ark that he knew nothing whatever about
cotton-spinning. They insisted, nevertheless, on explaining to him
what they required, but they went away without being able to obtain
from him any promise of assistance in bringing out the required machine.

The strike continued, and the manufacturers again called upon Mr.
Roberts, but with no better result. A third time they called and
appealed to Mr. Sharp, the capitalist of the firm, who promised to use
his best endeavours to induce his mechanical partner to take the matter
in hand. But Mr. Roberts, notwithstanding his reticence, had been
occupied in carefully pondering the subject since Mr. Ashton's first
interview with him. The very difficulty of the problem to be solved
had tempted him boldly to grapple with it, though he would not hold out
the slightest expectation to the cotton-spinners of his being able to
help them in their emergency until he saw his way perfectly clear.
That time had now come; and when Mr. Sharp introduced the subject, he
said he had turned the matter over and thought he could construct the
required self-acting machinery. It was arranged that he should proceed
with it at once, and after a close study of four months he brought out
the machine now so extensively known as the self-acting mule. The
invention was patented in 1825, and was perfected by subsequent
additions, which were also patented.

Like so many other inventions, the idea of the self-acting mule was not
new. Thus Mr. William Strutt of Derby, the father of Lord Belper,
invented a machine of this sort at an early period; Mr. William Belly,
of the New Lanark Mills, invented a second; and various other
projectors tried their skill in the same direction; but none of these
inventions came into practical use. In such cases it has become
generally admitted that the real inventor is not the person who
suggests the idea of the invention, but he who first works it out into
a practicable process, and so makes it of practical and commercial
value. This was accomplished by Mr. Roberts, who, working out the idea
after his own independent methods, succeeded in making the first
self-acting mule that would really act as such; and he is therefore
fairly entitled to be regarded as its inventor.

By means of this beautiful contrivance, spindle-carriages; bearing
hundreds of spindles, run themselves out and in by means of automatic
machinery, at the proper speed, without a hand touching them; the only