1840.] 



Bepori of the Cord Committee. 



861 



nued effort, the object and importance of which, they can so little under- 

 stand. 



It is necessary to take the quality of coal into account before any par- 

 ticular price per maund can be regarded as dear or cheap ; it is quite 

 incredible to what degree a slight difference in qualify affects the value 

 of coal, for steam vessels. It has been found by means of the only trial 

 instituted between Cherra and other coals now in use, that 9 maunds 

 are equal to 14 ofBurdwan coal. Let us suppose (without layin!^ too 

 much stress on a single trial of a few maunds) the proportionate value 

 of the two coals to be ascertained as above; 100 maunds of Cherra 

 would not only as a fuel be equal to 155.5 of Burdwan, but we should 

 also have to debit to the latter the value of 55.5 maunds stowage or 

 tonnage, which might amount to more than the entire value of the coal 

 consumed. 



The Cherra Poonjie coal forms the cap of a hill, from which each cooly 

 may help himself to his load almost without the aid of mining, so that 

 the carriage, 4 annas per maund from the pit to the nearest navigable 

 river, though high, may be said to include the expense of winning, or 

 bringing coal to the surface. Could any of the following indications 

 of coal lower down, towards the foot of the mountain, be found to yield 

 good supplies, a portion, or nearly the whole of this large item of ex- 

 pense might be saved, viz. I. Tipperah hills, in a small river which des- 

 cends from a hill with a Musulman Doorga called Orpeen, on its sum- 

 mit ; 2. Opposite to Jalalgur, in Lowr; 3. Path river, and several 

 streams descending from the Garrow mountains; 4. NearSusung; 5, 

 On the top of one of the lower ranges at Lowr, and in the rivers of Lowr; 

 6. In the Dysung and its tributaries ; 7* Between Pannalik and Ban- 

 sekora; 8. Barachara; to which we have now added Byrung Poonjie, 

 Chaila, and Mustuk, (vide para. 13, 14, and 15, of the present report). 



The rate of boat-hire from the Sylhet district, along the verge 

 of which the coal formation lies, to Surdah on the Ganges, one of 

 the principal depots for the supply of steamers, is stated by Mr. 

 H. Inglis to be 21 rupees per 100 maunds. In regard to water 

 conveyance, Sylhet has the advantage of any of the coal districts 

 to the westward, while its proximity to the great rivers of Bengal 

 gives it an advantage over the Assam coal districts; and thus while 

 any mines that might be established in Sylhet would hardly be affected 

 in value by similar establishments in any other part of India, there is 

 hardly a district from Arracan to Palamow the value of whose mines 

 would not seriously be affected by any subsequent discovery of coal in 

 Sylhet. In like manner any collieries that might be established in 



