On April 25, 1839, some very interesting details of Fourdrinier's
Machinery for making Paper of endless length, were elicited during a
debate in the House of Commons, upon the presentation of a petition from
these ingenious manufacturers. It appears that 1000 yards, or any given
quantity of yards, of paper could be continuously made by it. Many years
since, the invention was patented; but, owing to a mistake in the
patent--the word "machine" being written instead of "machines"--the
property was pirated, and that led to litigations, in which the
patentees' funds were exhausted before they could establish their
rights. They then became bankrupts, and thus all the fruits of their
invention, on which they had spent 40,000_l._, were entirely lost to
them.
The evidence of Mr. Brunel, and of Mr. Lawson, the printer of _The
Times_, proved the invention of the Fourdriniers to be one of the most
splendid discoveries of the age. Mr. Lawson stated that the conductors
of the metropolitan newspapers could never have presented to the world
such an immense mass of news and advertisements as was now contained in
them, had not this invention enabled them to make use of any size
required. By the revolution of the great cylinder employed in the
process, an extraordinary degree both of rapidity and convenience in the
production is secured. One of its chief advantages is the prevention of
all risk of combination among the workmen, the machine being so easily
managed that the least skilful person can attend to it. It was added
that the invention had caused a remarkable increase in the revenue: in
the year 1800, when this machine was not in existence, the amount of the
paper duty was 195,641_l._; in 1821, when the machinery was in full
operation, the amount of duty was 579,867_l._; in 1835, it was
833,822_l._ No doubt, part of this increase must be set down to other
causes; still, it was impossible but for this discovery, that such a
quantity of paper could have been made and consumed. The positive saving
to the country effected by it, had not been less than 8,000,000_l._; the
increase in the revenue not less than 500,000_l._ a-year. At length, in
May, 1840, the sum of 7,000_l._ was voted by Parliament to Messrs.
Fourdrinier, as some compensation for their loss by the defective state
of the patent law.
There has been made by this machinery at Colinton mills, a single sheet
of paper weighing 533 lbs., and measuring upwards of a mile and a half
in length, the breadth being only 50 inches. Were a ream of paper of
similar sheets made, it would weigh 266,500lbs. or upwards of 123 tons.
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