Vol. 68.] ANNIVERSAKY ADDRESS OF THE PEESIDEIS^T. Ixxix 



Commission's 90,000 millions of exposed coal (less 5000 millions 

 consumed up to 1901), plus 15,000 millions transferred from the 

 first Commission's concealed to the second Commission's proved 

 fields. Thus 15,000 millions of formerly unproved coal has 

 'become proved' in thirty years. And the cautiousness of the 

 second Commission's Report appears when it is realised that 

 their 40,000 million tons of unproved coal represents the rest 

 of the first Commission's 56,000 millions (less 1000 millions) of 

 concealed coal. 



As it is possible that the term 'unproved coalfield' may have 

 been open to misconstruction, it is well to state that the term 

 was employed by the Commission in its literal sense. While the 

 term 'proved concealed coalfield' implies the continuation of 

 exposed fields beneath an unconformable cover of newer rocks, or 

 under the sea, where working or exploration has already demon- 

 strated the quantity, quality, and position of the seams, the term 

 ' unproved ' does not imply areas in which it is just barely possible 

 that coal may exist. As used by the Commission, the expression 

 connotes the farther extension of the exposed fields or their 

 proved fringes into regions which have not yet been explored 

 sufiiciently to make their nature and contents an absolute certainty, 

 but into whicb, so far as the structure is known, there is the 

 practical certainty of geological inference that Coal-measures, 

 bearing workable coal-seams, will be found at depths not too great 

 for profitable working. As a matter of fact, these estimates were 

 (excluding Scotland) limited to the extension of the fields on both 

 sides of the Pennine Chain, of the North Wales Pield, and of 

 the central group of coalfields ranging from Cheshire to Leicester- 

 shire, and from Staffordshire to Worcestershire. 



Certain areas in which borings have actually proved the existence 

 of coal, but have not yet gone far enough to give us a satisfactory 

 knowledge of the geotectonic structure of the areas, or to furnish 

 a trustworthy estimate of the quantity, quality, or workability 

 of the coal in them, were deliberately excluded, because the evidence 

 so far collected was insufiicient to support an estimate which it 

 was necessary to express in figures. JSTor was any estimate given 

 in the Report for detached buried coalfields, or for any areas 

 where there was not a very considerable amount of positive fact 

 to rely upon. 



All Geologists, on looking into the evidence, will admit that the 

 estimate of these areas by the Commission is of a most conservative 

 character, and that due allowance was made for known causes of 



