Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Volume 7 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1862 Excerpt: ...firing. "Yours very truly, "T. A. Blaeelt." The next day after, I accordingly received a visit from him at my office in London, when he produced a copy of his earliest pamphlet of July or August, 1855; observed that those mortars were constructed on the principles he had therein developed, and which he had patented; claimed priority, and, in fact, gave mo to understand that ho would deal very leniently with me as a patentee, and "make it square," if I would share with him the credit of constructing those huge pieces of ordnance. To this I, on the instant, replied by turning up a copy of the separate issue of my paper read to this Academy, and pointing out to him that, even upon the face of the two printed documents, my own priority was obvious, by the dates in each, and I declined to connect myself or my projects in any way with him, or to admit his priority. Finally, I offered, on my immediate return to Ireland, to give him all other dates that might be material to the question. A few days after, I received the following note from him: --"Oct. 25. "Mr Deaemr. Mallet, --I regret that you have decided to underrate that part of your method of manufacturing cannon, which seems to me to be its chief feature, and which I am personally anxious to have duly appreciated, as I myself proposed to Government a similar plan about the same time as yourself. I really think it would be more judicious for both of us to concede to each other a fair share of the credit of the invention--to put the affair even on that footing--for if you ran down what most will think the only new feature, but little will remain. "However, I put it to you in another shape, viz., that I request you will not underrate the importance of ' forming the guns of ...