BUCKMAN SEARCH FOR COAL. 



185 



arrived at, but, in reality, those engaged had been bought off by some 

 proprietors in the Bristol coal-field, for fear the new district coal should 

 come in competition with theirs. ""^^ But, besides evidence of this kind, 

 about two pounds of Lignite was submitted to my inspection, with the 

 assurance that it burnt like good coal ; and the argument founded upon 

 this pseudo-coal was as follows : — This coal is about two inches thick 

 at about 20 feet from the surface ; how thick, therefore, may we not 

 expect it at a hundred yards ?" But for fear this should not be deemed 

 conclusive, a bill of sale of some land in the district, many years before 

 the date of this examination, was produced, on which was the statement 

 that Mining rights were reserved." But I should state that upon 

 inquiry it was found that the said land belonged to the Crown, and I 

 believe that in all Crown lands there is a reservation made of mining 

 rights; thus this, it will be perceived, was no evidence whatever of the 

 presence of mineral matter. These, then, were the foundations upon 

 which the burgesses relied ; now for the geological examination. 



Upon going to the site of the old workings I soon found that they 

 had been commenced in the Oxford Clay, and, upon examining as much 

 of the contents of the shaft as I found exposed, I became convinced that 

 the opening, of nearly 100 feet deep, as stated by my guide, had not 

 gone through that deposit. 



We had, therefore, even less hope of attaining coal than in the 

 previous case, inasmuch as in all probability we should have not merely 

 one, but three thick formations to penetrate before arriving at its 

 usual position — ^namely, the Lower Oolites, the Lias, and the iffew Red 

 Sandstone formations. In this instance, then, it became evident that it 

 would have been rash in the extreme to have recommended any operation 

 in search of coal, as, even if it were proved to exist below the formations 

 cited, we could have no evidence of its quantity or value. Still the 

 case itself may serve to show an advance in the opinion entertained of 

 tlie value of science — -the first mining having been commenced under 

 the auspices of a practical miner, while, a century later, all hope and 

 efforts were abandoned at the recommendation of a practical geologist. 



This is the most common way for accounting for the abandonment of futile 

 coal workings. Sir R. Murchison says : — " Amid all thek failures, I never met 

 with an individual who was really disheartened ; a frequent exclamation being, 

 ' Ah ! if our squires were only men of spirit, we should have as fine coal as any in 

 the world.' ''—Silurian System, p. 328. 



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