The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-15 00:00:00

•
vacuum under the wire, by means of a fan ; and a
uniform rarefaction is obtained by this arrange-
ment.

" Notwithstanding the great benefits derived by
the perfection of the Didot and -Fourdinier paper,
machinN,.and the immense quantities of paper pro-
duced by them, it was not till 1821 that the advan-
tages Of this invention were fully developed. This
was effected by Mr. T. B. Crompton, who took out
a patent on the Ist of November, 1820, for ‘dryin,,,,,
and finishing paper by means of a cloth .or cloths
against heated cylinders, and the application of a
pair of shears to cut the paper off into suitable
lengths, as it comes from the machine or rollers.'
The old, tedious, and expensive process of drying
in lofts was no longer necessary. The paper was
much better finished and cut than had been found
possib'e until this improvement. Through the im-
perfection of the patent laws of that period a num-
ber of persons eventually succeeded in setting aside
Mr. Crompton's patent.
" In 1828 Mr. T. B. Crompton, in conjunction
with :'4r. Enoch Ta-vor, obtained patent for cut-
ting paper longitudinally by means-of revolving
circular blades.' ;

"Iu 1826 Mi.. Firmin I)idot introduced into his
mill at Mesnil Mr. Crompton's drying process.
This was the first time that it was put into opera-
tion in France. . . . . The paper used in
England for newspapers is required to be von'
strong and firm ; to obtain these qualities it is sized
with gelatine. To Mr. T. B. Crompton is due this
mode of continuous sizing with rollers. The amount
of excise duty on paper made by him has been no
less than £15,000 per annum, taking an average of
10 years, and now exceeds £20,000, giving the
enormous weight per annum of 1,400 tons."—Re-
port, p. 938.

We may here add what the jurors have omitted

to mention, that Mr. Crompton wag amongst the

first to turn the waste of cotton-mills to account in

he manufacture of paper, and was certainly one of
he foremost who applied fibrous material in its

raw condition to that purpose. He was always

searching for new materials, and conceived several
mechanical appliances for utilising fibres hitherto
considered unsuitable for being made into paper.

Mr. Crompton was one of those influential manu-
facturers who induced Government to abandon the
classification of paper for excise duty. Indeed, he
lost no opportunity of impressing upon public men
the impolicy of the paper duty altogether, whether
differential or uniform—not as a political question,
or "as a tax upon knowledge," but as opening a
door to fraud, and an injury to the honest trader.
Great loss and inconvenience had been felt by the
conductors of newspapers published in the north

of England from the obligation to send all their
paper to Somerset-house, London, to be impressed
with the penny stamp then required by law. Upon
the urgent representations of Mr. Crompton, who
largely supplied the provincial journals with paper,
the Government was induced to establish an office

in Manchester for the impression of the obnoxious
stamp, without transmission to London, to the great

relief of the press in all that part of the country.
Some years since Mr. Crompton became pro-
prietor of the Morning Post, which shared in
the benefits of his great experience, and became
under his protection, the flourishing property that, it
now is.

But the extensive transactions of Mr. Crompton
were not confined to paper-making ; he was also a
large manufacturer of cotton. About 25 years ago
he erected at Frestolee, about two miles from Farn-

worth, a very extensive cotton-mill, giving employ-
ment to upwards of 800 hands. This mill is well.
known in the neighbourhood for the completeness of
its machinery and arrangements, and the enter-
prising scale on which it has always been eos-

ducted. It forms a conspicuous object of interest
on the Yorkshire line of railway between Manches-

ter and Bolton. Besides the manufacture of cotton
and paper, Mr. Crompton was connected with many
other markets for capital, and was known through-
out the commercial world for the untiring perse-
verance and enviable skill by which lie won the
position which he occupied at the time of his de-
cease, with so much credit to himself and usefulness
to his fellow-creatures.

It remains to trace the personal qualities of the
man who engaged in all this work and discharged
these arduous responsibilities. It will readily be .
understood that only a man with a strong decision
of character, persistency of purpose, self-reliance,
and ability to command could successfully hold the
reins where the transactions were so extensive and
the interests so complicated. The mental and
moral qualities of Mr. Crompton were essentially
masculine, strong in their development, and vigo-
rous in their exercise. Hence he would reprove,
with an unflinching sternness where he had good
reason to complain. But the capability of exercis-
ing the severer virtues when occasionally required
did not hinder the more general prevalence •of
kindly and generous feelings. He despised in-
dolence, and pitied incapacity ; but he respected
industry and persevering effort wherever he found
them, and was ever ready to help forward with
capital and advice those in whom he discovered
these admirable qualities. Many now wealthy con-
cerns can bear testimony to his past kindness to
them in this way. Mr. Crompton was ever ready
to help those who strove to help themselves, while
towards those who were unable to strive--especially
the widow and the orphan—his charity was bounti-
ful and openhanded. It was hardly possible that
a man conducting such vast and varied concerns
should altogether escape being misunderstood by
those who were not capable, either from their own
deficiency or insufficient knowledge of him, to
appreciate his commanding powers and thorough-
ness of character ; but no man was ever more above
the reach of malevolence or accidental misrepre-
sentation. What merely occasioned annoyance he
was too much occupied not to forget ; what really
pained him he had greatness to forgive. He was
not insensible to the responsibilities of wealth,,eslit
the claims of his workmen upon his liberality.
Having created by his mills the populations of Fars,
worth and Prestolee, he did not leave them without
the means of moral and religious impression. !re
his munificence Farnworth and Prestolee owe the
erection of their churches, their schools, anethe
benefits of additional pastoral superintendence. He
took great interest in the cleanliness and sanitary
condition of his workpeople, who in return regarded
him with a respectful and grateful loyalty. He had
a high opinion of the advantages to society of pro-
viding a sufficiency of employment for the working
classes. Plentiful work and full wages entered
largely into his theory of social improvement. If
he worked hard to the close of his life, long after he
had amassed princely wealth, it was not from the
vulgar vanity of being known as a millionaire, but
because he felt of how large a circle he was the
centre, how many interests must be broken up,
and how many thousands of hands be, temporarily
at least, deprived of employment by his retirement
from the arduous toils of business to the calm
delights of a country life. Yet he was not indif-
ferent to rural pleasures. He was an ardent
sportsman ' • he held extensive moors in the High-
lands, and was one of the best shots of the day.
His hospitality was bountiful, without ostentation,
and he never was seen to more advantage than when
living at home in the very heart of his extensive
concerns, receiving his friends, and presiding
over the plentiful- board that gave them welcome
to his hearth. In politics he was a Conservative,
but he had a thorough respect for honest convic-
tions, and 'lumbered many warm friends amongst
those opposed to him in political sentiments. As
Churchman, he was a staunch upholder of -the
principles of the Reformation, and took great in-
terest, as we have said, in providing for the reli-
gious wants of his people.' Hence, those in hilt
employ were sincerely attached to him, and
served him with fidelity. ; and, in return, their ser-
vices have been bountifuly acknowledged by lega-
cies. Thus lived, and on the Bth inst., after half a
century of work, died, one of the most industrious,
influential, and useful of our merchant princes,
whose name will long be pleasurably associated
with the many vast concerns of which he was :
the head. Few men have worked as hard and
achieved as much ; and few can, in our humble
judgment, give a more faithful account of the dis-
charge, often under very trying circumstances,_ of
an unusually extensive and arduous s eWllrdshi p,
He leaves a widow, but no children. The male
branch of the family is now extinct, and the founder
of Farnworth, the creator of Prestolee, the reno-
vator of Worthington, and the informing soul of
many a great commercial undertaking, whiche inof
its operation conduced to the material W
the country, rests from his busy labours, in peaett,
as we trust, with God and all mankind, and:wea,
followed to the grave on Monday last amiditg the
silent tears and outspoken grief of the thousatids of
hands amongst whom he had gone in and out as a
father and a friend.