Not hearing anything from the Admiralty for about a 1796. month, I was induced to appeal to the Admiralty Board for remuneration of my expenses, presuming that I had succeeded in the attempt, so far as my part of the mechanism went, after receiving so many flattering compliments. This application brought the following reply. Admiralty, 6th Nov., 1796. "Sir, "Lord Spencer has received your letter of yesterday, and has directed me in answer to it to say, that, though he cannot but commend the ingenuity which you have displayed in your invention, he is afraid it cannot possibly be practically useful; on which account his Lordship very much doubts whether it would be justifiable in allowing a compensation for it. He will, however, lay your letter before the Lords of the Admiralty, for their consideration and opinion. "I am, Sir, "Your very obedient humble servant, The Harrison "Mr. Thomason, Birmingham." Here ended this matter, I having been given to understand that no remuneration could be made for any invention until it had bona fide done the thing intended. Indeed I was told by an influential person in the Admiralty, that even admitting the success of any new and eligible invention, the inventor must wear out a year or two's patience, in absolute petitioning, before he would receive the grant of one farthing. I made up my mind that I would, for the future, apply 1796. my thoughts to inventions upon a scale best adapted for general purposes, and not for the Government. At this period, 1796, fine dress steel buttons for the Court were much in demand, and as all attempts had failed in the trial of converting English iron into steel, I was aware how valuable such a discovery would be if it could be attained. I was pursuing a course of these experiments in a small furnace, just at the moment that his Excellency Charles Frederic Bremer brought me a letter of introduction from his Excellency the Swedish Ambassador, the Hon. Claes Grill. I invited him to the subject, as all our steel was at that time made with the Swedish Dannemora iron. I could compel the English iron to absorb two or three per cent of carbon in the cementation, but the steel produced was red, short, and full of flaws and cracks. The difficulty with me was to be informed what extra metallic substance formed a component part in the Swedish iron, rendering it peculiarly adapted for conversion into steel. The Hon. Mr. Bremer kindly promised to send me some specimens of Dannemora iron ore on his return to Sweden. In November, 1796, I received the following kind letter from him, with eleven specimens of iron ore; and a Swedish Dictionary called Bergwërck's Lexicon. "Edward Thomason, Esq., Birmingham. "It is about a week since I sent you by Captain Klingström, of the ship Nautilus, who was then going to London, one box, enveloped in black waxed linen, with your address, and marked contain ing eleven different specimens of Dannemora iron ore, and Mr. Rinman's Bergwërck's Lexicon; I also sent 1796. you a letter concerning it. "This box Mr. Claes Grill, in London, will receive, and forward to you by the first opportunity; I have mentioned to him the contents, that it might not be delayed at the Custom-house, and hope, therefore, you will soon and safely receive it. "I shall be happy if this is to your satisfaction. "Your sincere and obliged friend, Carl Fredric Bremen "Mr. Edw. Thomason, Birmingham. "Sir, 66 According to your request by your esteemed favor of the 28th ult., I have enquired about the mentioned box, which at present is at the Custom House. On Monday or Tuesday next I may be able to forward it to you, and I have, in the mean time, this day made petition at the Custom House about it. I remain, with regard, |