ALCHEMIST BLOWN UP

Hokitika Guardian, 3 October 1928, Page 2

ALCHEMIST BLOWN UP

. SHOCK FOR GOLD ~ se^ke^s.,'... /. : ’ London; . August ,io; ’ . J . [ :/* I•. J f ! . ■i ■ : V 4 Alpr.e light, waij tin-own yesterday On pjurjous career of AJr Johip Joseph Melville,, the-, alchemist, o! Soutjhenjcj. As deseribetj in, “The f Daily Mail,” he claims to Jie able to tuft) lend, intq ,mercury and mercury into silye.r find ( gold.y 1 It appears, t~ha,t he has,been trying for twenty, year's at least to transmute base metals. He has convinced business men that he was capable of fulfiilling his claims, always with a res nit similar to that at Southend, where Alelmil, Ltd., a company formed to exploit his alchemy, is about to be wound up.

Mr C. W. Fulton, of Lauiicestc. place)' Vi' B.'and- Paisley,- relating Mi Alelville’s exploits in Scotland more than'twenty "years ago said: • He lmcl been taken up bv a Dr Shiefs, ivhd was ‘identified with a biy engineering' company; Kosnioid. Ltd.. It had a great Site ’ at 'Dumbartor which 1 it'was covering wit IP plant-.

A .special concrete building of four floors whs erected for' Mr MOlvil'le’processes, the exact - nature of wbi< . was kept secret. AVe in : touch with him know that he claimed to be able to produce copper from iron and quicksilver from lead, to say nothing of gold and silver.

ARAIED AGAINST SPIES. Somebody started the rumour that Mr J/awson, the American Copper King had heard of his discovery and was sending spies to steal the formula. We all went about armed and a special guard was placed on the building. I nearly lost my life, there. Air Melville, -who was a great believer in astrolegy, announced that lie was going to produce gold, but said it could only be done successfully when the “heavens, were balanced in equinox.” A huge, cauldron was filled according to bis directions and a fire lighted under it.

Mr ALelville put on what looked like a Turkish lex and wore a long yellow dusteoat. The cauldron was sealed, and we all waited for something to happen. Tt did—a great explosion which nearly killed me with a piece of the flying cauldron. There was no-gold, and as according to Air Melville the experiment could only he carried out at the annual

period he had indicated he was sale on Lliis claim lor another year. BUSINESS MAN’S €13,000. % 1 know that hard-headed Scottish business men had faith in iiis claims, md that lie ‘ received a cheque for €13,000 from One of them. Mr .Melville also asserted that he could make malleable glass and pearls. Me tried to get people to believe that if lie ground up mother o’ pearl with bread crumbs and then fed it to a male pigeon—the temperature of the hen was not right—which bad been starved for two (lavs.‘the bird .would produce the most wonderful pearls. lie advanced a scheme iJOj* filling great- tanks with electric eels, anil tapping their “current” For running the works. He was so suave "and con vine-

ing Hint people believed in him for quite a long time. A well-known engineer now in practice in London, who was associated wit'll kosmoid, Ltd., said: 1 understand tnat about £250,000 was lost in Kosmoid, Ltd. Mi 1 Melville told me be bad been in consultation with the directors ot the Hank of England . with regard to the production of gold, lie said they bad provided him with a shed in which to carry out bis experiments and they were quite satisfactory. Mr Melville admitted to.a “ Daily Mail” importer that he had been engaged on experiments at Dumbarton in conjunction with Dr Hhiels 20 years ago, and added: “'I hey came to an end because ol an explosion and my ill-health.'”