IRISH PEAT.—CARIOUS DISCOVERY. House Of Commons, July 27.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 454, 8 December 1849, Page 3

IRISH PEAT.— CARIOUS DISCOVERY. House Of Commons, July 27.

The O'Gorman Mahon wished, he said, to call attention for a few moments to a subject which would be lound to l be of great, importance as regarded the development of the resources of Ireland. What he had to ttatc

be was perfectly certain would be beard with gladness both in Ireland and in England. It was, he asserted one of the most important discoveries that had ever been made, aud one that was certain to be of immense advantage. The facts to which he wished to call their attention, were stated in a letter to him from «n eminent chemist, and who averred that peat was, with a very trifling expense in manual labour, capable of producing carbonate of ammonia, soda, vinegar, naptha, candles, . camphine oil, pitch, tar, common oil, and gas. This, he maintained, was one of the greatest discoveries of the age. It appeared, from the testimonies of several persons, that the Irish peat was capable of producing oil of a superior quality— quite equal to spermaceti. That which at present ■cost £90 to £95 a tun the manufacturers of this country could now have for £40 a tun ; the iodine, which now cost £17, could be procured for £5 ; and au equal reduction effected in other articles. And now, as a proof of the accuracy of these assertions, he produced a spermaceti candle made from an Irish sod of turf. (The honorable member here called attention to a candle which was on the table, and which was taken up and examined by Mr. Fox Maule, and then handed round to Lord John Russell and other members of the Ministry.) He had the guarantee of Mr. Owen as to the fact, and Mr. Owen was an Englishman of unimpeachable veracity ; and so certain was he of the truth of that gentleman's wofd, that he had no hesitation in saying that he staked his word and hononr on the truth of Mr. Owen's assertion, that in the candle then before them there was no foreign material. When there were several million acres of peat in Ireland, he thought this discovery of the very greatest importance. He now appealed to the noble Lord (Ashley) near him, as to the character of Mr. Owen, and the trust that ought to be placed in any assertion made by him. Lord Ashley, being so appealed to by the hon. member, said, that as to the gentleman, Mr. Owen, he gave his full testimony, that a more high-minded, or a more religious man he never had never the good fortune to know (hear). He was one whose friendship he had •enjoyed for many years, and a man more incapable of making an exaggerated statement Ac did not know (hew). The hon, gentleman had told him it was his intention to appeal to him with respect to his knowledge of Mr. Owen, and he (Lord Ashley) in order that he might be quite sure of the facts, requested Mr. Owen to call upon him that morning, and he then took down in writing what that gentleman had to state on this subject. The • statement, he admitted, was one which must appear most incredible (hear, hear). But what he said, they must bear in mind, was not a theory, but was the result of experiments actually made (hear). The things of which Mr. Owen spoke had been now in operation more than twelve months. This gentleman had invested a large capital in them. He here sought to obtain nothing from the country; all his desire, was that profitable investment of money might be made in Ireland, and employment thereby promoted (hear, hear.) Out of every ton of peat, the cost of which was £5, aud £8 more in labour were altogether expended, but taking the cost at £20, the results he was now about to state were obtained; and they were to remember that what he was going to state was not tried upon one hundred tons but upon thousands of tons of peating, and on which there had been a large expenditure of capital, and on these results Mr. Owen staked his character. The results were these : — Every ton of peat, on which the cost of labour was £S, was found to contain — of carbonate of ammonia, 26021b5., the value of which was £32: 10s.; soda, 21181b5., value £8 16s. 6d.; vinegar, 6001b5., value £7 10s.; naptba, 30- gallons, value £7 10s.; candles, 9001b., value £17 10s.; camphine oil, 6001b5., value £5 ; common oil, SOOlbs., value £3 6s. Bd.; gas,' £8 in value ; and ashes, £1 13s. 4d. — making a total of £91 16s. Id. (cheers.) These Mr. Owen held forth as the results of his operations ; and he added that when the peat was cleared away, the soil below was found to be so saturated with ammonia as to be invaluable for the purposes of agriculture. Now there could be no doubt that such results had been attained but taking that only the half of what was stated was true, it was manifest that the greatest benefit must be conferred upon Ireland.. (Hear.) This was not theory ; but the results of experiments that* had been made.