de the copper-smelting district, it had already reached the
number of 40,000. The original cause of Swansea being selected as the
great seat of the copper trade, we may very briefly explain. It was
early discovered that, from the non-existence of coal in the mining
districts of Cornwall and Devonshire, copper, although raised in vast
abundance, could not be profitably smelted there. In fact, it was not
until a considerable time after copper-mining was properly pursued in
Cornwall, that the minerals could be turned to a profitable account.
It became apparent at length, however, both from the large quantity of
coal necessary for the reduction of copper-ores, and the great expense
of the transport, that instead of carrying coal to Cornwall to smelt
the ores--the greater quantity to the less--an opposite course must be
pursued, and the ores carried to the coal districts, and there
smelted.

Now South Wales, poor in copper, is exceedingly rich in coal. Vast
beds of the finest bituminous and anthracite coal exist in rich
profusion in its inexhaustible coal-fields. From its geographical
position and excellent harbour, Swansea was at once selected as the
best port on the Welsh coast in which to establish the copper-works;
and accordingly, the Swansea valley was soon planted with chimneys,
furnaces, roasters, refiners, and, in short, all the necessary and
costly enginery which belongs to the vast and intricate processes of
smelting copper. With such propriety has the selection of a locality
been made, that even now, out of the twenty copper-smelting works of
which the country can boast, seventeen are situated on the navigable
rivers of Swansea and its neighbourhood.

But this was not the only advantage the Cornish miners derived from
this judicious step. The ships employed to transport the ore to South
Wales came back laden with coal to feed their enormous engines; and
thus a system of traffic, mutually advantageous, was originated, and
has continued to exist without interruption down to the present time,
and will continue to exist so long as copper is mined in Cornwall and
smelted at Swansea.[3]

Within the last twenty years, the importation of foreign ores has
become a remarkable feature in the trade and commerce of this place.
Not only is Swansea the seat of the copper trade of this country, but
it may with equal propriety be styled the copper mart of the world.
Large and valuable cargoes of ore are continually arriving at