All that Watt could do was to recommend that the evil day should be staved off as long as possible, or at all events until the large engines he was then erecting were at work, when he believed their performances would effect a complete change in the views of the adventurers. The only suggestion he could offer was to invite John Wilkinson, or some other moneyed man, to join them as partner and relieve them of their difficulties; for “rather than founder at sea,” said he, “we had better run ashore.”[165] Meanwhile, he urged Boulton to apply the pruning-knife and cut down expenses, assuring him that he himself was practising all the frugality in his power. But as Watt’s personal expenses at the time did not amount to 2l. a week, it is clear that any savings he could effect, however justifiable and laudable, were but a drop in the ocean compared with the liabilities to be met, and which must be provided without delay to avoid insolvency and ruin.
Fothergill, Boulton’s other partner, was even more desponding than Watt. When Boulton left Soho on his journeys to raise ways and means, Fothergill pursued him with dolorous letters, telling him of mails that had arrived without remittances, of bills that must be met, of wages that must be paid on Saturday night, and of the impending bankruptcy of the firm, which he again and again declared to be “inevitable.” “Better stop payment at once,” said he, “call our creditors together, and face the worst, than go on in this neck-and-neck race with ruin.” Boulton would hurry back to Soho, to quiet Fothergill, and keep the concern going; on which another series of letters would pour in upon him from Mr. Matthews, the London financial agent, pressing for remittances, and reporting the increasingly gloomy and desperate state of affairs.
Boulton himself was, as usual, equal to the occasion. His courage and determination rose in proportion to the difficulties to be overcome. He was borne up by his invincible hope, by his unswerving purpose, and above all by his unshaken belief in the commercial value of the condensing engine. If they could only weather the storm until its working powers could be fully demonstrated, all would yet be well.
In illustration of his hopefulness, we may mention that in the midst of his troubles a fire took place in the engine-room at Soho, which was happily extinguished, but not before it had destroyed the roof and done serious damage to the engine, which was brought to a standstill. Boulton had long been desirous of rebuilding the engine-house in a proper manner, but had been hindered by Watt, who was satisfied with alterations merely sufficient to accommodate the place to the changes made from time to time in the engine which he called “Beelzebub.”[166] On hearing of the damage done by the fire, Boulton, instead of lamenting over it, exclaimed, “Now I shall be able at last to have the engine-house built as it should be.”
After many negotiations, Boulton at length succeeded in raising a sum of 7000l. by granting a Mr. Wiss security for the payment of an annuity, while the London bankers, Lowe, Vere, and Williams, allowed an advance of 14,000l. on security of a mortgage granted by Boulton and Watt on the royalties derived from the engine patent, and of all their rights and privileges therein. Though the credit of the house was thus saved, the liabilities of Boulton and his partners continued to press heavily upon them for a long time to come. Meanwhile, however, a gleam of light came from Cornwall. Watt sent the good news to Soho that “both Chacewater and Tingtang engines go on exceedingly well, and give great satisfaction. Chacewater goes 14 strokes of 9 foot long per minute, and burns about 128 bushels per 24 hours. The water has sunk 12 fathoms in the mine, and the engine will fork [i. e. pump out] the first lift this night. No cross nor accident of any note has happened, except the bursting of a pump at Tingtang, which was soon repaired.” Four days later Watt wrote, “The engines are both going very well, and Chacewater has got the water down 18½ fathoms; but after this depth it must make slower progress, as a very large house of water begins there, and the feeders grow stronger as we go deeper.”[167]
Watt looked upon the Chacewater trial as the experimentum crucis, and continued to keep his partner duly informed of every circumstance connected with it. “They say,” he wrote, “that if the new engine can fork the water from Chacewater, it can fork anything, as that is the heaviest to fork in the whole county.” On the 15th of August he wrote, “Chacewater is now down to 10 fathoms of the second lift, and works steady and well; it sinks 9 feet per day. Chacewater people in high spirits: Captain Mayor furiously in love with the engine.” On the 29th he wrote again, “Chacewater engine is our capital card, for should it succeed in forking this mine all doubts will then be removed.” The adventurers of the great Poldice mine watched the operations at Chacewater with much interest. Two common engines, pumping night and day for months, had failed to clear their mine of water; and now they thought of ordering one of the new engines to take their place; “but all this,” said Watt, “depends on the success of Chacewater, which God protect: it is now down 31½ fathoms, and will be in fork of this lift to-morrow, when it is to be put down three fathoms lower, and fixed there.” On the 17th he wrote, “I have been at Chacewater to-day, where they are in fork of the second lift 34½ fathoms. The great connexion-rod still unbalanced. The engine went yesterday 14 strokes per minute. To-morrow I go to Wheal Union, and on Saturday to Truro, to meet Poldice adventurers.... By attending to the business of this county alone,” said he, “we may at least live comfortably; for I cannot suppose that less than twelve engines will be wanted in two or three years, but after that very few more, as these will be sufficient to get ore enough; though you cannot reckon the average profits to us at above 200l. per engine.”
When Boulton and Watt first started the manufacture of steam-engines, they were mainly concerned to get orders, and were not very particular as to the terms on which they were obtained. But when the orders increased, and the merits of the invention gradually became recognised, they found it necessary to require preliminary agreements to be entered into as to the terms on which the patent was to be used. It occurred to them, that as one of its principal merits consisted in the saving of fuel, it would be a fair arrangement to take one-third of the value of such saving by way of royalty, leaving the owners of the engines to take the benefit of the remaining two-thirds. Nothing could be fairer than the spirit of this arrangement, which, it will be seen, was of even more advantage to the owners of the engines than to the patentees themselves. The first Cornish engines were, however, erected without any condition as to terms; and it was only after they had proved their power by “forking” the water, and sending the miners twenty fathoms deeper into the ground, that the question of terms was raised. Watt proposed that agreements should be entered into on the basis above indicated. But the Cornish men did not see the use of agreements. They had paid for the engines, which were theirs, and Boulton and Watt could not take them away. Here was the beginning of a long series of altercations, which ended only with the patent right itself. The miners could not do without the engine. It was admitted to be of immense value to them, rendering many of their mines workable that would otherwise have been valueless. But why should they have to pay for the use of such an invention? This was what they never could clearly understand.
To prevent misunderstandings in future, Watt wrote to Boulton, recommending that no further orders for engines should be taken unless the terms for using them were definitely settled beforehand. “You must excuse me,” he added, “when I tell you that, for my part, I will not put pen to paper [i. e. make the requisite drawings] on a new subject until that is done. Until an engine is ordered, our power is greater than that of the Lord Chancellor; as I believe even he cannot compel us to make it unless we choose. Let our terms be moderate, and, if possible, consolidated into money à priori, and it is certain we shall get some money, enough to keep us out of jail, in continual apprehension of which I live at present.”[168]
To meet the case, a form of agreement was drawn up and required to be executed before any future engine was commenced. It usually provided that an engine of certain given dimensions and power was to be erected at the expense of the owners of the mine; and that the patentees were to take as their recompense for the use of their invention, one-third of the value of the fuel saved by it compared with the consumption of the ordinary engine. It came to be understood that the saving of fuel was to be estimated according to the number of strokes made. To ascertain this, Watt contrived an ingenious piece of clockwork, termed the Counter, which, being attached to the main beam, accurately marked and registered, under lock and key, the number of its vibrations. Thus the work done was calculated, and the comparative saving of fuel was ascertained.
Though the Cornish miners had been full of doubts as to the successful working of Watt’s engine, they could not dispute the evidence of their senses after it had been erected and was fairly at work. There it was, “forking water” as never engine before had been known to “fork.” It had completely mastered the water at Wheal Busy; and if it could send the workmen down that mine, it could in like manner send them down elsewhere. Wheal Virgin was on the point of stopping work, in which case some two thousand persons would be thrown out of bread. Bonze’s new atmospheric engine had proved a failure, and the mine continued flooded. It had also failed at Poldice, which was drowned out. “Notwithstanding the violence and prejudice against us,” wrote Watt, “nothing can save the mines but our engines.... Even the infidels of Dalcoath are now obliquely inquiring after our terms! Cook’s Kitchen, which communicates with it, has been drowned out some time.” Watt, accordingly, had many applications about engines; and on that account he entreated his partner to come to his help. He continued to hate all negotiating about terms, and it did not seem as if he would ever learn to like it. He had neither the patience to endure, nor the business tact to conduct a negotiation. He wanted confidence in himself, and did not feel equal to make a bargain. He would almost as soon have wrestled with the Cornish miners as higgled with them. They were shrewd, practical men, rough in manner and speech, yet honest withal;[169] but Watt would not encounter them when he could avoid it. Hence his repeated calls to Boulton to come and help him. Writing to him about the proposed Wheal Virgin engine, he said, “Before I make any bargain with these people, I must have you here.” A few days after, when communicating the probability of obtaining an order for the Poldice engine, he wrote,—“I wish you would dispose yourself for a journey here, and strike while this iron is hot.” A fortnight later he said, “Poldice people are now welding hot, and must not be suffered to cool. They are exceedingly impatient, as they lose 150l. a month until our engine is going.... I hope this will find you ready to come away. At Redruth, inquire for Plengwarry Green, where you will find me.”