Chapter XXXIV: Section I: Coal, Iron, and Lead Mining

IN the Introduction, it was stated that the country was rich in the raw materials of industry;¹ and in the preceding volumes an account was given of the various attempts at mining, and the introduction of manufactures, to the end of the seventeenth century. In this chapter an effort has been made to present a clear and concise account of the development of mining operations, the manufacture of iron, the development of the means of communication and commerce, and, finally, of all the chief branches of manufactures.

¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume I,
page 29.

The carboniferous system of Scotland has been fully treated by geologists, and its peculiarities and extent have been often described. Although broken strata of coal have been found in the Western Islands and Sutherlandshire, the great coal-bearing strata of Scotland extends from Fife Ness across the country in the line of the valleys of the Forth and Clyde. The superficial area of the coal-fields of this region is calculated to be about 1600 square miles.

The carboniferous or coal-bearing system occurs immediately above the old red sandstone, and it consists of a series of formations, which are usually classed in four groups thus:――(1) The upper strata, commonly called “the true coal-measures”――a thick series of sandstones, shales, fireclays, some impure limestones, ironstones, and numerous coal seams; (2) Millstone grit――generally a local formation of moderate thickness, consisting of gritty sandstones, with inter-stratified shales and thin seams of coal; (3) Mountain or carboniferous limestone――a series of thick-bedded marine limestones, with some shales, sandstones, and thin seams of coal; (4) Lower coal measures――a great thickness of fine sandstone and grits, with shales, fireclays, ironstone, shell and fresh-water limestones, and thinnish seams of coal. Thus coal and ironstone occur in the same group of strata.

The coal seams and beds occur in all degrees of breadth and thickness. At Johnstone, in Renfrewshire, there was a seam of 100 feet in thickness, but it is exceptional; while the thickest seam in the Lothians is only 13 feet.¹ The centre of the coal-fields is Clydesdale, where about one-half of the Scotch collieries are placed; they extend through or touch upon thirteen counties, and of these Lanarkshire has the greatest number, and Ayrshire, Fifeshire, Stirlingshire, Edinburghshire, and Linlithgowshire follow in order. In most of these counties, more or less valuable beds of ironstone, shale, and ♦limestone are intermixed with the coal.

¹ Coal is found in layers or seams varying from one inch up to
thirty or forty feet in thickness, but seven or eight feet
is the maximum thickness of single seams; miners consider
one which measures five feet as a thick bed, and seams of
one foot or under are not deemed worth working.

♦ “limeston eare” replaced with “limestone are”

In the early part of the eighteenth century the coal-mining operations in Scotland were on a very small scale; but considerable progress was made before the end of the century. When the shallower parts of the coal-fields were exhausted, it became necessary to form the sinking shafts. The early mode of mining was simply to drive into the coal-seams tunnels; but only a small extent of the seams could be worked in that way, when the tunnels became dangerous by the accumulation of foul air. Where the seams dipped downwards, water accumulated, and much labour was required to keep the workings clear.

After the method of working the coal by shafts descending to the seams was adopted, contrivances for raising the coal and keeping the pits clear of water were introduced. In some pits the coal and water both were drawn up by a winch worked by men; in others, chain and bucket engines were employed for hoisting the water out of the pit. In 1762 a steam-engine was used for the first time at a coal pit in Scotland. Few of the pits of those days exceeded a depth of twenty or thirty fathoms, and with such appliances as were then available the difficulty of working them was great.¹

¹ _Industries of Scotland_, by D. Bremner, page 4; 1869.

From this date to the end of the century the coal trade increased slowly but steadily; and, as steam-power began to be more and more applied to manufactures, the consumption of coal increased. When steam-ships and railways were introduced a much greater demand for coal arose. But there were some unpleasant and unsatisfactory conditions connected with the working of the coal mines which cannot be passed over unnoticed.

In a preceding volume the state of the workmen in mines and at salt-works was explained;¹ in short, they were in a state of semi-slavery until 1775, when they were emancipated by an act of parliament. So it could not be expected that men kept in this condition for centuries would at once assume the spirit and characteristics of those who had been long accustomed to the exercise of liberty and freedom. In the year 1842, it was found that children and women were employed in the coal mines of Scotland, as well as in those of England. An act of parliament was then passed prohibiting the employment of children and women in coal pits; but neither this act nor subsequent ones were altogether effective for a long time. There were, however, a number of Scotch pits in which women and children had never been employed; and at present the mines are placed under a regular system of inspection.

All the collieries in Scotland are now worked by steam-power; and various attempts have been made to apply this power to machinery for excavating the coal. Seams of coal are now worked at a much greater depth than they could have been before steam-power was introduced. The Nitshill Pit in Renfrewshire is 175 fathoms in depth――one of the deepest in Scotland.

¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume
III., page 291.

In 1866, the quantity of coal raised in Scotland was 12,034,638 tons; and the same year, the declared value of the coal exported from Scotland was £515,805: the quantity of coal, cinders, and culm represented by this would amount to about 1,500,000 tons. Since this date the annual produce has greatly increased. In 1875 the minerals raised in the Scotch coal-fields amounted to a total of 21,778, 480 tons, consisting of coal, ironstone, limestone, and oil-shale.

In 1871, there were 47,620 persons employed in coal mining in Scotland; and of this number, 14,497 were under twenty years of age; and out of the total there were 355 females engaged in this work, of whom 184 were under twenty years of age. The hands were distributed in the centres of the mining industry thus:――In Lanarkshire, 23,658; in Ayrshire, 8208; in Fifeshire, 4646; in Stirlingshire, 3822; in Edinburghshire, 3399; in Linlithgowshire, 1721; and the remaining number were distributed among the counties of Haddington, Clackmannan, Dumbarton, Renfrew, and Dumfries. In 1891 the coal miners were distributed thus:――In Lanarkshire, 38,000; in Ayrshire, 10,910; in Fifeshire, 8,352; Stirlingshire, 5,230; Edinburghshire, 4, 113; Linlithgowshire, 3,213; and the remainder in the other counties above indicated.

In 1875, in these districts there were upwards of 76,000 persons employed in raising coal, ironstone, and lime. In 1891 the number of coal, ironstone, and shale miners was 82,701. The pits through which the minerals are raised vary from 30 to 180 fathoms in depth, and as a rule are not heavily watered.

Touching the wages and the social condition of the coal miners much might be said, but space is limited, and brevity must be observed. In no occupation has there been a greater fluctuation of wages in the present century than in that of the coal miner. In Lanarkshire, in 1836, the daily wage was 5 shillings; the next year a reduction was made to 4 shillings; and a strike ensued which lasted four months, and then the men returned to work at the terms offered. Wages gradually declined, and in 1842 they were as low as 2 shillings 6 pence and 1 shilling 8 pence a day. Their union was then renewed, and they went out on strike; and this time the masters yielded and granted an advance of 1 shilling; but it was soon after reduced again. In 1847, there was a great strike, when the men stood out for 5 shillings a day; they, however, recommenced work at 3 shillings a day, which in a few weeks after was reduced to 2 shillings a day. In 1851, the average wage of miners was 2 shillings 6 pence a day; but in 1852, the Scottish Miners’ Association was formed, “for the protection of miners’ rights and privileges.” In 1854, the daily wage was 5 shillings; but a gradual fall followed, and in 1858 the average wage was 3 shillings¹ From this date onwards for about fifteen years the coal miners’ wages in Scotland continued to rise till they reached the figures of 8 shillings, 10 shillings, and even 12 shillings a day; then they fell greatly. In 1887 their wages was only 2 shillings 6 pence a day: a rate which was too low for their class of labour, or for any body of regularly working men. Since then their wages have fluctuated. There has been several strikes, and an extremely disastrous one in 1894.

¹ _Notices of some of the Principal Manufactures of the West
of Scotland_, page 14; 1878.

The sons of miners generally follow the occupation of their fathers, and begin to work at twelve years of age, when he enters the pit and “is attached to his father or some other man, and becomes known as a ‘quarter-man.’ The miner with whom he works is entitled to put out one-fourth more coal than if he worked without assistance, and from the price received for the extra quantity he pays the boy, whose duty it is to fill the coal into the ‘tubs’ and convey it to the pit bottom. At fourteen, the boy becomes a ‘half-man;’ at sixteen, a ‘three-quarter-man;’ and at eighteen, he assumes the title of ‘miner,’ performs a man’s work, and draws a man’s pay.”¹

¹ _Industries of Scotland_, by D. Bremner, page 22.

As a class, the coal-miners of Scotland have had upon the whole a hard lot, and their present condition is not a comfortable or happy one. Although in recent years their houses have been rebuilt, which in early days were wretched huts, still many of their dwellings are far from comfortable. They are small: their dimension is usually twelve feet by fifteen; but of course there are exceptions at some of the collieries. At the Dalkeith Colliery, which belongs to the Duke of Buccleuch, the miners’ houses are well constructed and commodious, with spaces of ground attached to them for drying clothes or as playground for the children.

It has to be understood that those engaged as iron-miners all work within the district of the coal fields; in fact, the ironstone miners’ work differs but little from that of the coal-miner. Although it was known that ironstone existed in the Scotch coal measures before the eighteenth century, little was done in the way of mining or manufacturing iron in Scotland before that century, and it was only towards the end of it that the manufacture assumed much importance.

At first there were only a few persons employed in mining for iron, and in the last century the number of iron-miners were not numerous. But the great development of the iron trade in the present century increased the number of miners of every description. In 1871, the number of persons employed in mining for metals was 14,201, and of this number 3830 were under twenty years of age, and among them there were 20 female miners. The number directly engaged in mining for iron was 9087.

In the preceding volumes it was noticed that lead ore exists in Scotland, and has been worked in many parts of the country, but only in a few cases has it proved remunerative. At present, four or five mines are worked, and the total produce is about 1500 tons of pure lead per annum. The chief mines are at Leadhills in Lanarkshire, about fifty miles from Glasgow, and Wanlockhead in Dumfriesshire. The veins of ore in these mines have been worked to a depth of from 70 to 140 fathoms. In 1861, there were 538 lead-miners in Scotland; and in 1871, there were 600 employed, and of this number six were females. In 1891 the number had fallen to 432.

Traces of copper ore have been found in many places in Scotland, and from early times attempts have been made to work the veins, but only in a very few cases with success. In 1861, there were forty-one copper miners in Scotland; in 1871, there were thirty-six, one of whom was a female. In 1891, there were only thirteen. In 1871, the number of persons employed in connection with mining for minerals and metals――as mineral borers, sinkers, and mine service, was 4000.

SECTION .II

_Iron Works and Iron Manufactures._

Iron is one of the staple manufactures of Scotland, and the development which it has attained since the middle of the last century is surprising and wonderful. The Scottish ores are known by the names of the clayband ironstone and the blackband ironstone; the former only was known and used in the eighteenth century, the latter was not even discovered till about the beginning of the present century. But for many years the Scotch ironmasters have imported considerable quantities of hæmatite iron ores from England, ochrey iron ores from Spain, magnetic iron ores, and spathic ores, from various countries, which were used in the Scotch blast-furnaces. Thus the quality of Scottish iron has not been dependant on the native ores. From an early period small quantities of iron were smelted by a rude process.

A furnace was built at Goatfield in Argyleshire, about 1750; and about the same time another was erected at Bonawe, also in Argyleshire, for making charcoal iron from hæmatite ores. The Bonawe furnace continued and was subsequently known as the Lorne furnace, and carried on by Messrs. Harrison, Ainslie and Co. The hæmatite ore used in this furnace was taken from Cumberland, and the charcoal was produced at the works in the woods in the neighbourhood. In 1788, the produce of these two furnaces was 1400 tons of iron per ♦annum. The Bonawe furnace, in 1875, was only producing 800 tons a year, which is accounted for from its being so far removed from the centre of iron ore and coal.

♦ “annnm” replaced with “annum”

In 1760, the Carron Ironworks were erected by a company, consisting of Dr. John Roebuck, a native of Sheffield, William Cadell of Cockenzie, Samuel Garbet of Prestonpans, and others. They were assisted in some important contrivances connected with the work by Smeaton, the eminent engineer. The first furnace was blown on the 1st of January, and from that memorable day onward the works have had a remarkably successful career.

These works in a few years became amongst the most famous in Europe; and the products of the firm long held a high reputation in the leading markets of the world. Sir John Sinclair in his _Statistical Account of Scotland_, published in 1792, describes the Carron Works thus:――

“There are five blast furnaces, sixteen air-furnaces, a clay mill for grinding clay and making fire-bricks for the use of the said furnaces, an engine that raises four tons and a half of water at one stroke, and on an average draws seven strokes per minute. This engine goes in time of drought, and consumes sixteen tons of coal in twenty-four hours. Besides the coals consumed by the engine, there are a hundred and twenty tons burned every day in the works and by the inhabitants belonging to them. Besides the air-furnaces there are three cupola furnaces that go by virtue of the blast-furnaces, by pipes conveyed from the machinery of the blasts; their business is much the same with the air-furnaces. There are also four boring-mills for boring guns, pipes, cylinders, etc. One of the boring-mills is adapted for turning the guns on the outside. They have likewise Smith’s forges for making the largest anchors and anvils, as well as small work of various kinds, besides a forge for making malleable iron, and a plating forge; also a forge for stamping iron, the hammer of which, with the helve, are both of cast metal, and weigh a ton and a half.”

Thus it appears that, though Carron obtained its reputation chiefly for its pig-iron manufacture and castings, it was also the first place in Scotland where malleable iron was made. There are about two thousand men and boys employed at the works. A farm of four hundred acres is attached to the works, and there are five villages in the neighbourhood, dependencies of the company, in which many of the houses have been built by them.¹

¹ _Notices of some of the Principal Manufactures of the West
of Scotland_, pages 31‒32, 1876. From Burns to the present
day there is a concurrence of testimony to the effect that
it was next to impossible for any stranger to get a look
through the Carron Works. Mr. Smiles wished to see a long-
disused apparatus which Smeaton, the engineer, had contrived,
but in the autumn of 1858, when he called at the works for
that purpose, and requested admittance, the reply of the
manager was, “Na, na, it canna be allood. We canna be fashed
wi’ strangers here.”――_Lives of the Engineers_, Volume II.,
page 61.

From the establishment of these works till 1788, the quantity of iron produced in Scotland was about 1500 tons per annum, but before the end of the century a number of other iron works were erected. Shortly after 1770, the Cramond Works were started with two furnaces, which were each 40 feet high and 14 in diameter. Between 1779 and 1796 there were furnaces erected at Glenbuck, Muirkirk, Wilsontown, Calder, Clyde, and Omoa, in Lanarkshire. The Clyde Works were begun in 1786; there were two furnaces in blast in 1792, and in 1799 there were three. At that time nearly the whole produce of the works was cast into cannon and artillery equipments. In 1796 there were seventeen blast-furnaces in Scotland, and the quantity of pig-iron produced in that year was 18,640 tons.

The first of the important group of blast-furnaces in the neighbourhood of Coatbridge and Airdrie was commenced in 1800. Shortly after, David Mushet discovered the blackband ironstone in this locality. While he was crossing the river Calder, at a spot a little above Cairnhill Old Mill, he first observed the blackband in an outcrop. When he ascertained that it belonged to the upper coal measures he continued his investigation, and soon found other beds of the blackband ironstone in the lands of Clifton Hill, Airdrie, Burnfoot, Kipsbyre, Rochsoles, Woodhall, and Lauchope. Since his discovery, this iron ore has been found in other parts of the carboniferous system, and its existence has contributed greatly to the progress of the Scotch iron trade.

“The blackband ironstone contains from 50 to 70 per cent. of iron in combination with sufficient carbonaceous matter to calcine it when put into heaps.”¹ Good blackband iron ore contains from 2 to 8 per cent. of coal; if it contains more than 20 per cent. of coal, it is of little value save when mixed with clayband, which uses up the excess of coal.

¹ _Notices of some of the Principal Manufactures of the West
of Scotland_, page 37.

After the discovery of the blackband ore, the iron trade advanced more rapidly in Scotland. The most of this ore is embedded in Lanarkshire and Ayrshire, and they became the chief centres of the iron manufacture. The quantity of iron produced in 1806 was 20,240 tons; in 1825 it was 24,000 tons; and in 1829 it had reached 29,000. But the introduction of railways now began to cause a greater demand for iron, and this, with the rapidly increasing consumption of iron in supplying the machinery and apparatuses of the many manufactories which were springing up throughout the country, gave an enormous stimulation to the iron trade. Accordingly new ironworks and many furnaces were erected in Scotland between the years 1825 and 1850. In 1827, J. B. Neilson, engineer of the Glasgow Gasworks, formed the idea of heating the air before injecting it into the furnace; and in 1829 his invention was tried at the Clyde Ironworks with marked success.¹ This invention gave a great impetus to the iron trade; and the patentee and his partners were reported to have realised £300,000 from it. Powerful engines are used for generating the blast.

¹ _Industries of Scotland_, by D. ♦Bremner.

♦ “Bremmer” replaced with “Bremner”

An idea may be formed of the activity of the iron trade and its rapid progress in Scotland from a comparison of the annual production of iron at different periods. As stated above, the production in 1829 was 29, 000 tons; but for the year 1835 it had risen to 75,000; in 1840 it was 197,000 tons; in 1845 it reached to 475, 000 tons; in 1850 it was 690, 000 tons; in 1855 it was 820, 000 tons; in 1861 it rose to 1,050,000; in 1865 it was 1,164,000 tons; the following year the production fell to 994,000; but it rose again, and in 1870 it was 1,206,000. Thus the production of iron in Scotland had increased in forty years more than a million of tons. But this rapid development of the iron trade was not peculiar to Scotland; there was also a remarkable increase in the production of iron in England and in other countries springing from similar causes.

The Gartsherrie Ironworks, in the vicinity of Coatbridge, which were started by Alexander Baird in 1830, with one blast furnace are now the largest in Scotland. These works were developed with remarkable enterprise and skill. In 1875, the works consisted of sixteen furnaces, placed in two parallel rows, one on each side of the Monkland Canal; these furnaces are all open-topped, and, having been built at different dates, they are of various patterns and sizes. The works produce 100,000 tons of pig iron per annum, and upwards of 3000 men and boys are employed in connection with the works. In the neighbourhood of the works there are some 500 houses belonging to the Messrs. Baird & Company, which are occupied by their workmen.

In 1875 this firm had other four ironworks in Ayrshire; in all they had forty furnaces, which produced 300,000 tons of pig-iron per annum, and gave employment to about 9000 men and boys.

The Summerlee Ironworks, which were started in 1836, are near by Gartsherrie Works. In 1875 these works had eight furnaces, from which a portion of the gas is taken off and used for generating steam for driving the blowing engines and heating the blast, and three of the furnaces had been raised to a height of 70 feet; the others varied from 42 feet upward. The annual produce of Summerlee Works when the furnaces were all in blast was from 50,000 to 70,000 tons of pig-iron. The Langloan Ironworks, belonging to Messrs. Addie & Sons, are situated in the same locality, and consist of eight furnaces, which are chiefly employed in making foundry iron. In 1875, the Calder Ironworks, which commenced in 1800, where blackband ironstone was first used, consisted of eight furnaces. The Coltness Ironworks were begun in 1837, and in 1875 they consisted of twelve furnaces placed in two parallel rows. Each of these furnaces produce from 12 to 15 tons at a cast, and are tapped every twelve hours.¹

¹ _Notices of some of the Principal Manufactures of the West
of Scotland_, pages 39‒43.

In 1867 the number of furnaces in Scotland was 164, but they were not all in blast. On an average each furnace produced about 9546 tons per annum, and each gives employment, directly and indirectly, to 200 men and boys. Thus, if the furnaces were all in blast, the annual production of iron would exceed 1,500,000 tons, and give employment to upwards of 33,000 men and boys.

During the early stages of iron manufacture in Scotland there was not much malleable iron produced. But between the years 1828 and 1836 this branch was successfully established, and it has since been carried on with surprising energy and skill. In 1875, there were upwards of 400 puddling furnaces, many scrap and heating furnaces, and 50 rolling-mills. The average annual produce of malleable iron was about 145,000 tons, representing a value of over a million sterling.

These works produce plates, bars, and all kinds of manufactured iron; and some of them are very large establishments. The Glasgow Iron Company have the largest ironworks of this class in Scotland, at St. Rollox and Motherwell, which were established in 1845. In 1875, these works had 102 puddling furnaces, and fourteen rolling-mills; and were fully equipped for turning out from 300 to 400 tons of finished iron per week, consisting of ship and boiler plates, angle iron, tee iron, and other kinds. The works of the firm were also equipped for producing from 600 to 800 tons per week of sheets, rails, nail-rods, hoops, and all kinds of small merchant iron.

There are many other great ironworks in and around Glasgow, but space is limited, and I can only notice a few. The Parkhead Ironworks, belonging to the Messrs. Beardmore, is a very large and remarkable establishment. In 1875, the works had forty puddling furnaces, a corresponding number of rolling-mills, fourteen steam hammers with heads varying in weight from seven tons downwards, and many other well-designed appliances of a heavy type. There were 600 hands employed in the works, and they can turn out 1000 tons of plates, and 150 tons of forgings of all descriptions, per month. It was in this work that the double crank-shaft of the _Monarch_ (a huge warship) was forged, which weighed, when it left the hammers, 32 tons.

The Lancefield Malleable Ironworks stand on the south side of Glasgow, in Scotland Street, and its productions are of a similar nature to those of the Parkhead works. The Lancefield establishment is famed for its great forgings of the class of crank shafts, propeller shafts, stern posts, and so on. “When it was required to produce the forgings for the _Great Eastern_, there was only one forge in the whole world ready and prepared to execute the task. That forge was Lancefield. The propeller-shaft of the _Great Eastern_ was 47 feet long, and weighed 35 tons, the crank-shaft 31 tons, and the stern-frame 25 tons.” In short, it was once said:――“When a shipbuilder requires a stern-frame for an iron vessel of 5000 or 6000 tons burden ... there are in all Europe only the government establishment of Russia, the forge of Messrs. Marrell in France, one or two forges on the Thames and Mersey, and some three or four on the Clyde equal to the task.”¹

¹ _Notices of some of the Principal Manufactures in the West
of Scotland_, pages 51‒53.

Steel has not been extensively manufactured in Scotland; and, in 1875, it was mostly limited to one company, which commenced in 1871, under the name of the “Steel Company of Scotland.” This firm then employed 700 men, and produced from 2000 to 2600 tons per month, consisting chiefly of rails, forgings, and plates. This, with the exception of a small quantity of crucible steel, embraced all the production of steel in Scotland. Since there has been a large increase in the production of steel, mainly caused by the substitution of steel for iron in shipbuilding. Lanarkshire is the centre of the steel manufacture in Scotland. In 1891 there were 4,393 men employed in this manufacture.

There are a number of branches connected with iron:――(1) _Iron-founding_, often carried on in connection with special branches of trade pursued by some engineering firms; and sometimes engineering establishments are called foundries, though they have discontinued iron-founding. But the general tendency for long has been to draw the lines of the division of labour within more specialised limits; and iron-founding now embraces several pretty well defined branches. In the Glasgow district there are a number of foundries which limit their attention to the production of iron castings alone; and in other places――Dundee, Aberdeen, and other towns――such works have long been in operation. The work produced in such foundries comprises sugar-pans and batteries, round pans and coolers, vacuum pans and connections, kokers, round and square tanks, bleaching boilers, soap pans and boilers, chemical pans and retorts, castings for marine and land engines, for sugar mills, gearing, hydraulic presses, etc. (2) Domestic, sanitary, and architectural castings, gas and water castings; (3) the pipe-founding trade; (4) apparatus for gasworks; (5) the iron tube manufacture; (6) rivet, bolt, and nut trade; (7) screening apparatus; (8) the machine tool trade; (9) boiler making, rivetting machines, etc.; (10) iron piers, bridges, and roofing, etc.; (11) railway plant; (12) locomotive engine trade; (13) colliery machinery; (14) blowing engines, and pumping machinery; (15) agricultural implements and machinery; (16) wood-working machinery; (17) sugar-making machinery; (18) textile machinery; (19) the sewing machine trade; (20) distilling apparatus; (21) cranes and other hoisting apparatus; (22) traction engines, and many other mechanical appliances. All these branches of manufactures are carried on in and around Glasgow to a greater or less extent, and many of them also in the other centres of industry throughout the kingdom.

Having indicated the progress of the coal and mining industries, which may be considered as the foundation stones of the whole circle of manufactures; and the progress of the iron manufacture, which may be conceived as the dressed materials, the indispensable links in the development of all the other great manufactures. But, before proceeding to give a brief account of the evolution of the other manufactures, the order of events, and the relation of causes and effects renders it requisite to treat of the means of communication, for in a preceding volume it was stated that――“Means of intercourse, as roads, bridges, communication by sea, and postal arrangements, are closely connected with trade and national progress. Roads, in the order of development, naturally precede the other modes of transit, and are followed by ferry-boats, canals, improved harbours, and a regular postal system. As civilisation advances, these are rapidly improved, and by-and-by partly superseded by better expedients and arrangements, as steamships, railways, telegraphic and telephonic communication, all which evince the resources of the human mind.”¹ Therefore, let us proceed to indicate the progress which has taken place in the means of communication during the past century and a half.

¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume
III., page 294.