340 
had I forestalled you, which cannot in any way lessen the merit of your 
proposals, and I hope I may say, accomplishments. As you will see by 
the cover that I printed only for private circulation. My patent is 
dated February, 1855. I wish you would buy a share, and let me get 
abroad. I will call on you before eleven [o'clock next day, namely |, 
as any letter to the Magazine must be written by Tuesday, and it would 
not do to wait for your success before writing. I long to hear about 
to-day’s firing. 
‘* Yours very truly, 
<o’”. A. Braxuty.” 
The next day after, I accordingly received a visit from him at my office 
in London, when he produced a copy of his earliest pamphlet of July or 
August, 1855; observed that those mortars were constructed on the 
principles he had therein developed, and which he had patented; 
claimed priority, and, in fact, gave me to understand that he would deal 
very leniently with me as a patentee, and ‘‘ make it square,’’ if I would 
share with him the credit of constructing those huge pieces of ordnance. 
To this I, on the instant, replied by turning up a copy of the sepa- 
rate issue of my paper read to this Academy, and pointing out to him 
that, even upon the face of the two printed documents, my own priority 
was obvious, by the dates in each, and I declined to connect myself or 
my projects in any way with him, or to admit his priority. 
Finally, I offered, on my immediate return to Ireland, to give him 
all other dates that might be material to the question. 
A few days after, I received the following note from him :— 
“ Oct. 25. 
‘My pear Mr. Matrer,—I regret that you have decided to under- 
rate that part of your method of manufacturing cannon, which seems to 
me to be its chief feature, and which I am personally anxious to have 
duly appreciated, as I myself proposed to Government a similar plan 
about the same time as yourself. I really think it would be more 
judicious for both of us to concede to each other a fair share of the credit 
of the invention—to put the affair even on that footing—for if you run 
down what most will think the only new feature, but little will remain. 
‘However, I put it to you in another shape, viz., that I request 
you will not underrate the importance of ‘forming the guns of con- 
centric lamine, of which the outer have an initial tension,’ as I parti- 
cularly wish it to be recognised for my own sake, I feel sure you will 
gratify me in this. 
‘“‘ Believe me, yours truly, 
TA. BLAKELY. 7; 
How far these are the letters of aman who felt strong in the conscious- 
ness of his own right of priority, I leave the Academy to judge. I gave them 
no reply, and, without waiting for the dates I had offered him, or mak- 
ing any prior communication to me, he published a letter in the next 
