claims of originality, or are otherwise irregular or defective, and are required to be set right at the office or sent back by the Commissioner for correction.

Under existing circumstances, without written, pictorial, or model-record of any kind, it is apparent that the business of the office must either stand still, or proceed under very great embarrassment, which can be relieved only by the early action of Congress on the subject.

A bill is herewith submitted.

A BILL in addition to the act to promote the progress of science and useful arts. SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any person who may be in possession of, or in any way interested in, any patent for an invention, discovery, or improvement, issued prior to the fifteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, or in an assignment of any patent or interest therein, executed and recorded prior to the said fifteenth day of December, may, without charge, on presentation or transmission thereof to the Commissioner of Patents, have the same recorded anew in the Patent Office, together with the descriptions, specifications of claim, and drawings annexed or belonging to the same; and it shall be the duty of the Commissioner to cause the same, or any authenticated copy of the original record, specification, or drawing which he may obtain, to be transcribed and copied into books of record, to be kept for that purpose. And wherever a drawing was not originally annexed to the patent and referred to in the specification, any drawing produced as a delineation of the invention being verified by oath in such manner as the commissioner shall require, may be transmitted and copied as aforesaid, together with the certificate of the oath; or such drawings may be made in the office, under the direction of the Commissioner, in conformity with the specification. And it shall be the duty of the Commissioner to take such measures as may be advised and determined by the board of Commissioners provided for in the fourth section of this act, to obtain the patents, specifications, and copies aforesaid, for the purpose of being so transcribed and recorded.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That copies of such record and drawings, certified by the Commissioner, or, in his absence, by the chief clerk, shall be prima facie evidence of the particulars of the invention and of the patent granted therefor, in any judicial court of the United States, in all cases where copies of the original record, or specification and drawings, would be evidence, without proof of the loss of such originals. And no patent issued prior to the aforesaid fifteenth day of December shall after the first day of June next, be received in evidence in any of the said courts in behalf of the patentee or other person who shall be in possession of the same, unless it shall have been so recorded anew, and a drawing of the invention, if separate from the patent, verified as aforesaid, deposited in the Patent Office; nor shall any written assignment of any such patent, executed and recorded prior to the said fifteenth day of December, be received in evidence in any of the said courts in behalf of the assignee or other person in possession thereof, until it shall have been so recorded anew.

SEO. 3. And be it further enacted, That, whenever it shall appear to the Commissioner that any patent was destroyed by the burning of the Patent Office building on the aforesaid fifteenth day of December, it shall be his duty, on application therefor by the patentee or other person interested therein, to issue a new patent for the same invention or discovery, bearing

the date of the original patent, with his certificate thereon that it was made and issued pursuant to the provisions of the third section of this act, and shall enter the same of record: Provided, however, That before such patent shall be issued, the applicant therefor shall deposite in the Patent Office a duplicate, as near as may be, of the original model, drawings, and description, with specification of the invention or discovery, verified by oath, as shall be required by the Commissioner. And such patent, and copies of such drawings and descriptions, duly certified, shall be admissible as evidence in any judicial court of the United States, and shall protect the rights of the patentee, his administrators, heirs, and assigns, to the extent only in which they would have been protected by the original patent and specifica

tion.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Commissioner to procure a duplicate of such of the models destroyed by fire on the aforesaid fifteenth day of December, as were most valuable and interesting, and whose preservation would be important to the public; and such as would be necessary to facilitate the just discharge of the duties imposed by law on the Commissioner in issuing patents, and to protect the rights of the public and of patentees in patented inventions and improvements. Provided, That a duplicate of such models may be obtained at a reasonable expense: And provided, also, That the whole amount of expenditure for this purpose shall not exceed the sum of one hundred thousand dollars. And there shall be a temporary board of Commissioners, to be composed of the Commissioner of the Patent Office and two other persons to be appointed by the President, whose duty it shall be to consider and determine upon the best and most judicious mode of obtaining models of suitable construction; and, also, to consider and determine what models may be procured in pursuance of, and in accordance with, the provisions and limitations in this section contained. And said Commissioners may make and establish all such regulations, terms, and conditions, not inconsistent with law, as in their opinion may be proper and necessary to carry the provisions of this section into effect according to its true intent.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That whenever a patent shall be returned for correction and re-issue under the thirteenth section of the act to which this is additional, and the patentee shall desire several patents to be issued for distinct and separate parts of the thing patented, he shall first pay, in manner and in addition to the sum provided by that act, the sum of thirty dollars for each additional patent so to be issued: Provided, however, That no patent made prior to the aforesaid fifteenth day of December shall be corrected and re-issued, until a duplicate of the model and drawing of the thing as originally invented, verified by oath, as shall be required by the Commissioner, shall be deposited in the Patent Office.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That any patent hereafter to be issued may be made and issued to the assignee or assignees of the inventor or discoverer, the assignment thereof being first entered of record, and the application therefor being duly made, and the specification duly sworn to by the inventor. And in all cases hereafter, the applicant for a patent shall be held to furnish duplicate drawings, one of which to be deposited in the office, and the other to be annexed to the patent, and considered a part of the specification.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the Commissioner is hereby authorized and empowered to appoint agents in not exceeding twenty of the principal cities or towns in the United States, as may best accommodate the

different sections of the country, for the purpose of receiving and forwarding to the Patent Office, all such models, specimens of ingredients, and manufactures, as shall be intended to be patented or deposited therein; the transportation of the same to be chargeable to the patent fund.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That, instead of one examining clerk, as provided by the second section of the act to which this is additional, there shall be appointed, in manner therein provided, two examining clerks, each to receive an annual salary of dollars; and also an additional copying clerk at an annual salary of dollars. And the Commissioner is also authorized to employ, from time to time, as many temporary clerks as may be necessary to execute the copying and drafting required by the first section of this act, who shall receive not exceeding cents for every page of one hundred words; and for drawings such reasonable compensation as shall be agreed upon or prescribed by the Commissioner.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That, whenever the application of any foreigner for a patent shall be rejected and withdrawn for want of novelty in the invention, pursuant to the seventh section of the act to which this is additional, the certificate thereof of the Commissioner shall be a sufficient warrant to the Treasurer to pay back to such applicant two-thirds of the duty he shall have paid into the Treasury on account of such application. SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That all moneys paid into the Treasury of the United States for patents, and for fees for copies furnished by the Superintendent of the Patent Office, prior to the passage of the act to which this is additional, shall be carried to the credit of the patent fund created by said act; and the moneys constituting said fund shall be, and the same are hereby, appropriated for the payment of the salaries of the officers and clerks provided for by said act, and all other expenses of the Patent Office, including all the expenditures provided for by this act, and also for such other purposes as are or may be hereafter specially provided for by law. And the Commissioner is hereby authorized to draw upon said fund from time to time for such sums as shall be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this act, governed, however, by the several limitations herein contained. And it shall be his duty to lay before Congress, in the month of January, annually, a detailed statement of the expenditures and payments by him made from said fund.

SPECIFICATIONS OF AMERICAN PATENTS. Specification of a Patent for an improved tool, or instrument, for cutting the grooves in the Hubs of Car Wheels. Granted to Francis Barker, Ballimore, Maryland, 1856.

To all whom it may concern be it known, that I, Francis Barker, of the city of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented an improved tool, instrument, or apparatus, for cutting the grooves in the hubs of wheels for rail road cars, to receive the pins by which they are confined on the axles, and which tool, instrument, or apparatus may also be used in other cases where similar grooves are to be cut in metal for other purposes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof. I prepare an iron mandrel of the size of the bore of the hub, which mandrel I fix so as to stand up vertically from a stout block of wood, or of metal. The mandrel should be of such length as to rise one or two inches above the hub, when the wheel is placed thereon. Along the mandrel I cut

a rectangular, or other formed groove, which may be three-fourths of an inch wide, and as much in depth; this groove is to receive the chisel, by which the cutting is to be effected, and is made the entire length of the mandrel, and down through the block upon which it is fixed, to allow the chisel, and the chips cut by it, to pass clear through.

The chisel I make of cast steel, of such width as to fit, and slide freely down, the groove; and on its outer side or face, it has a semicircular projection, near the lower end, of the size and form of the groove to be cut, and this projecting piece being properly sharpened, constitutes the cutting part of the chisel.

In operating with this apparatus, when a groove is to be cut, the wheel is placed upon the mandrel, the chisel is placed within the groove, into which a loose strip of iron has been introduced to make a bearing for the back of the chisel, and for the purpose of allowing its free return, the chisel being of such a thickness as that the cutting edge thereof will take the proper hold of the hub for the removal of the first chip; it is then driven through by means of a large hammer, or otherwise. A strip of metal of a suitable thickness for a chip, is then placed in the groove of the mandrel to make a bearing for the back of the chisel, which is again driven through, and so on, successively, until the cutting is completed.

Having thus fully described the tool, instrument, or apparatus, invented by me, for cutting grooves in the hubs of car wheels, and for all other purposes to which it may be found applicable, I do hereby declare, that I do not intend by this description to confine myself to the precise form and construction set forth, but to vary the same as I may think proper, so far as may be found necessary to adapt it to the particular purpose to which I may apply it, claiming as my invention, the using of the groove in the mandrel, with the appurtenances above described, as a guide to the chisel, in cutting grooves, the whole operating substantially in the manner set forth. FRANCIS BARKER.

Specification of a Patent for an improvement in the manufacturing of Cast Iron Sheeves. Granted to Cyrus Alger, Boston, Massachusetts, July 1, 1836. To all whom it may concern, be it known, that I, Cyrus Alger, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful mode of manufacturing cast-iron sheeves, for blocks for vessels, and for other purposes where sheeves or pulleys are used, and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

I cast these sheeves in the ordinary way of casting such articles, but of a lighter pattern than usual, as, after being cast they are annealed, and rendered malleable. The eye, or hole in the centre, through which the pin is to pass, I make three-eighths of an inch, or more, larger than the pin, for the purpose of bushing it with case hardened iron. The bush I also make of castiron, which is to be annealed, turned true, and then case hardened, by the usual process of case hardening, by which means it is rendered perfectly hard upon the surface, whilst it is at the same time so tough as to obviate the danger of breaking from heavy pressure, or sudden jerks. This bush is fixed in its place by means of a set punch.

I tin these sheeves after annealing them, which effectually preserves them from rust, and they may also be coated with japan varnish

I do not claim the making of sheeves, or pulleys, of cast-iron, nor the annealing of such articles, as of my invention; nor indeed any part of the

above described process taken separately; but what I do claim as my invention, or discovery, is the combination of an annealed cast-iron sheeve, with an annealed and case hardened bush of cast-iron, as herein set forth.

CYRUS ALGER.

Specification of a Patent for managing and supplying the fire to Locomotive Steam Engines. Granted to MATTHIAS W. BALDWIN, Machinist, Philadelphia, October 15, 1836.

To all whom it may concern, be it known, that I, Matthias W. Baldwin, of the city of Philadelphia, machinist, have invented a new and improved mode of procedure in the art of managing and supplying the fire for the generating of steam in locomotive engines, and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

My improvement in the art or method of managing the fire in the furnaces of locomotive engines, consists simply in making the fire in a furnace, tireplace, or grate, which may be detached from, and appended to the boiler at pleasure. The intention of this new mode of managing the fire is to enable me, at each water station, or in any convenient place, to have a clear coal fire waiting the arrival of the engine, so that the grate or fire place which has been in use, may be detached, or slid out, and that containing the clear fire, made to occupy its place. I do not claim to have invented any new mode of constructing the apparatus employed, as methods of effecting this are so obvious that they will at once present themselves to any competent engineer.

The fire whilst burning may be placed under the reservoir from which the tender is to be supplied, thus rendering the heat generated available, giving a supply of hot water from that portion which would otherwise be wasted. The grate containing the fire may be placed on a small car, or on a long lever sunk below the rail road, and so arranged as to transfer it readily.

All that I claim as my invention is the preparing a fire on a grate which may be transferred from the place where it is made, to the proper place under the boiler of a locomotive steam engine, for the generating of steam as herein before set forth. M. W. BALDWIN.

Specification of a Patent for improvements in a Loom for Weaving Stock Bodies. Granted to CONRAD KILE, city of Philadelphia, Oct. 11, 1836. To all whom it may concern, be it known, that I, Conrad Kile, of the city of Philadelphia, have invented certain new and useful improvements in the Loom for weaving the cloth for stocks, for which loom I obtained letters patent of the United States, dated September 18th, 1835. And I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof.

My improvement upon the loom above named consists principally in the means by which I adapt the common straight lathe to the concave breast beam used by me. For this purpose the breast, or straining beam, is cut off, or made straight, on that side which is towards the lathe, and is, also, on that side hollowed out lengthwise, so as to admit the lower rail, or piece, of the frames of the lathe to pass within it, thereby allowing the reed to come into contact, or nearly so, with the breast beam, at every beat thereof. The upper part, and the portion of the fixed breast beam which is towards the workman, over which the yarn, or chain, passes, is hollowed out for the pur