on the State of the Collieries at a7id near Nailsea. 323 



he very readily cleaned up, and brought into use, either by 

 •Ripening gangways from the bottoms of" them to the deep 

 coal, or by sinking ihem deeper, to work the under vein, 

 which is quite uuwrought, except by a few shallow pits 

 along the outcrop, and which were drained by a level through 

 Mr. Davis's tan-yard. 



From the singularly advantageous position of the Nailsea 

 coal, which I have clearly ascertained, and the quantity of 

 water which can come to the pits, being also clearly known, 

 either from the hollows of old workings, or the vast extent 

 . «)f coal which can be worked, and that quantity of water 

 bemg kept down, and rapidly decreasing in all paits of such 

 an extensive coal -field, by the power of the present engine, 

 proves most clearly that such a colliery, worked to its ut- 

 most extent, can never be drowned. 



From duly considering all these circumstances, I am 

 fully satisfied, of the greal extent to which these collieries 

 may be worked ; and have no hesitation in stating, that 

 the Bristol and Taunton Canal Company may, with the 

 greatest safety, proceed with the immediate execution of 

 their canal to these collieries, with full confidence of thence 

 obtaining tonnage sufficient, to pay a good interest on their 

 expenditure. 



15, Buckingham Street, Wm. SmITH, Engineer. 



York Buildings, London. 



To the Committee of ]\]anogement of the Bristol and 



Taunton Canal. 

 Gentlemen, — In consequence of your application, re- 

 questing my assistance in investigating the statt- of the col- 

 lieries in and about Nailsea, in order to ascertain whether 

 there was a sufficient prospect of coals, to induce the com- 

 pany to cut the canal from Morgan's Pill to Nailsea imme- 

 diately; I attended at Nailsea on the e2d and 23d instant, 

 and proceeded to the investigation, and I now send you the 

 following observations, delineations, and report. 



\y\(\c rou^h Sketch of Nailsea Colliery, in annexed Sec- 

 tion No. 1, Plate IX. the thickness of the veins or seams 

 being as follows; viz. 



1st vein 4| feet 



Sid ditto 2 



■ , 6^ feet of coal, in all. 



From which it may be seen, that the position of the strata 



at)d veins of coal, which are near the north crop, as at 



(a. a.), rise out very rapidly, but which moderate materiallv 



X 2 in 



