Mr. DAWES. My friend must have been absent from the House at the time the Gentfrom RhdIsland Mr. Jsuexus] reported the Sennte bill pn proposed to put it on its passage, for after fair discussion of its majority of the House came to the conclusion, after the patent had been in existence for 21 years and after the patentee and those holding under him as I ha pen to know those holding under the patentee ave, although I do not know about the patentee have made large fortunes, no further extension should be ranted. The company have laid up 80 ve%. of their capital. I happen to know that, because I took an interest in it. I wish the House would settle upon some policy in reference to patents. This patent has run 21 years. It has been eminent] a profitable one to those who have owned it or controlled it during the life of the patent. It is a patent that has been abundantly profit able, and I state upon information entirely reliable that notwithstandin the large dividends declared every year to testockholders for many years, at the close of the‘ last session, when the patent expired, and Congress failed to renew it after 21 years, they had a surplus of 85%. of their entire capital. Now, the invention has been open to the public for more thzin ayear, and since that time the public has largely entered into the manufacture of this article. Large business interests have sprungupunder it, and it is proposed new by action of Congress to give a further extension to this patent, another life to this monopoly. I thin if gentlemen will consider the nature of this app ication, and the policy that the are about to adopt, they will hesitate before they extend this patent. Parties who have gone onnnd invested their capital in the manufacture of the kind of article heretofore protected by this patent have had no notice that these parties would apply again to this Congress for an extension, attera hearing in the last Congress, before the expiration of the patent and after it had been opened to the pay he by operation of law to every one to merits the only reason it failed was because the enter fully into the manufacture of the article. So far as I knowfand so far as my constituents who are interested or have been for a long time engaged in the manufacture of this article are concerned, this is the 1st notice they have had of this application; and it is only by acci dent that I caught the name of the party a few moments a o. My fricn from Pennsylvania [Mr. MYERS] says that the rights of all these parties are secured by a saving clause in this bill. How are they saved? Is it proposed that all who have undertaken this business can go on here after freel to manufacture this article without the restraint of this patent; or is it proposed that what they have manufactured u to this time they may sell, but that hereafter they must either close their business and stop their work, or pay, a royalty to the owners of the patent? If the former, then there is to beapat ent reissued here which will be of no value to anybody. Everybody can freely manufacture without a royalty to anybody, side by side Iwith the owners of the patent and of course it becomes of no value. If the latter, if the savin clause is to extend merely to what has been one in the interim, then it closes up workshops all over the country, or else compels parties to pay such royalty to the owners of the patent us their cupidity may require. Now, I trust that the House will hesitatel before it passes this bill. This Congress, within my exerience, is the 1st Congress that ever extended be ond 21 years a patent, or authorized the ComrPatents to extend a patent., And when a few days since I tried to call the attention of the House to a case of this kind, I was surprised to see with what ease and with whatapparent indifference the House passed the bill, and established, so far as the could in this manner, the precedent of extening these patents, not only for the term allowed by law 21 years, but beyond that time. Large interests are being affected, not so much, perhaps, by the extension of such a patent as this, but by the precedents that are put forward here at this time to pave the way for very much larger interests to be trammcled and crip led by the extension of patents in this W;, an I trust the House will not pass this bi.