128 COAL. 



Are they owing to a greater pressure of the at- 

 niosphere on the water ? 



LETTER XXX. 



AuhurUj July, 1820. 

 My Dear Sir, 



I AM so anxious for the discovery of coal, in 

 order to promote the prosperity of this growing 

 couRtr}^, that I can hardly turn my eyes or my 

 mind to any other subject : Sure 1 am that it ex- 

 ists. I have seen indications in various places, 

 but in truth you cannot get people to make the 

 requisite search. It will consume time and mo- 

 ney. They have plenty of wood, and they con- 

 ceive any other fuel as a remote, if an attainable 

 good. Coal was first introduced into London 

 about the middle of the thirteenth century, and it 

 goes by the various names of pit coal, stone coal, 

 pitch coal, and sea coal. The citizens of Lon- 

 don, in the 35th year of Edward L petitioned that 

 the use of it might be prohibited, considering it a 

 noxious material. If this petition had been grant- 

 ed, where would have been the wealth and power 

 of England ? If the citizens of this state do not 

 evince open hostility, they certainly show a nar- 

 cotic indifference on this interesting subject. 



