Volume Twelve - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - further aspects - Trials of Welsh and Mixed Coals . . .

But it could not be supposed that so long established a trade as that of the northern coalfield, with such powerful men as proprietors, wielding a parliamentary influence, would easily allow the legitimate results to ensue from the established superiority of the Welsh rival.

Accordingly 13 years after the reports of Sir Henry De la Beche and Dr. Lyon Playfair, whose elaborate experiments were triumphantly recommendatory of the Welsh coal, and after the practical trials, which up to that time for eighteen years had led to its increasing adoption, the representatives of the northern interests obtained from the Admiralty the concession of a fresh series of special trials, designed to set the value of the two coals at rest. Circumstances favoured the application of the Northern coal masters.

As is well known, the coals of the Welsh mineral basin are not of one class and quality only. There are no less than eight seams of steam coal in all and the seam which won for the Aberdare its wide-spread reputation was that denominated the "upper four-feet." By-and-bye, with the increasing demand came the inducement to work other seams, some, indeed, falling little short in quality from that of the four-feet, but others, again, requiring much admixture with the better seams to pass muster.

The result of this course of procedure was that the primal reputation of the Aberdare fuel began to suffer. It was in the Russian war, when production received an extraordinary stimulus, that this prejudicial practice began to be most prevalent. The Taff Vale Railway could not bring down the trains of loaded trucks fast enough. The engineers slept upon their engines high pay was given drivers and stokers, who worked day and night, and failed to satisfy the yawning holds in the burdened West Bute Dock.

At the close of the war there had been complaints. The Newcastle men seized the moment, and the trials were granted. The South Wales coal proprietors showed themselves equally ready to court the enquiry, but they urged upon the Government that the conditions of the experiments should conform as much as possible to those in practice, and should take place on board a steamer fitted with the ordinary description of multitubular boiler in use in her Majesty's Navy.

These propositions not being agreed to by the Newcastle colliery proprietors, the new trials were not undertaken by the Admiralty.