The Sun.
London, England, 1852-05-07 00:00:00

t.. 11
,tt .114116
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LONDON, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 1852.

Amendments in various important laws
affecting
the rights of property have been introduced
during
the course of the last few sessions ; but, among these,
none with greater unardrnity than those connected
with the progress of the arts and sciences. As bril-
liant and conclusive evidence of this, it is only ne-
cessary to regard the rapidity with which the Bill re-
lating to Patent Inventions has passed through the
House of Lords, reaching this evening, indeed,
thOtage of its second reading in the House of Commons.
Although the evils which this projected enactment
is intended to dissipate have been of very long con-
tinuance, it has only been within a comparatively
recent period that they have been dragged to light by
the industry of reformers, who have exulted in the
humane task of their exposure. The Great Industrial
Exhibition came, moreover, precisely at the right
rn_,crnent to aid in forwarding the efforts of these re-
fooners to th-rust the matter upon the serious con-
sidvration of the Le,isl consequence of these
enxiibined circumstancesaure. In
the folly of the system
Eitherto practised has been recognised • h
twith more.
remarkable readiness by the
o House of Parlia-
rt.:Ent, than almcq any other .ruinous practice ever
before suhmitt'd to their
judgment. From the out-
*et it was apparent that the labourers in the fields of
science were subjected to more
ter •
rible ordeals, in
the way of impediments and disappointments, than
almost any other class of men in the Whole cOmmu-
rdf:y. Toiling as they were in the loftiest paths of
intellect, striving as they were to attain the marvel-
ous results of chemical anaNysis and mechanical com-

binations, absorbed as they were, in the majority of
instances, in the profounder researches of philosophy
-they were, in consequence of the odious regulation
of the law, involved in such an intricate webwork
of chicanery, that they were more liable than any other
members of the population to be ruined in the very
act of benefiting their fellow-creatures. Occasionally,
it was true, that some extraordinary "exception" illus-
trated, according to the old saying, the existence and
the force of the rule, as in the instance of the shock-
headed barber ARKWRIGHT, who rose to the dignity of a
millionaire. These, however, like the angelic vi-
sitants of the bard of Hope, were " few and far be-
tween"-the vast majority cf men of science, whose
discoveries in chemistry and inventions in mechanics
tended so conspicuously to enhance the comforts and,
not unfrequently, to extend the luxuries of their
fellow-citizens, being in the very endeavour to render
those disc overies and inventions available, entangled
in expenses which brought them ultimately
either to the poor-house or the Court of
Bankruptcy. Men like the greatest of all prac-
tical philosophers, who were subject to fits
of abstraction so remarkable as to mistake the
little finger of a lady for a tobacco-stopper, and to
use it accordingly-were of all persons in the wide
world the least likely to run the gauntlet of the
knaves and sharpers surrounding the Patent-office
with impunity. The enormous expense incurred in
the mere act of obtaining protection from the chances
of piracy drove the student in science into the
clutches of the more crafty among the body
of capitalists. Thereupon they were induced
for some paltry " consideration" to part with a
moiety of their interest in what was sometimes worth
many thousands of pounds sterling, very speedily
mortgaging the residue in the anguish of a bitter and
heart-breaking system of procrastination. Even
the multiplicity of the stages which it was necessary
for the patent to pass through before it was brought
to anything like a state of completion, was enough
of itself to drive the vast proportion of these un-
happy would-be patentees to absolute despera-
tion. During upwards of six months they had
to dance attendance upon officials bearing the
most euphonious designations, such, for example, as
the Deputy Chaff-Wax or the Clerk of Hanaper, all
pocketing fees largely, until sometimes it so hap-
pened that this same dancing attendance resolved
itself into nothing better than the Dance of Death.
The applicant, or his legal representative, had to go
first to the office of the Secretary of State, then to
the chambers of the Attorney or Solicitor-General,
then back again to the Secretary of State, then to
the Patent-office of the Attorney-General, then to
the Signet-office, then to the Privy Seal. office, then
to the Great Seal Patent-office. No wonder,
with all this, the process was one productive
of great exhaustion. Besides the waste of time there
was the waste of money. There were such items as
2/. 2s. 63. for petition and the reference to the Attor-
ney or Solicitor-General, 41.43. for the report,
77.133. 6d. for the QUEEN'S warrant, 71. 13s. 6d. for
the QUEEN'S bill, 15/. 16s. for the bill and stamp,
4/. 7s. 01. for the Signet Bill, 41. 25. 01. for the
Privy Seal Bill, and 48/. 7s. 61. for the patent and
stamp, making altogether 94/. 6s. 03. for protection
in England alone against piracy. Out of
this aggregate amount, the appropriation was-
public, 71/. l ls. 81. ; private, 22/. 14s. 4d.,
the latter being comfortably divided among officials
such as the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General,
the Patent Clerk, the Engrossing Clerk, the Clerk
of Hanaper, the Deputy Clerk, the Sealers,
the Clerk of Patents (the alter ego, one
may suppose, of the one already mentioned as
the Patent Clerk), the Purse Bearer (of course), and
the LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR. That, remember,
was for England alone ! For Scotland 63/. 33. 7d.
additional were requisite, and for Ireland no less
than the enormous amount of 119/. Os. ld.
With Mr. MANTELLINI as a patentee in Ireland
we can conjecture what would be the gusto of his-
" the penny be demmed ! " Such was the atrocious
system which was slightly modified by the Act of
last session, the Act 14 and 15 Victoria, c. 82,
one hurried through the Lords and Commons be-
cause of the interest excited in behalf of the
rights of inventors by the Industrial Exhibition.
Anything, of course, was preferable in this matter to
total indifference ; and it was consequently a source
of satisfaction to welcome even that change for
the better, although it left the Patent Law as regards
both Scotland and Ireland precisely as it was before,
reducing the cost in England by merely 18/. ster-
ling-making the sum total 76/. Gs., instead of as
formerly, 94/. 63. Obviously the improvement
of last year was inadequate. It was, there-
fore, resolved to introduce the Patent Law
Amendment Bill, which has already passed
the House of Lords, being down upon the list of
orders for its second reading in the House of Com-
mons. There is abundant hope therefore that the
men of science may at length reap benefit from
the Amendment of an Amendment.