244 THE WEDGWOODS. 



to give up to the manufactory at large all advantages he might have 

 secured to himself. It is upon these principles, and these alone, 

 that he has acted in this business, and therefore he humbly pre- 

 sumes he does not merit the censmre of avidity in grasping at other 

 men's manufactures, though he thinks that himself and all manu- 

 facturers should be protected in the free use of all raw materials 

 that are not invented by men, but are the natural productions of the 

 earth. When Mr. "Wedgwood discovered the art of making Qiwen's 

 Ware, which employs ten times more people than all the china 

 works in the kingdom, he did not ask for a patent for this important 

 discovery. A patent would greatly have limited its public utility. 

 Instead of one hundred manufactories of Queen's Ware, there would 

 have been one ; and instead of an exportation to all parts of the 

 world, a few pretty things would have been made for the amuse- 

 ment of the people of fashion in England. It will be the same 

 with the use of the materials in question : if they are not only 

 confined to th v e use of one person or manufactory, by patent, for 

 fourteen years, but that patent be extended for twenty or thirty 

 years longer, so long may they be the means of supporting one 

 trifling manufactory ; but if the materials are left free for general 

 use, and Mr. Champion is in the possession of the result of all his 

 experiments and real discoveries with respect to the art of manu- 

 facturing these raw materials into porcelain, no essential part of 

 which has been revealed by him to the public, either in his specifi- 

 cations or otherwise, then there is reason to expect a very large 

 and extensive manufactory of porcelain will be established in 

 various parts of this kingdom, to the great benefit of the public, 

 without any injury to Mr. Champion." 



Wedgwood continued his " remarks " by replying that 

 Mr. Champion's offer of inserting a clause to allow the 

 potters the free use of the raw material in all kinds of 

 earthenware, restricting its use in porcelain only to himself, 

 was a useless concession, because Champion had failed to 

 define the difference between earthenware and porcelain, 

 and had failed to impart the secret of his manufacture 

 to the public, either by his specifications or otherwise. 

 " How then," lie asked, " are the Staffordshire potters 

 to use the growan stone and growan clay for the improve- 

 ment of their finer stone and earthenwares, without pro- 

 ducing such a manufacture as may in Westminster Hall be 



