AN ENGINE TO BOW SHIPS AHEAD WITH OARS AGAINST WIND AND TIDE, OR STEMMING A CURRENT, CARRYING SHIPS WAR IN OR OUT OF HARBOURS OR LINE OF BATTLE, VSEFULL FOR FIRE SHIPS OR BOMB VESSELLS, ALSO TO GET VP WITH OR LEAVE ANY SHIP AT SEA WHEN WIND IS WANTING, CONVENIENT IN MANY CASES, ESPE- CIALL WHEN SHIPS HAVE LOST ALL THEIR MASTS AND JURY MASTS, FOR PACKETT AND CRUISERS, AND OF SERVICE IN SUPPRESSING PIRATES AND SKUGLERS
Year: 1725

page_text: GEORGE, by the grace of God, &c., to all to whom these presents shall
come, greeting.
WHEREAS our trusty and welbeloved THOMAS SMITH, Esquire, hath, by his
petition, humbly repřented vnto vs that he, at the expence of much time
and charge, hath, for the improvement of navigation, invented " AN ENGINE
TO BOW SHIPS AHEAD WITH OARS AGAINST WIND AND TIDE, OR STEMMING A
CURRENT, CARRYING SHIPS WAR IN OR OUT OF HARBOURS OR LINE OF BATTLE,
VSEFULL FOR FIRE SHIPS OR BOMB VESSELLS, ALSO TO GET VP WITH OR LEAVE
ANY SHIP AT SEA WHEN WIND IS WANTING, CONVENIENT IN MANY CASES, ESPE-
CIALL WHEN SHIPS HAVE LOST ALL THEIR MASTS AND JURY MASTS, FOR PACKETT
AND CRUISERS, AND OF SERVICE IN SUPPRESSING PIRATES AND SKUGLERS," which
will be of great advantage to our kingdom and merchants in general, but
more particularly to those that vse Lisbon, Streights Gibralter, the Vere of
Mesina, the East and West India trades, praying vs to grant him our royal
Letters Patent for the same, in our kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
and our plantations in America, wee, being willing to give encouragement to
all arts and inventions that may be for the publick vse and benefit, are
graciously pleased to gratify him in his request.
⚫ KNOW YEE THEREFORE, that wee, of our especial grace, certain know-
ledge, and meer močon, have given and granted, and by these presents for

page_text: vs, our heires and successors, do give and grant vnto the said Thomas Smith,
his executors, administrators, and assignes, our especial lycence, full power,
sole priviledge and authority, that he, the said Thomas Smith, his executors,
administrators, and assignes, and every of them, by himselfe or themselves, or
by his or their deputy and deputies, servante or agent, or such others as he,
the said Thomas Smith, his executors, administrators, or assignes, shall at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the
term of yeares herein expressed, shall and lawfully may make, vse, exercise.
and vend his said new-invented engine, as above described, within that part
of our kingdom of Great Britain called England, our dominion of Wales, and
town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed, and in our plantations in America, in such manner
as to him, the said Thomas Smith, his executors, administrators, and assignes, or
any of them, shall in their discretions seem meet; and that he, the said Thomas
Smith, his executors, administrators, and assignes, shall and lawfully may have
and enioy the whole profit, benefit, comodity, and advantage from time to time
coming, growing, acrewing, and ariseing by reason of the said Invention, for
and during the term of years herein mentioned, to have, hold, exercise, and
enioy the said lycence, powers, priviledges and advantages herein-before
granted vnto the said Thomas Smith, his executors, administrators, and
assignes, for and during and vnto the full end and term of fourteen yeares
from the day of the date of these presents next and immediately ensuing and
fully to be compleat and ended according to the statute in such case made and
provided. And to the end that the said Thomas Smith, his executors, admi-
nistrators, and assignes, and every of them, may have and enjoy the full
benefit and the sole vse and exercise of the said Invention, according to
our gracious intention herein-before declared, wee do by these presents for vs,
our heires and successors, require and strictly comand all and every person and
persons, bodies politick and corporate, and all other our subiecte whatsoever,
of what estate, quality or degree, name or condition soever they be, within
that part of our kingdom of Great Britain called England, our said dominion
of Wales, and Town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed, and our plantations in America,
that neither they, or any of them, during the continuance of the said term
hereby granted, either directly or indirectly do make, vse, or put in practice
the said Invention so attained vnto by the said Thomas Smith, as aforesaid,
nor in any wise counterfeit, imitate, or resemble the same, nor shall make, or
cause to be made, any addition thereunto or substraction from the same,
whereby to pretend himselfe or themselves the inventor or inventors, devisor
or devisors thereof, without the lycence, consent or agreement of the said
Thomas Smith, his executors, administrators, and assignes, in writing vnder

page_text: his or their hande and seales first had and obtained in that behalf, vpon such
pains and penalties as can or may be justly inflicted on such offenders for their
contempt of this our royal comand, and further to be answerable to the said
Thomas Smith, his executor, administrators, and assignes, according to law,
for his or their damages thereby occasioned; and, moreover, wee do by these
presente, for vs, our heires and successors, will and comand all and singular
the justices of the peace, mayors, sheriffs, bayliffs, constables, headboroughs,
and all other officers and ministers whatsoever, of vs, our heires and suc-
cessors, for the time being, that they, or any of them, do not nor shall, at any
time hereafter during the said term hereby granted, in any wise molest,
trouble, or hinder the said Thomas Smith, his executors, administrators, or
assignes, or any of them, their or any of their deputies, servante, or agente,
in or about the due and lawfull vse or exercise of the aforesaid Invention,
or anything relating thereto: Provided always, and these our Letters Patents
are and shall be vpon this condition, that if at any time during the said term
hereby granted it shall be made appear to vs, our heires or successors, or any
six or more of our of their Privy Council, that this our grant is contrary to
law or preiudicial or inconvenient to our subiects in generall, or that the said
Invention is not a new invention as to the publick vse and exercise thereof
within that said part of our kingdom of Great Britain called England, our
dominion of Wales, and town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed, or our plantacons in
America, or not invented or found or found out by the said Thomas Smith,
as aforesaid, then, vpon significačon and declaration thereof, to be made by vs,
our heires or successors, vnder our or their signet or privy seal, or by the
lorde and others of our or their Privy Council, or any six or more of them,
vnder their their hande, these our Letters Patents shall forthwith cease,
determine, and be vtterly void to all intents and purposes, anything herein-
before contained to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding: Provided also,
that these our Letters Patents, or anything herein contained, shall not extend,
or be construed to extend, to give priviledge vnto the said Thomas Smith, his
executors, administrators, and assignes, or any of them, to vse or imitate any
invention or work whatsoever which hath heretofore been found out er
invented by any other of our subiecte whatsoever, and publickly veed: or
exercised within that said part of our kingdom of Great Britain called
England, our said dominion of Wales, and town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed,
or our plantations in America, vnto whom like Letters Patent or privi-
ledges have been already granted for the sole vse, exercise, and benefit
thereof, it being our will and pleasure that the said. Thomas Smith, his
executors, administrators, and assignes, and all and every other person and

page_text: persons to whom like Letters Patent or priviledges have been already
granted as aforesaid, shall distinctly vsc and practice their several inventions
by them invented and found out, according to the true intent and meaning of
the same respective Letters Patent and of these presents: Provided like
wise, neverthelesse, and these our Letters Patents are vpon this express
condition, that if the said Thomas Smith, his executors or administrators,
or any person or persons which may at any time or times hereafter during
the continuance of this grant have or claime any right, title, or interest in law
or equity of, in, or to the power, priviledge, and authority of the sole vse
and benefit of the said Invention hereby granted, shall make any transferr or
assignement, or any pretended transferr or assignment of the said liberty and
priviledge, or any share or shares of the benefit or profit thereof, or shall
declare any trust thereof to or for any number of persons exceeding the
number of five, or shall open or cause to be opened any booke or books for
publick subscriptions, to be made by any number of persons exceeding the
number of five, in order to the raising any sume or summes of money vnder
pretence of carrying on the said liberty or priviledge hereby granted, or
shall by him or themselves, or his or their agent or servante, receive any
sume or sumes of money whatsoever of any number of persons exceeding in
the whole the number of five, for such or the like intents or purposes, or
shall presume to act as a corporate body, or shall divide the benefit of these
our Letters Patent, or the liberty and priviledges hereby by vs granted,
into any number of shares exceeding the number of five, or shall commit or
do, or procure to be committed or done, any act, matter, or thing whatsoever,
during such time as such person or persons shall have any right or title
either in law or equity in or to the said premisses, which would be
contrary to the true intent and meaning of a certain Act of Parliament
made in the sixth year of our reign, intituled (an act for the better securing
certain powers and priviledges intended to be granted by His Maiesty
by two charters, for assurance of ships and merchandizes at sea, and
for lending money vpon bottomry, and for restraining several extravagant
and unwarrantable practices therein menconed) if these our Letters Patents
had not been granted, or in case the said power, priviledge, or authority
shall at any time hereafter become vested in or in trust for more than
the number of five persons, or their representatives, at any one time
(reckoning executors and administrators as and for the single person whom
they represent, as to such interest as they are and shall be intituled to in
right of such their testator or intestate), that then, and in any of the said
cases, these our Letters Patents, and all liberties, priviledges, and advantages

page_text: hereby granted, shall vtterly cease, determine, and become void, anything herein
herein contained to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. And,
lastly, wee do by these presents, for vs, our heires and successors, grant vnto
the said Thomas Smith, his executors, administrators, and assignes, that these
our Letters Patente, or the inrollment or exemplificaton thereof, shall be
in and by all thing good, firm, valid, sufficient, and effectual in the law,
according to the true intent and meaning thereof, and shall be taken, con-
strued, and adiudged in the most favourable and beneficial sense for the best
advantage of the said Thomas Smith, his executors, administrators, and
assignes, as well in all courte of record as elswhere, and by all and sin-
gular the officers and ministers whatsoever of vs, our heires and successors,
in that said part of our kingdom of Great Britain called England, our domi-
nion of Wales, and town of Berwick-vpon-Tweed, and our plantacons in
America, and amongst all and every the subiecte of vs, our heires and
successors, whatsoever and wheresoever, notwithstanding the not full and
certain describing the nature or quality of the said Invention, or of the
materials thereto conducing or belonging.
of February.
By Writt of Privy Seale.