The Westport Times. TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 1873.

Westport Times, Volume VII, Issue 1063, 15 April 1873, Page 2

The Westport Times. TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 1873.

An article, bearing plain evidence of having been written for a purpose, appears in the Wellington Evening Post of the 3rd instant. ]t has reference to the coal beds of New Zealand, which although covering a wide area, are declared to contain by no means so large a quantity of coal avail vble for use as is popularly supposed. Moreover the writer asserts that '" unless fresh aud unexpected discoveries be made we shall, before many years are over, find it difficult enough to provide for our own consumption, without attempting to supply other markets." Reference ~ is made in detail to the various beds . of coal known to exist in the country, ~ . and, after " damning by too faint lyaise" the North Island coalfields, it i i&<xonceded that the most important

beds are found on the West Coast of the Middle Island, and they are referred to |in this wise:—" Dr Hector divides the coalfields in this part of the colony into—(l), the Pukawau field, which extends from Cape Farewell southwards tor about 15 miles, occupying a great part of the surface of the mountains between the valley of the A mere River and West Wangauui Inlet; (2) the Buller or Mount Rochfort, which occupies a narrow strip of mountainous country, extending southwards from the Karamea River to the Buller, a distance of forty miles, with a greatest width of seven miles; (3) the G-rey River and Mount Davy field, which forms a range of mountains, lying to the north of the Grey River, in which direction the formation extends for seven miles, to where it is intersected by the coast. Traces of coal have been observed further south, and the area covered by these beds is very extensive, while the coal is freely developed near the Burface. This, however, is no index of its availability. The country is mountainous, and the beds broken up, so that a large part of the Mount Rochfort field, for example, must remain unworked unless a heavy expenditure be incurred in providing means of communication with the sea coast. Some years ago a careful estimate of the quantity of coal available for mining at Coalbrookdale, on this field, was made for the Nelson Government, and it was calculated at 750,000 tons, while the cost of a railway to convey the coal to Westport was reckoned at £IOO,OOO, which, of course, it would be ridiculous to expend for the sake of carrying 750,000 tons of coal. It was in endeavoring to find coal seams at a lower iev,jl that the recent discoveries at Ngakawhau wero made." Here the writer craftily turns again to his main argument that New Zealand cannot expect to became a coal exporting country, inasmuch as the abundance of metals in the land —iron and others—will, when they come to be worked require as much coal to smelt them as our mines are likely to supply and that if by misconception expense is incurred and sacrifice made, to force an export trade in coal, "we may before long find ourselves paying through the nose for that commodity." All further reference to the Ngakawhau discoveries, and the lately proved extensions of coal measures in the Buller and Grey districts, their magnitude and inexhaustibility as a source of permanent public revenue, is avoided, and it is declared that the Government ought not to " yield to political pressure which may be exerted to compel them to spend money for the benefit of particular districts, where the Colony, so far from sharing the gain, will probably in the long run incur loss." We fancy, says this all prescient writer, that " we see indications at Nelson and on the West Coast of a wish to look to the Government for assistance in the furtherance of commercial undertakings of an ordinary character, and which should be left to private enterprise to carry out; and the claims are put forward under the specious disguise of developing the coal fields of the Colony. We cordially approve of such undertakings, but there is no reason whatever why the Government should lend peculiar aid to the coal more than any other industry, and many of the demands which are now made can only be regarded as illustrations of that enervating spirit which has been infused into the Colony by the expenditure of large sums of borrowed money. The work of geological exploration is one that properly belongs to the Government; but in every other work required for the development of a coalfield, we hope that for the sake of the Colony, it will see that it gets value for its money. Harbor improvements undoubtedly come within the scope of its duties, and if by improving a harbor at a cost within its means, it could also form an outlet for a new coal mine, it would be a wise expenditure." The writer of the article from which the foregoing extracts are taken endeavours to clear himself from any imputation of malice or uncharitableness by an admission that " After our leading article was written we received a copy of the ' Reports of Geological Explorations during 1871-2, with maps and sections,' by Dr Hector, Director of the Geological Survey; also, the seventh annual report of the Colonial Museum." No explanation, however, is vouchsafed why the information contained in such repoi ts has been wholly disregarded ; nor in subsequent issues of the Post is there any admission made of a too rash jumping to conclusions. The natural inference therefore is that the writer has been influenced leas by any real knowledge of the subject, or desire to elucidate facts, than a desire to work mischief. It is an ominous coincidence that the Independent having lately decried the construction of any coal line oil the West Coast, except at the Grey, the Post now follows suit and questions the advisability of the Government undertaking any such works at all.