ANNIYERSAET ADDRESS. l7 



be observed, has been the sole object I have had in view in refer- 

 ring so often to the work done out of the Colonies, in assisting 

 those in them to understand what progress is being made in the 

 knowledge of Australia. 



At present we have no discoveries in New South AVales of 

 Cretaceous or of such other Upper Mesozoic deposits as are 

 referred to in the above remarks. But of the Palaeozoic rocks in 

 this Colony and Tasmania we have abundant examples, and small 

 amounts of their fossils have been described by Dana, Sowerby, 

 Lonsdale, Salter, Morris, M'Coy, and de Koninck of Belgium : 

 and I am now about to dispatch about 1,000 individuals selected 

 from the Palaeozoic strata of this Colony to the latter authority 

 Avho has undertaken (at my request) to examine, compare, and 

 describe what, I trust, will give us a complete account of the 

 great marine formation in the lower portion of our coal-beds. 



Coal. 



This allusion very naturally suggests a reference to the great 

 question of our coal supply. 



(1.) In England there has been of late immense excitement as 

 to the probability of coal diminishing rapidly and generally, owing 

 to the enormous expenditure of fuel in various ways, and the 

 increase of machinery and manufactures, and also of population ; 

 and various calculations have been made as to how long, even at 

 the present rate of consumption, the mines will last, and also as 

 to the possibility of obtaining additional supply from fresh locali- 

 ties below geological formations that have never been pierced for 

 that purpose. 



I confess, after all I have read on the subject, that I ain not 

 convinced of the necessity for any alarm, so far as natural 

 resources are invohed. Economy is, undoubtedly, the best pro- 

 tection against useless risk ; and if some system could be adopted 

 by which the fearful waste of fuel in domestic expenditure could 

 be regulated, it would be well. 



According to the latest calculations — fotinded on the com- 

 pletest data — it is computed that, allowing for the present annual 



B 



