The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1851-07-30

Aessrs. Cass oaa Wr1rop-- Cases before Judge
Woodbury., &c.
| The season has now commenced in full earnest,
and the hotels are beginning to be unoo mfortsbly
crowded. 1t was with difficulty proper apartment
| were secured for the Hon. Daniel Webster at tho
Bellevue. Mrs. Fillmore and daughter have given
| up the notion Of coming here, and General Scott
has no idea "to be made a show Of" rs he calls it,
in a New England watering place. He has gone
| down to his headquarters at Washington, where he
will stay till the country is out Of dsnger-that u.s.
| till the whig convention shall have nominated a
candidate for the Presidency. The general who at
one time, was not only the fret in arms but also in
epistoary literature, has only given up letter
writing but will not even trust himself ia converse
| tion He avoids all mixed company that might
have tendency to draw him OUT or afford scope
| for other letter writers. If the world WAS as
| tonished at his conquests In Mexico, 1t may now
admire his skifu retreat, and perhaps realize the
golden maxim, that discretion is the better part
of valor."
Messrs. Crittenden and Winthrop have had many
agreeable rendezvous and fse a-tetes; but as yet
nothing is decided. Crittenden has not yet made up
his mind, whether he shall come into the Scott ar
rangement; and Winthrop, notwiths landing all that
is said and done, will have hard road to travel
over to become Governor of Massachusetts /
doubt whether he will get the nomination; but if
he is nominated the coalition will continue and the
coalitionists have strong hopes to keep the power
which they have so recently acquired Mr.. Charles
Sumner has been here, and will return here
again in o few days. / doubt whether his mind
fully made up on the subject of free
soilism at all events he scouts the idea of being
an abolitonist If he could be thoroughly Amer.
canized, made to less for tho opinion of Euro
peans than for those of his own countrymen, there
is stuff enough in him to effect regeneration. AT
present he is engaged in the thankess task of prov
ing, from the +" Life Of Chief Justice Story" now
in press, that the Yankee judge an abolitionis
What Of that? If Justice Story were now alive
he would consider the slavery question IS settled
and the compromise as fat accon,pti in the same
would most sole mnly protest against separate States
action in South Carolina. It is remarkable fact
in politics and religion, that the greater the founder
Of sect, the poorer arc his disciples-a truth to
which even Christianity makes no particular excep-
ton.
In this State, small as it is, parties are split up
into number of fragments-the democrats inolin-
tating towards Webster, with . sprinklins Of all
sorts of isms in the bargain Politics enter even
into the administration Of Justice, and it Is rare
Dorrites and anti Dorrites, whigs, democrats and
free sellers, help to defeat the ends of justice We
had two important cases tried before Chief Justice
Woodbury., and the jury gave, in one case verdict
which the Judge will set aside while in the other
the jury could not agree at all The latter, refer
ring to an important patent case will attempt to
describe.
s. c c., ID. r. l., Nagpo't. was action
brought by the plaintiff, as assignee for the in-
fringement of letters patent granted to Frederick
E. Sickles, on the 18th May, 49,, for improvements
is drop cut of valves of steam engines
The object of the invention is to drop the steam
valve at any desired part of the stroke Of the piston
of the engine, to stop the flow of steam from the
boiler, so that the steam may net expansvely in
the cylinder, and thus economist fuel
Two things claimed in the patent. First,
the combination Of the mechanism by which the
steam valves may be liberated ut any part Of the
stroke, in order that it may be suddenly closed by
gravity and second, in the employment Of what
Is termed dash pot, to arrest the valve toward the
end Of its downward motion, to prevent injury from
the sudden contact Of the parts at the instant of
closing the valves. This is done by plunger
necied with the valves, which plunger moves in
vessel Of water other fluids; the vessel being
formed that during the main part Of the descent Of
the valve, the water flows freely round the pungor
to prcsent but little obstruction to the descent Of
the valve, and at, or the end Of the motion,
the flow Of water other fluid is checked, to stop
the valve by easy motion. This invention Is
very extensively used in large engines, especially in
| ships as was proved by officers in the u s. Navy,
and especially by Mr.. Hazlitt, U. s. Engineer.
The defendants set up in their defence that the
invention not and original with Sio&xles,
| the patentee and that the apparatus employed by
| them was no infringement.
| The fret point-wsnt Of orgnality--wss aban-
| doned by the defendants in the closing argument;
| but the other was adhered to. The defendants
urged that they did not infringe, because they
| rotating instead of poppet valves-hsve different
| arrangement OF machinery to effect the liberation
Of the valve, 80 that IL may be closed by the force
| Of a descending weight.
| And. on the other hand, the plaintiff urged that
they did infringe because the patent was not limit
Kind Of valve could be used and that the substtu-
ton Of well known kind Of valve for another did
| not avoid the patent, 80 long ss the valve closed
| suddenly by a weight or spring That the liberia.
| ton of the valve by combination Of mechanical
devices, performing the same functions in substan-
TALLY the same way, by the substitution of mocha
meal equivalents, was an infracton Of the patent.
| The patent was for the combination, not for the
I mechanical devioej and that, without such con-
struction Of the law, no patent would be worth
taking, ~ every mschinst IL competent to substi.
tute for the original combination, Others caecting
the same purpose
And the defendants urged, on the second point
that they did not infringe. for the reason that they
did not water TO check the motion Of the valve
at the end Of its motion, and did not usc vessel Of
But tho plaintiff urged that the form Of the yes
eel and the kind OF fluid used not material, "a
long as IL permitted the valve TO descend rapid y
dung the main part Of its motion, and merely
checked 1t at the end VI its descent, to prevent in
The cause was opcnei, on part Of the plaintiff
| BY Mr. T.. N. Dickinson, Of New Jersey; % the
IsTt Of the defendants, by General Ames, Of Prov
dence, Il. |.
And, after the evidence was closed, the defence
was argued by Mr.. B. X Curtis, q Boston, who
was followed, for the plaintiff, by Mr. g. M kel
Ter, Of New York. The Judge ohas5ee fsvorsbly u
the plaintiff but tho jury found proper to disagree
end Of the jurors being taken with cholera, the
Judge dismissed thon at midnight. Till then, theJ
were locked up in the reading room Of the Ocear
Ilouse not little to the annoy ance OF tho guests
such are the anusements Of . watering place.
| T., or REFRIGERATOR.
CoLunsfA HNt,
LEBANON SFniNos, July y, 1851 :
Jkc GTsai 7hn~ir Storm oro the ISjaHyH Iadcy-
Gianos at Gt Foslcs If FaS'.ios, Belmy, az