All the mules employed at first were necessarily short; by that is meant they contained but few spindles, often 40 or 50 spindles. The biggest mule in Bolton in 1786 was said to contain 100 spindles. The preparation of the rovings for the mule about this time occupied the attention of Crompton, and he invented a Carding Engine which, however, did not attain very much success. Indeed it is said that one day so incensed was Crompton at the way he had been treated on account of his mule, that he took an axe and smashed his engine to pieces.
In 1791 Crompton established a small manufactory in King Street, off Deansgate, in Bolton.
In 1800 a subscription, promoted mainly by Manchester gentlemen, resulted in £500 being handed over to Crompton, one of the contributors for thirty guineas being the son of Sir R. Arkwright. With this money he was enabled to enlarge his business somewhat—one of his new mules containing upwards of 360 spindles and another 220 spindles. The mules were worked for many years, in fact, up to the sixties, when they passed into the hands of Messrs. Dobson & Barlow, the eminent cotton machinists of Bolton. One of the mules made by Crompton is shown in [Fig. 24].
In the early part of 1812 an agitation for a government grant in recognition of Crompton's work made great progress. Mr. Perceval, the then Prime Minister, was proceeding to the House of Commons to move that a grant of £20,000 be made to Crompton, when he was shot by an assassin named Bellingham. There is no doubt, had this disastrous affair never happened and Perceval made his proposal, a grant much larger than was actually voted (£5000) would have been made.
There is no doubt that this grant was altogether inadequate, seeing that larger sums had been voted to other investigators and inventors about this time.
Owing to his lack of business ability, and to ill fortune combined, poor Crompton did not get out of this money what he might have done. Several ventures turned out altogether very differently than he expected. He became poorer and poorer, and was only protected from absolute want by subscriptions and assistance provided by his true friends in the trade, notably Mr. Kennedy, a Manchester manufacturer.
Fig. 25.—Portrait of Samuel Crompton. (By the kind permission of W. Agnew & Son, Manchester.).
At the age of 74 he died, 26th June, 1827. He was interred in Bolton Parish Churchyard, where a plain granite tomb sets forth the following:—"Samuel Crompton of Hall ith Wood, Inventor of the Mule, born 3rd December, 1753, died 26th June, 1827."
A noble monument of him is to be found standing on Nelson Square, Bolton, in front of the General Post Office.