oti the Oil Question. 103 



But though their apparatus did actually differ in all these 

 respects, they might, notwithstanding, have endeavoured to con- 

 duct their experiments in a way, the most likely to produce re- 

 sults similar to those Avhich would have occurred from the usual 

 management of the apparatus at the sugar-house. 



Was this the case? No. Did they charge their oil vessel 

 with a quantity of oil, that bore a proportion to it similar to that 

 which the oil at Whitechapel bore to the capacity of the vessel 

 belonging to Messrs. Severn and Co. ? No. Did they heat the 

 oil in a way which bore any resemblance to the manner in which 

 the oil at Whitechapel was heated, in the ordinary process of 

 boiling sugar ? No. With all these variations, how could these 

 associated witnesses come to a determination to tell the public 

 that the only material difference between the two apparatus was 

 in the want of the pump and the sugar-pan ! ! ! 



But this is not all. When they find that the vapour, which 

 rises from the oil at the temperature of 600°, will not burn ; 

 what do they do, — they suspend a metallic still-head over the 

 vapour, for the purpose of condensing the water which it con- 

 tains, and then they find the vapour will burn at a temperature of 

 460° *. They have still a further expedient. They are desirous 

 of producing some volatile oil in court, that will be more inflam- 

 mable than common whale oil. How do they proceed to attain 

 this object ? They pass the common oil vapour through a worm 

 which is 23 feet long, and immersed in water, for the purpose of 

 condensing the water, which is always combined with oil vapour 

 that is produced from oil at a high temperature ; and then the 

 product of the distillation is submitted to a second distillation, 

 and from this a volatile and inflammable oil is procured f. 



Was this the way that disinterested and scientific men might 

 have been expected to proceed, for the purpose of ascertaining 

 whether any thing was emitted from the safety-tube in the oil 



* See Mr. Gurney's Repurt of the Trial versus the Phcenix Office, 

 page 291. 



+ Ib'ul. i>a!;c 344. 



