The Sun.
London, England, 1851-09-04 00:00:00

V/4m has corns over to thZ/ountry a=
an be op-
portune moment to teach r makers irsery useful
lesson. is known, however Mr. Chubb may
wrestle eeith the statement, that Mr. Hobbs has
/succeeded,
,by perfectly fair means, in opening his
locks as they have hitherto been made. No formal
and deliberate trial has taken place between them
to establish the Let, but it nevertheless remains
undoubted, and the sooner Mr. Chubb improves his
patent, so as to set Mr. Hobbs at defiance, the better
for his own interests. Bramah and Company have
acted with more pluck, and have been beaten in a
fair open field. They have acted with so much bold,
open courage, that even when Mr. Hobby's success
was ascertained by us we were reluctant to state the
facts positively and circumstantially, until the award
of the arbitrators appointed on the subject had been
made. That document we now publish, and the public
we are sure, when they read it, will not think the less
of a firm which has been vanquished in a fair stand-
up fight maintained for so long a period, and against
such extraordinary skill :
" REPORT OF THE ARBITRATORS TO WHOM THE BRAMAN

LOCK CONTROTERSY WAS REFERRED.
"Nyhereae ;or many years past a padlock has bees
exhibited in the window of the Messrs. Bramah's shop
in Piccadilly, to which was appended a label with these
words, • The artist who can make an instrument that
will pick or open this lock will receive 200 guineas the
moment it is produced;' and Mr. Hobbs, of America,
having obtained permission from the Messrs. Bramah
to make a trio! of his skill in opening the
said lock, Messrs. Bramah and Mr. Hobbs severally
agreed that Mr. George Rennie, F.R.S., London, and
Professor Cowper, of King's
College, London, and
Dr. Black, of Kentucky, should be the arbitrators
between the said parties; that the trial should be con-
ducted according to the rules laid down by the arbitra-
tors, and the award of 200 guineas decided by them on
undertaking that they should see fair play between the
parties. On the 23d of July it was agreed that the lock
should be enclosed in a block of wood and se wed to a
door, and the screws sealed, the keyhole and'hipasp only
being accessible to Mr. Hobbs; and when he was not
operating the keyhole to be covered with a band of iron
and sealed by Mr. Hobbs; that no other person should
have access to the keyhole. The key was also sealed
up, and. not to be used till Mr. Hobbs had finished his
operations. If Mr. Hobbs succeeded in picking or open-
ing the lock the key was to be tried, and if it locked and
unlocked the padlock it should be considered a proof
that Mr. Hobbs had not injured the lock, but picked and
opened it, and was entitled to the 200 guineas. On the
same day, July 23, Messrs. Bramah gave notice to Mr.
Hobbs that the lock was ready for his operations. On
July 24 Mr. Hobbs commenced his operations, and on
August 23 Mr. Hobbs exhibited the lock open to Dr.
Black and Professor Cowper. Mr. Rennie being out
of town Dr. Black and Professor Cowper then called
in Mr. Edward Bramah and Mr. Bazalgette, and
showed them the lock open. They then with-
drew, and Mr. Hobbs locked and unlocked the
padlock in the presence of Dr. Black and
Mr. Professor'Hobbs.
Cowper. Between July 24 and August 23
operations were for a time suspended, so that the num-
ber of days occupied by him were 16. , and the number
of h ours spent by him in the room with the lock was 51.
On Friday, August 29, Mr. Hobbs again locked and
unlocked the ps,elock in the presence of Mr. George
Ronnie, Professor Cowper, Dr. Black, Mr. Edward
Bramah, Mr. Bazelgette, and Mr. Abrahart. On Sa-
turday, August 30. the key was tried, and the padlock
was locked and unlocked with the key by Professor
Cowper, Mr. Rennie,
and Mr. Gilbertson, thus proving
that Mr. Hobbs had fairly opened the
lock without in-
juring it. M. r. Hobbs then formally produced the in-
struments with which he had opened the lock.
" We are, therefore, unanimously of opinion that
Messrs. Bramah have given Mr. Hobbs a fair opportunity
of trying his skill, and that Mr. Hobbs has fairly picked
or opened the lock, and we award that Messrs. Bramah
and Co. do now pay to Mr. Hobbs the 200 guineas.
" GEORGE RENNIE, Chairman.
" EDWARD COWPER.
" G. R. BLACK.
" Holland-street, Blackfriars, Sept. 2, 1851."
This document is conclusive on the merits of the
question, and we trust that Messrs. Bramah will pay
down their money without hesitation. It is true that
according to the terms cf the challenge a single
instrument is mentioned, whereas Mr. Hobbs ap-
pears to have used three or four at least; but the
main point, the picking or opening of the lock, has
been accomplished, and the award of arbiters,
mutually chosen, with a decided preponderance in
favour of Messrs. Bramah, cannot be decently de-
parted from. The public, however, while they ad-
mire the expertness with which this mechanical feat
has been performed, will not attach more importance
to it than it deserves, or undervalue the merit of our
best locks, because an American operator, highly ac-
complished in such matters, has succeeded, after an
arduous struggle, in opening them. The facilities
given to him were such as no thi:f could ever pos-
sess, even if he had the necessary ability ; and it is
quite clear that the operation has not been one of or-
dinary picking. This rough lesson will probably
lead Messrs. Bramah and Chubb to devise some means
for rendering their patents more secure, and we have
no doubt they will succeed in that object. Mr. Hobbs,
we understand, is not himself a lockmaker, and the
American invention in which he is interested is open
to the attacks of our mechanics, and may be picked
some of these days in its turn. An attempt will, it is
said, be made to effect this ; and certainly, when it is
remembered that our cousins show several locks all of
which are represented as perfectly secure, it is high
time for our lockmakers either to show that the
American patents are equally unsafe as their own, or
to acknowledge themselves beaten, and endeavour to
make better loel:s for the future.
According to Bennett's thermometer, the mean
temperature in the building yesterday was 69.4.
Morning Paper.