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 Correspondence between James Adam and 
 
 olin 
 
 3 1924 030 902 
 
 kdam and IR 
 
 llllll 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 tlie Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030902898 
 
CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 JAMES ADAM, 
 
 WRITER TO THE SIGNET, EDINBURGH, 
 
 THE BOAKD OF ADMIRALTY, 
 
 API-i-YINa STEAM POWER- TO SHIPS OF WAR. 
 
 jf 0, I.^ .Let'ter, James Adam to Sir Jambs XStiraham, 
 
 IFirst Lord of the Admiralty. 
 
 Edinburgh, IQfhJi^ l€3rl. 
 
 gj-ji^ i take tTieiiiberfcy of sribmittingto yx>u a short 
 
 memorial, on a subject which I consider of ^eat 
 national importance, and therefore deserving of yo»r 
 attention. 
 
 If you think proper t© encourage an experament, I 
 shall give my own time to the equipment of a small 
 boat or vessel,' on your agreeing to give the necessary 
 outlay, which I sTiall engage not to exceed L.200.* 
 
 * See Proposal, ^o. VIII. 
 
No. II George Graham, Esq., to Mr Adam. 
 
 Admiralty, 'Ibth July 1831. 
 Sir, — I am directed by Sir James Graham to ac- 
 knowledge the receipt of your letter of the 19th in- 
 stant ; and to inform you that the Board of Admiralty 
 cannot agree to your request, that an advance of L.200 
 should be made to you for the purpose of trying an 
 experiment of a new mode of equipping steam-vessels. 
 It is not the practice of the Board to make advances 
 of the public money for experiments of this nature ; 
 but, if you are confident that your plan is a good one, 
 arid that the advantages of it will be apparent, it may 
 perhaps be worth your while to try the experiment at 
 yqur own expensie. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 No. Ill Mr Adam to Sir James Graham. 
 
 Edinburgh, 30th July 1831. 
 Sir, — I had the honour of receiving your letter as 
 to my proposed improvements in steam navigation ; 
 and I shall fit out a boat at toy own expense, trusting, 
 however, that no perfeon shall be allowed to pirate my 
 invention, so as to supersede me in a preference of in- 
 troducing it into the British navy. This is aU I ask, 
 and a fair trial. When the boat is in readiness^ I 
 shall take the liberty to apprise you of it. 
 
 No. IV.— George Graham, Esq., to Mr Adam. 
 
 Admiralty, Zd August 1831^ 
 Sir, — Sir James Graham directs me to acknc^wjlsi^ge 
 the receipt of your letter of the 30th July, and to in- 
 
form you that it is not in his power to prevent any 
 person pirating your invention, nor does he know of any 
 way to prevent it except by taking out a patent, of 
 the expedience of which measure you must he your- 
 self the best judge. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 No. V. — Mr Adam to Sir James Graham. 
 
 Edinburgh, 23<f June 1832. 
 Sir, — Since I had the honour of addressing you on 
 the S>Qth July last, on the subject of an improved 
 mode of propelling vessels by steam, applicable to 
 ships of war, and of receiving your letters of 25th July 
 and Sd August last, I have had a steam-engine made, 
 and the spirals I then described fitted into a fishing- 
 boat, and have made a trial at sea, which has been 
 completely successful, in so far as it proves the prin- 
 ciple and the whole application to be correct, and to 
 correspond to my calculations. It so happens, how- 
 ever, that, from an imperfection in the flues of the 
 ^pil^i'i 3' St^fficient beat was not raided for a higji-pres- 
 sure ;engine to create a rapid motion, which was con- 
 sequently slower than intended ; but the motion of the 
 boat corresponded entirely to the motion of the engine, 
 and so proved the success of the experiment. I am 
 now getting the defect remedied, so as to apply more 
 power and to propel faster ; and I would beg to sug- 
 gest that you should instruct Admiral Milne,^ some 
 other/naval geijtleman here, to examine and report on 
 the subject ; and if it shall appear that the discovery 
 nilff be useful in the management of ships of war, it 
 May* perliaps appear properthat further trials be made. 
 ^ I take the liberty of sending a sketch, to show how 
 
the' apparatus m^y be attached to ships, and the spirals 
 triay, in a few minttteS, be uhshipped and stowed away, 
 or reshipped at pleasure. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 No. VI. — George Graham, Esq., to Mr Adam. 
 
 Admiralty, IQth June 1832. 
 Sir, — Sir James Graham directs me to acknow- 
 ledge the receipt of ybur letter of the 23d inst., and 
 to return you his thanks for the view with which yom 
 favoured him of the drawing of your late invention ; 
 it is a subject on which he cannot individually decide, 
 and if you wish it to be brought under the notice of 
 the Board of Admiralty, you should make your com- 
 munication through Captain the Hon. George Elliot, 
 K.N., the Secretary to the Board. 
 
 I have the honou!r to be, i&c. 
 
 No. VII Mr Adam to Ca'ptain George Ei,LroT, 
 
 E..N., Secretary of the Board of Admiralty. 
 
 Edinburgh, I8(h July <1832, 
 SiR,_^Having had some communication with Sit 
 James Graham, on the subject Of an invention which 
 1 coMlper particularly well calculated for the applicia^ 
 tion of steam-power to ships of war, and having 
 1-equested that he would order aninspeOtion of a small 
 steam-boat which I have fitted up with the propelling 
 ■apparatus. Sir James has been pleased to say, that if I 
 "wish it brought urid^ the notice of the Boaird of 
 
Admiralty, I should make my communication through 
 you. I have, therefore, now the honour of submitting 
 my proposal to you, and of requesting that you will 
 submit it to the Honourable Board, so that an inspec- 
 tion of the model, if they judge it proper, may be 
 ordered. 
 
 , No. VIII — ^Proposal JTor Propelling Ships of War, 
 or other : Vessels employed in the Navy, by an 
 Apparatus operating entirely under the Water, 
 liavented by James Adam, No. 4, Kegent Terrace, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 The proposed propelling apparatus consists of a spi- 
 ral wheel, made ofiron or copper, moved by a steam- 
 engine from the inside of the vessel, by shafts passing 
 through copper boxes ^fixed in its bottom or sides^ -. 
 
 By this means theivhple is completely under water, 
 and out of I the reach of shot, and the vessel is not dis- 
 figured or impeded as with ipaddles — the outside appa- 
 ratus may be shipped and Unshipped at pleasure. 
 
 If there should be any objection to the passing of the 
 shafts through the side of 'the vessel, the movement 
 can be commuhicatted over t]feie gunwale. 
 
 The sketch here referred to will show the mode of 
 operation,; and as the Inventor has already made a trial 
 in^ a fishing-boat, with a steam-engine of four horses' 
 power, on the river Forth, n^ar Leith, and pr^ed the 
 efl&cacy of; the plan, he now Solicits that the Honour- 
 able Board will direct Bear- Admiral Milne, or any 
 bther of the naval officers in the neighbourhood, to 
 inspect and report their opinion on the probable 
 
utility of the invention to the Honourable Board, and 
 the Inventor will be ready to attend for that purpose. 
 
 No. IX Letter, John Barrow, Esq^, to Mr Adam. 
 
 Admiralty, IM July 1832. 
 Sir, — I am commanded by my Lords Commission- 
 ers of the Admiralty to acquaint you, that your plan 
 for applying steaili-power to ships oi war will be re- 
 ferred to a Committee of Naval Officers, whO; are to 
 meet next month. 
 
 No. X. — Mr Adam to Captain Elj;-iot. 
 
 Edinburgh, ZQth July 1832. 
 
 Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the re- 
 ceipt of Mr Barrow's letter of the 23d, saying that 
 my plan for applying steam-power to ships of war 
 was referred to a Committee of Naval Officers. 
 
 I beg leave now to submit a few observations on 
 the advantages of the proposed plan, and the experi- 
 ment which has been made, for the use of the Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 The pnly mode of propelling steam-vessels hitherto 
 in use, has been by means of paddle-wheels, in which 
 a porjtion of power is lost by the resistance of the 
 water ^ the downward and upward motions of the 
 paddle-boards, which move horizontally only at one 
 point. 
 
 The paddle-wheels now in use are necessarily placed 
 almost entirely above the water, and iattached to the 
 sides pf the vessels, and, by exposing a large surface 
 
to tile resistance of the winds and the action of the 
 waves, the vessel® are impeded and disfigured; and it 
 is evident, that not only the wheels, but the engines, 
 being above the water-level, are exposed to shot or 
 other external injury. 
 
 By the proposed plan all these objections are obvi- 
 ated. The spirals work entirely under water; the 
 engine is under the water-line, and it is believed may 
 be placed out of the reach of shot; and no injury is 
 €one to the motion or symmetry of the vessel. 
 
 In the steam-boats of Great Britain low-pressure 
 engines are used; but high-pressure engines of equal 
 power occupy less space, and may be constructed, so 
 as to insure safety. Either of these, however, may 
 be employed for the proposed purposes; and in either 
 case smoke will be avoided, by the use of coke ; and, 
 by confining the fireplaces within the boilers, perfect 
 safety from fire is insured. 
 
 The use of the steam-power maybe applied, not 
 only to giving a forward course to the vessel, subject 
 to the guidance of the helm, but by disengaging the 
 spirals on one side, while the other continues in mo- 
 tion, the helm will be assisted in bringing^ the ship 
 immediately round. This is effected either by cou- 
 ling-boxes placed on the axles by which the spirals 
 are moved, or by a reversing motion applicablie to 
 each spiral. By the former method one of the spirals 
 may be disengaged — by the other, one may be retlersed, 
 while the other continues a forward^ motion ; and* in 
 either way a ship may be brought round in a very 
 small space. 
 
 The experiment alfeady made to prove the efficacy 
 of ,th^ spirals, was effected by means of a high-pressure 
 engine .constructed for the purpose, having two cylin- 
 
dears five inches in diameter, and of an eighteen-inch 
 stroke, placed in the end of a boiler nine feet long 
 and three in diameter, with the fireplace and flue 
 within the boiler. The spirals are of plate-iron, 
 eighteen inches broad, fixed on a hollow axis of cast- 
 iron, moved by a level wheel fixed on two shafts, pass- 
 ing through stuffing-boxes fixed in the bottom, which 
 are found to be quite water-tight. The engine was 
 calculated to give sixty strokes per minute, and to 
 produce one hundred and eighty revolutions of the 
 spirals per minute, to be produced by a pressure of 
 fifty pounds per square inch on the cylinders. From 
 the smallness of the fireplace, however, and a single 
 flue only having been used, "the heat could not be 
 brought to so as to produce a pressure of more than 
 seventeen pounds to the inch, the engine giving seven- 
 teen strokes per minute, and the progress of the bqat 
 was nearly in proportion — viz. three miles per hour 
 in place of nine. The motion was steady and equal, 
 and every thing answered to the calculation ; the only 
 failure being in the production of heat under the 
 boiler. But it is submitted that the result of this 
 experiment, which may be verified on oath if required, 
 is sufficient to justify a more decisive trial by the 
 Honourable Commissioners of the Admiralty, which I 
 shall be ready to direct, and to afibrd every aid in my 
 power, if they shall see proper to order it. 
 
 The expense of the trials made has been consider- 
 able, chiefly arising from the difficulty of bringing a 
 new invention into use ; but it was increased by the 
 private banner in which it was necessary to conduct 
 the experiments, in the view of an application for a 
 patent for the invention. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
9 
 
 No. XI -Letter, Mr Adam to Captain Elliot. 
 
 Edinburgh, 9th September 1832. 
 Sir, — ^From Mr Barrow's letter of 23d Jiily, saying 
 that my plan for propelling vessels of war by steam 
 power had been referred to a Committee of Jifaval Offi- 
 cers, I had hoped ere now to have had the honour of 
 hearing their report on the subjept, 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 No. XII. — Copy Letter, Ca.pt ain Elliot to 
 Mr Adam, 
 
 Admiralty, lith September 1832. 
 
 Sib, — In reply to your letter of the 9th inst., rela- 
 tive to your plan for applying steam poWer to the 
 moving of ships of war, I am commanded by my Lords 
 Commissioners of the Admiralty to acquaint you, that 
 the Committee to whom it will be referred will not 
 meet before the month of November. 
 I am, &c. 
 
 No. XIIL— ^Copy Letter, Mr Adam to Captain 
 Elliot. 
 
 Edinburgh, I2th Oct(Aer 1832. 
 
 SiK, — I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of 
 your letter of 14th September, intimating that the 
 Committee to which my plan for applying steam 
 power to move ships of war is to be referred, will meet 
 in November. 
 
 I thiiik it proper to state, for the information of 
 the Committee, that since I had the honour to write 
 
10 
 
 you' on that subject, I have made further experiments 
 by higher steam pressure, and have effected a rate of 
 speed from nine to nine and a half miles per hour, 
 and that I have also made a comparative trial, by 
 applying the same power to paddles of the usual con- 
 struction and to the spirals of my invention, when 
 the spirals were found to produce a more rapid motion, 
 in the proportion of nearly nine to seven. 
 
 I may add, that by applying a still higher steam 
 pressure, I have no doubt the rate of speed may be 
 brought to fourteen or fifteen miles per hour 'with 
 perfect safety. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 No. XIV. — Copy Letter, Mr Adam to Captain 
 Elliot. 
 
 Edinburgh, 17 th December 1832. 
 
 Sir, — I had the honour of receiving your letter of 
 14th September last, mentioning that the Committee 
 to whom my proposal for applying steam power to the 
 moving of ships of war, would not meet before No- 
 vember. 
 
 As that month is now past, and I find a piracy 
 attempted on my invention, I hope you will excuse me 
 for asking whether the Committee have yet reported 
 on the subject. 
 
 I have the honour to be, &c. 
 
 No. XV. — Copy Letter, John Barrow to Mr Adam. 
 
 Admiralty, 1st January 1833. 
 
 Sir, — Iii reply to your lettei- of the lyth of last 
 month, I am commanded by my Lords Commissioners 
 
11 
 
 of the Admiralty to acquaint you, that the Committee 
 do not recommend your proposal for applying steam 
 power to the moving of ships of war. 
 I am, &c. 
 
 Mr Adam's invention was, by his permission,. fully 
 explained by Mr J. Scott Kussell of Edinburgh, in his 
 public lectures on Natural Philosophy and Mechanics, 
 in the session 1833-4, and subsequent sessions. 
 
 Mr Adam took no patent for the invention; but a 
 patent was afterwards taken in favour of Francis Potter 
 Smith, of Hendon, in the county of Middlesex, which 
 is dated 15th June 1836, and the specification is 
 recorded in Chancery, 9th December 1836. 
 
 EDINBDRGH: PRINTED BT BALLANTYNE AND HUGHES, 
 rAIIL'8 WOBE, CANONOAIE.