THE FOREST OF DEAN COAL AND IRON MINES. the central opening, I believe the following description may also be acceptable to many of your readers. Fig. 1 is a vertical section, and fig. 2 a horizontal section of the central parts. The division pieces d a, da, da, da,v ,which form the four arms, or water-spaces, do not run inwards so far as the central opening, but they terminate in sharp ends at a a a a; and the whole of the space bb bb, which is inside of the inner ends of the division pieces is so proportioned, that the speed of the water passing through it will be uniform, or nearly so, at each point of its passage, for the purpose of allowing the water to enter the arms without any shock, when the machine is in motion. This is a very excellent plan where there is always a sufficiency of water to supply the whole of the arms; but when a machine is made for a situation, where occasionally there is water not for the whole of the arms but sometimes only for three, two, or one arm, Mr. W. proposes to put plates, curved in the manner shown by the lines marked c c c, in fig. 2, into the space bbbb, (see also fig. 1,) and thus each space betwixt a pair of plates will conduct the water into an arm. When the space, bb bb has certain dimensions, it may be found necessary to skew or twist the plates c c c, in order to allow the water to enter the machine when in motion, without interruption. These plates may require to be twisted from other causes. The smaller dotted circle shown in fig. 2, gives the size of the central opening; and the inner ends of the arms, when the plates marked c c c are not used, terminate at the large dotted circle, in the same figure. The plates, marked c c c may not run inwards so far as the centre of the machine, and their inner ends may run from the edge of the central opening upwards and towards the centre; or the innermost points of these plates may meet at e. At and near to the central opening, the water may be allowed to flow somewhat quicker than it does at the other points of its passage through the space b b b b, to allow for the change of its motion from the perpendicular to the horizontal direction, and for other causes. I am, Sir, yours, &c. Glasgow, May 27, 1842. J. C. 489 THE FOREST OF DEAN COAL AND IRON ERS. * The Forest of Dean comprehends an irregular area of about thirty miles in circuit, lying between the rivers Severn and Wye; covered for the most part with timber, in various stages of growth; and famous for its mines of coal and iron. From time immemorial, all male persons born in the hundred of St. Briavels, in which the Forest is included, have enjoyed the right of working these mines, subject only to the leave or licence of the gaveller, or deputy gaveller of the Forest being first obtained, and to the payment of an annual galeage rent, or duty to the Crown. In default of, or in lieu of such payment, the Crown was entitled to put in a fifth man for a share with other four men (free miners), after the coal or iron had been won by means of a shaft or level, in the working of which the Crown's fifth man was not required to assist. In ancient times the practices of the free miners, as regards the opening and working of mines, and the carrying of coal or iron ore, were regulated by a court or jury of free miners, who met at what was appropriately called The Speech House, in the centre of the Forest, and adjudicated on all such matters. Some records of this Court of Free Miners, extending over a period of eighty-six years, from 1688 to 1754, are still preserved in the office of Woods and Forests; but from these records it appears that the Court was never at any time adequate to the purposes of its institution, and eventually it became extinct. For more than half a century afterwards the free miners appear to have done very much as they pleased amongst themselves; for though the old customs were always referred to, as furnishing the rules by which the agents of the Crown and the free miners were to be guided, yet these customs had constantly to be modified to suit new circumstances, and were wholly inapplicable to the deep coal mines worked by the aid of modern machinery. The perplexity of this state of things was much The Award of the Dean Forest Mining Commissioners, (under the 1 and 2 Vict. c. 43,) as to the Coal and Iron Mines in her Majesty's Forest of Dean, and the Rules and Regulations for working the same, &c. By Thomas Sopwith, F.G.S., the Commissioner appointed on behalf of the Crown. With Map. 210 pp. 8vo. Weale, London. 490 66 THE FOREST OF DEAN COAL AND IRON MINES. increased by a new practice of the free miners, which appears to have been very rarely, if at all, practised during the period of the Mine Law Courts; this was the practice of free miners selling or assigning, for long terms of years, gales, to persons not being free miners, and who were generally known in the Forest by the term foreigners." Among these "foreigners,' the well-known names of Crawshay, Protheroe, and Mushet, stand conspicuous. It is certain, however, that but for the intrusion of these "foreigners"-but for each adventurer of that class consolidating in his person the individual rights of a number of the native miners, and but for the large capital which they introduced into the Forest-the deep mines, which are the richest, would never have been reached and worked at all. According to ancient custom, no gale could be granted within 1,000 yards, either in advance of the level, or on the land side of an existing work, or within a circle of 12 yards radius to a water pit; but these restrictions allowed of twenty, forty, or even a hundred gales being granted within the scope of a tract of deep coal, large enough to justify the expenditure of from 5,000l. to 10,000l. in the sinking of a shaft to reach it. Besides, shafts could only be sunk, and engines and machinery erected with the consent of the Crown, as the owner of the soil; and in granting that consent, the Commissioners of Woods and Forests claimed a right to exercise a reasonable discretion without any refer ence to the old custom of galing. To work all the gales separately, would have been useless and ruinous, and many existed in such isolated situations as to be An of the various parties interested. or stone quarries within the said Forest, or of any pits, levels, or other works, made by virtue of gales, for the purpose of working the coal and iron mines of the said hundred," as also "to set forth general rules, orders, and regulations for working the same" in future. The Commission was opened at Coleford, on the 5th September, 1838, and finally closed at the same place on the 26th of July, 1841; and the Award of the Commissioners has now, by order of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, been printed under the superintendence of Mr. Sopwith, for the benefit of all concerned. The labour of the Commissioners has been prodigious; and, as far as we are competent to judge, it has been executed with great ability, discrimination, and fairness. The number of free miners registered (1 Nov. 1841) is 829, and that, we presume, may be taken as an index to the least number of claims adjudicated upon. Of the general views by which the Commissioners were guided in the execution of their task, Mr. Sopwith gives the following satisfactory exposition : "From these various considerations, it will be seen that the peculiarities of the Dean Forest customs were such as to preclude the application of any remedy, save that of discretionary powers based on the plain principles of common justice to the owners of the several properties, and of reasonable compensation in every case of inevitable loss or injury. Mining is, under all circumstances, a very speculative subject, as regards prospective valuations; and the for all practical purposes utterly valueless. Again, according to the common acceptation of the privileges conferred on free miners, or their assigns, by a gale, it was understood that the workings of a coal or iron mine, might be carried to an indefinite extent, (that is underground,) unless interrupted by another work; so that where a free miner or a foreigner once penetrated to a deep coal vein, he virtually obtained the monopoly peculiar and irregular practices in Dean of a very large tract of coal, by the power which he possessed of extending his work, before any rival pit could be sunk. With custom and legal title thus at variance, it became at length absolutely necessary that the legislature should interfere to adjust and determine the rights Forest rendered it most difficult to define express rules. In most mining districts, the customs are tolerably well agreed upon; and there are, in addition, grants or leases which afford a guide in a legal point of view: the ownership is usually clear and undis. puted; the financial matters are also usually well defined; the cost of sinking and work THE FOREST OF DEAN COAL AND IRON MINES. ing is unencumbered with indirect and doubtful payments, as in the purchase of gales; and the payment of a rent, which was rendered a minimum rent by the difficulty of applying the only remedy, viz., the putting in of a fifth man. In mining districts generally, it is usual to have definite tracts of coal, and protection from adjacent works; but in Dean Forest, all these were hitherto wanting; there were no clear legal rights to dispose of or allot, more than a mere spot, or circle of twenty-four yards in diameter of the deep coal. There were no means of establishing a colliery with an absolute certainty of a safe investment; and the want of a definite tract, the liability to encroachment, and the flowing of water from adjacent works, tended to create great confusion even in the free-drainage works, and to make the large mines comparatively valueless. If the owners of the large mines could, as in other districts, have secured an equivalent tract of coal, the difficulty of arriving at a satisfactory conclusion would have been materially lessened. But this in practice was not so; the custom of galing, in many cases, occupied coal which might have been reasonably expected to be worked by other parties. The Mining Commissioners attentively considered the various suggestions which had been made; and after a deliberate examination of the circumstances of each case, a transition from the then impracticable customs, to a rational and provident system of mining has been effected in the Forest of Dean. "The deep workings lie at a considerable depth from the surface of the lowest valleys, and even below the level of the sea; land or free drainage is therefore precluded. The strata abound with water, which, from so great a depth, cannot be drawn without the use of horse-gins, or manual labour; and where the mines are deep, and the quantity of water such as prevails in the mines of Dean Forest, steam-engines and machinery are indispensable. The great expense attendant on such works rendered it necessary that tracts of coal of an extent corresponding to the outlay of capital should be awarded. After much careful deliberation, and having a due regard to the numerous, important, and complicated interests involved, the Mining Commissioners completed this service, and set forth the Award of Coal and Iron Mines as contained in the following pages." The grand and happy result is that "The privileges of the free miners, which for a long period were subject to great uncertainty, are now established on a firm basis, and instead of the vague and indefinite custom of galing as practised for some cen 491 turies past, the possession of distinct tracts of coal and iron mine is secured to the parties respectively entitled to claim such minerals." The mode adopted of mapping the mineral fields, which are the subject of this Award, is excellent, and well deserving of imitation by all who are largely concerned in mining property. In 1835 an exact surface and subterranean survey of the Forest of Dean was made for the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, by Mr. Sopwith, whose qualifications for the purpose, as most of our readers are no doubt aware, are of the very highest order. The maps then supplied by Mr. Sopwith were afterwards engraved, and made the basis of the Commissioners' Award. Of these plans there are sixteen on separate sheets, all of the same size; one is an index map of the whole Forest, and each of the remaining fifteen, comprises an area of four square miles. which are on a scale four inches larger, "The index map inserted in this volume, forms the sixteenth sheet of the entire series, each sheet being of the same dimensions as the index map, and numbered so as to correspond with the small squares on the latter. The scale of the index map is 24 inches to one mile; each compartment, therefore, comprises four square miles, and each sheet of the large map in detail contains in like manner a separate area of four square miles, the scale of the map being ten inches to a mile, or eight chains, to an inch. By means of the index map, therefore, any one may ascertain what particular square or squares of the larger map are wanted in illustration of the mining operations in any part of the Forest. These sheets are printed on stout drawing paper, so as to admit of any additional planning being laid down; and a broad margin is left on one side for the purpose of inserting any remarks, drawing sections of strata, or other details, which would encumber the area of the plan, but which it is desirable should be seen in connexion with it. *** The first sheet contains equivalent scales of chains and yards, and on every sheet a scale of chains (22 yards) is engraved on the intersecting lines which divide it into four parts (square miles). By this means any contraction or shrinking of the paper is attended with a like reduction of the scale engraved thereon, which therefore always retains its relative proportion to the object represented by the plan."-pp. 34-36. Any of the 16 sheets here alluded to, may be bought separately (of Mr. Weale) at the very moderate price of 2s. per sheet. THE SMOKE NUISANCE. (Victoria Gallery, Manchester.) "The Leeds meeting, in which I, in common with so many others, took no small interest, and from which I had entertained high expectations, has unquestionably failed in effecting that result which its promoters anticipated. One important result has certainly emanated from that meeting, namely, the producing a more lively attention to the subject, and a stronger feeling in favour of its ultimate success. To Mr. Eddison, who originated and carried out the measure, and Mr. West, who with no small labour compiled his pamphlet, the thanks of the community are unquestionably due. The prevailing feeling, however, on the part of the public, appears to be disappointment. It was expected, that some tangible and effective measure would have emanated from so influential a body; that something of a positive character would have been undertaken towards working out the object for which the meeting was held; and that an association would have been established, or a committee of scientific and practical men appointed, for the purpose of devising such measures as would have assisted the willing, aroused the languid, and coerced the reluctant into adopting some practical remedy in abatement of the nuisance so universally admitted and deplored. Such measures would at least have afforded some clue to guide the unscientific, and enable the great mass of sinners and sufferers to see their way out of the labyrinth of expedients by which they have been so long bewildered. 66 "The Leeds meeting began, in my opinion, at the wrong end. They began by drawing together the numerous claimants for public favour; calling on them to submit their inventions to a manifestly incompetent tribunal, and almost inviting each to panegyrize himself and his plans. In my opinion, that meeting should have gone further, by the appointment of a small working committee, who would to a certain extent have relieved the subject from its present state of obscurity and complication. So far, however, from narrowing the field of uncertainty, manufacturers now find the difficulties of their position increased by having placed before them indiscriminately such a host of inventions. What the public required was, not to have, on the authority of the Leeds meet ing, this collection of 40 or 50 plans, in which they find it impossible to separate the wheat from the chaff; but to have had the aid of a judicious and competent committee to assist them in making a selection. "I here propose alluding to some of those points to which the attention of a committee may be safely directed; and thus, while they advance the general object, avoid a bootless search after what they cannot discover. The danger is, that by taking a wrong course at the beginning, they may not only lose sight of what is practicable and useful, but get entangled in what may neutralize their wellmeant efforts, and thus damage the cause we are all so anxious to promote. The objects to which the attention of the committee may safely be directed are-The ascertaining to what extent the prevention of the nuisance of smoke may be practicable-to what class of fires and furnaces improved principles of combustion may be applied-what would be the safest course of proceeding towards compelling parties to mitigate, if not wholly prevent such nuisance-to what extent a compulsory jurisdiction may be applied, and what available statutory regulations it would be advisable to adopt; and how far it would be just to compel the adoption of remedial measures, until such were specifically deter mined and pointed out. "But perhaps the most valuable fruit of such a committee would be its relieving men of business, who have not leisure for deliberate experiment and inquiry, or who are incompetent to decide on the claims of rival inventors; and thus aiding them in their search after what is best. To relieve this valuable class of the community, such an association might undertake to hear the several inventors describe their respective inventions, and form an opinion as to their merits: much useful information would thus be obtained and recorded. A tribunal would be formed to which the great body of manufacturers would look with confidence, and to which patentees would refer their claims and alleged proofs of success. Should any decline such an ordeal, and refuse to submit their plans to a body of scientific and practi cal men, they could not afterwards claim the attention of the unscientific and uninformed. Such an association would be worthy this great manufacturing metropolis. "I will now allude to some of those sources of error into which we are most apt to fall in pursuing our inquiries into the mode of effecting combustion so as to prevent smoke. The common feeling unfortunately is, not sc much a philanthropic desire to abate the |