tioned in said declaration, did not arise from inadvertence. And of this the defendant puts itself upon the country. And for a further plea in this behalf, the defendant says, that the reissue letters patent mentioned in said declaration, are not for the same invention as the said original letters patent upon the surrender of which they were issued. And of this the defendant puts itself upon the country. And for a further plea in this behalf, the defendant says, that before July 16, 1866, letters patent of the Empire of France were granted on said apparatus, to said Samuel Sinclair, for fourteen years from August 1, 1865. And this the defendant is ready to verify. And for a further plea in this behalf, the defendant says, that, prior to January 1, 1869, the Eastern Railroad Company, and the Western Railroad Company, were separate corporations, created and existing in due form of law, in the States of Rhode Island and Connecticut, respectively; and that each had theretofore purchased, and then possessed, a license executed by said Rufus Russell, authorizing the licensee to make any convenient number of specimens of said apparatus, and to use the same upon the railroad of the licensee, and upon the railroad of any other like licensee, throughout the term of said reissue letters patent; and that on or about said January 1, 1869, the said Eastern Railroad Company and the said Western Railroad Company were lawfully consolidated into one corporation, to wit: this defendant; and that said defendant thereafter operated the said railroads of its said constituent corporations, and operated no railroad car brakes, nor any specimen of the said apparatus, elsewhere. And this the defendant is ready to verify. RICHARD RAY, Attorney for the Defendant. And the said plaintiff, as to the said pleas of the said defendant by it above pleaded, of which it has put itself upon the country, doth the like. And the plaintiff as to the said plea of the defendant, by it fourthly above pleaded, says that the said Samuel Sinclair did not actually abandon said invention before making any application for letters patent thereon. And of this the plaintiff puts himself upon the country. And the plaintiff, as to the said plea of the defendant eighthly above pleaded, says that no letters patent of the Empire of France were granted to said Samuel Sinclair on said apparatus, before the granting of the original letters patent mentioned in said declaration. And of this the plaintiff puts himself upon the country. And the plaintiff, as to the said plea of the defendant ninthly above pleaded, says that the licenses, mentioned in said plea, were had and obtained from the said Rufus Russell by the fraud and covin of the said alleged licensees, respectively. And this the plaintiff is ready to verify. JOHN JAY, Attorney for the Plaintiff. REJOINDER. CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, THOMAS TRACY v. THE EASTERN AND WESTERN RAILROAD COMPANY. Trespass on the And the said defendant, as to the said replication of the said plaintiff, to the said fourth and eighth pleas of the said defendant, and of which he hath put himself upon the country, doth the like. And the defendant as to the replication of the plaintiff to the said ninth plea of the defendant, says that neither of the licenses mentioned in said plea was obtained from said Rufus Russell by the fraud or covin of the licensee mentioned therein. And of this the defendant puts itself upon the country. RICHARD RAY, Attorney for the Defendant. And the said plaintiff, as to the said rejoinder of the said defendant, and whereof it hath put itself upon the country, doth the like. JOHN JAY, Attorney for the Plaintiff. BILL OF COMPLAINT. CIRCUIT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES, To the Judges of the Circuit Court of the United States, for the District of Connecticut. IN EQUITY. THOMAS TRACY, of Hartford Connecticut, who is a citizen of the State of Connecticut, and of the United States, brings this his bill into this court, against The Eastern and Western Railroad Company, which is a corporation created and existing in due form of law in the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island. And thereupon your orator complains and says, on information and belief, that Samuel Sinclair, of New Haven Con necticut, before and at the time of his application for the hereinafter mentioned letters patent, was a citizen of the United States, and was the true original and first inventor of a certain new and useful apparatus, fully described in the specification of the letters patent hereinafter mentioned, and named therein an "Improved railroad car-brake," and which was not known or used in this country, and not patented or described in any printed publication in this or in any foreign country, before his invention thereof; and was not in public use or on sale more than two years prior to his application for letters patent of the United States therefor. And your orator further shows unto your Honors, on information and belief, that on the first day of June, 1876, and before the issuing of the hereinafter mentioned letters patent, the said Samuel Sinclair, by an instrument in writing duly executed and delivered by him, and bearing date on the last named day, did assign to Rufus Russell, of Meriden Connecticut, all the right, title, and interest whatever in said invention; and that said instrument in writing was duly recorded in the Patent Office on the tenth day of June, 1876. And your orator further shows, on information and belief, that on the sixteenth day of July, 1876, letters patent for said invention, in due form of law, were, on the application of said Samuel Sinclair, issued and delivered to said Rufus Russell, in the name of the United States of America, and under the seal of the Patent Office of the United States, and were signed by the Secretary of the Interior of the United States, and countersigned by the Commissioner of Patents; and that the said letters patent did grant to the said Rufus Russell, his heirs or assigns, for the term of seventeen years, the exclusive right to make, use, and vend the said invention throughout the United States, and the Territories thereof. And your orator further shows, on information and belief, that said letters patent were inoperative by reason of an insufficient specification; and that the error arose from inadvertence, and without any fraudulent or deceptive intention; and that the said Rufus Russell therefore duly surrendered said letters patent, whereupon the Commissioner of Patents, on the |