I 



Yol. 68.] ANNIVEESAEY ADDRESS OP THE PRSJSTDENT. Ixxxi 



that may be entirel}- hidden beneath a cover of newer rock. So 

 thoroughly has this search been carried out that the tectonics 

 of the entire buried field, though of an exceedingly complicated 

 character, are very completely understood. Had the proportions 

 in Britain been similar we too should have been driven to take the 

 same course. Indeed, the work done in Somerset and Gloucester- 

 shire, our chief partly concealed field, is an example of what 

 has been accomplished under the stress of such circumstances. 

 Unfortunately, the chief results in the coalfield just mentioned do 

 not appear to have been available for the service of the Commission. 

 If we wait long enough, knowledge on the concealed Palaeozoic 

 area will undoubtedly grow, but it wdll be slowly obtained, at 

 excessive cost, with the chance of serious losses, and at the risk 

 of repeating the mistakes and waste which have afilicted the 

 development of the exposed coalfields in the past. It would be 

 more creditable to us as a nation, as well as greatly to our ultimate 

 advantage, if we could by some means gain such an intimate 

 knowledge of our concealed coalfields as to remove them from the 

 category of unproved fields, and acquire such information on 

 their constitution and structure as to enable us to judge, when, 

 where, and how, it would be most profitable to undertake their 

 exploitation. 



(a) Statement of the Problems. 



We stand in this position. We are threatened with the 

 •exhaustion of our most valuable resources within a period which 

 may be two centuries or three, according to the rate at which the 

 demand for coal happens to increase in the future. There is a 

 possibility that our stock may be larger than we anticipate. If this 

 should be the case, and if the coal should be capable of profitable 

 working, the aspect of the coal question might undergo a very 

 material change. Would it not be well, therefore, to set this question 

 at rest, to convert our state of uncertainty into definite knowledge, 

 in order that we may know the worst — or best? 



The chief problems which aw^ait solution are the following : — 



(1) Can we ascertain with more exactness the size and form of the buried 



extensions of our exposed coalfields ? 



(2) Are there any detached fi^elds, and, if so, where are they situated and 



what is their approximate size ? 



(3) What is the thickness of cover under which the coalfields lie ? 



(4) What will be the most efficient and economical fconditions of working 



them ? 



