426 
MANUFACTURE  OF  ARTIFICIAL  SODA. 
To  the  fabrication  of  artificial  soda,  the  making  of  sal  ammo- 
niac, and  of  white  lead  were  added,  processes  of  which  Diz6  was 
the  author. 
The  Company  was  established  at  St.  Denis  near  Paris,  in  a 
factory  called  JFranciade,  and  the  manufacture  commenced  but 
without  much  success.  The  events  of  the  Revolution  soon  caused 
the  sequestration  of  the  property  of  the  Duke  of  Orleans  and 
consequently  that  of  the  soda  factory  in  which  he  was  the  capi- 
talist. 
At  the  same  time,  upon  the  proposition  of  a  member  of  the 
national  convention,  Citizen  Carny,  possessor  of  a  process  for 
the  extraction  of  soda,  an  appeal  was  made  to  all  Frenchmen  to 
make  within  three  months  a  surrender  of  their  private  interests, 
and  to  deposit  upon  the  altar  of  their  country  the  processes  which 
would  allow  the  manufacture  of  soda  from  a  product  drawn  from 
French  soil  and  which  would  thus  relieve  the  country  from  the 
tax  paid  abroad. 
Twelve  processes  were  sent  to  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety, 
that  of  Leblanc  among  them.  It  was  recognized  as  the  best, 
and  the  Convention  ordered  the  publication  of  his  brevet  d' inven- 
tion, taken  in  1791,  but  acknowledging  his  rights  to  a  fair  in- 
demnity which  the  misfortunes  of  the  time  did  not  allow  to  be 
paid.  The  hour  of  reparation  has  at  last  arrived.  The  section 
of  Chemistry  in  the  Academy  has  decided  as  follows  : 
"  1.  The  important  discovery  of  the  process  by  which  soda  is 
extracted  from  marine  salt  belongs  wholly  to  Leblanc. 
"  2.  Dize*  made  researches  in  common  with  Leblanc  only  for 
the  purpose  of  determining  the  best  proportions  of  the  materials 
to  be  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  soda,  and  for  establishing 
the  factory  at  St.  Denis. 
"  3.  If  then  it  is  proposed  to  render  just  homage  to  the  author 
of  the  discovery,  it  is  due  to  the  memory  of  Leblanc,  and  to  his 
family  should  the  testimonial  be  addressed." 
Leblanc  was  the  type  of  the  inventor  ;  full  of  self  denial,  per- 
severance, confidence.  His  correspondence  shows  that  he  left 
no  step  untried,  that  might  secure  the  success  of  his  work.  His 
savings,  the  fruit  of  labors  undertaken  from  day  to  day,  were  all 
consecrated  to  this  grand  object ;  and  when  reduced  to  extremi- 
ties, he  exhausted  every  resource. 
