"That this meeting is also decidedly of opinion, from the evidence produced in various publications by Mr. George Stephenson and his friends, subsequently to the meeting of the Coal-trade which was held on the 18th of March 1816, as well as from the documents which have been read at this meeting, that Mr. Stephenson _did not_ discover the fact, that explosions of fire-damp will not pass through tubes and apertures of small dimensions; and that he _did not_ apply that principle to the construction of a Safety-lamp; and that the latest lamps made by Mr. Stephenson are evident imitations of those of Sir Humphry Davy, and that, even with that advantage, they are so imperfectly constructed as to be actually unsafe.
"That the above resolutions be published thrice in the Newcastle papers, and in the Courier, Morning Chronicle, and Edinburgh Courant; and that printed copies thereof be sent to the Lords Lieutenants of the two counties, to the Lord Bishop of Durham, and to the principal owners and lessors of collieries upon the Tyne and Wear."
The following letter from Sir Humphry Davy announces the farther measures which he also had thought proper to pursue, in order to counteract the impression which the meeting of Mr. Stephenson's friends might have produced on the less informed part of the public.
I shall send off by this post a copy of the resolutions, which will appear to-morrow in the Chronicle and Courier.
The men of science who have signed these resolutions are the first chemists and natural philosophers of the country, with the President of the Royal Society, the most illustrious body in Europe, at their head.
It is disagreeable to be thus obliged to use artillery for the destruction of bats and owls; but it was necessary that something should be done.
The Messrs. ---- have for a long time been endeavouring to destroy my peace of mind; my offence being that of conferring a benefit.
The only persons I knew in Newcastle, before I gave the Safety-lamp to the Coal-owners, were Dr. Headlam and Mr. Bigge, so that friends I had none; and the few persons with whom I had a slight acquaintance, and who were civil to me before I discovered the Safety-lamp, became my enemies. It requires a deep metaphysician to explain this--Can it be that I did not make them the medium of communication to the colliers?--But I quit a subject to which I have no desire to return, and shall only recollect that day when your eloquence touched my feelings more than it flattered my self-love.
