COURT OF COMMON PLEAS,

MAY 28th, 1827.

NEWTON v. COWIE AND HEBERT.

MR. SERJ. WILDE having on the 5th of May obtained a rule on behalf of the Defendant, to shew cause why the verdict found for the Plaintiff on the trial of this cause, should not be set aside, and instead thereof, a non-suit entered; MR. SERJ. SPANKIE for the Plaintiff shewed cause against the rule on the 21st, and 22nd instant, and MR. SERJ. WILDE replied for the Defendant.

They were four

The Court had taken time to consider of the case, until this day, when the LORD CHIEF JUSTICE BEST delivered the judgment of the Court. After going through the facts of the case, and stating the verdict that had been found for the Plaintiff, his Lordship stated the points which had been urged by SERJ. WILDE for the Defendants, and combated by SERJ. SPANKIE for the Plaintiff. in number, and turned entirely upon the construction of the acts 8th Geo. 2nd, cap. 13; 7th Geo. 3rd, cap. 38; and 17th Geo. 3rd, cap. 57; the Court were of opinion, that all the three acts must be taken as one subsisting law, and therefore that every condition required by the first act, must be complied with, to entitle a party to the benefit either of that act or of the subsequent ones, consequently as to those counts of the declaration, where the date of publication was not engraved upon the plate, the Plaintiff was not entitled to the protection of the acts. This disposed of one objection. With respect to the name of the proprietor being engraved upon the plate, an objection had been taken by the Defendants, that although the name of the Plaintiff appeared on all the plates, it was not as proprietor, but thus, "W. Newton, delin." His Lordship made some able and luminous remarks upon this objection, which our limits will not allow

us to repeat; but the result was, that it appeared the way in which the Plaintiff's name was engraved was very common, and that few or no plates could be found with the proprietors name upon them as proprietor, and it would be to disturb a very large property vested in the copy right of engraved plates, if the Court were to decide that the way in which the Plaintiff's name appeared upon the plates, was not sufficient. On this point, therefore, the Court were of opinion that the Plaintiff was entitled to retain his verdict. An objection had been raised as to the first count, which related to the plate of Murray's loco-motive steam engine, that the Plaintiff had given no evidence to entitle him to the benefit of the acts, or to shew how he became possessed of the copy right, having merely proved that he delivered a drawing of the engine to his clerk, who reduced it, and then the Plaintiff had it engraved from such reduction. His Lordship made many judicious remarks upon this point also, which for the reason before mentioned we are prevented from giving to our readers, but he concluded by stating that the court entertained no doubt of the Plaintiff being entitled to the benefit of the acts as to that count. The only remaining objection was, that as to those subjects which the Plaintiff had taken from specifications enrolled in the patent office, the Plaintiff was not entitled to any copy right. This point also his Lordship argued at considerable length, and stated that the Court would be repealing the statutes if they were not to decide that the Plaintiff had a copy right in those subjects, it would not prevent others going to the Patent Office, and there obtaining copies of the specifications, but only restrain them from making use of the labours of another.

'

The Plaintiff having two counts of his declaration framed upon plates which had his name and the date of publication engraved upon them, was entitled to retain his verdict, and the rule obtained by the Defendant must be discharged.

Which was accordingly done, with Costs.

THE

London

JOURNAL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES.

No. LXXVII.

Recent Patents.

To ERSKINE HAZARD, a Citizen of the United States of North America, but now residing in Norfolk Street, Strand, in the City of Westminster, and County of Middlesex, Engineer; in consequence of a communication made to him by a certain foreigner residing abroad, and additions made by himself, for an Invention of a Method or Methods of preparing Explosive Mixtures, and employing them as a moving power for Machinery.

[Sealed 12th August, 1826.]

THIS invention is a machine designed for mechanically preparing mixtures of inflammable vapours with atmospheric air, and also for exploding those inflammable vapours, for the purpose of producing a vacuum, by means of which, a power may be derived applicable to mechanical purposes.

The preparing part of the machine, consists of a metallic or other vessel, or tubes, so constructed that a stream or current of atmospheric air may pass, together with the inflammable vapour through a considerable space, interrupted by short turns or other impediments; the object of which is to mix and blend the air and the vapour thoroughly with each other, by which union they are rendered highly explosive.

This contrivance admits of an endless variety of mo difications, that one represented in Plate I, at fig. 1, is proposed as a simple and convenient apparatus, adapted for the purpose. It consists of an oblong box of tin or other metallic plates, divided horizontally into four compartments, by the partitions a, a, a, which extend alternately from one end of the box to within a short distance of the other end, so that air entering the lower compartment at b, would be compelled by the partitions to travel the whole length of the box through each compartment, in its ascent to the top. These compartments are divided by the vertical partitions c, c, running the whole length of the box, into half-inch spaces, which produces the two-fold advantage of increasing the friction of the particles of vapour and air with each other, and also of preventing violence in the event of an explosion, should such an accident take place within the box. There is a tube d, for the admission of air and the other materials into the lower compartment at b, and another tube e, for the outlet of the explosive mixture from the upper compartment, each covered with a wire gauze to prevent explosion which completes the preparing vessel.

The exploding part of the machine also admits of a great variety of construction, of which figs. 2 and 3, may serve as an example; fig. 2, is a front view of the apparatus; fig. 3, a section taken transversely; A, is a cylinder

of brass, copper, or other material, fitted with a plunger or piston B, connected with a crank shaft ¤, as in a steamengine. The lower end of the cylinder has a valve D, of at least half its diameter opening outwards. This valve D, may be made very simply by a rim of leather, or other flexible substance of the same diameter, as the opening into the cylinder. This rim of leather is to be tied round the lower end of the cylinder, so as to form a continuation of it. The bottom part of the leather is to be flattened so as to bring its sides together, for four or five inches of its length, and to be kept in that position by slight springs, attached to the edges of the flat part, something like a bow and bow-string. This valve is supported or prevented from being pushed into the cylinder by a plate of metal, of sufficient thickness to bear the pressure of the atmosphere, arched or curved outward, and perforated with as many holes of one eighth or one quarter of an inch diameter, as can conveniently be made in it. The end of the cylinder forms the abutment to the arched plate.

A valve E, opening outwards, is fixed in the side of the cylinder at the bottom, for the purpose of admitting air to the interior. The inflammable vapour is passed from the preparing box F, (shewn detached at fig. 1,) through a pipe e, e, which extends entirely round the cylinder, at the depth of about one-sixth of the stroke of the piston from the top. The cylinder is perforated with small holes, in that part embraced by the pipe e, for the passage of the inflammable vapour to the interior. The neck of this pipe e, should be as short as possible, to prevent the vapour condensing before it reaches the cylinder, and should be furnished with a valve f, next the preparing vessel to cut off the communication between it and the cylinder, while the explosion takes place. A small valve g, next the cylinder opening outwards permits the inflam