616 



Indian Coal. 



and remarks, that whenever his thoughts have turned to our 

 empire in the East, he has been surprized at the apathy 

 which has prevailed relative to the coal deposits in and 

 around India, and that no geologist has been engaged, regu- 

 larly and systematically, to work out the relations of the rock 

 masses, containing various mineral substances useful to man. 

 The same distinguished authority also refers to the invita- 

 tion he himself received when President of the Geological 

 Society of London, from the Emperor of Russia, under 

 whose immediate auspices he has been recently employed 

 in geological enquiries in Russia, with special reference to 

 the coal tracts of that empire ; while, on the other hand, he 

 remarks, in regard to British India, no information whatever 

 has been sought for, and none of course has been tender- 

 ed, although sooner or later, Mr. Murchison states, our 

 Indian Government must subscribe to the necessity of em- 

 ploying well-instructed geologists, and alludes to the employ- 

 ment of Sir H. De la Beche, on the Ordnance Survey of 

 England, as an acknowledgment of the principle. 



But as the words of Mr. Murchison, as the President of 

 the Geological Section of the British Association, as well as 

 of the Geological Society of London, may have more weight 

 than our own remarks, we here beg leave to quote them. 



" I have for a long time been thinking with surprize 

 (whenever my thoughts have been turned to that region, of 

 the apparent apathy with which the subject referred to in 

 your letter, 10th February 1841, to the address of Mr. Lyell, 

 has been treated by those who govern India. I am happy to 

 find by your letter, that more has been done than I supposed ; 

 still it is a marvellous and lamentable fact, that whilst very 

 large sums have been spent upon enquiries into the botanical 

 productions of Hindustan, and eminent botanists have been 

 liberally employed, (to see which, no one can rejoice more 

 than myself,) no geologist has been engaged, regularly and 

 systematically, to work out the relations of the rock masses, 

 containing various mineral substances useful to man. 



