330 A BRIEF MEMOIR 



the rollers from the wheel, with some contrivance, 

 self-acting, to stop the rollers when it was re- 

 quired. I ought to observe here, that the roving 

 then spun was all prepared and roved as if for 

 the common jenny, by hand or stock cards, that 

 being thought the best method of making super- 

 fine carding ; after which it was roved by hand by 

 the single spindle, and few but the adepts were 

 entrusted with these processes. Hargreaves's 

 spinning wheel had spread through a circuit 

 of forty miles in extent, including Blackburn, 

 Bury, Oldham, Ash ton, and Stockport, and had 

 superseded the use of the single spindle which 

 before was common in these distincts ; but after 

 Crompton's invention which took the same 

 range of places, the use of Hargreaves's jenny 

 was in a great degree superseded by the former. 

 Henry Stones was probably the first who con- 

 structed Crompton's machine, either for the use 

 of himself or others. But, up to 1783, I do 

 not think there were a thousand spindles in 

 existence of Crompton's construction, namely 

 upon a moving carriage, when Ark Wright's pa- 

 tent for preparing roving, &c. was suspended 

 by a trial of its validity, which was ultimately 

 decided against him inj^ the Court of King's 

 Bench. About this time Crompton's machine 

 was every thing, and as Arkwright's contrivances 

 for making rovings became available to the 



