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Oct. 26, 1850J &$$ &t*1ttt. 7S5
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OUR OPPRESSIVE PATENT LAWS. A public mee...
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PREVENTION OF MENDICANCY AND DESTITUTION...
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OPENING OF THE BRITANNIA BRIDGE. The per...
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BU R G L ARIES AND ROBB ER I E S O F TH ...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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The Present State Of Things In Unhappy P...
another for having given a couple of florins to a poor man , and this pretended poor man was a spy ; another because he was acquainted with an individual who was acquainted with a prisoner in the citadel . The merchant Czaban , for instance , was incarcerated , because , in his shopkeeping greediness , he sold hollow sticks to foolish youngsters playing the character of conspirators , who paid well for them ; for which he still groans in the
fortress of Zamosi * . Such are the cases which the inquisitorial commission gathers to get up formidable conspiracies ; and the said commission furthermore expertly discovers an attempt against the life of the Tsar and the whole of his family ; and , what is still more absurd , against that of Paskiewich ; as if such an act required conspiracy , —as if it could not be accomplished by the will of one single man .
There is in this sanguinary drama somewhat of the ridiculous : in the conviction of Paskiewich , all those who are prisoners in the citadel are incarcerated for having plotted against his life . Had that really have been the case , he would have been killed long ago , whilst he continues to live undisturbedly and to commit every imaginable kind of arbitrariness . In short , there are and will always be conspiracies ; for , otherwise , the inquisitorial commission would die from inanition , and because Siberia must be peopled , and the Caucasian army provided with soldiers . And what remedy , we ask , can there be for such a dreadful state of things ?
" We must submit to our fate , " say some . " Such is the Divine will , " add others . " It was and always will be so in this world ! " Blasphemy ! Blasphemy ! The greater the suffering , the nearer the crisis ; the greater the weariness , the nearer the rest ; the more sanguinary the contest , the more certain the triumph All the members equally suffer ! The whole body is in agony ! The present existence is approaching its end . Such a life cannot last : there is neither the strength nor the wish for its continuance , —nothing but despair remains !
Oct. 26, 1850j &$$ &T*1ttt. 7s5
Oct . 26 , 1850 J & $$ & t * 1 ttt . 7 S 5
Our Oppressive Patent Laws. A Public Mee...
OUR OPPRESSIVE PATENT LAWS . A public meeting of the members of the Inventors ' Patent Law Reform League , formed for the purpose of diminishing the expense and encreasing the security of British patents , and thus enabling the inventors with greater safety to expose their productions at the great Exhibition of 1851 , was held at Anderton ' s Hotel , Fleet-street , on Tuesday evening , in order to explain the objects of the association and adopt an address to her most gracious Majesty , for the purpose of obtaining protection for inventions .
A report from the Committee of the Patent Law Reform League was read , which stated that the present Patent laws exact the large sum of £ 400 before it will acknowledge an inventor ' s property for the United Kingdom , in his own invention , whereby all inventors who are not rich men , are debarred of their rights ; and should they haply obtain them by the assistance of others , no thanks are due to the law of patents . As we are approaching a period when the inventive genius of the world will throng the metropolis , and when the British inventor must prepare to meet his brother inventor of the Continent in friendly competition , it becomes necessary to enquire into the
present state of the law as regards inventions . In many instances the inventor will be prevented from using his best exertions , as he cannot pay the large sum required to secure his invention , and , without this , notwithstanding the recent Provisional Registration Designs Act , he can have no efficient protec ~ tion . In nearly all cases the most important inventions have been produced by poor men who , from want of capital to obtain a patent for their inventions , have been robbed of a fair return for their labours , it being only the large capitalist who can obtain patents ; and where they take up the inventions of poor men they also take the largest share of the profits .
Several speeches were made setting forth the hardships under which poor inventors labour , and the facilities for piracy under the present laws ; and also that the law passed in the last session only protects designs , and not inventions . A series of resolutions were carried to the effect that the great event of the exhibition of the industry and inventive talent of all nations has prominently exposed the defects of the patent laws and the non-fulfilment , on the part of the commissioners , of the promised protection of original inventions , and renders it expedient for those who are therebv prevented from exhibiting to enforce , by institution of
all legal and available means , the reasonable patent laws , which would secure a permanent industrial benefit to society at large . That the meetin g viewed with great anxiety the probable inefficiency of the approach ing exhibition , in consequence of the enormous amounts charged for patents in the United Kingdom , by which great numbers of real inventors will be debarred from exhibiting their productions , and therefore the exhibition -will not be a fair representation of the inventive genius and manufacturing skill of this and other nations . It was suggested that it would be highly beneficial to the British and foreign inventors , and sooiety at
large , if international arrangements could be entered into , to assure protection to inventors in all countries for inventions approved by the authorities of the great exhibition . It was also resolved that the previous proceedings of the Inventors' Patent Law Reform League should be approved , and a petition , founded on the resolutions , presented to her Majesty through the Secretary of State for the Home Department .
Prevention Of Mendicancy And Destitution...
PREVENTION OF MENDICANCY AND DESTITUTION . A numerously-attended meeting of the committee of the Leicester-square Soup Kitchen and Hospice , was held on Tuesday , the Duke of Cambridge in the chair , to consider the outlines of a plan on an enlarged scale for the prevention of destitution and mendicancy in the metropolis . The object which the committee has in view is , we understand , to afford good shelter and the means of employment to all the deserving and destitute poor in the metropolis , whose necessities during the winter months have never hitherto
been adequately relieved , and whose sufferings are for the most part concealed from the notice of those whose humanity would otherwise gladly succour them . The plan proposed by the committee embraces—a soup kitchen for the supply of food , an asylum to provide shelter , a system of free registration to obtain employment , and lavatories for the promotion of cleanliness . They propose to form one hundred of these establishments in various parts of the metropolis , to which the wandering and houseless poor shall at all times have gratuitous access . The institutions are to be under
the Government of the resident clergy and two committees , to be composed of persons of either sex , belonging to the various grades of society . It is hoped that , by constituting the committees in this manner , a correct knowledge may be obtained of the condition and representations of the applicants for relief . One of the principal objects of the hospice will be to grant relief to unfortunate persons discharged from prison by relieving their primary necessities , and thus preventing them from again , committing crime . It is also proposed to solicit contributions of food for the supply of the kitchens , in order that the appeals to the public for
pecuniary aid may be as few as possible . The outlines of this plan were discussed at considerable length , and his royal highness expressed the gratification he felt at assisting in the development of an undertaking which had long occupied his anxious consideration . The reverend gentlemen present also expressed their cordial approval of the project , and offered to advocate its claims in their respective churches . It was also resolved to apply to the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor for the use of the Egyptian Hall , at the Mansion-house , where it is intended to hold a public meeting , in order that the details of the plan may be fully explained .
Opening Of The Britannia Bridge. The Per...
OPENING OF THE BRITANNIA BRIDGE . The permanent public opening of the new line of tubes for the down line from London to Dublin took place on Monday morning ; the great structure being now in all respects made complete . On Saturday Captain Simmons , the Government inspector , went over it early in the morning , and instituted , in conjunction with the engineers , a long series of experiments . The first and principal experiment consisted in passing two locomotive engines through the tube , and resting them at intervals in the centre of the sections . At nine o ' clock a train of twenty-eight wagons and two locomotives with 280 tons of coal was drawn
into all four of the tubes , the deflections being carefully noted . These deflections in every case , by means of a nice apparatus for the purpose , were ascertained to be exactly three-fourths of an inch under this load , over the immense mass and area of iron . After an interesting rehearsal of these experimental ordeals , which occupied several hours , the train of 280 tons , with its two locomotives , was taken out about a mile distant from the tube , and then suddenly shot through it with the greatest attainable rapidity , and the result was very interesting as determining a much discussed question , it being found that
the deflection at this immense velocity of load was sensibly less in the way of undulation or collapse than when the load was allowed to remain atrest in the tube . Messrs . E . and L . Clark , the resident engineers , who have watched minutely , from day to day , all the developed peculiarities of the novel undertaking , state that the heaviest galos through the straits do not produce so much motion over the extent of cither tube as the pressure against the side of the tubes of ten men , and that the pressure of ten men , keeping of
time with the vibrations , produces an oscillation 1 ^ inch , the tube itself making sixty-seven double vibrations per minute . The strongest gusts of wind that have swept up the Channel during the late stormy weather do not cause a vibration of more than a quarter of an inch . The broadside of a storm causes an oscillution of less than an inch ; but , when the two tubes arc braced together by frames , which is now being done , those motions will be almost annihilated , and all apprehension from wind or weather , from their being siamesod together , -will cease . They
calculate that a violent storm exerts a force of about twenty pounds on every square foot of tube exposed to its direct action ; and , taking the side surface of the tube at about 13 , 400 square feet , the greatest strain caused would be about half a ton per square inch , or hardly worth notice .
Bu R G L Aries And Robb Er I E S O F Th ...
BU R G L ARIES AND ROBB ER I E S O F TH E WEEK . Notwithstanding the successful resistance made by the inmates of Mr . Holford ' s house , in Regent ' spark , last week , which ought to have caused a salutary fear among burglars generally , we have an unusual number of burglarious attempts to record this week , some of which have been of a very daring nature . The most successful one was that which took place in the Strand on Monday night : — The house in which the robbery wa « committed is on the left side of the Craven Hotel , Strand , directly facing the Golden Cross coach-yard ; and the shop from which the valuable property has been abstracted belongs to
Messrs . Clapham and Williams , silversmiths and jewellers , one of the oldest established houses in the Strand . The hour at which the robbers must have entered is supposed to be about three o ' clock , but how an entry was effected there is not the slightest circumstance to show . The property stolen is said to be worth from £ 2000 to £ 3000 , and consisted of diamonds of great value and other precious stones , which were not set ; also a great number of rings and watches . There is not the shadow of a doubt but that plate was the object which the burglars had in view , as Messrs . Williams and Clapham are celebrated for their massive plate services ; but fortunately in this they were doomed to be disappointed , been removed from the front
as the greatest portion has shop into an inner shop , and there safely encased in a plate chest . As far as the robberies are known it is stated that the whole of the plunder might be placed in a man ' s pocket . The robbery was first discovered on Tuesday morning , about seven o ' clock , when the shopman came as usual . To his astonishment the right door was ajar , slightly fixed , and , on pushing it open , he discovered that the carpet and chairs had evidently been moved from the position in which he had left them the previous evening , about ten o ' clock . He immediately raised an alarm , and , calling for the constable on the beat , they instituted a search , but the robbers had of course fled uefore daylight appeared . Information was at once given at Whitehall , and also at Bow-street , and from the latter place hastened to the
Inspector Dodd immediately spot . He made all the necessary enquiries , and then despatched Sergeants Thompson and West to take charge of the affair . Inspectors Lund and Shaw , the two detective officers , also made an examination of the premises , and already have they attached suspicion to two parties . Several of the watches have been discovered under circumstances of a most extraordinary nature , which at present it would be unwise to make public . Since the robbery , the Commissioners of Police have issued a number of handbills , guarding housekeepers against leaving their street doors open , and also to be on their guard when strangers are waiting in their passages . Extra iron-bound shutters are being fixed at many of the silversmiths' in the Strand .
William Dyson , one of the burglars who made an attempt upon the house of Mr . Holford , last week , was brought up for examination at Marylcbone on Monday . When placed at the bar he seemed very low-spirited , and much more dejected than he did upon the first examination Inspector Latipreys remarked that , from certain circumstances which had already transpired , arising out of the activity and judicious management of the officers employed in the case , the Commissioners of Police were desirous of having a remand . They had no doubt that others connected with the party would be in custody in a few days . One of them had been severely wounded , and assistance of medical
he must have obtained the a man . The magistrates had some conversation with Mr . Paul and Locktrby in an under tone , and from what transpired it was deemed necessary for the ends of justice , without going any more into the matter at present , to remand the prisoner till Monday next . Dyson was then removed from the bar , and , on the arrival of the Government van , he was conveyed therein to the House of Detention . It has been ascertained that for some time he kept a low lodging-house , the resort of thieves and the lowest description of women ; and that he was also connected with a gang tried about two years ago for the murder of Mr . Bellchambers in Westminster .
An attempt was made on Monday afternoon , towards dusk , to seize the cash-box of a member of the Stock Exchange , as his clerk was conveying it , after the business of the day was over , from his office in Broad-street to his bankers in Lombard-street . Fortunately for the owner , this desperate outrage was less successful in its object than have been some others of a like description that have before occurred , the clerk having been sufficiently on his guard to retain his hold of the cash-box and prevent the intended robbery from taking effect . Application was made in chambers on Monday before the Lord Chief Justice Jervis , to admit Serrill to bail . Mr . Bodkin , instructed by Mr . C . Lewis , said that he had bail present in the persons of four highly-rcspcstable inhabitants of the city of London , and urged his lordship to take bail . The Lord Chief Justice said that he would
take bail ; the prisoner to enter into his own recognizances of £ 2000 , and four sureties of £ 1000 each , but the prisoner must be brought up and notice given to the prosecutors , to afford them an opportunity of objecting . An unsuccessful attempt at housebreaking was made on Saturday , and repeated on Svxid ly night , upon a grocer ' s shop in Nook-street , Workingion . —Early on Wednesday morning last an attempt at robbery was perpotrated upon the shop of Mr . Walker , jeweller , Bridge-street , the most
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 26, 1850, page 5, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_26101850/page/5/
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