8. Parliament shall annually place at the disposal of the Invention Commission £200,000, from which shall be defrayed the expenses of the staff, and fees to “reporters,” as well as of the several publications showing the progress of Invention that shall (as now, but on an improved system) be issued; the balance to be distributed in rewards and prizes, with an understanding, however, that the amount must be reduced if the total awards of the Commission shall exceed the money at its disposal. 9. In appointing Commissioners Government shall consult the various trading interests of the nation in order to select the most acceptable persons. Inventors collectively might have a veto or the initiative. 10. The prizes may be divided between the originator of the idea of any invention and the successful introducer into practical use. 11. Where there are rival claimants, the expense of deciding priority in respect of time and merit to be borne by themselves. 12. The Commission to be at liberty to correspond with foreign nations, and act in concert with any that shall establish instead of Patents a system of rewards. 13. In cases in which pre-eminent merit, especially if there has been a course of costly experiments antecedent, appears to entitle to a reward greater than the largest in the schedule, Government may propose to Parliament special augmentations. I do not presume to recommend Royal decorations and titles, though such honours would be much valued. A writer on Patents has judiciously said— “It would seem very desirable that a system of registration for all improvements or ideas which an inventor may think of minor importance should be instituted, whereby any one could, at a moderate cost to defray expenses, deposit at the Patent-office, a description of any new idea, improvement, or invention.” My scheme is calculated to answer this good end. Here I may fitly call attention to an interesting and instructive analysis which Mr. Woodcroft submitted to the Commission. He showed— RESULTS of the EXAMINATION of the first hundred inventions, for which applications for Patents were made in each of the years 1855, 1858, and 1862 (abridged). 1855. “Of the first hundred inventions for which applications for Patents were made in the year 1855, none are apparently of considerable value. “Four of the hundred inventions appear to be of some, but not of great value, and Patents were granted for all of them. “The remaining ninety-six of the hundred inventions seem to be of little or no value; and Patents were granted for sixty-six of them.” 1858. “Of the first hundred inventions for which applications for Patents were made in the year 1858, none are apparently of considerable value. “Three of the hundred inventions appear to be of some, but not of much value.