Memoir of the Life of Eli Whitney. 233 



Holmes's iron plate. But certainly Mr. Holmes's improvement does 

 not destroy Mr. Whitney's patent right. Let the decree for a per- 

 petual injunction be entered." 



This favorable decision, however, did not put a final stop to ag- 

 gression. At the next session of the United States court, two other 

 actions were brought, and verdicts for damages gained of two thou- 

 sand dollars in one case, and one thousand and five hundred dollars 

 in the other. The history of these suits, as reported for one of the 

 journals of the day, appears to us to be a document worth preserving, 

 on account of the light it throws on the subject of patent rights in 

 general, as well as in relation to the subject before us. 



Law case. — At a circuit court of the United States, for the dis- 

 trict of Georgia, lately holden in this city, [Savannah] was tried the 

 case of Eli Whitney vs. Isaiah Carter, for infringing a right vested 

 by patent, " for a new and useful improvement in the mode of ginning 

 cotton." The plaintiff supported his declaration by proving the pat- 

 ent, model, and specification, and proving the use of the machine in 

 question by the defendant. He also introduced the testimony of sev- 

 eral witnesses residing in New Haven, to prove the origin and prog- 

 ress of his invention. 



The defendant rested his defence on two grounds — First: That 

 the machine was not originally invented by Whitney. — Second : That 

 the specification does not contain the whole truth, relative to the 

 discovery. 



General Mitchell of counsel for the defendant, produced a model 

 which was intended to represent a machine used in Great Britain for 

 cleaning cotton, denominated the " Teaze?- or Devil.'''' — A witness 

 was produced, who testified that he had seen in England, about 

 seventeen years ago, a machine for separating cotton from the seed, 

 which resembled in principle the model now exhibited by defendant. 



Another witness testified, that he had seen a machine in Ireland, 

 upon the same principle, which was used for separating the motes 

 from the cotton before going to the carding machine. 



By the machine, of which a model was exhibited, the cotton is 

 applied in the first instance to rollers made of iron, revolving con- 

 versely. By these rollers, the fibres are separated from the seeds 

 and protruded within the sweep of certain straight pieces of wire, 

 revolving on a cylinder, which tear and loosen the cotton as they re- 

 volve. It was contended by the defendant's counsel, that this model 

 conforms in principle to Mr. Whitney's machine, and that the evi- 



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