342 THE SCIENTIFIC PAPERS OF 



other countries ; and in this country also he believed legislation 

 might be expected from the present government. With regard to 

 the English Patent Law, he might say that with all its faults he loved 

 it still. But though its administration left much to be desired, 

 there were elements in it extremely advantageous both to the in- 

 ventors and to the public. One of the chief of these was that the 

 tax was progressive, not by driblets, as was the case in France, 

 but there were fixed periods during which the patentee might try 

 to give life to his invention, and if at the end of the period it did 

 not answer, he might relinquish the claim by declining to pay any 

 further fees. The American Patent Law had certain advantages 

 of its own, and he thought the preliminary examination a good 

 institution, though both in America and Prussia it was carried 

 beyond the limits of usefulness. One speaker had compared an 

 invention to a reclamation of land on the sea shore, and he under- 

 stood him to draw from it the reference that the right of an 

 inventor was indefeasible. Now he was strongly opposed to the 

 idea of indefeasible right, and taking the same idea he would say 

 that though a man was entitled to the fruits of his labour in gain 

 of ground from the sea, there might be circumstances under 

 which it might not be desirable, from its effect upon the tideway 

 or otherwise, to make the reclamation. He would, therefore, 

 rather compare an invention to a new-born child, which might 

 become a man of great power, but in its actual state was utterly 

 powerless. The parent of the child had not only rights but 

 important duties ; and so with the patentee, he had a public trust 

 to perform, he ought to cany the idea which presented itself to 

 him into practice and give form and substance to his invention. 

 For so doing he was justified in taking his share of the benefit 

 which it might produce, but for a certain time only, after which it 

 would be given over to the community. He thought this was the 

 view put forward by Mr. Bramwell ; and in conclusion, he con- 

 gratulated all those interested in this important question on 

 having had the advantage of hearing this most able address and 

 the almost equally valuable discussion which had followed it, for 

 both, he believed, would lead to most important practical results. 



