Page:A Letter on the Subject of the Cause (1797).djvu/31

 parts, and difficult to aſcertain their relative ſituations, as thoſe conſtructed by Mr. Watt; and this by the help of a Specification only, which I have endeavoured to ſhew your Lordſhip does not contain a ſingle hint relative to proportion or organization, though the entire effect of this wonderful Machine is abſolutely dependent thereon.

Nay, my Lord, I am ſo far from admitting that any of theſe four Gentlemen, though the greateſt ornaments to their own profeſſions, could build a perfect Engine from this Specification, equal, or nearly equal, to thoſe built by Bolton and Watt;—that I could venture to forfeit my exiſtence that none of them, whatever they profeſs, could with all their phyſical ſkill even direct the refixing and joining together the component parts of any of theſe engines; were thoſe parts thrown promiſcuouſly together. Or to go one ſtep farther, with your Lordſhip’s permiſſion, I will ſtake every ſhilling I am worth, that not one of them, excepting Mr. Cummings, could even ſtart or ſet to work again one of the Engines juſt mentioned, if ſhe chanced to make a ſpontaneous ſtand. At