The Tuapeka Times OUR COAL RESOURCES. AND Goldfields Reporter & Advertiser "Measures, Not Men." SATURDAY, AUGUST 24th, 1912. OUR COAL RESOURCES.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 5972, 24 August 1912, Page 3

The Tuapeka Times OUR COAL RESOURCES. AND Goldfields Reporter & Advertiser "Measures, Not Men." SATURDAY, AUGUST 24th, 1912. OUR COAL RESOURCES.

In view of the ovcr-recunnu.; •(»*- iiicte between the capitaltsta and labourers engaged in the coal in.m.stiy, any project which has as iu aim the exploration of the availabh 1 fuel resources of the district should be warmly advooatsd and supported b;; all residents of L n wre*ce and its neighbourhood. The winter now almost gone has been marked by a difficulty in obtaining mineral fuel almost amounting to a (oal famine, due to tie extraordinary demand caused by the prospect of a funeral strike of coal miners, asd the cosse-

quent shutting down of coal mine*. Most householders both in the towns and rural districts have felt the anxiety and inconvenience nefened to, so that there is no need to descril>e it and enlarge upon it, lsut public, attention is naturally drawn to th ; # roneideration of what local supplies might be rendered available in caie the usual sources were eut off by industrial troubles. The movement of which the meeting on the l?th inst. was the outcome arrives thr.'cfr-re &i a particularlv appropriate time, and the thanks of the comrnvnity (ire due to the enterprising citiwns who »re furthering it. entailini, as it does, a possible addition to our iaib ing resources in the way of minerals. JEven if the projected borinu. and prospecting ifor «oal do not succeed in discovering deposits whose quality fits them to compete with the product of mines at present being worked in Otago, the knowledge that we had an easily accessible source of fuel, should a coal famine occur, would be very comfortable knowledge to acquire, and worth the expenditure of a considerable sum of money. Morewar the recent rite in price of KaifeuKafe soal is p> additional snduo*-

ment to explore our own resources. In any case posterity is bound to make use of the lignite known to exist in the neighbourhood ( .[ l,awrcncp, and a little pioneering work would redound to, the credit of the present generation. Professor Park, in his siandard work oi the Geolog-,- of Kew Zealand, eatimates the total available quantity irj the Dominion of the better classes of coal to be a thous- ', and million tons. The classes he enumerates are bituminous coal, 2")1,WO.OOO tons, pitch coal 305.'790.00(1 tons, and brows ooal, 520,889,000 tons. lie makes deductions from these amounts to allow for losses due to faults, disturbances, and mining, and thus arrive* at the thousand million tons he consider! available. According to the annual Mnncs Statement the output for 1911 was about 2,0*56,073 tons, and Prof. Park estimates that by 19(>S this annual output will have increased to 2i>,Ol)(l,01H) tons. The same authority estimates that in about 140 yoars the whole visible supply of bituminous, pitch, and bjrown coals will bo exhausted. But. long bsforo that time th e increased difficulties of production will have greatly increased the cost of coal to the householder. -Then, he says, will come the day of the lignites and inferior brown coals, of which there are Vast quantities, but too low grado for present general use. Such coals, however, he continues, will, at some future period, prove of great value for the production of electric entvgy at the mines for transmission to industrial centres. Prof. Park makes no me«tion in his manual of the coal seama underlying th e flats and frillies to the west and south of Lawrence, but to or." -nowledge the coal appears, similar to the lignite occurring around the margin of the old lake basins of Centra! (Hngn, of which the Professor gives .- .! bailed description,, and remarks, that, without this natural fuel, settlement in Central Otaero would have been s«t back for a generation., Wcnotico that tho Mines Statement enumerates and describes no less than 22 collieries and coalpits in Central Otngo. Looking at the relative populations of Lawrence and tho townships of Central Otago we apprehend that there is room for a coal mine near Lawrence, if a good class of lignite ean be raised at a reasonable cost The movement for taking steps to ascertain whether such coal is awiilable is worthy of the support of nil who wish the district to prosper, and to such ■we commend it.

DAFFODIL DAY. The enthusiasm'of a few floww-lovers in Sawrcnce and Wethcretones bids fair to make of cur town a new Mecca for horticulturists. Fifty years ago the first great pilgrimage to Lawrence then unehristened, tooK place; last year the second arrived-, consisting of the survivojra of the first;' and this year we hope to chronicle a third, which will probably turn out to be the beginning of a regular series of annual excursions from other centres by admiring visitors lured by attractions purer, more innocent, andmore refining than those the place offered when first thr»nged with strani gers. Apparently there is something in the soil and climate of our district remarkably favourable to 'the growtW in full beauty and lustre, of that popular queen of sprint flowvrs. the daffodil. So ardent are the many lovers of Queen Asphodelia that they are ready to travel from far cities and lands just to gaze on her when she arrays herself in spring attire and it seems that' nowhere does she display herself to her admiring courtiers with more dazzling effect than when seated on the snnny slopes surrounding IWetherstones and Layrencc. Her local ceurtiere, who vie in loyalty

with the faithfullest in th> world, but yet »te not sellish, . ' jcists, have invited fellow subjects'from far and wide to come to the court of their nucen and render ho-inu'W to her vernal splendour. Great ia ; :uw tions are being l made for the important event 'both here and in the city of Duncdin, where Queen iAsphodelia's subjects are many unci forvidly loyal. Entertainments °£ various kinds are being organised to serve as foil to the aesthetic banquet, and it is hoped that all local residents will co-operate in making the occasion creditable to the enterprising promoters, who, it must be mentioned, are not actuated by motives less lofty than a lovs of the beautiful in Nature and a desire to augment the popularity of the district as a holiday resort. It is hoped, as we hinted before, that our first Daffodil Dav in October will begin a long scries of similar days of recreation and instruction by which visitors will gain that full knowledge of our resources which can be obtained only by personal inspection. And we would impress upon our readers that cverybodyvcan help to make these occasions a success, and at the saimetti e sccui'o health and pleasure. Everybody can plant a few bulbs around tli. l house or in waste places. The delights of the spring garden are within the reach of all in our district. Wo trust the time will come when every spare slope in the virinitv of the town will l>e gloriously nbla/e with golden daffodils, '' .Nodding their heads in sprightly dance."