The annual consumption of coal in Great Britain is reckoned to be not less than 80,000,000 tons.  The amount raised in 1873 amounted to 127,000,000 tons, and of this was imported into London alone 7,883,138 tons—­4,000,000 tons, or 15 per cent. of the total out-put of the country, being sent from Durham alone.  The cost of the Wallsend coal on board the ship may be stated at 10s. 6d. per ton; to this must be added the charge at coal-market of 2s. 8d., freight say 5s. 9d., profit 7s. 6d., so that a ton of coal of this kind will cost in your cellar in London the sum of L1, 6s. 5d.

I think it is now time to conclude this most interesting subject, for though I have by no means exhausted it, yet I fear I have said as much as a lecture will warrant.  The subject shows us how mindful a kind Providence has been of man, and to this nation in particular, for to our coal we in a measure owe much of our greatness.  So while we admire the geology of our globe, let us not forget who made it and all that it contains, and who, when He had finished the work, pronounced it all very good.  Let us so strive to live, that though we may be called away suddenly, as 199 of our fellow-creatures were called by what is termed a mining accident, we may be ready to meet Him who not only made us, but made the coal, and who, when man, at first made perfect, fell away, was pleased to send a Saviour to redeem us and bring us to that light which fadeth not away.

SCIENCE APPLIED TO ART.

A resume of science and art requires to set forth what they have already done and what they are now doing—­to trace them down to our own time, and contrast their early stages with their present development.  Giving to art and science all that is their due, it must be evident to every one that they are primarily not of human origin, but owe their existence and progress to those inherent faculties of man which have been bestowed upon him by an Almighty Being—­faculties given not only to fathom the works of creation, and adapt them for man’s use and benefit, but also that they might show forth the praise and honour of their Creator, as “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork.”  To set forth science and art before an Institution like that here met together, behoves one to enter upon the subject in a way which will not only interest but also instruct.  But this is only an opening address, and the lecturers who will follow me in due course will bring before you the special interests of those special subjects on which they are to treat.  These cannot fail to interest as well as instruct those who attend, their object being profit to the mind, and hence not only the furtherance of mental culture, but increasing capabilities for material prosperity.