33 



The occurrence of Lignite at the Giant's Causeway was known 

 at a very early period, and the grandfather of the present Earl of 

 Antrim, supposing it to be Coal, had it worked. 



Lord Bristol, too, had it searched for at Magilligan and Ahanloo ; 

 but the most extensive mining was carried on at Ballintoy in 1757, 

 by the then proprietor, Mr. Alexander T. Stewart. The origin of 

 this mine is explained in the following extract from the very in- 

 teresting and valuable pamphlet on " The Stewarts of Ballintoy," 

 by the well known antiquarian, the Rev. George Hill : — 



" In 1757, he petitioned the Irish House of Commons for aid in 

 assisting to open coal mines at Ballintoy, stating that he had 

 ' discovered a large body of Coals in his lands there, great quanti- 

 ties of which had been exported to Dublin and other parts of the_ 

 kingdom.' That he had ' expended £"500 in an attempt to con- 

 struct a quay at Ballintoy, but was not able to proceed with the 

 work unless aided by Parliament; that such structures, when com- 

 pleted, would be of great advantage to the kingdom in general, 

 and to the north of Ireland in particular, the same being the only 

 harbour of safety between Larne and the Lough of Derry.' To 

 accomplish this work he asked the sum of ,£2,000 from the public 

 purse. His petition was referred to a committee of sixty mem- 

 bers, which committee, after examining three witnesses — viz., Daniel 

 M'Collum, John M'Cay, and Thomas Moore— reported that there 

 was * a large fund of Coal in the colliery of Ballintoy, that a safe 

 and commodious harbour might be made there, and that the sum 

 of £"2,000 might be granted for that purpose.' This sum was 

 voted for the purpose above mentioned. In 1759, Mr. Stewart 

 petitioned again, stating that he had expended £"1,734 on the 

 works, and asking for £"1,234 to complete the quay. The com- 

 mittee reported favourably on this application also ; and with this 

 grant ended the project of a quay at Ballintoy." The bulk of this 

 money was expended in forming a harbour at Ballintoy, and 

 Mr. Gray was happy to say that, although at that time the attempt 

 failed, a small harbour had since been formed at Ballintoy by the 

 energy of Mr. Herdman. With regard to the fuel itself, he 

 need only say that it differed very materially from true Coal. 



