It is much to be regretted that since the deaths of Mr. Miller and Mr. Symington, statements have been made in which the _entire_ merit of first establishing steam navigation is claimed, on the one hand, for Miller, by his eldest son, in a paper published in the 'Edinburgh Philosophical Journal' for July 1825; and on the other for Symington, by Richard Bowie, in his pamphlet published in 1833; whereas these two gentlemen appear to be inseparably connected with the first introduction of this grand application of steam. As far as it is possible to reconcile the conflicting statements, the facts may be briefly stated thus. Patrick Miller was the first to successfully propel vessels by paddle-wheels moved by manual labour. He then, in conjunction with William Symington, applied steam to move these paddle-wheels, and constructed two steam-boats, which were publicly tried, on the Forth and Clyde Canal, in the years 1788-89. Although these trials triumphantly proved the practicability of steam navigation, further improvements were required before a really successful steam-boat could be said to have been constructed. At this point, unfortunately, Mr. Miller, having already spent large sums of money in his experiments, let the matter drop; but Symington, about ten years afterwards, under the patronage of Lord Dundas, succeeding in constructing 'The Charlotte Dundas,' a steam-boat which, for the first time, combined together those improvements which constitute the present system of steam navigation. In the narrative written by Patrick Miller, Jun., a good deal of praise, in regard to this matter, is given to James Taylor, before referred to, who is considered by some as having a just claim to participate in the honour awarded to Miller and Symington. Mr. Taylor's merits, however, appear chiefly to consist in having suggested, upon the occasion of a race between one of Miller's boats and a Custom House boat, that they only required the help of a steam-engine to beat their antagonists; also, in having introduced Symington, whose steam-carriage had rendered him famous, to the notice of Mr. Miller; and although Taylor assisted in the subsequent experiments, he seems to have contributed little to their practical success.--_Narrative of Facts relative to Invention and Practice of Steam Navigation, &c., by Patrick Miller, Jun., 'Edinburgh Philosophical Journal,'_ Vol. 13, July 1825.--_Narrative by R. Bowie, proving William Symington the Inventor of Steam Land Carriage Locomotion and of Steam Navigation._ London, 1833.--_Stuart's Anecdotes of the Steam Engine._ London, 1829.--_Descriptive Catalogue of the Museum of the Commissioners of Patents._ WILLIAM MURDOCK. Born 1754. Died November 15, 1839.