Alexandria gazette, commercial and political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1812-1817, 1813-01-19
MEMORIAL
o. the .sljfet Of the Letters fase'''
prnn,eaf TO Oirve, Evans.
TpusL1sHED DY REQUEST.

GRANTED 10 OtfUcf Ev1"s' >..s-
TpusL1sHED pY REQUEST. :.
tn the Senate and House at -RefresenT
ferfves ofthe United States Of .d'neT'ea
YOUR memorialists hunbly beg
leave to represent, that your honoraoi'
bod,, on the 2ls; 0! January, 1908, pass,
ed an act authorising the Secretary o.
State, J. on app cation in writing by y
liver Evans, to cause Letters Patsnt 10
be made out in the manner ana 10TH
prescribed BY the act entitled, an ae'
to promote the progress OF useful a'.s'
and to repeal the act heretofore mace
for tina. purposes" thereby granting to
said Oliver Evans, his heirs, executors
administrators and assigns, tor a term
not exceeding fourteen years, the fuil g
exclusive right and liberty OF making
constructing, using, and vending to DC
used, bi. invention, discovery and I'M
proyements in the art of manufacturing
l,ur and meal, and in the several MIA
chimes which he has discovered, invent
ed, improved and applied to that pu,'
pose" That Letters Patent did accord
ingly issue, which are nov in tull ope
ration and that, by means of them the
Patentee is exercising a most grievous
oppression over the citizens OF the Unit
ed States mere especially over those
who are Immediately engaged In The ma
nufacture of -four.
Your memorialists, in any ordinary
case, would be the last to demonstrate a,
rainst benefits which the Legislature OF
their country might think proper 20 con-
fer upon any individual but believing
as they do, that your honorable body,
when you consented to pass the act OF
January, 1908. in favor Of Mr.. Evans,
were deceived by artful representations
of merit and knowing also that Mr. &
vans has used his Patent for purposes IN
which it could never have been intend
ed TO give him aid, your memoriallsts
feel confidently assured, that Congress
will not hesitate to Reconsider the
grounds of their former grant, and to 40
impartial Justice between Mr.. Evans q
the rest of his fellow-citlzens
Your memorialists have understood,
and they have no doubt of the fact, that
when Congress undertook to renew MIR.
Evans's monopoly, they were lndustii-
ously mace to believe that he was the In
yentor of The machines, for which he So
licited and obtained his Patent In this
your honorable body we're most grossly
deceived. Many Of your memoriallsts
have Just witnessed the progress OF Sc
veral trials that took place at the last
term If the circuit court at Baltimore,
in actions instituted by Mr.. Evans tor in.
Engagements on his Patent Rights; al
though the result of those trials was
such as must give alarm to every man
Who mas dared to think OF opposing this
exoroIraHt moaopolist, yet did they
prove most incontestibly, BY the invest,
lgstions to which they led, that Mr.. l.
van. was not the original inventor OF any
one of his patented machines. Your me-
| morialists intreat the patience Of your
honorable body, while they briefly detail
| the testimony peIa,iog to this question:
such as it appeared before the'clrcuit
court, and snch as it can again be exhi
bited whenever your honorable body
may think proper to require 1t. The
machines which form the subject Of Mr.
Evans's Patent, are the &" Conveyor,
he " Elevator" " the Hopperboy,' and
the "Drill." For greater perspicuity
we will state the testimony as applied
to each machine in successive order
lst The Conveyor. 1t was proved
thu, Jonathan Eliicotl, of Baltimore
corpty, was the first inventor OF this m:-
chine He bid i, erected in his mill
seine time before the year 1886, and ap-
| piicd i, 10 all its present uses He shew.
Cd it t" Oliver Evans who vas highly
| pleased with itx operation He SAID, II
was ali that was necessary to complete
lis machinery; tina, he had long desired
! 20 have such a machine but could no,
devise one aud finally. in considera'
| tlon that Jonathan Ellicott would per-
nit him to attach it to his Elevator and
Hopper boy, Oliver Evans gave him q
perpetual license 20 use these last.
| I'd. The Elevator. This machine has
been invented nearly a century and a
half. There are books, hundred wears
old, that exhibit it (applied to hydraulic
purposes.} The same in principle
form, dimensions and materials, with tiie
Elevator now claimed by Oliver Evans
as his original invention.
| Sd. The Hopperboy. A machine Mp
on the same principle with Oliver f.
vans's alledged Hopperboy, worked by
the same power, acting in the same
manner upon the meal, and producing
the same effect, although not as benefi-
| cially, was invented by Edward Marshall,
| Of Delaware, and set to work in his mill
before the time of Oliver Evans's sup
posed discovery. Mr.. Evans lived in
the Roighborhood of this invention.
4,h. The Drill. The invention of this
,p.c hioe JiA MT not rorne in c,e stion