He had many
difficulties yet to contend with. There was, first, the
difficulty of a new invention, and the fact that the paddle-boat
had established itself in public estimation. The engineering and
shipbuilding world were dead against him. They regarded the
project of propelling a vessel by means of a screw as visionary
and preposterous. There was also the official unwillingness to
undertake anything novel, untried, and contrary to routine.
There was the usual shaking of the head and the shrugging of the
shoulders, as if the inventor were either a mere dreamer or a
projector eager to lay his hands upon the public purse. The
surveyor of the navy was opposed to the plan, because of the
impossibility of making a vessel steer which was impelled from
the stern. "Screw" Smith bided his time; he continued undaunted,
and was determined to succeed. He laboured steadily onward,
maintaining his own faith unshaken, and upholding the faith of
the gentlemen who had become associated with him in the
prosecution of the invention.
At the beginning of 1838 the Lords of the Admiralty requested Mr.
Smith to allow his vessel to be tried under their inspection.
Two trials were accordingly made, and they gave so much
satisfaction that the adoption of the propeller for naval
purposes was considered as a not improbable contingency. Before
deciding finally upon its adoption, the Lords of the Admiralty
were anxious to see an experiment made with a vessel of not less
than 200 tons.
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