Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Second Session Thirty-eighth Congress, Part III
Mr. Burlingame to Mr. Seward
Sir: I have the honor to forward to you a report, marked A, made to the Chinese government by Raphael Pumpelly, esq., on a preliminary examination of the coal districts of the Si Shan, in the province of Chili. This is the first report of the kind ever made in China.
The amount of coal now consumed by steamers on the coast is more than four hundred thousand tons per annum, costing, to consumers, about four millions of taels. By opening these mines, coal which now costs from eight to twelve taels per ton might be laid down on the coast at a cost of between two and three taels.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State.
A.
Report of the Chinese government on a preliminary examination of the coal districts of the Si Shan, in the province of Chili.
In accordance with your instructions, I left Peking on the 17th October to visit the coal districts of the Hesi Shan,
Through the kindness of his excellency Sir Frederick Bruce, Mr. Murray, of the English legation, was permitted to lend me his valuable assistance as interpreter. The route followed was through Yang Fang, Tien-kia-chwang, and Hsia-nia-Ling, to Chai-tang. Here, during a stay of six days, the mines indicated by the local magistrates were examined. Leaving Chai-tang, we went to Men-tun kan, following the course of the Huen-ho as far as San-kia-tien. After remaining four days in the coal district of Men-tun-kan, we went to Fang-shem (Shiem.) Here we stopped four days inspecting the principal mines. From this point we came directly to Peking, arriving on the 6th November, and having been out, in all, twenty-one days. The object of the journey was:
First. To find an accessible locality which should be able to furnish, at a low price, coal adapted to the use of steamers.
Second. To ascertain what improvements, if any, would be necessary to aid in obtaining this supply.
The properties necessary to render a coal suitable for steamers are:
“First. Capacity for raising steam quickly.
“Second. For raising it abundantly for the quantity consumed.
“Third. Freedom from dense smoke in its combustion.
“Fourth. Freedom from tendency to crumble in handling.
“Fifth. Capacity, by reason of its density, for close storage.
“Sixth. Freedom from sulphur.”*
In order to ascertain more closely how far the coals of the mines visited fulfil the principal of the above requirements, I have made a series of analyses of specimens from the most important mines, the results of which will be found in the annexed table.
The means at my disposal did not admit of perfect accuracy, but the results approximate, I think, closely to the truth.
| Fu-ton. | Hsing-shun. | Ching-shui. | Ta-scar. | Te-i. | Ta-shi-tung. | Ying-wo. | Yung-to. | Specimen from Yung-ping-fee. | Specimen from Lo-ting. | |
| Specific gravity | 1.31 | 1.28 | 1.38 | 1.55 | 1.79 | 1.80 | 1.86 | 1.87 | 1.32 | 1.27 |
| Pounds of lead reduced by 1 pound of coal. | 31.5 | 31.4 | 29.0 | 33.4 | 31.0 | 31.5 | 27.7 | 23.0 | 26.6 | |
| Pounds of water raised from 32° to 212° by 1 pound of coal. | 72.1 | 71.8 | 66.4 | 76.4 | 70.9 | 72.1 | 63.4 | 32.6 | 60.9 | |
| Percentage of ash | 4.0 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 3.5 | 7.0 | 5.5 | 15.0 | 21.5 | 11.0 |
The first line of this table gives the specific gravity of each coal, that is, its weight compared with that of an equal bulk of water.
[Page 364]The second line shows the number of pounds of lead reduced from oxide of lead by the combustion of one pound of coal; from this is calculated the third line, indicating in pounds the quantity of water heated from 32° to 212° Fahrenheit by the combustion of one pound of coal.
The fourth line gives the percentage of ash left by the thoroughly burned coal.
The only bituminous coal seen on the journey was that in the neighborhood of Chai-tung, with the description of which I will begin.
The Fuh-tau mine lies about five liwest-southwest from Chai-tang, among the low hills that border the valley, and about 150 to 200 feet above the level of this. Trending north by east, south by west, this seam clips into the mountain at an angle of about 45° to east by south. Several mines have been opened in it.
The thickness of coal, which varies from eight to nine feet in the Fuh-tau to thirty-five feet in the Fuh-shun mine, may be safely averaged at seven to eight feet. The seam can be traced about one-half a mile on the surface, when its outcrop is lost at both ends of this limit under loose gravel and earth, but it undoubtedly continues for a considerable distance beyond in either direction. Parallel to this seam there are several others both above and below, one of which, four to six feet thick, is only thirty feet distance in the “hanging wall.”
The coal of the Fuh-tau seam is brilliant black, formed of well-defined layers, and with an irregular to cubical fracture. It ignites quickly, burning with a long flame, opening slightly in the fire; it bums with little smoke, without coking and without falling to pieces, leaving four per centum of gray ash. Its heating power, as calculated from the assay, is very high—1 pound of coal raising 72 pounds of water from 32 degrees to 212 degrees by its combustion. The coal from near the roof of the seam is crumbly; that near the floor slaty; all the rest comes out in large firm pieces. Its specific gravity is 1.31. Thin films of sulphuret of iron are scattered through the coal, but not sufficiently to be injurious. This fuel answers remarkably well to the above requirements, and is equal to some of the best foreign steam coals.
Taking the average dip of the seam to be 45 degrees, and the mean thickness 7 feet, and supposing the greatest depth on the slope attainable by a vertical shaft 1,500 feet deep to be 700 yards, we have for every one hundred yards of horizontal extent of the seam, after deducting one-third for waste, &c., nearly 1,000,000 tons of saleable coal. There are several parallel seams near the Fuhtau, all of which that are sufficiently thick would be workable by the same machinery and the same shaft as the latter, and can probably be relied upon to increase the production by fifty to one hundred per centum.
Thus, supposing these seams to be workable on a horizontal extent of 3,000 yards, a mine working them may be expected to yield 3,000,000 tons (5,040,000,000 catties) from the main seam, and 1,500,000 to 3,000,000 tons from the parallel ones, or in all 4,500,000 to 6,000,000 tons of salable coal.
The mine could, and with a great demand for coal undoubtedly would, be worked for double the distances assumed, both horizontally and on the slope, which would quadruple the production above given.
By the present system of working, the largest amount that can be obtained is but a fraction of the amount given above. At a depth of about seventy yards on the slope of the seam the best means of drainage known in China would be useless, and it is safe to say that not more than one-fifteenth of the above quantity could be mined.
According to the owner of the Fuh-tau mine, the most that he could deliver would be about 850 tons yearly, or about one-third the quantity used by a steamer of medium size. The two other mines on the same seam can furnish each about the same amount. The price at the mine is 16 tael cents for 160 catties, or $2 20 for one ton of 2,240 pounds.
[Page 365]The King-shun mine, about 5 li north-northwest from Chai-tang, and easily accessible from that place, produces the next best bituminous coal. Trending northeast-southwest, the seam varies in its dip from 45 degrees to 90 degrees toward northwest. The thickness of coal varies from 3 to 8 feet. The extent of the seam was ascertained, but there is apparently no cause of irregularity for several li in either direction.
The coal is of a dull black color, with irregular flaky structure. It ignites quickly, burning with a long flame, coking readily, and leaves three per centum of red ash. Its heating power is high—1 pound raising nearly 72 pounds of water from 32 degrees to 212 degrees. It is mote liable to crumble than that of the Fuh-tau, and also considerably less dense, its specific gravity being 1.28. It is also more likely to produce “clinker,” from the greater fusibility of its ash. Thus, although a good coal for making coke and for metallurgical purposes, it is, from its tendency to crumble in handling, and to melt together and clog the draught in burning, not so suitable for use on steamers. Taking the average thickness of the seam to be 6 feet, and supposing the mine to be worked to a depth of 500 yards on the slope, after deducting one-third for waste, &c., each 1,000 yards of horizontal extent would represent 560,000 tons of saleable coal. There are several other workable seams near this which could be worked with the same machinery and the same main shaft.
Near Tsing-shui, about 15 li west from Chai-tang, are several mines producing bituminous coal. The seams are much broken up by dikes of eruptive rock, and their extent is very uncertain. It is a brilliant black coal, very clean and firm, with cubical clearage; very inflammable; it melts and cakes together, burning with a long flame, and leaving twelve per centum of ash. Its heating power is much less than that of the last-mentioned varieties—1 pound raising only 66.4 pounds water from 32 degrees to 212 degrees. Specific gravity 1.38. It is a fair coal for making coke, and for most uses when a long flame is desirable. Nearly all of it is used in tile-glazing establishments of Peking.
The only anthracite mine visited near Chai-tang was that in the Ta-tsan or “great seam,” although there are several others to the west and southwest of that town.
The Ta-tsan is about 15 li southwest from Chai-tang, the last half of the way ascending a narrow and rocky valley till it reaches the mine at an elevation of from 400 to 500 feet above Chai-tang. The mine is worked on two seams separated from each other by about 8 feet of rock. Trending northeast-southwest, these seams dip about 45 degrees to the northwest. The upper one, from which the coal is now taken, is from 23 to 35 feet thick; the lower 7 to 18 feet. About six-tenths of the produce of this mine is anthracite of a superior quality, coming out in large, firm pieces, formed of well-defined layers with conchoidal fracture and brilliant metallic lustre. It burns without flame or smoke, retaining its shape and leaving three to four per cent. of gray ash. Its heating power is very high, one pound of anthracite raising 76.4 pounds of water from 32 degrees to 212 degrees; specific gravity 1.55. Its high heating power makes it well adapted to steamers, the furnaces of which are fitted for burning anthracite.
Taking the mean aggregate thickness of the two seams to be only 24 feet, (so far as seen, the average is over 40 feet,) the amount of saleable coal from every 1,000 yards of horizontal extent would be nearly 4,000,000 tons. The price of this fuel at the mines is one small cash per catty, or about $1 68 per ton of 2,240 pounds.
The only other mines visited were the Teh-yih at Man-tan-kua, and the Ying-wo and Ta-shih-tang at Fang-shan (hien.)
The coals of the first and last mentioned of these three, though very fair anthracites as regards their heating power, are, from their tendency to fly to pieces in burning, not well suited for use on steamers, while the soft anthracite of the Ying-wo crumbles too easily and possesses too low a heating power.
[Page 366]Thus the coals best suited to the use of steamers are the “dry” bituminous variety from the Fuh-tau and the anthracite of the Ta-tsau. As the examination was confined to the mines indicated by the local magistrates, and as there are many seams which have not been mined from for a long time, it is not improbable that a more close examination would discover other coals of equally good qualities in the neighborhood of Chai-tang.
The consumption of coal by steamers on the coast of China is probably more than 400,000 tons yearly, costing to the consumers about four millions of taels. The use of steamers is increasing so rapidly that there is no reason to doubt that in a few years the consumption will be much greater than at present. Nearly all this fuel is brought from foreign countries, a large proportion coming nearly 15,000 miles from England. It is indeed strange that coal mined in England (where the miners’ wages are from three to four times as much as that of the Chinese miners) can be carried 15,000 miles and sold in Shanghai for about the same price as that paid at Taku for coal of the province of Chili. It is brought also from America, Australia, and Japan.
China has an extent of coal fields hardly, if at all, surpassed by those of any one country in the world, and containing, at least in places, fuel of the best quality. It is in the power of the Chinese government, by properly developing a few mines, to place the whole of this trade in the hands of the Chinese subjects, with great profit to themselves and much benefit to foreigners. But the only means by which this can be effected is by such improvements in the manner of mining as will admit of an extensive and regular production, and by the adoption of a means of cheap transport of coal from the mines to the port.
As the Fuh-tau seam contains in large quantity coal of the desired quality, I take it for granted that unless an equally good quality be found in a more accessible locality, it will be on this, if on any, that improvements will be first introduced.
On the Fuh-tau seam it is impossible, by the best means known in this country, to take out more than one-fifteenth to one-thirtieth part of the coal that would be available by the foreign method. The Chinese miner is forced in these mountains to stop at a vertical depth of from 150 to 200 feet on account of the rapidly increasing water. Above this depth he can mine horizontally as far as he wishes; but not being able to go deeper, he can take out only a fraction of the coal in all vertical or highly inclined seams, while he gets only the worst coal that the seam contains, the best being that which is always under water.
In western countries the miner, having powerful machinery for pumping the water from the mine, can work to a vertical depth of from 1,500 to 3,000 feet. The use of this machinery admits of the laying out of a mine to an almost unlimited extent. By two sets of galleries in the coal—the one set parallel with the direction of the seam; the other following the dip, and crossing the first— the mine is laid out into squares, opening up the whole field that is to be worked. By this arrangement a very large surface of attack is exposed, along which a great number of miners can be placed. As communication is thus established with the most remote limits of the coal belonging to the mine, the working is begun at these farthest points, and the coal is taken out in working back toward the main shaft. Thus few or no galleries require to be kept open in the old workings, where expensive timbering would be needed. The greater the surface of attack, the greater will be the number of mines, and the production proportionably larger. The coal is brought on tramroads through the galleries to the main shaft, up which it is raised by steam power. Finally, all excavation in the hard rock, and often that in the coal, is rapidly made by blasting. A mine on the Fuh-tau seam, worked in this manner, could be made to produce 200 to 300 tons daily, at a cost of less than one dollar per ton. The carrying out of such an arrangement would require the engagement of a foreign mining engineer, two head miners, for directing under-ground works, and two [Page 367] machinists, for the engines, &c. The machinery could be brought from England or America. All the rest could well be done by Chinese labor, and ultimately no foreign employés would be necessary.
But such improvements in the Chai-tang district would be of little use without a corresponding change in the means of transport. At present the price paid in Peking for Chai-tang coal is from four to fire times the original cost at the mines, and delivered at Taku its cost would be about the same as that of English coals at Shanghai. Again, the carriage to Tang-chou, alone, of 200 to 300 tons daily would require a stock of from 14,000 to 20,000 mules, as each journey occupies seven days. This mode of conveyance is evidently impracticable. The only suitable means of transport would be by railroad. The most practicable route for such a road would, I think, be Chai-tang to Tsing-peh-kau, 30 li; Tsing-peh-kau to Hsia-ma-ling and Kau-kia-kau, 60 li; Kau-kia-kau to Yang-Fang and Fung-chou, 145 li; and were it continued from Tang-chou to Taku, 225 li— 460 li.
The only difficult work in building this road would be about two miles of the stretch between Chai-tang and Tsing-peh-kau, about one mile between this and Hsia-ma-ling, about three miles of the stretch between that place and the Fuh-teh-ling, and, finally, over this low ridge itself. From the Fuh-teh-ling, down the Kau-kia-kau valley, to Yang-Fang, and over the plain to Tung-chou, or Taku, would be excessively light work. From Chai-tang to Yang-Fang there would be but one stream of any size to bridge over, and but one ridge—the Fuh-teh-ling—to cross.
Such a road, and the introduction of the improvements already indicated, would not fail to cause the opening of many extensive mines, developing in these barren hills a great and highly profitable industry.
The nation that has made such a grand system of canals to facilitate internal transmits will not fail, sooner or later, to do by railroads, where they are needed, that which it has so admirably done for the plains by canals.
There are three ways by which such an enterprise can be carried into execution: by the government opening and working the mines and railroad for their own account; by encouraging the formation of a company among Chinese capitalists who would undertake it; or, finally, by placing it in the hands of a foreign company.
It would be well, before opening a mine at Chai-tang, to have examined the coal districts of Suen-wha (fu), Yung-ping (fu), those on the east side of the Gulf of Lian-ting, and those of southern Hoonan.
The benefits arising from a development of the coal resources of the country would be felt not only by those interested in steamers, but by every class of people. Several millions of taels which now leave the country to pay for imported fuel would go into the hands of Chinese. The demand for labor, which would be wholly Chinese, increasing in proportion to the growing development of the mines, would give employment to a large number of people, for where now one man depends for his means of living, directly or indirectly, on the working of the coal mines, more than fifty would find their support. The fuel used by the people generally would be delivered to them at a fraction of the price.
I have said nothing of its effects on other branches of industry. This would ultimately be immeasurably great in a country possessing, like this, an almost unlimited supply of labor and such varied resources. It is to the development of their coal and iron industry that the nations of the west owe almost wholly their great and increasing commercial and military power. England, with a population of about 28,000,000—nearly the same aft that of Chili—produces yearly a hundred million tons of coal and nearly seventy million peculs of iron. The coal mines alone employ about 220,000 miners. The value of these two minerals alone, at the mouths of the mines, is over $100,000,000.
[Page 368]China possesses these resources to an unlimited extent, and, with these, the labor and the industry necessary to develop them.
To return to the more immediate limit of my report, the general conclusions at which I arrive are—
1. That there exists in large quantity near Chai-tang bituminous coal and anthracite of a quality equal to the best and superior to much that is imported.
2. That by the present means of mining and transport it will never be able to compete with foreign coal, owing to the small amount that can be produced, the great expense of carriage, and, in consequence of these, its necessarily high price at the port.
3. That the only means by which it can be made to compete with imported fuel is by introducing in full the foreign method of mining, and by adopting railroad transit, at least for the Chai-tang district.
4. This can be done either by the government itself or by a company of Chinese or of foreign capitalists, or of both.
5. That while the present price of Chai-tang coal at Taku is from ten to twelve taels per ton, (including all profit,) by the adoption of the plan a general outline of which I have presented, fuel could be delivered at Taku at a prime cost of between two and three taels per ton.
Submitted with respect and courtesy.
- Report of Professor W. R. Johnson to the United States Navy Department.↩