en, the people increased in number and in wealth, energies devoted to the obtaining of a soft water and became more civilised. Offences against the supply for the kingdom at large; millions of king's peace, and frauds upon his revenue, happily money would be saved in soap, and millions more fer the public, diminished in number, while busi- in tea. Jones is convinced that water supply is ness developed, and, as a result, transactions indeed the only fit subject for the Society, but became complicated, and plaints between sub-urges that the water must be hard if we desire to ject and subject grew and multiplied. The avoid lead poisoning-if we wish for a delicate cup Court of Common Pleas naturally was in a of tea instead of a dark and bitter family brew, very flourishing condition, and those connected and above all, if we desire to see the rising genewith it throve upon the fees paid by the suitors; ration furnished with bones, and are not content but the Courts of King's Bench and Exchequer, that they should be simply cartilaginous animals. although they retained their dignity, found them- Robinson believes that the true present work of the salves excluded from the pecuniary benefits enjoyed Society is to see that all sewage is disposed of by by the Common Pleas. This went on until an irrigation; while Smith, although agreeing that ingenious member of the Court of Exchequer, the disposal of the sewage is the only true work, prompted by necessity, found the connecting link is clear that irrigation is but another name for by which that Court was enabled, of course the spread of disease, and that salvation lies in prestrictly within its functions of guarding the king's cipitation. Others would have the Society neglect revenue, to take cognisance of plaints between everything until it had achieved the introduction subject and subject. The link was this. Subject of the decimal system, and of the French metrical A should pay the king his taxes, but if subject system in particular. Government must come to B did not pay to A the money which B owed to the rescue. Decimals must be obligatory. They him, A obviously would not be likely to pay the would have no half measures; beg their pardon, taxes to the king, thereupon, quite within its pro- no nought decimal five measures; they would vince of course, it became incumbent on the Court show no quarter-again I err from the right way, of Exchequer to ascertain whether B did owe A a I mean, of course, no nought decimal two five-to sum of money, and thus the Court of Exchequer those who dare to use that complex tern, oneinvestigated plaints between subject and subject. third, instead of the simple and nearly accurate The unhappy King's Bench, however, was still expression, nought decimal three three three and left out in the cold, a cold by comparison a little dash in the right-hand corner; still all the more disagreeable to bear because its col- less would they forgive those who employ, league, the Court of Exchequer, had succeeded in describing the division of anything into in withdrawing itself into a comfortable shelter. seven equal parts, the wholly unintelligible and At length the genius needful to supply cumbrous one-seventh, instead of the concise and the connecting link for the Court of King's elegant (and again nearly accurate) nought Bench was found. That Court, you will remember, decimal one four two eight five seven, and again took cognisance of all matters affecting the king's the little dash in the right-hand corner. dignity and peace. Said the ingenious man of the foregoing are but instances-instances of demands Court of King's Bench, I know nothing much which may come from the outside public, from more likely to cause a breach of the peace than the the members of the Society, or, I speak it refusal to pay a just debt. If B owes A money, with reverence, even from the members of the but will not pay A, such is the infirmity of human Council itself. Probably some of us have now, nature that A is very likely to cudgel B at the first as people had in Mr. Shandy's time, our little convenient opportunity. To prevent this breach hobbies on which we would fain disport ourof the King's peace, it is clearly the duty of the selves; but, happily for the Society, we are Court of King's Bench, and strictly within its not allowed to do so, unless the hobby is functions, of course, to take cognisance of the proved to be discreet and trustworthy. The check plaint between subject A and subject B. Whether to our vagaries is this: our Council, as I have told this tale is a strictly true one, or whether it has you, is composed of men of varied pursuits, the only a foundation of truth, and that as regards its soldier, the legislator, the sailor, the engineer, the details the Islander from whom I received it was chemist, the physician, the Government_official, imposing on my credulity, I won't pretend to say, the potter-emphatically the potter, for I allude but it seemed to me not wholly inapplicable to the to our friend Mr. Doulton, to whom we owe a subject we were considering, and that the advocates new art industry, of which England is justly in the Society of Arts for the promotion of drill, if proud-and many others, go to make up your they can't convince by their argument, may, at all Council. And though, as I have said, some of events, crush their opponents by the weight of the these, including, it may be, their chairman, have precedent I have just quoted. each his own little hobby, in the sure-footedness of which he implicitly believes, he is not thereby rendered incapable of perceiving the defects in his neighbour's favourite steed. All banter apart, your Council is well attended by men of divers qualifications, and no plan brought before that Council is made the subject of the action of the Society, unless the plan, after thorough scrutiny, commends itself to the good opinion of the majority. Care has also to be exercised in the acceptance of papers, to ensure that not only shall the subjects be of sufficient interest in themselves, but that they are free from any

Having regard to the undoubtedly wide scope afforded us by our Charter, and to the probable increase of that width by ingenious reasoning and by precedent such as I have cited, you can well understand that there are very few subjects indeed in respect of which a connection with the purposes of this Society may not be traced, or, at least, imagined; and thus it is that your Council have to exercise great discrimination in the acceptance or non-acceptance of the various suggestions that are made to it, as affording proper subjects for the action of the Society. Brown would have all our

The

suspicion of partisanship, or of trade puff. In this work, as indeed in all other matters, the Council are greatly aided by our most attentive and careful secretary, Mr. Trueman Wood, whose connection with this Society, first as assistant secretary to our late and valued friend Mr. Le Neve Foster, and since his death, as secretary, has now subsisted for eight years. On the whole, looking at the innumerable temptations there are to stray, I think the Society is to be congratulated on having kept very fairly within its proper boundaries, and I know I am safe in assuring you that no pains will be spared by your Council, nor will any amount of time and attention be grudged to ensure that good and useful work shall continue to be done.

even regret that an industry, which is an exotic, and not natural to the country, fails us, and reverts to its more proper home. As an extreme example, it is recorded that, long ago, it is true, wine was made from a vineyard on Tower-hill. No one, I presume, seriously laments that efforts have not been made to continue such an industry as this in England. We are well content that it should depart to countries possessing a more genial climate than that in which we live.

We do regret, and complain, but we do not feel ashamed, when an industry, properly within our province, is caused to wither by the mistaken action of the Government of another country, in pampering such an industry within that country by bounties and premiums, against Thus far, I have been reviewing some of the which our manufacturers cannot contend. We are past action of the Society, and, in doing so, I have not ashamed of being beaten under these circumhave had of necessity to bring to my own recollec-stances, but do our best by protest, and, by all means tion the nature of many propositions laid before the Council by ardent persons, but properly rejected as being visionary, or as not within our true functions. And such recollections have tempted me here and there to stray too far from the sedateness that has characterised, and that some of you will think ought always to characterise, the annual address. I fear it will be said that if there be some grains of valuable truth to be found in that which I have laid before you, these grains are very deeply concealed beneath the husk, not to say chaff, with which they are intermingled and overlaid. In considering, however, the future work of the Society which I am now about to do, I find no temptation thus to stray from strict decorum, because I feel that to that future work we ought to devote our best efforts and most grave attention, and because I have to bring before your notice much that is painful and humiliating.

However laudable are those efforts of the Society for the promotion of subjects which have not an immediate, but only a remote bearing on the welfare of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, I, for one, am better pleased when I find we are occupied with subjects which do undoubtedly directly and obviously bear upon that welfare; and I am sorry to say that there is an ample field for such occupation in the present condition of our manufactures.

short of a retaliative duty, to put a stop to so mischievous a procedure. But we lament, and that with a mixture of shame, when we find that, in the absence of any such adverse influence as that arising from bounties in foreign countries, industries which are thoroughly adapted to the climate and the soil, and, worse than this, industries which should, from our natural advantages, be specially our own, are carried on in foreign countries in a manner not only to rival us in these countries themselves, and in the markets abroad, but so as actually to successfully compete with us on our own shores. Surely in iron and in steel manufacture, intimately connected as the success of these manufactures is with the cheapness of fuel, we ought to be able to defy competition in any open market, and yet we know that large quantities of girder iron are habitually imported into this country from Belgium. This importation of iron from Belgium is but one instance; it is, I regret to say, by no means a solitary one. Surely there must be something wrong in our conduct of manufacture, when such a state of things can exist, and I believe the Society of Arts will do well to endeavour to ascertain what this something wrong is, and having ascertained, it will do well to set itself to endeavour to find a remedy for the wrong.

I will not venture to predict what would be the result of investigation into the causes of this Many of you have, no doubt, read the address condition of things, but one can imagine we delivered at the summer meeting of the Mechanical shall find higher rates of wages operating in Engineers by the President, Mr. E. A. Cowper. some cases, but certainly not operating in those In that address, Mr. Cowper gives instances of instances where we are beaten out of our own the way in which foreigners not only compete, markets by American manufacturers, for in that and rival the manufacturers of this country, but country, undoubtedly, wages are higher, as a rule, surpass them and outstrip them, and it is to this than they are with us, and there are three question I desire now to direct our thought. I thousand miles of transport needed to bring the am aware this is not a pleasant subject. I should manufactured article to our doors. We shall find, have been glad indeed, if, on the first night of our it may be, that many of our industries are carried Session, I could have followed many of my pre-on according to the old traditions, traditions of decessors, by talking to you of progress and of practices which were the best known in the days success. Depend upon it, it is more agreeable to when they were first employed, but which, under the occupant of this chair to prophesy pleasant the teaching of science in other countries, have things, than it is to prophesy evil things, but, been abandoned as obsolete, while they are retained nevertheless, there can be no doubt which of these by ourselves. We may find, paradoxical as it aptwo courses is that of duty, and that course, and pears, that the fact of our having been engaged in not the other, is the one that must be followed. any particular manufacture for many years With respect to this question of being beaten by obstructs our readily adopting the most improved our rivals, very varying feelings are excited as we forms of carrying on that manufacture, and obstructs consider the circumstances attendant upon our de-it, for I am again about to quote myself, in a way feat in each particular case; for instance, we do not that I pointed out when speaking on the question

of Patent-laws. Let me state it to you. Imagine tion, it became necessary to pass an Act of Para manufacture demanding a very heavy invest- liament, directing the appointment of public ment of capital in plant, and imagine that invest-analysts. The passing of this Act was a confesment made a quarter of a century ago by the sion that, among those who supply food, which acquisition of plant which was the best then is to support life and to preserve the health known. Then assume that some other country has of those who are in health, and worse even than recently taken to the particular mannfacture, and this, if possible, that among those who supply has done so with the benefit of all the experience the very drugs which the physician prescribes to gained in our country and elsewhere, and with the restore health to those who have lost it, there were ability, therefore, to adopt only that which is to be found numbers who made the food and the known to be good, and to reject that which was drugs alike the subjects of fraud-fraud that did not wrong and has become obsolete. Such a manu- stor short at the mixing with the food or with the facture newly started in a country gives, therefore, drugs materials which were inert, and which did to those who pursue it, the advantage of expending harm by diminishing the nourishing or the curative their capital upon the newest and best plant by power of that which was purchased, but fraud which to carry on the manufacture, and upon that which extended to the mingling, in some instances, plaut alone, while those who have carried it on for of materials which were, in themselves, actively years in our own country cannot put themselves on a unwholesome, materials which, being taken with par to compete with their new rivals, unless the food, converted the food into a source of disease, they are prepared to abandon the whole of and being taken as curative drugs, converted those the capital which has been embarked in plant, drugs into positive poisons. which must become obsolete, if the new processes are to be adopted. This is a serious sacrifice to face; few have the means to effectually face it, and those who have, very naturally feel disposed rather to retire from an industry which, for its successful pursuit, requires to be in effect begun anew, and even to be learnt anew, than to invest their savings in the necessary plant for this Dew manufacture.

It may be there will be found, and I fear there will be found, but I do trust in only a few instances, that we have lost command of foreign markets, and even of our own markets, because in these instances the manufactures have not been honest. There was a time, when travelling on the Continent, one was proud to see English manufactures put forward as those to be thoroughly trusted. A foreigner felt that if he bought an article of English make, though it might not be tasteful, at ell events it would be what it purported to be, sound, honest, and trustworthy. I am afraid we cannot now say so of all that is exported from cur country, or that is offered for sale within it. I do hope we can say so of most of our manufactures, but we certainly cannot say it of all. But it should be remembered as against those who ecmit this grievous wrong of casting a slur on the character of any of our industries that they not only do harm to the particular manufacture with which they are connected, but they do harm to the character of the whole produce of the nation. A man who has been trapped into buying a bad English product of one kind, is not at the pams to ascertain whether the badness is confired to this particular manufacture, and in all probability he has not the means of ascertaining, but he says, "I bought an article which came from America, and I found it good, sound, and trustworthy. I bought a similar article that came from England, and it broke in fair use, and whenit broke, its internal rottenness was discovered. In future, not only with regard to this article, but with regard to others, I shall distrust the English make, and shall prefer the American."

In connection with this most painful subject of unfair dealing, to my mind, there is nothing more anmiliating than the confession of widespread dishonesty which the nation had to make some years since, when, for mere self preserva

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Is it not too much to be feared that, in some industries, at all events, that reprehensible conduct which has rendered necessary the appointment of public analysts to protect the population of this country, has been the guide of certain of the manufacturers, and has thereby caused us to export that which is a fraud upon the foreign buyer, and a discredit and an injury to the country that exports. I had intended to refrain from instances, but I will endeavour, in general terms, to state one which relates to a very large industry. It appears that in a certain manufacture the purchasers preferred to buy goods that were dyed in one stage of the process rather than in another, as the goods thus dyed were supposed to be better, and they naturally, therefore, commanded a higher price. The finished goods bore on themselves indications which enabled any purchaser, at all acquainted with the manufacture, to determine at a glance in which of the two ways the article offered to him had been dyed. Then came the deceit. Means were adopted by which the appearance that would have been presented, but for these means, upon the material dyed in the undesirable way, was concealed, so that the appearance really presented was that which would be shown by the manufacture when dyed in the desirable way. It is true that experts in the trade can, after the deceit has been employed, distinguish the one fabric from the other, but the ordinary buyer living abroad, and not suspecting the fraudulent ingenuity that had been exercised in England, and seeing, as he believes, the well-known appearance indicative of the superior mode of dyeing, is deceived, and pays a higher price than he would have paid had he known the truth. It cannot be urged in explanation that this contrivance was resorted to because the appearance presented by the one fabric when in use was superior to that presented by the other. This was not so, as the part of the fabric that was thus treated was the very edge, and was cut off before the fabric was used.

You must not imagine that this deception was practised by a few, or to a limited extent. So far from this being the case, it became worth while to invent machines to supersede the handicraft preparations by which the deception had been originally practised, and these machines were patented. I need not say that such patents are

voidable, as being against public policy, their
purpose being that of fraud. I am aware I shall
be told these are hard remarks to make upon a
practice which has now prevailed for years, and to
such an extent as to entitle one to say "It is
commonly done. Everybody does it. Why, there-
fore, reproach us with that which is a custom of
the trade?" I answer, Because it is a custom
for the purpose of deceit."
With respect to commerce, I do not know much
about the way in which it is carried on, but I
cannot help seeing the statements which appear
in the public press from time to time, and if these
are well founded, and that they are, cannot, I think,
be doubted, looking at the fact that they are not
contradicted, it would appear that commerce is
pursued, in certain instances, under conditions
which, equally with those of the manufactures I
have been condemning, are a fraud and a disgrace.
I will refer you to an extract from the Times, of
only three weeks ago. It runs as follows:-

of our defeat is due to the way in which we receive and deal with inventors and inventions.

I hardly like to approach this subject at all, because on previous occasions I have, through the kindness of the Society, been allowed to occupy many hours of their time in putting forward my views upon it, and in combatting the views of others, but I am nevertheless tempted to ask you to bear with me while I say a few words upon the question, because I most earnestly and sincerely believe in its importance in relation to manufactures, and because I trust there is to be gathered a hope of a change for the better in public opinion concerning it. From a statement appearing in the Times of the 12th inst., there is good reason to hope that the President of the Board of Trade is himself desirous of an improvement in the laws. The paragraph is as follows:

"MR. CHAMBERLAIN AND THE PATENT LAWS.-A communication on this subject has been addressed by a gentleman in the North of England to the President of "ALLEGED COMMERCIAL FRAUDS.-At the meeting of the Board of Trade, whose secretary, in his reply, the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce yesterday, a letter alluding to a recent speech of Mr. Chamberlain's, says: was read from Messrs. Alexander, Sparrow, and Co., I am desired to call your attention to the fact that of that City, stating that they had recently been asked he (Mr. Chamberlain) was not in a position to promise to declare tin plates, shipped to Havannah at one-fifth the amendment of the law, as the possibility of doing their true weight. The letter added, 'We are now this depends upon the condition of public business, and executing an order for a Birmingham firm, who tell us upon the character and extent of the opposition with that they had similar instructions, and, as they have which the proposals of the Government may be met in refused, their buyer has made arrangements for all the House of Commons. Mr. Chamberlain hopes, howgoods they supply to be delivered to a house here which ever, that time may be found before long for the conis prepared to make the required declaration. We were sideration of the subject, and, as far as his personal told to-day by another metal firm here, that they have opinion goes, it is strongly in favour of removing or been asked to declare tin plates at one-fourth their lessening the obstacles which now interfere with and true weight. Silks are packed in barrels and declared discourage invention in this country." as bottled beer, and tin plates, packed together five in a box, each of 1 cwt., are declared at 1 cwt., instead of 5 cwt., and those shippers and those steamship agents, who refuse to be parties to this sort of thing lose the business.' Messrs. Jevons and Co., write in reference to the proposed conclusion of a commercial treaty with Spain: We are extremely pleased to hear of the intention of the Government, believing that the high scale of duties levied upon English goods in Spanish ports is demoralising to all concerned, leading to false description of goods, false packing, and false declaration of weights. It is no secret that such devices for evading the duty are more frequently the rule than the exception, and the business, as a matter of course, falls into the hands of those houses which lend themselves to such deception.'"

The shipowners and others who refuse to accede to such improper demands are honest men, and the consequence is that they lose the business, which goes to others who are less scrupulous. What certainty is there that, after a time, these very shipowners, who refuse to undertake such business now, may not find that if they continue their refusal they will be ruined, because, unless checked by prosecution or by public opinion, the practice will go on until it reaches the stage when, according to the opinion of trade, it becomes legitimate. Men say, 'It is commonly done. Everybody does it." And when once that phrase can be applied to any wrongful act, no matter what, it salves the consciences of those who practice the wrong, and then all combat on the part of the honest dealer becomes practically impossible.

Referring to the causes of our being distanced by foreign competition, and especially by American, it may be that investigation will show that a part

Before any real good can be attained by altering the Patent-laws, it is necessary that those who are charged with the framing of the alteration should consider the question of patents in a totally different light from that in which, in times past, and nearly up to the present time, that question has been considered. Hitherto the framer of a Patent Bill was expected to prepare it on the supposition that on the one side were the public, and on the other the enemy of the public, the inventor, against whom the public, by the ingenuity of the framer of the Bill were to be protected. I submit the true spirit in which the revision of the Patent-laws should be approached is to understand that, on one and the same side, and not in opposition, are the public and the inventor, and that the object of the new law should be to afford that protection to both which would result in benefit to the public and in a fair reward to the inventor.

The popular impression is (I wish I could say "was ") that directly an invention connected with an industry is published, all engaged in that industry would use the invention, and thus the manufacture, and through it the population at large, would benefit, were it not that this benefit is delayed for fourteen years because of the patent protection given to the inventor. But the truth is, that so far from manufacturers desiring to adopt an improvement, they would desire nothing better than that their manufacture should have reached the point where improvement is impossible, and where they could sit down and say, we are up to the very acme of perfection in all our plant and machinery, and in our knowledge of the business. We have no change to apprehend. We can carry our works on as a set trade, and we

need not fear that our capital embarked in plant public causes our Patent-laws to be suspicious of and machinery will have to be written off, and foreign inventions. I am quite clear that, in the that further capital will need to be expended in interests of our industries, we should do all providing fresh plant of a different character, that we can to attract foreign invention to our the use of which we shall have to learn." country. Depend upon it that, when a foreign This reluctance to adopt inventions is the fact. invention is a good one, we have to elect, whether I do not complain of it; it is human nature. it shall be introduced and worked here, or There is nothing dishonest about it. To combat whether we will quietly sit by and see our this natural disinclination to adopt novel im- industry to which that invention relates beaten out provements, I know of no means, except of the field by the importation from abroad of the giving to some one person, the patentee, superior or cheaper articles made under the invena strong interest. As a matter of fact, it tion we have scouted. commonly requires a patentee to devote several years of his time, and to incur a large expenditure of his money, before he can succeed in getting his invention into commercial use, that is-before (as has been somewhat coarsely but most expressively said), the inventor can succeed in thrusting the invention down the throats of the manufacturers.