THE SOUTH-EASTERN COALFIELD 409 



IX. Conclusion 



Thus we have traced the history of the discovery of the 

 South-Eastern Coalfield from the primitive days of the early 

 theorisers to the striking of good seams of coal at Dover in 1890. 

 We have passed over the weary period of waiting and dis- 

 appointment, the dark ages of Kent Coal, and we have discussed 

 the Renaissance, the causes which led up to it and the moment- 

 ous consequences which ensued. 



We have seen how boring has succeeded boring, and finally 

 how new collieries have been started, how they have successfully 

 overcome the first difficulty, that of the chalk water, and how 

 they are prepared to grapple with confidence with the difficulties 

 which await them. Forewarned is forearmed, and the day is 

 surely not far distant when coal will be brought to bank succes- 

 sively at the Tilmanstone, Guilford, and Snowdown collieries, 

 and the beds of remarkable fire-clays will give birth to a new 

 pottery industry, when we shall witness the realisation of that 

 dream of prosperity which shall once more make Kent one of 

 the wealthiest counties in England, and make good a thousand- 

 fold the damage done by years of agricultural depression. 



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