28-^8.] heporls on the Coal and Mineral Resources of India. 155 



To such ample and valuable reports we have nothing to add but ti 

 brief summary of our proceedings, since your Lordship did us the honor 

 of forming us into a Committee, trusting that our services, although 

 necessarily limited in their efficiency, by our comparative inexperience 

 ^nd the only mode in which we could gather information, correspon- 

 dence with friends j—and by our engrossing public duties,— will not- 

 withstanding be found sufficiently fruitful of results to justify the con- 

 fidence placed in us. 



With your Lordship's concurrence, our first measure was to depute a 

 professional miner, Mr. Homfray, to survey and report on the Palamoo 

 coal beds. The results are before Government in a full report by Mr^ 

 Homfray ; and allhough unfavourable as far as the immediate object 

 of supplying coal at cheaper rates to the upper depots of the Ganges 

 Steamers i^ concerned, still the correct information obtained, has amply 

 repaid the expenditure upon this expedition. 



Allotting our attention to separate fields, we at the same time proceed- 

 ed to obtain practical proof of the cost of supplying coal from those of the 

 known, but still unworked mines, which seemed to give the best pro- 

 mise of competition with Burdwan. 



Through Mr. Erskine, of Elambazar, three or four coal seams con' 

 nected with the great Burdwan basin, but situated nearer to the Adjai 

 than to the Damooda were re-upened, and a supply of 2000 maunds 

 brought by this river direct to the Cutwa depot on the Hoogly river, 

 at a cost of about four annas per maund ; thus proving the ad- 

 vantage of this line of water communication, provided the quality of 

 the coal (which has not yet been tried on a large scale) shall turn out 

 equal to the average procured in the Damooda works of Ranigunge, &c. 



No expense can be said to have been incurred in this experimentj 

 since it will be paid by the produce j 2000 maunds more are stated to 

 be ready for delivery. 



Another seat of operations selected was Chirrapunjie in the Kasya 

 hills. The quality of the coal here was known from former trials to 

 be superior to that of Burdwan. The vein was of great thickness, 

 easily accessible, high above the inconvenience of floods, so that al- 

 most the only expense attending the working of this mine was th6 

 carriage down the hills, and the subsequent boat conveyance. We are 

 indebted to Mr. G. Lock for the arrangements by which we were ena- 

 bled to secure and transport 1000 maunds of this Kasya coal to 

 Dinapore, at an average cost of about 6 annas per maund, being little 

 more than half of the cost of Burdwan coal at the same depot. We ars 



