MINES OF ENGLAND.
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I am very sensible a great many among you do as yet look on my invention of raising water by the impellent force of fire, a useless sort of a project, that never can answer my designs or pretensions; and that it is altogether impossible that such an engine as this can be wrought under ground, and succeed in the raising of water, and draining your mines, so as to deserve any encouragement from you. I am not very fond of lying under the scandal of a bare projector; and, therefore, present you here with a draught of my machine, and lay before you the uses of it, and leave it to your consideration whether it be worth your while to make use of it or no. I can easily give grains of allowance for your suspicions, because I know very well what miscarriages there have been by people ignorant of what they pretend to. These I know have been so frequent, so fair and promising at first, but so short of performing what they pretended to, that your prudence and discretion will not now suffer you to believe any thing without a demonstration, your appetites to new inventions of this nature having been balked too often; yet, after all, I must beg you not to condemn me, before you have read what I have to say for myself; and let not the failures of others prejudice me, or be placed to my account. I have often lamented the want of understanding the true powers of nature, which misfortune has, of late, put some on making such vast engines and machines, both troublesome and expensive, yet of no manner of use, inasmuch as the old engines, used many ages past, far exceeded them; and I fear, whoever, by the old causes of motion, pretends to improvements within this last century, does betray his knowledge and judgment; for more than an hundred years since, men and horses would raise by engines, then made, as much water as they have ever since done, or I believe ever will, or according to the law of nature ever can do; and though my thoughts have been long employed about water-works, I should never have pretended to any invention of that kind, had I not happily found out this new, but yet a much stronger and cheaper force or cause of motion, than any before made use of. But finding this of rarefaction by fire, the consideration of the difficulties the miners and colliers labour under by the frequent disorders, cumbersomeness, and in general of water-engines, encouraged me to invent engines to work by this new force; that though I was obliged to encounter the oddest and almost insuperable difficulties, I spared neither time, pains, nor money, till I had absolutely conquered them. I hope this will, at least, encourage you to read over this small treatise I now put into your hands, for the further and more particular information of the nature and uses of this engine for raising water by the force of fire; after which, I shall patiently submit to any judgment you shall please to pass upon me or the invention, and may have reason to believe you will not any longer suffer your judgments to be imposed on by those, whose profit and interest it may seem to be to condemn both right and wrong; I mean such who make your common gins, and their friends and acquaintance among you; though I am very sure the promotion of the use of this engine is their true interest, as I very plainly prove thus:--
The cheaper water is drawn, the more is the miner encouraged to adventure; the more the miner adventures, the more pits or shafts must be sunk; the more shafts or pits are sunk, the more wood-work will be necessarily employed in timbering them, or supporting the sides from falling in where the earth is loose; besides windlasses and all other utensils of wood used in mines, or the trades depending thereon must be more, which, by increasing the carpenters’ trade in general, will make them sufficient amends for the loss of a small part of that branch of their trade, called gin-making. As for pump-making, that part of the trade will be much improved by my engine; for I must use board and timber for pipes, and have considerable employment for pump-makers and carpenters for timber used about my engine; but shall never employ any other person in making pipes, or any other carpenter’s work I shall have to do, but the person who was before employed in the work, or such as shall be recommended, as a person employed in the mines of the country wheresoever I shall fix engines, provided they will work as cheap, and fairly, and observe the orders and directions given them; for my design is not, in the least, to prejudice the artificers, or, indeed, any other sort of people by this invention; but, on the contrary, is intended for the benefit and advantage of mankind in general, especially the people of my own nation; and wherein, you gentlemen concerned in mines, may, if you please, reap the greatest profit.
And although I do not question but the plan and draught of my engine will be very well and readily understood with many gentlemen, by the description here given; yet it will require a longer time in others to employ their minds and thoughts more intensely about it, especially such as have not been familiar and acquainted with things of this kind; but should the engine, to the apprehension of some, seem intricate and difficult to be worked, after all the description I have given of it in this book, yet I can, and do assure them, that the attending and working the engine is so far from being so, that it is familiar and easy to be learned by those of the meanest capacity, in a very little time; insomuch, that I have boys of thirteen or fourteen years of age, who now attend and work it to perfection, and were taught to do it in a few days; and I have known some learn to work the engine in half an hour. We have a proverb, that interest never lies; and I am assured that you gentlemen of the mines and collieries, when you have once made this engine familiar in your works, and to yourselves and servants; not only the profit, but abundance of other advantages and conveniences which you will find to attend your works in the use thereof, will create in you a favourable opinion of the labours of
Your real Friend and humble Servant,
THOMAS SAVERY.
London,
Sept. 22, 1701.
