THOMAS BEWICK. 



225 



belong to the directors of the Bank to make such arrangements as they may 

 think proper with regard to it."* 



In the "Repository of Arts, 1822," an account of Sir W. Congreve's 

 plan for the prevention of forgery is given, illustrated with three specimens 

 of bank notes executed by Robert Branston. In this Congreve's method of 

 combining various printings in colour on one note, and his extensive employ- 

 ment of engine-turned engraving, are commented on. It also refers to the 

 " great obligation which the country bankers, and indeed the country .at 

 large, owe to Sir William Congreve for the introduction of the coloured 

 stamps in lieu of the common dry stamp used in stamping bank notes." 

 This statement drew forth a letter from Bewick which appeared in the 

 " Monthly Magazine" for May, 1822. In this he protests against Congreve 

 having all the merit of inventing inimitable bank notes, and refers to his 

 communications with Sir M. W. Ridley and Sir Joseph Banks on the subject 

 in 1818, and to a correspondence he had with Samuel Thornton, M.P., and 

 Sir T. Frankland in 1801. He shows that he had long advocated something 

 very similar to Congreve's inventions, but admits that the engine-turning was 

 not his idea.f 



The " Repository of Arts," in its June number of the same year, 

 publishes a letter from R. Branston, the engraver, which warmly maintains 

 Congreve's right to be called the inventor of the notes previously published, 

 and of two more given in the same number of the magazine. The writer lays 

 stress on the fact that he was anxious "to undeceive a very worthy man, 

 Mr. Bewick, of Newcastle," whose letter had partly been copied in the news- 

 papers, giving a colour to the matter not favourable to Congreve. Branston 

 says he witnessed the progress of the invention for upwards of three years, 

 and he believed Bewick would find himself mistaken in supposing that 



* "Monthly Magazine," May, 1822. The Parliamentary Commission presented their report on January 22nd, 

 1819, but it arrived at no definite conclusion. 



t Sir W. Congreve was in the English travelling suite of the Grand Duke Nicholas, and doubtless saw Bewick 

 in 1816. 



G G 



