326 DICKSON ON THE VALUE OF HIS PATENT 



may wish to inspect them. It is, however, no part of the 

 Committee's duty to enter into any negotiation for the pur- 

 chase of patents, and I cannot hold out the slightest 

 expectation to you of their entertaining your proposal. 

 " I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 



DERBY. 

 J. H. Dickson, Esq." 



I did not expect that the Committee, as a body, would 

 entertain my proposal, but I felt pretty confident, that as the 

 noble earl had been the early and chief promoter of the 

 relief fund, that the honour he conferred on me, by intro- 

 ducing my cottonized rheea fibre, Flax and hemp, prepared 

 for being spun on cotton machinery, and also yarn and cloth 

 made from them by cotton machinery to the Committee, that 

 it would create great inquiry for my prepared material, and 

 also machinery, and I am happy to say, I have had some 

 dozens of applications for machines and licence to work them, 

 from Blackburn, Manchester, Bradford, and Oldham. 



It must be evident to those who may read the above 

 letter from the noble Earl of Derby to the patentee, that, if 

 his lordship had been Prime Minister in 1860, when the 

 following trial was made on the Italian hemp, prepared by 

 his patent machines at Chatham, and not reported on to the 

 Government, that such injustice would not have been allowed 

 to remain without investigation, if brought before the noble 

 earl; however Lord Palmerston shall have a copy of this 

 work, and I shall again call his attention to the value of my 

 machines for rope making, with a hope to another trial on a 

 larger scale. 



