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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 61

Coal

Coal.

Here is the mighty force that is to work the greatness of our land. Without it we might struggle nobly, but we could not overcome; with it we can do all that is required to attain our ambition, if that ambition is only set upon what is the true page 50 destiny of the colony, and not upon what some may fancy it should be. The object of this essay is to show that our true destiny is to be the carriers, manufacturers, and traders of the Southern Seas; at the same time producing so large a supply of our own requirements as to command the maximum of other's capital at the minimum of our own. Without coal we cannot attain this, but Nature has been generous, and given us this all-sufficing force. The cry is not "Where is coal?" but "Where is it not?" Both Islands contain large supplies of various quality. Kaitangata and Tokomairiro have sixty square miles of area, containing 708,000,000 tons; Nightcaps, 100,000,000 tons Green Island, about the same, but this coal is non-bituminous, and cannot be classed as the article we really want. In the Buller and Grey coalfields are contained 240,000,000 tons of the best bituminous coal in the world, the Grey taking the palm for gas-producing and the Buller for steam purposes. At Kawa-kawa and Kamo there are large deposits of good steam coal. Deposits of brown coal are found throughout' the colony. At Brighton, on the West Coast, the Warden's house was on a terrace, and the servant, was accustomcd to hew the coal out of her private coal-mine by the scuttleful. In Charleston about the same thing occurs to this day. In the Inangahua the leading gold-mines have also coal-mines almost alongside; but it is only when a first-class coal has been found in an available position for export that the importance of the discovery at present commands our attention. With all this coal at home, we imported in 1884 157,783 tons, worth £191,994.

The demand for coal for steamers is daily increasing. The Westport coal, being most in demand, brings the highest price, yet, so far, the mine has not been profitable to its owners. The causes of this are not far to seek—first, the shallowness of the bar, which prevents large ships being employed; second, the difficulty of working the enormous incline down which the coal is lowered; third, the difficulties in obtaining colliers and the strikes which have taken place. All these causes can be remedied, The harbour loan of £500,000 has been authorized, and £150,000 raised in London at 5 per cent. Extensive works from the designs of Sir John Coode are commenced, increased facilities for lowering coal are being gradually acquired, and; when these two difficulties are overcome, it is to be hoped that page 51 the last will be removed. Still, the sudden importation of a distinct class, and the necessity of keeping them almost unmixed with the rest of the colonials, naturally creates a difficulty. The men lack the pride of colonials, they have lower ideas of life, their morals are inferior, and their prejudices are stronger than are to be found amongst the general population. An attempt to work the mine with unskilled miners did not prove satisfactory, and the company have virtually submitted to be ruled by their imported miners, who are strong unionists, and who concentrate all the loyalty ordinarily shown by colonists to their adopted country in protecting the sacred rights of labour against the demands of capital. In Grey mouth some of the mine-owners have reaped a large reward. The coal is raised in one mine and run out from the mine level in the other, instead of being lowered as at Westport—in other words, at Greymouth it is beneath or level with, in Westport it is above, the railway. But the same, difficulty exists as to shipping in Greymouth, and a loan of £350,000 was also authorized for the Greymouth Harbour, and £100,000 raised on the same terms as the Westport loan, with the result that the harbour works, on which already £120,000 had been spent, are being rapidly pushed forward, with very encouraging prospects of ultimate success.

The East and West Coast Railway has been shelved for the present, and has become a question more of party politics than one of political economy. No doubt it will be eventually carried out, when coal carriage by laud will vie with water transport. It is a serious question whether carriage of coals by land over such a line will pay; but coal is but one factor in the sum, and the subject of the railway, though hardly to be avoided altogether, is one of such importance, in so many various aspects, that it cannot be treated of fully. It is only a question of time when the railway will be made, hampered by the question on what terms it is to be made. The result cannot fail to be such an union between the East and West Coasts as to make them really one district, each supplying the other with needed staple commodities of life, and each contributing to the other's welfare. At the present time the demand for shipping purposes alone for coal from these mines far exceeds the supply; but, when the mines are fully developed and the coal can be carried in large vessels, the markets open for it are boundless—Australia, New page 52 Caledonia, Fiji, New Guinea, East Indian Islands, India, Ceylon, Mauritius, the Cape, China, California, Peru, Bolivia, and Chili. In San Francisco the coal from the Pennsylvanian Anthracite mines, which is only 1½ to 2 per cent; superior to the Westport steam coal, brings as high a price as £2 4s. to £2 os., and this affords an ample margin for profit.

The aid given by Government to develop this magnificent means of wealth and motive-power to all other industries has been slowly given. Railways have been made, and last year the West-port and Greymouth Harbour Bills were carried; but for ten years the field has been practically neglected, nor was the colony at large awakened to a sense of appreciation of the real importance of these coal deposits. During that time the companies have been impoverished, and more than one has been forced to liquidate.

But, "putting away the things that are behind us," what can be done for the future? The question of a protective duty on coal has been raised and discussed; but this is a poor help. If we wanted to conserve our stores, as some day we may have to, if might be right from a national point of view; but at present it would be more loss than gain. Direct aid to the companies in the shape of remission of royalties and carriage would meet with much disfavour in the Housed and could hardly be carried. Still, the enormous sums invested by the companies have greatly tended' to clear the way for future success—to be achieved, perhaps, by those who at present have not a shilling invested; and deserves, if possible, encouragement and recognition. On the other hand, the "shepherding" of coal-mines should be sternly suppressed, and unworked leases cancelled, to be handed over to responsible persons or corporations who could guarantee to work them. The most profitable use for the coal at home will probably be found to be in smelting iron, tin, and copper. New Plymouth has her ironsand, Nelson her copper, and Northern Buller her tin. If, in a small way at first, smelting furnaces were erected near the coal-mines, vessels could bring the ore and carry away metal and coals. The earning of double freight will cheapen the cost of transit, and lay the foundation of larger enterprise. Had this essay been written last year much would have had to be said as to the neglect shown in developing or fostering the coal industry; but, in face of what page 53 has been done by Parliament in the session of 1884, it cannot be said that reasonable means are not being taken to do justice to this important industry. Regret, no doubt, will be felt that through delay much private capital has been lost, and that investors are discouraged; but let the dead past bury its dead, and we look forward hopefully, believing that never again in our history will our coalfields be forgotten or neglected.

The quantities of coal produced from the different mines in the colony are as follows:—
1884. Total Output to 31st December 1884.
Tons. Tons.
Kawakawa 30,274 547,455
Kamo 19,395 83,444
Waikato 10,764 60,847
Taupiri 35,470 167,687
Banbury (Westport) 74,187 189,412
Brunner (Grey) 78,968 372,904
Coal-pit Heath (Grey) 18,989 113,616
Homebush (Malvern) 10,453 63,274
Fern-hill (Green Island) 13,985 34,997
Walton Park 30,250 270,199
Kaitangata 43,821 242,103
Nightcaps 13,310 32,990

The above twelve returns only include those producing over 10,000 tons per annum. There are ninety-four mines mentioned in the Statistics for 1884, giving a total output for the year of 480,831 tons, and an approximate output to the 31st December, 1884, of 3,007,198 tons.

We imported from Newcastle, New South Wales, during the year ending the 31st March, 1885, 144,442 tons of coal, valued at £170,830, the total import from all parts being 148,444 tons. There seems to be every prospect of being able to reduce this import steadily down to zero. In the report of the Secretary for Mines he says, "An inspection of the returns shows that the increase in output is mainly from the bituminous coals of Westport and Greymouth. This is important, as it is in the development of these coalfields that New Zealand has to depend to become self-supporting in the supply of steam and smithy coals. An essential factor in this development is the improvement now begun of the bar-harbours of Westport and Greymouth. In the success already attained at Greymouth there is page 54 good promise of that most desirable object being obtained there, for the depth of water on the bars determines the class of vessel that can be used as colliers. At Greymouth only about three years ago vessels carrying 200 tons had difficulty in crossing the bar; whereas now vessels carrying 600 tons can as easily be employed. The steamer 'Taupo' recently left with 900 tons. In contrast to this, the colliers from Newcastle load up to 3,000 tons or more, and there are much greater facilities there for loading, as well. All this clearly shows the importance, of improving as rapidly as possible the harbours and appliances at Greymouth and Westport, so as to enable a much larger class of vessels to be engaged in the trade, as it is the quantity carried on the same bottom, and the facility of despatch, that lessens the cost of distribution. At present a ton of coal can be delivered at Port Chalmers or Lyttelton by the class of vessels engaged in the Newcastle trade about as cheaply as from the West Coast."

By bringing the facts relating to our coal prominently forward, so as to obtain the attention of those possessed of skill and capital, and by this means inducing systematic and scientific working, the coal resources of New Zealand may be assisted in development, and employment found for thousands of honest workers. The Department for Mines has taken steps to have the mineral resources of the colony adequately represented at the forthcoming Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London, and it is believed that much good will result from such an attempt to make our mineral wealth more widely known.