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

Now, there are standing orders for the employment of the best Welsh seams for the trials of war ships over the measured mile in Stokes Bay, and it is only two months ago since we reported the successful trial thus made by the Vanguard.

But in our issue of June 4, we drew attention to the motion made by Mr. Liddel for returns of the trials made during the last twelve months on board Her Majesty's steamers "Urgent" and "Lucifer" at Portsmouth, with Welsh and North Country coal, with the view of ascertaining the best proportions in mixed coal and the best. form of furnace to be used for the consumption of smoke.

An anticipatory notice of the results of these trials is given in the Mining Journal of May 28th, and very extraordinary they are. From this correspondent, who has forestalled the government return, it appears that the later trials were made with half and half, and that with the mixture less smoke was emitted from the funnel of the smoke consuming furnace, than from the funnel of the ordinary form of furnace when burning the best description of Welsh, and that the new furnaces exhibited a saving over the old of 14-28 per cent. in fuel, an increase of 7-56 per cent. in horse-power, and a positive gain in the "consumption of smoke of 21-84 per cent."

Now seeing that Welsh steam coal is absolutely smokeless when fairly lighted, it is difficult to understand how any funnel could be seen emitting has smoke than it, and seeing that with their present furnaces ships of war using Welsh get no smoke at all, it seems a superfluous expense to fit them up with new furnaces in order to attain a positive gain in the consumption of smoke just because the Admiralty sees it convenient to distribute its patronage to an inferior coal owned by influential members of Parliament.

But we have to ask why was not this mixture employed in the trial of the "Vanguard." The trials at Portsmouth had been going on months before that. The subject is of such vital importance to our port advertisements having appeared during the week, and to-day in our columns, for supplying the Government depots with Newcastle and Welsh coal in equal proportions — that we need no apology for saying we shall return to it next week.