the conversion of five tons of crude molten iron into cast steel, in a few minutes, was the realisation of the fabled philosopher's stone, that transmuted lead into gold. It was not a question with these people of improving my process, but of an endeavour to imitate it, or to do something similar by some dodge or other that was not covered by my patent.

If they could simply surround me and hem me in with possible or impossible claims, I must surely, they thought, pay them to get out of my way. The agent of one of these so-called inventors told me to my face that he had a little bit of land in the middle of my road, and that there was not room for me to pass on either side, and that I dared not run over him. Many examples might be adduced of the wild schemes propounded in this mad race to appropriate the principle of my invention. One inventor, instead of forcing air upward through the metal, proposed to suck it out of the vessel by directly pumping out the fire and showers of sparks, instead of driving clean, cold, atmospheric air into it, as I had claimed in my patent. Another would force down air upon the surface with such great pressure as to penetrate the metal from the top instead of letting the air pass naturally upwards. Another would allow the molten iron to flow down steps, and blow on it as it fell from step to step. Another claimed to spread the metal in a thin sheet and blow on to it, but not into it, as I did. Another so-called inventor proposed to let the molten iron fall down a deep well in the form of a shower, and collect it at the bottom as malleable iron, not thinking that his process would simply make iron shot. Another claimed the exclusive use in my process of that kind of pig iron that had been most commonly used in Styria for the last hundred years for making steel, the ore of which was known as "stahl stein," or steel ore; nor was I to use manganese either as a metal, an oxide, or a carburet, although that metal was in daily use in all the hundreds of steel pots in Sheffield.

I had used the word "pig-iron" from which, after various processes, all iron and steel then in use was made; had I used the more scientific term, "carbonate of iron," instead of the accepted trade term, "pig" or crude iron from the blast furnace, I should have been safe from one scheme intended to circumvent me by a play on words. According to this plan, malleable scrap iron was put into a tall cupola furnace, and during its descent absorbed so much carbon as to issue therefrom as a white cast iron. It was claimed that this was not pig-iron or crude molten iron, as mentioned in my patent, as it was assumed that white iron so made, with two per cent. of carbon, might be blown into steel by my process without my being able to prevent it. These, and all other discreditable attempts to make use of a colourable imitation of my patent, utterly and ignominiously failed.

Within a few days of the publication of my Cheltenham paper, many eminent engineers and ironmasters from various parts of the kingdom did me the honour to come up to London, and see the process carried out at my bronze factory at St. Pancras. Many and strange were the opinions expressed on these occasions, and many questions were asked as to the terms on which I proposed to allow the trade to use the process. At that time the steel manufacturer took no interest in the question, and it was left to the ironmaster to secure the huge advantage of the new discovery. I and my partner, Mr. Longsdon, had thought the subject well over, and we came to the conclusion that it would be wise not to have the whole trade opposed to us, but to give a special interest to one ironmaster in each district, so that his working would prove an example to other iron works, and his special interest would induce him at any future time to help to support my patents, and not join in an adverse movement of the trade. But, at first sight, it did not appear easy to do this without parting with a share of the patents, and thus depriving ourselves of the absolute control of them. At last we fixed a royalty of ten shillings per ton for making malleable or wrought iron. To the first applicant for a licence in each district, we would give a great and permanent advantage over all others, and allow him to take a license to make a given number of tons per annum at a royalty of one farthing per ton during the whole term of the patents, he purchasing this right by paying at once a ten shilling royalty on the annual quantity agreed upon. He would then have a strong interest in the maintenance of the patents, and we should have the advantage of cash in hand with which to fight our battles, if attacked. These terms having been definitely fixed, were communicated to the trade, and we continued to show the process to all who wished to see it.