NECESSITY OF FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS. 229 



answered the purposes to which it was then applied ; while the 

 successful application of the substances to these purposes, only 

 gave assurance to the inventor that it was fairly commenced, 

 and that these were but small items in the account of its utility, 

 or the units in the sum of its value. Although, as now fully ap- 

 pears, the importance of those branches was in no degree over- 

 rated by them or the public, yet the proportionate value as 

 relates to the whole invention was over estimated. 



While the manufacturers were engaged with difficulties which 

 are always to be encountered in rendering a new business pro- 

 ductive, it could not be reasonably expected that they would 

 enter very cordially into the plans of another, which could not 

 be fully explained until they were further advanced, or forego 

 the advantages which were certain to forward the wishes of 

 another, when it was perfectly understood that the projector 

 intended to reserve to himself the control and direction of those 

 projects if they were successful. Consequently, the interests and 

 the views of the inventor and the licensees became almost 

 diametrically opposed to each other. 



While the licensees were desirous of the inventor's co-opera- 

 tion in forwarding the branches of the business, which were 

 already developed, and his counsel insisted upon the importance 

 of his devoting his time and services for the defence of his legal 

 claims, he deemed it of the first importance to complete his plan 

 of improvement. It will therefore be readily perceived, that the 

 very success of the discovery, as applied to the few articles that 

 were perfected, presented one chief obstacle to the further 

 development of the subject, and led them into the mistake of 

 attributing the views of the inventor, and his persisting to con- 

 tinue his experiments, to an inveterate propensity for in- 

 venting, and a fondness for new things. He now hopes to be 

 better understood, and to have attributed to him the wish to 

 perform a duty which he felt had been allotted to him, rather than 

 any desire for the unenviable distinction of an inventor. 



Without assuming any thing, the writer may say that a com- 

 prehensive view of the subject was taken by himself; and, being 



