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APPENDIX E : POLITICS, STATISTICS, ETC. 
centuries back and not until tlie Civil Wars when Shippers from the 
Tyne refused to send coal to London had there been much shipped from 
the (Wear yet ?) from Northumberland in a hne across Durham about 
twelve miles long and two or three miles wide, all the five best seams 
of coal for the London Market are wrought out or left underground in 
waste, and pillars and lent for what is gotten from the old works would 
there now be much Coal shipped from Northumberland, for in the 
small corner of that County occupied by coal it may be questioned 
whether there is sound coal enough left for a new colliery. 
The five best seams in Durham are well known to range under high 
hills of Limestone toward the sea, but a volume might be written on 
this subject were it investigated as it deserves. Now according to a 
recent report of an eminent coal-miner there is no prospect of finding 
coal under the limestone of those hills, but at any rate according to 
the general state of information amongst those concerned in working 
coal, the practicability of finding and working coal is not expected to 
extend beyond the range of the Magnesian Limestone. In the more 
southern and western districts when this rock never occurs as a cover 
to coal, the occurrence of Red rock, is by the same rule, considered to 
limit the extent of the ColHeries but the mistification which has so long 
obscured all we can collect on this naturally difficult but highly im- 
portant subject should be cleared away. All sides of the Dean Forest 
and Welch and Scotch coalfields are well defined as are some others 
of less extent and importance. The prospect of finding and following 
the coal on the deep side of the main range of the series is, however, on 
many acc^^. of the most importance to the Metropolis, and much 
of the midland and southern parts of England. We have already shown 
what opinion prevails along the main range as far as the Magn. Lime- 
stone extends, wh. is to the N. side of the Vale of Trent. 
South of the Trent and in defiance of the distortion-making 
rocks of Charwood Forest and Mount Sorrell where that commonly 
superficial and endwise barrier to Coal, the Red rock, closes with Granite 
Schist so that all the intermediate stratification becomes delitescent, 
few practical colliers would think of trying for coal and especially when 
the should-be range thereof presents only a broad surface of Lias and 
Lias clay. 
More southward but less overloaded by the incumbent strata, 
distorted positions and red rocks are the repeated obstacles to extension, 
and this red rock with the red marl over it is considered impenetrably 
