ford is at present absent from the city, but before his departure he instructed me to inform you that he was desirous of giving a further and more extensive trial to your percussion primers for cannon, and for this purpose wishes to obtain a considerable number of them, say 1000 at least. From trials already made, strong hopes are entertained that the results will be satisfactory. As a preliminary, however, to the adoption of this method of firing cannon, the department must possess the means of making the primers at the arsenals. It is therefore proposed to you to furnish a machine, with all the necessary directions for making the primers, together with a small supply of the primers made by yourself, and a suitable lock for firing them, for all which the department will pay whatever may be a reasonable compensation for your time, services, and expenses, provided the whole amount shall not exceed three hundred dollars.

If you accede to this proposition, the machine, and other means which you may furnish, will be received by the department under a pledge that they shall be used for no other purpose than that of making experiments to test their value and usefulness in service. If, after a sufficient trial, it shall be determined to adopt the primers, the department will then enter into such further agreement with you, as may be satisfactory to both parties. You will perceive that the above proposition calls for nothing more than possession of the requisite means for ascertaining the real merits of the invention, with a view to its adoption or rejection, as the case may be.

Respectfully, I am, Sir,

Your ob'nt serv't,

W. WADE, Captain on Ordnance Duty.

Now, if this was the only letter explaining the nature of the assurances made to me, some doubts might perhaps exist as to the full extent and meaning of the letter here given; but as I have numerous others, all tending to show, that it was not the instrument, but the invention, taken as a whole, that was valuable, and which my patent either does or was intended to cover, and also showing that the sole object of the Board was to vary the experiments, with such means, and aided by such information, as I could suggest, until they should be able to adopt or reject it. I solemnly declare that I did, at least nine or twelve months, before Lieut. Bell called upon me, inform Col. Bomford, verbally, of what I had invented in respect to clearing the ventfield of all obstruction. Indeed I had calculated upon this improvement from the first moment, and if any one will examine my specification, they will find positive evidence of it; I quote the passage I allude to; it is in the third division of the specification; having described the lock, as adopted by the Navy Commissioners, I go on to state, that amongst other advantages and modifications, that it can be so changed or modified, as to leave the sighting and the ventfield clear. This patent was secured on the 24th day of October, 1828, and will tend to prove that the very materials and information which I had furnished, and which were to be experimented on, as it

were in trust for me, under pledges, the nature and bearings of which cannot be misunderstood, was insidiously taken away from me, and is placed to the account of Lieut. W. H. Bell. Now, it must appear that this friend was really unacquainted with all the particulars which he pretended to understand, or was determined to conceal material facts. In any case, his statements are an aggravation of the wrong already inflicted upon me; and if the latter motive prevailed, he has identified himself with the guilty party.

The following is a copy of a short letter received from Commodore Bainbridge:

Mr. Shaw having invented a Percussion Cannon Lock, and exhibited the same for experiment at this yard, which experiment was satisfactorily made in the presence of myself and several officers of the navy; and the lock, by recommendation, adopted in our naval service, as being very superior to any cannon lock heretofore used: since then, Mr. Shaw has made an improvement on his first lock, and it is now probably as perfect as a thing of that kind can be made. (Signed,) WM. BAINBridge. Dated at the Navy Yard, Philadelphia, 15th April, 1829.

On the 7th January, 1881, a Military Committee, appointed by Congress, made a report respecting an application of mine, the purport of which is not material here; but there is a passage in it, which I shall quote, that has an immediate bearing upon the present question. It runs thus:

"It appeared to the Committee, by the concurrent testimony of officers of the highest respectability in the navy and the army of the United States, that the memorialist had not overrated his merits, and that he was justly entitled to the reputation of great ingenuity, judiciously applied to an important military object," &c.

I now submit it to a candid public, whether I have, or have not, sustained my charges against Lieut. Bell? and also, whether JusTICE, who says it is the duty of a friend, "to whom all the material facts of the case are known, to lay a brief statement of them before the readers of the Journal," has, or has not told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Should JUSTICE think proper to make any rejoinder, it will be necessary for him to do so under the sanction of his proper name; as I shall not, hereafter, reply to any charges, or attack any defences, set up by an anonymous writer.

I remain, Sir, yours,

Philadelphia, July, 1831.

JOSHUA SHAW.

Remarks by the Editor.-This Journal is intended for the promotion of general information; in endeavouring to attain this end, individuals will sometimes feel themselves aggrieved, and will have some just claim to be heard through the medium of our pages. So long as a discussion is calculated to unfold the truths of science, it may be

legitimately continued, if not too much wiredrawn; when, however, the dispute becomes merely personal, and is incapable of adjustment excepting by a court and jury, the public will cease to partake of that interest with which the combatants may be animated, and it is then time to seek a new arena. Such, we think, is the state of the present contest. Common courtesy, however, demands that Lieut. Bell, or his friend, JUSTICE, should be heard in reply to the preceding. But, let it be remembered, that "brevity is the soul of wit."

TO THE EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL OF THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE.

On Oiling Rail-way Carriages.

SIR,-There is no difficulty in oiling axles continually, but to do it so as not to waste a drop of oil, has not been done, I believe, till the latest improvements in the friction saving carriage of the Baltimore rail-road, where very accurate experiments have been making by Mr. Geo. Brown, one of the principal proprietors in that work; the result of which, he informs me, is, that one quart of oil will be sufficient for 2000 miles run of a carriage, which, with its load, weighs three tons. He informs me at the same time, that he has ascertained, that the Lehigh rail-way carriages consume four quarts in running 821 miles with one ton. This you will perceive is nearly thirty times as much. The manner of oiling the Winan's wagon is peculiar to its construction as now improved. The secondary wheels now run in a cast iron case, the top of which is formed so as to affix to the under surface of the side timbers of the frame of the wagon. Its sides sustain the axle and are supported or joined by an intermediate part or bottom, which forms a tight case, into which the oil is put, so that the friction wheel dips into it, and its rim carries up a little of it continually to the rubbing and rolling surfaces, returning it to the reservoir; thus oiling its own axle where all the rubbing is situated, and the rolling axle, and no more is consumed than evaporates. Its enclosure keeps it clean.

I need not remind you that the use of oil on axles is not only to keep the surfaces from absolute contact, and grinding together, but to keep them cool, and this is better done by the successive application of new portions of oil, than by keeping the same oil on the axle as long as it will last, partaking of the heat the axle acquires, and therefore evaporating the faster. This method must therefore be of consequence when great velocity is to be given to heavy loads. Respectfully, yours, &c.

J. L. SULLIVAN.

FRANKLIN INSTITUTE.

Monthly Meeting.

At a stated monthly meeting of the Franklin Institute, held at

their Hall, July 28th, 1831.

THOMAS FLETCHER, Esq. Vice President, in the chair, and
ALGERNON S. ROBERTS, Secretary, pro. tem.

The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved.
The following donations were presented to the Institute.
By Mr. Robert S. Gilbert.

The Cabinet of Natural History and American Rural Sports. By Messrs. Carey & Hart.

The Working Man's Companion. The Results of Machinery, namely, Cheap Production and Increased Employment exhibited; being an Address to the Working Men of Great Britain. The corresponding secretary laid upon the table the following works received in exchange for the Journal of the InstituteLondon Journal of Arts and Sciences, for June.

The Reperiory of Patent Inventions, for April and June.
London Mechanics' Magazine, for May.

The Register of Arts and Journal of Patent Inventions, for April

and June.

Recueil Industriel, for February.

Bibliotheque Physico-economique, for April.

Annales de Chimie et de Physique, for January.

North American Review, for July.

American Annals of Education and Instruction, for July.
Museum of Foreign Literature, Science, and Arts, for July.
American Journal of Geology and Natural Science, for July.
The Illinois Monthly Magazine, for June.

The committee on Inventions presented a report on D. L. Smith's planeing machine, which was read, and, on motion, referred to the committee on publication.

On motion, the subject proposed for discussion this evening was postponed until the next monthly meeting, and then adjourned. THOMAS FLETCHER, Vice President.

ALGERNON S. ROBERTS, Sec. P. T.

Report of the Committee on Inventions, of the Franklin Institute, on DANIEL L. SMITH'S Revolving Timber Plane.

THIS machine, of which drawings and explanations are appended, consists of a frame of sufficient length to support the timber to be planed, having a sliding carriage upon it moved by a rack and pinion, on metal guides, upon which the timber is secured by hold-fasts. This frame is made to pass before the face of a cast iron wheel, furnished with plane irons, which revolves with rapidity, receiving its motion through a strap from a belt wheel in the hand machine, or driving pulley; the rack pinion taking its motion from the shaft of the plane wheel. On the face of the cast iron wheel are fixed four plane irons. Two of them single for roughing down the work, each followed by a double iron projecting a little beyond the first pair for finishing, all carefully adjusted so as to cut the face of the timber exactly square with the carriage on which it rests. The roughing VOL. VIII.-No. 3.-SEPTEMBER, 1831.

21

irons extend further from the centre of the wheel than the other pair, and their ends made round with cutting edges to enable them to take off any projections on the wood which could not be removed by the faces, and reduces the wood, at one operation, to the full breadth of the iron, say from half an inch to one inch. To cut the timber to any bevel it must be set on the frame to the required angle, and secured by wedges on the outside.

This machine differs from Woodworth's, inasmuch as the cutters are secured to the face of the wheel, instead of the periphery, and is not furnished with secondary planes for tongueing and grooving.

The committee witnessed several trials on a model which was laid before them, and afterwards on a large machine in Kensington, where it performed its work with expedition and accuracy-the timber was square maple and cherry, from which the irons at once cut a chip three-fourths of an inch thick. As the cutters move across the grain of the wood, it is probable that unless the edges are kept exceedingly sharp, smooth work could not be performed on soft spongy wood, but they recommend it as a valuable addition to the machine maker's shop, or to others who work in the harder woods. Philadelphia, August 25, 1831.