list that could be made into 7/8 in. octagon bars was in cross-section 3 in. by 1 1/2 in., or more than six times the area of the 7/8 in. octagon chisels made from it, and it was, as the fractures showed, of much too hard and highly carburised a quality to be made into chipping chisels; not to mention the damage it must have received from the excessive heating in a common blacksmith's forge. Instead of being tilted down to the proper size, as in a steel works, it was worked with a smith's hammer by an ordinary blacksmith, and not a steelsmith -- a fact in itself enough to endanger this highly carburised steel, which must not be overheated or "burnt." Hence it must be clear that this so-called test of the quality of Bessemer steel, supplied under this contract, was, even in the case of chisel steel, no test at all of its quality. Under these circumstances, any fair and impartial person would have apologised for such a gross mistake and wholesale condemnation, and would have said that the other bars should be carefully tested as to their suitability for the several purposes for which they were required. But, on the contrary, the chief, who never even pretended that any other tests had been made, insisted on condemning the whole of the bars embraced under this contract. I said: "I will take back the steel which you have power under the words of the contract to reject so unfairly, and will wash my hands of Woolwich for all time; but let me tell you that, having condemned this steel, it is your duty to your employers to purchase an equal quantity of some other manufacturer, and make our firm pay the £30 to £40 difference in price. But this is just what you dare not do, because I should resist such a claim, and that would bring the question into a Court of Law, where your conduct would become known to the world." The whole of this steel was returned to our Sheffield works. We were at that time regularly supplying this kind of tool steel to the most eminent engineers in this country, among whom may be mentioned Sir Joseph Whitworth, Messrs. Sharp, Stewart and Co., Sir William Fairbairn, Messrs. Beyer, Peacock and Co., etc., who paid us £42 per ton for the same quality for which we had quoted £20 per ton in the Woolwich contract, in order to force the Arsenal authorities to accept it. Every bar of this steel, so shamefully rejected at Woolwich, was marked in the centre by a special punch, and sent as required to the eminent firms above referred to, and not one of the bars was ever returned to us or complained of.

In contrast with this summary rejection of Bessemer steel at Woolwich, I may mention that we had, during the time when Colonel Eardley Wilmot was Superintendent of the Royal Gun Factory, supplied him with tool steel, which had given him every satisfaction. Indeed, he was so pleased with it that, during the discussion which followed the reading of my paper on May 24th, 1859, before the Institution of Civil Engineers, he incidentally made the remarks which I reproduce below from the printed Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution. He said:

As regarded the steel, he had been using it for turning the outside of iron guns, cutting off large shavings several inches in length, and he had found none superior to it, although much more costly. It was only necessary to witness the operation of the manufacture by the Bessemer process, to be satisfied that the expense of converting the pig iron into any of the products involved scarcely any cost beyond the labour, and that for a very short period of time. And, as far as the price went, Mr. Bessemer had offered to supply such sizes as it was worth his while to make, at the prices stated.

So exceptionally heavy were the cuts and sizes of the shavings he referred to, that he placed on the table a box full of them, to show their unusual character.

In the latter part of the year 1859 important changes in the control and management of the Arsenal took place, and on November 4th Sir William Armstrong was appointed "Superintendent of the Royal Gun Factory for Rifled Ordnance." It was on December 7th of the same year that Henry Bessemer and Company, as one of the authorised contractors to the Government, supplied a quantity of tool steel at the low price of £20 a ton, which was summarily rejected under the circumstances before described. It was quite clear to me that neither I, nor my steel, was wanted at Woolwich, and I made up my mind to leave the place severely alone in future.

In the year 1858 we were getting fairly into commercial working at Sheffield, and on September 8th of that year we supplied a first sample order of steel boiler-plates to Sir William Fairbairn, of Manchester.