Editorial Notes. 147 



W. W. Watts. The nominations of the Mineralogical Society are 

 as follows : Dr. J. W. Evans, Dr. F. H. Hatch, Dr. A. Holmes, 

 Dr. G. T. Prior, Mr. R. H. Rastall, Mr. W. Campbell Smith. It is 

 not yet known whether all the above nominees are willing to serve 

 on the Committee. The first meeting of the Committee was held 

 at 2.30 p.m. on March 16, when a preliminary discussion took place 

 and certain resolutions were drawn up for consideration at the next 

 meeting. 



* * ♦ * * 



We have been privileged to see a copy of a very interesting Report 

 of a Commission appointed to examine the condition of the iron and 

 steel works in Lorraine, in the occupied areas of Germany, in 

 Belgium, and in France. Although the Report is in the main con- 

 cerned with technical engineering details of the practice in the 

 great iron and steel works of these areas, nevertheless there are to 

 be found here and there items of information of geological interest, 

 chiefly referring to the iron-ores of Lorraine and the coal of the 

 Saar Basin. It is obvious that the terms of the Peace Treaty must 

 have an enormous effect on the future of the iron and steel industries 

 of both France and Germany. Before the War the iron-ore resources 

 of France and Germany were estimated at 3,300,000,000 tons and 

 3,600,000,000 tons, or approximately equal. The relative positions 

 at present are about 5,500,000,000 tons and 1,300,000,000 tons 

 respectively. Thus France has now more than four times as much 

 iron-ore as Germany, and it is expected that in the near future 

 her annual production will rise to 42,000,000 tons, or double what it 

 was before the War, and nearly three times as much as the British 

 output. But at present the development of the industry is held up 

 by the impossibility of obtaining from Germany the regular supply 

 of Westphalian coal stipulated for in the Treaty. Saar coal alone is 

 not satisfactory for blast-furnace coke, and requires an admixture 

 of at least 25 per cent of Westphalian or British coking coal. The 

 French ironmasters desire to establish a reciprocal trade with this 

 country, exchanging Lorraine basic pig-iron for British coke, but 

 the transport difficulty stands in the way. This may perhaps 

 eventually be met by a system of canals. The scheme most 

 favoured is that known as the " Canalization of the Moselle " from 

 Thionville to Coblentz, with free navigation of the Rhine to 

 Rotterdam, or canal from the Rhine to Antwerp. An alternative 

 plan is for a canal from Dunkirk to the Briey ironfield. It is 

 considered that this scheme would cause inconvenience in cutting 

 through the thickly populated industrial districts of Northern 

 France, and the cost would be enormous. 



