COAL 247 



power, but the cost involved in utilizing it renders it unavail- 

 able. 



Finally the Commissioners say : ' We are convinced that 

 coal is our only reliable source of power, and that there 

 is no real substitute. There are, however, some possible 

 sources of power which might slightly relieve the demand 

 for coal.' 



Reserves of Coal in the Empire. It is cheering to find that, 

 in addition to our own still considerable reserves of coal, there 

 are vast stores within the empire. At Toronto, in Canada, 

 there was held recently an International Geological Congress 

 to which was presented a Report on the Coal Resources of the 

 World. This Report puts our reserves in Britain at a higher 

 figure than that given by the Commissioners of 1905, and 

 gives the following estimate for the Dominions : 



Million Tons. 

 Canada . . .. 408,323 



Australia . 



New Zealand . 

 Union of South Africa 

 Newfoundland 



2,253 



985 



55,322 



92 



In addition to these actual reserves there are vast probable 

 and possible reserves. 

 Canadian Coalfields. 



1. Nova Scotia, (a) At the far eastern extremity of Cape 

 Breton Island, stretching for miles under the Atlantic Ocean, 

 is situated the chief colliery district of Nova Scotia. The 

 collieries give employment to thousands of miners, and supply 

 the iron and steel works of Sydney, which has risen from a small 

 fishing village to a large and prosperous town. This is the 

 coalfield nearest to England. 



(6) On the mainland, along Northumberland Strait, in Pictou 

 County, is a group of little mining towns. They are near the 

 Transcontinental Railway which runs from Halifax to 

 Montreal, and thence across Canada. 



Half the coal in Canada is obtained from the collieries of 

 Nova Scotia, and the coal is of excellent quality. 



