COAL. 
708 
is commonly called a beam, and a rotative motion may 
be communicated to any machinery, as in fig. 4 and 5, 
■where it is applied to drawing coals by the (team-engine. 
My addition to, and improvement of, machinery for 
raifing coals, ores, &c. out of mines, confifts in a method 
of applying one endlefs chain, or rope, inftead of two ; 
and of this machinery, whereby a confiderable faving is 
made, as well in the firlt expeuce of machinery as in up¬ 
holding the fame, and likewife of room in the pit, as is 
more fully explained in the engraving. 
Fig. 11, is a profile of the machinery of this addition 
and improvement, for raifing coals, ores, &c. out of pits 
or mines, where the fame letters refer to the fame parts. 
A, unites with a wheel, worked by a fleam-engine, or 
any other power, and which communicates motion to 
the wheel B, with its axis C C, and the cylindrical barrel 
or wheel D. On this barrel are proje&ions E E, to pre¬ 
vent from (lipping the endlefs chain, or rope, F F, which 
is carried round and fupported by it. G G, is a chain- 
wheel, placed near the bottom of the pit, by which the 
endlefs chain, or rope, is kept in its proper pofition, and 
which, at the fame time, may be applied to give motion 
to the machinery for putting, as already defcribed, and 
exprefled both here and in fig. 1, 2, and 3. H, H, are 
bars, projedting from the endlefs cha'in F F, and fup¬ 
ported by it, and by what I call the brace-chains, or 
ropes, I, I, which are faftened to the endlefs chain. Thefe 
brace-chains or ropes alternately fupport, in their afcent 
and defcent, the proje&ing bars H, H, to which are fuf- 
pended the full and empty corves or ba(kets B B, by means 
of the (hort chains, or ropes, K, K. One end of thefe 
ftiort chains, or ropes, is hung on the outer end of thefe 
projecting bars, and dole to the brace-chains or ropes, 
in any manner that will admit the projecting bars to re¬ 
volve within the end of thefe (hort chains, or ropes, when 
the projecting bars come in contaCl with the cylindrical 
barrel or wheel D, and the chain-wheel G G. The end¬ 
lefs chain F F, with the brace-chains I, I, and the pro¬ 
jecting bars H, H, being put in motion, revolve with the 
cylindrical barrel or wheel D, which caufes the corves or 
balkets, fufpended from the extreme end of the projeCling 
bars, as before defcribed, to afcend and defcend 5 and 
they are carried from one fide of the pit to the other, al¬ 
ternately, but are prevented from revolving with the cy¬ 
lindrical barrel cr wheel D, and the chain-wheel G G, 
by the ends of the projecting bars extending beyond the 
end of the barrel or wheel D, while the projecting bars 
are in contaCl, and revolve with it; consequently, the 
(hort chains, or ropes, K, K, by which the corves are 
fufpended, cannot come in contaCl or revolve with the 
wheels D, and G, G, but are carried from one fide of the 
pit to the other, in front of the barrel or wheel D, and 
are kept clear of it, and its axis, by the ends of the pro¬ 
jecting bars extending beyond the end of the barrel, as 
before mentioned ; by this means the balkets preferve 
their perpendicular direClion, and are depofited on the 
Hedge K, (which of courfe is on the defcending fide of 
the endiels chain F F,) in the fame manner as was be¬ 
fore explained in fig. 5! L, in fig. 11, is a lever to apply 
friCtion, by means of human ilrength, to the cylindrical 
barrel or wheel D, for the purpole of (topping or retard¬ 
ing the motion of the endlefs chain, when required. 
Fig. 12, is a profile, taken from the projecting end of 
the cylindrical bariel or wheel D, and part of the endlefs 
chain F, as in fig. 4, (confequently the length of the cy¬ 
linder of the wheel is invifible,) which is reprefented on 
the wheel D, and between its projections E E, by which 
it is kept from (lipping, when a fuperior weight is fuf¬ 
pended to one fide of the chain.” 
When the coals are thus produced from the mine, they 
are conveyed in coal-waggoris, down (loping ways, con- 
ftruCted for the purpole, and meafured by Newcaltle chal¬ 
drons into the (hips, or elle into keels or lighters, by which 
they are carried to the coal-vefi'els. The keel of coals is 
etiimated at twenty-one tons and four hundred weight. 
and contains eight Newcaltle chaldrons; fo that each 
chaldron is fifty-three hundred weight. Yet a London 
chaldron contains no more than thirty-fix heaped Win- 
chelter bulhels, weighing only on an average 28^ cwt. 
according to the quality of the coal; which weights being 
nearly in the ratio of eight to fifteen, it is always reck¬ 
oned that eight Newcaftle chaldrons, or a keel of coals,, 
make fifteen London chaldrons. HoW it came to pals 
that the fame word at Newcaftle and London Ihould de¬ 
note fuch different quantities, we know not; but both 
thefe chaldrons, as well in weight as meafure, are fettled 
by a£t of parliament. 
Coals, though not an exclufive, may with truth be 
Ityled a peculiar blefting to this idand, as well from their 
great plenty, as from their acknowledged excellence, and 
their luperiority over all others yet known for filling me¬ 
tals, and tor all manufactures wherein a ltrong and lafting 
heat is required. It has been doubted whether the abo¬ 
riginal Britons, or the Romans who conquered them, 
firlt explored this fource of wealth in England. But Mr. 
Whitaker, in his Hiftory of Manchelter, l'ecms clearly to 
have (hewn, that thefe mines were firlt opened by the la¬ 
bour of the Britons, long before the era of the Roman 
invafion. We have no certain account of the ufe ot pit- 
coal in London earlier than the year 1305, when luch of 
the traders as required much fuel firlt began to ufe it in 
their various avocations ; againlt which practice leveral 
of the nobility complained to the king, as being a public 
nuifance. A comrfiiffion of enquiry into the grounds of 
this complaint was ordered by Edward I. in conlequence 
of which a proclamation was ilfued under certain pains 
and penalties, againlt all tholq who Ihould in future make 
ufe of pit-coal. This will appear a matter of much lels 
lurprile, when we reflect that London, in thofe early times, 
was every way furrounded with woods; that fuel was in. 
great plenty; and the carriage thereof, both by land and 
water, remarkably cheap. However, as thefe woods came 
gradually to be grubbed up, and converted into arable 
land, and wood and turf fuel in lels plenty, the London, 
manufacturers found they were obliged to make ute of 
pit-coal, notwithltanding the above prohibition, which, in 
1 3 -9, was entirely done away by Richard II. who, in lieu 
ol it, impofed a duty of fixnence per ton each quarter of 
a-year, upon all Hups from Newcaltle laden with coal. 
It does not appear that the inhabitants of Newcaltle- 
upon-Tyne had any traffic in coal, or any authority to 
open mines, before the charter of king John, which was 
confirmed to them by his fon Henry III- in 1234;. and 
wherein he gives “the laid honelt men, (probi homines,) 
upon their lupplication, licence to dig coals in the common 
foil without the walls, called the Caltle-moor, and to con¬ 
vert them to their own profit, in aid of their fee farm 
rent of one hundred pounds per annum.” But, in 1357, 
Edward IIL went much further in favour of Newcaftle - 
upon-Tyne, by abiblutely granting to the burgelfes of 
that town, the Caltle-moor and Caltle-field, for the pur- 
pofes of digging coal, ltone, and (late, for their own ufe 
and benefit. Yet it does not appear that they exported 
much coal, though they lent lome coaftwife, and into the 
port of London. There certainly was no duty laid on this 
natural produCt of our foil, until 1379, by king Richard.,, 
of fixpence per ton each quarter of a year, which is re¬ 
corded in Rymer’s Fcedera. However, in 1421, the ex¬ 
portation or foreign conlumption of Newcaltle coal mud 
have been very confiderable, fince by 9 Hen. V. c.io, it 
is enabled, “ That whereas there is a cultom payable.to 
the king of two-pence per chaldron on all coals fold to 
people not' franchiled, in the port of Newcaftle-upon- 
Tyne; and whereas, the keels or lighters which carry 
the coals from the land to the (hips in that port, ought 
to be of the juft portage of twenty chaldron, according 
to which burden the cultom aforefaid is paid; yet many 
now making their keels to hold twenty-two or twenty- 
three chaldrons, the king is thereby defrauded of his due. 
Wherefore it is now enacted, that all keels (or lighters) 
