review of the prospects ©f the 1 coal-mining industry Mr. David Brownlie estimates the energy latent m falling water throughout the world * at 450,000,000 -horse-power, quite. apart from the/tides. . . t . The power available is enormous, being, for example, 850,000 h. p. from ■' the "- river Rhone m France and < 196,000,000 from the Congo and its tributaries m Africa. Of that enormous available power, « bnly; a small fraction— over 35,000,000 h.p.-^ris-to-day In operation throughout the. world, i But that proportion is rapidly being increased ■m all industrial countries •where water . is . available. f J LOST MARKETS ! . ' :I*rance^. for.- example,, has ln> work l about? 2,600,000 h.p. and Italy 1,800,000, r so that; British coal is hardly wanted at all.'in.the former country and m the latter^ the. market is regarded as dead. Over Europe as a whole there has been a4O per cent, increase' in the l- development of hydro-electric. supf ply m the past three. years and the rate of increase continues to rise. *• -. The story all over the world is the Mine, arid the inevitable consequence is the falling off of coal consumption f and the depressing of one of England's main exports for the past hundred years. / r ■'■..., i That industry already,, is showing •very sign of decay— -and the rate- of Its deterioration will certainly accelert ate iii the near future. The- loss of markets abroad as the water power is developed is E likely to re-act on Australian coal exports too. ' There is no doubt that the countries i to which; Newcastle coal now goes, will f follow m the wake of others and develop their own power resources, while the schemes for utilizing the irrigation reservoirs such as the Hume will also result m the diminution of the ( local demand. .