The Sun.
London, England, 1835-07-28 00:00:00

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ticulars connected with the defalcation of a Mr. Grojan, the
the senior principal Clerk, says,--" The Legislature, unfor-
tunately, does not appear to have contemplated the probability
of unclaimed suitors' monies accruing in a Court dealing with
such small sums, inasmuch as in framing the Act of Parlia-
ment by which that Court is constituted, it has made no pro-
vision for the disposition or security of such unclaimed monies,
neither has it directed who is to have the custody of, or be
responsible for, them.
" No suitors' cash has ever, to my knowledge, been funded,
nor has any dividend or interest been received thereon.
" The Commissioners of the Court, being 242 in nnmber,
are annually appointed; and removable by the vestries of their
respective parishes.
" The two principal Clerks are elected by the Commissioners
for the time being, in succession as their predecessors in office
die or are removed ; and Mr. Christopher Cuff, of Half- Moon-
street, PiccP,dilly, solicitor, was, on the 22d day of April last,
elected to that office, in the room of Mr. Grojan."

STEAM CARRIAGE IMPROVEMENTS
EXTRACTS FROM MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE THE

SELECT COMMITTEE ON MR. GURNEY'S CASE.
The Committee on Mr. Gurney's case have, we believe re-
commended a Government grant to that gentleman as some
ompensation for his scientific discoveries, in the pursuit of
which he abandoned medical professional emoluments arising
from a private practice, and a chemical lectureship, amounting
to 1,300/. or 1,400/. a year. It appears that since thear
1831 more than 150 statutes, establishing prohibitory tolls,
have been passed, all of which legislative Acts were levelled
at his steam carriages.
Mr. Gurney gave up his profession for the sake of prosecut-
ing his inventions ten years since. Within the last four months
he formed an engagement which he thus explains :
In January I was employed by the Trinity House, in conse-
quence of a request of the Chairman of the late Committee
en Lighthouses, to make some experiments on light for the
illumination of lighthouses, in pursuance of some views which I
published in 1823. Those experiments were connected with
the lime light, a light produced from lime by the combustion
of a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen gas. The Lighthouse
Committee have reported that this light is of great import-
ance connected with the shipping interest; and in conse-
Silence of the subject having been proposed by me in 1823,
I was
crequested to follow out the subject and reduce it to
d
The following are some of the questions, with their answers
in Committee :
" Are the Trinity Board and the Committee on Light-
houses, who have inspected these experiments of yours, satis-
fied with their practicability?—They stated as much to me.
" Now what materials is this new light composed of ?
Oxygen and nacent carbon.
" And what was its intensity compared with the oxy-hydro-
gen ?--The oxy-hydrogen light produced under the best pos-
sible circumstances from egg shells in equal to about 290
times that of the Argand burlier. The Bude light 140 ;
but from its great simplicity, quantity and certainty, is consi-
dered to be more valuable for the purpose of illumination of
lighthouses.
"In what proportion ?—One hundred and forty times
greater than the Argand burner.
" You not only gave up your profession, but this im-
portant subject of light, in order to follow up the subject of
Steam carriages ?—Yes.
Will you give a general statement of your expenditure
and your losses in pursuing the subject of steam carriages?
--The direct and indirect losses amount to nearly 500,000/.
" What is the reason, if you conceive the practicability and
usefulness of your steam carriage to be fully proved, that we
hear of so many failures by other people in running these
steam carriages ?—Because they are in a state of experiment
only; and many have neglected to use the actual requisites
for practical perfection.
Could they have used those without invading your pa-
tent?—forldo not think they could. Some of them use sepa-
ration. instance, without circulation ; others use circula-
tion without separation ; others use large boilers, too heavy
hoavperbopeeenl themselves with any advantage. And the trials
made, not with a view of practically applying steam
engines to general use for roads, but rather for the purpose
of trying new experiments, for
thinkswhih the inventors hope to
take out their own patent ? I so.
" Therefore their failure does not at all show that your in-
vention would not have succeeded ?—Decidedly not.
" The same difficulties which have prevented your applica-
tion from becoming lucrative on practical application, would
have prevented the success of your experiments had they got
over the mechanical difficulty, eventually as completely as you
did?—No doubt of it. At the time I stopped I had no expe-
riment to make, except what would turn up and require im-
provement in long practice.
" All the roads were not included in those turnpike Acts ?
--No.

What was it then, when you were driven off those roads,
that has all this time prevented the application of your in-
ventio to the roads on which the tolls were not raised ?-...
possibility of
First, the want of sufficient means myself: secondly, the im-
vvere getting any new contracts taken while the tolls
levying, and because on the roads which were known to
be contracted for, prohibitory tolls were immediately put on ;
an
tolls thirdly, because after waiting to ascertain whether the
would be taken off or still levied (we waited the result
of the Bill which was brought into the House of Commons
for that purpose, and which Bill was thrown out in the Lords),
no one would now become engaged in the subject, and no one
would dare to go on any road as a new contractor, from the
refusal, as it was believed, on the part of the Legislature to
repeal those Acts, and in the belief that as soon as they ran on
the road they would be stopped, and thus the subject has con-
tinued ; the old contractors, as will appear from this evidence,
were all bound up by tolls on their roads.
" How long did Sir Charles Dance run his carriage success-
fully 2—Four months ; upwards of 60 miles a day.
" He has run upwards of 60 miles a day for four months,
between Cheltenham and Gloucester ?—Yes.
" Without any accident ?—Yes.
" That was your carriage ?—.Yes. All the evidence exa-
mined in 1831, and in the last session, speak as to the fact;
and Mr. Stone gives an account of the journies, the time, mi-
nutes, and all circumstances connected with it.
If you had the means, would you establich a steam carriage
in the public service ? Yes, directly.
Can you refer to any evidence given before the Commit-
tee in the last session as to the indisputable fact of your being
the first person who brought steam carriages to run on common
roads
point. to a practical bearing ?—All the witnesses agree on this
" Do you think that the failure of the imperfect carriages
has operated so much to prejudice the public mind against
steam carriages, that it would require some time and a great
deal of money to overcome those prejudices ?—lt would require
a great deal of time and a great deal of money.
" In consequence of losses you have sustained from the im-
position of those prohibitory tolls, and the suspension of your
carriage, have you the means now within your reach of prose-
cuting the subject ?—No, not to meet the difficulties ; not to
prosecute it, certainly.
" What sum of money do you think would enable you to
prosecute the subject, provided you had an extension of your
Patent for five or seven years beyond the natural term of it,
3,and provided the prohibitory tolls were removed ? I think
000/, would afford me the means of building a carriage, and
means of running it for a short time, so as to establish it
against local opposition again publicly in the good opinion of
capitalists, and possibly then I might be able to go on.
" At present, according to the particular laws that now
The,exis there is some limitation as to the number of partners ?
au
cannot exceed five ; steam inland transport is too great
subject to be introduced by one, two, three, four or five ; it
must be introduced by large capitalists, not only to meet the
Mechanical expense of building, but the opposition that will
and must arise from interested persons.
" Do you conceive that the persons who are now running
steam carriages have obtained any of that knowledge from the
workmen you were obliged to dismiss so suddenly ?—No
doubt of it.
" And which dismissal of your workmen arose from the
imposition of the prohibitory tolls by the Legislature ?—lt
became a matter of necessity on the suspension of the manu-
factory.
" These prohibitory tolls were imposed chiefly in 1831 ?
They were all imposed at the time the carriages were running
at Gloucester.
" Did not that Committee recommend the immediate re-
Moval of those prohibitory tolls, and was not a Bill passed by
the House of Commons to effect that object ?—The Com-
mittee recommended it ; a Bill was brought in and passed the
house of Commons in consequence, but it was thrown out in
Lords.
" How many prohibitory Acts were passed against you upon
Your carriage in 1831 ?---I do not now recollect the number
full ; there were a great many.
" All directed against the running of your carriage ?—All
111 Is e h
containing the prohibitory clauses.
Were prohibitory tolls imposed on all the great lines for
you had entered into contracts with other people
; some
•mr- more, some less. On the great north contract,
Ward states, on an average they were Is. a mile,
Para. 668.
" Does the evidence of last year generally concur in the
Practicability of your steam carriage ?—The whole of the
evidence goes to prove it ; no one differs in opinion upon
the subject.
Does Dr. Lardner, Mr. M`Neil, Mr. Gordon, Mr. Far-
“tuaY, and other scientific men, all concur in that opinion ?
-All of them, and also all the engineers practically engaged.
have stated that the practicability is fully proved,
but...a that the circumstances at the present time are less
ere
to you than they were at the time when you
from re compelled to suspend your experiments ?---Yes, arising
the circumstances I have stated.
" And all those impediments have arisen in consequence of
legislative interference?—Decidedly.
The evidence of last session concurs in that opinion ?
." all goes unquestionably to establish it.
" What are the rates of toll imposed upon steam carriages
g
.menerally ?---In most cases about ten times as much as are
posed upon horse coaches. It is very difficult to make out
the toll at all, and scarcely possible to draw a comparison with
horse coaches, but as far as I have been able, they vary from
Isix to ten times as much. Some amount to 2/. lot. ; a great
rlnrnber to 165., Bs., 65., Es. ; horses pay ls., 6d., Bd. These
Acts have been passed principally upon the roads contracted
'°r, or proposed to be.
tc
For running your carriages ?—Yes."

MORE RIOTS IN AIRDRIE.—These riots were
renewed on Monday, when the military were obliged to be
ll%called in. Nothing less than the extermination of every Ca-
:eregTs to be contemplated by the Protestant rabble.—
Chronicle.