The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-02-18 00:00:00

COMPANY PROMOTION.

i. 1.11...•-•••••••• Jr../faLKICS. •—• •

John Milton Oxley Eminson, of Old Market-place,
Great Grimsby, has appeared to a summons, taken
out by Mr. Charles William Perryman, charging him
with having committed perjury in an affidavit sworn
by him in support of a petition in the High Court to
wind up the Northern Transvaal Gold Mining Com-
pany, Limited. Mr. Moyses, barrister, appeared in
support of the summons, and Mr. George Lewis de-
fended. Upon the summonses being called Mr. Bridge
intimated that inasmuch as the affidavit was sworn
in York he had no jurisdiction, but Mr. Lewis
expressed a desire that the matter should be inquired
into at once, and argued that inasmuch as the action
was laid in London the magistrate had jurisdiction.
After some discussion on this point Mr. Bridge
decided to hear the evidence. The allegation upon
which the summonses was issued was in effect that
the defendant had made statements conveying the
idea that the company was a bogus concern. Mr.
Frederick W. Fagg, of St. Stephen's-chambers, Tele-
graph- street, secretary of the company, produced
the various books and documents connected with
the formation of the company and its subsequent
career. Cross-examined by Mr. Lewis: Witness said
the capital of the company was £60,000, and that Mr.
Perryman was the founder's agent, and did nearly the
whole of the work of promotion. In the first instance
4644 shares were issued, and ss. per share was sup-
posed to be paid upon them. Mr. Lewis: How much
money has the company got at its bankers' ? Wit-
ness: Very little—under a sovereign, I should think.
Witness went on to say that his salary was £l2O or
£125 per annum—he didn't know which. He thought
that it was six months in arrears, but did not exactly
know. Mr. Williamson was one of the directors, and
*held 100 shares. He could not say whether he paid
for those shares or not. He believed he did not. He
was unable to swear as to whether the money came
from Mr. Perryman. The 100 shares were after-
wards sold to him for 2s. a share. They were £lO
shares, and he afterwards sold them for 2s. 9d. to a
person who had applied to him for them previously. Wit-
ness was a stockbroker, but not in the house. The witness
was cross-examined at great length as to the manner in
which the company had been formed, and admitted that
no gold mine had been worked. A farm had been pur-
chased from a Boer for £2OO or £3OO, and that was the
whole of the property possessed by the company with
, a capital of £60,000. Witness admitted that he had
1 msde a declaration at the Mansion House that he
had paid £5OO as the full and entire purchase money
for the land. After a severe cross-examination he
admitted that he had not paid the money, and that
the object in making the declaration was to avoid the
Cape Government duty. Thereupon Mr. Lewis ob-
served: It is very evident that you ought to be at the
bar instead of the defendant. Witness said he did not
admit that the statement was false, but it was sug-
gested that it should be made by the directors—that
he should state the figure at £5OO so that they might
not have any difference with the Transvaal Govern-
ment in the matter of stamp duty, as it would not be
fair that they should be called upon to pay 4 per
cent. on £60,000 when no money had actually passed.
The offices of the company in Queen Victoria-street
had been vacated. There was about half a year's
rent in arrear. All letters to the company were now
forwarded to him from Victoria-street to Telegraph-
street; but there was no notice posted at the
former address by which anyone could dis-
cover where the company's offices now were. The
last Board meeting of the company was held five
months ago, and the only persons present were Major-
General Alexander and himself. The only business
done at that meeting was to read the business of the
July meeting. He could not say how much money
was at the bank on either of these occasions but he did
not think there was much. Mr. Bridge suggested
that the case should stand adjourned for a week. Mr.
Lewis said he would be able to show that the state-
ments made by his client were perfectly true, and he
would ask the magistrate "to come to the conclusion
that the company is a swindle, and the people con-
nected with it are the swindlers." Mr. Moyses said:
I must make one remark in justice to the prosecutor
—that I intend to put Mr. Perryman into the box.
So far, my friend (Mr. Lewis) has indulged in a great
deal of theatrical display, which I cannot help think-
ing has been addressed more to the gods than to a
tribunal of justice; and I may mention that Mr.
Lewis has a gentleman with him who was solicitor for
the winding-up, and that he is backed by powerful
financial men.

STARVING DONKEYS TO DEATH.
Cook,
14e!
tip
iuffini
• 031
L
700c.f
On
mgh
On,

At Dorchester, on Saturday, Jonathan a
well-known donkey-man of Weymouth, who freqUents
the sands with his donkeys and goats during the
season at that town, was charged with cruelty to his
animals by neglecting to supply them with suffibient
food. The inspector of the Royal Society p4oved
finding a number of donkeys and goats in a te*ibly
emaciated state, and evidently starving. Food), was
given them, which they ate ravenously. 04 the
premises was a hayrick fenced off, and the poor
animals had gnawed the fence almost through in
their desperate attempts to reach the food. One of
the goats died next day, and in a heap of manure
were founde. the carcases of several donkeys, which
had apparently succumbed to Cook's. brutal treatment
Having been frequently convicted, defendant was
sent to gaol for six months.

THE CHATHAM MILITARY
SCANDAL.

It has transpired that an officer arrested at Chathar.
on suspicion of having divulged State secrets, is Major
J. L. B. Templer, of the 7th Battalion King's Royal
Rifles, second in command at the Aeronautical School
in connection with the School of Military Engineering
Chatham.

A correspondent states: "The facts which led to
his arrest are these. Accompanying the Italian troops
at Massowah is an aeronautical corps, with a balloon
equipment for field observation purposes, said to be
identical with the ballooning apparatus adopted in
the British army, not only in respect to the
construction of the steel tubes for the trans-
port of gas for inflation purposes, but in
valves, gearing, the material of which the balloon
itself is constructed, and numberless minor details.
News of this fact reached the War Office, through, it
is understood, the Military Intelligence Department,
and inquiries were at once instituted with a view of
finding out who had supplied private manufacturers
in Birmingham with the information necessary to the
execution of this order. Major Elsdale, of the Royal
Engineers, the chief of the Aeronautical School, pro-
c,eeded to Birmingham to make inquiries. from the
firms who were concerned in the construction of the
Italian balloon. Suspicion fell upon Major Templer,
but no active steps were taken until, it is alleged, the
interception of a letter addressed to that officer led the
military authorities to place him under close arrest. By
permission of the commandant Major Templer had fox
some time back resided at an old-fashioned homestead
at Lidsing, about four miles from Chatham, where
the summer time the Aeronautical School have -
the last two years gone under canvas for the purpos6
of instruction. He was taken from his private resi,
dence and confined to quarters in the Royal Enginc
Barracks at Brompton. The charge against him is:
—"With being concerned with manufacturers and
others in manufacturing a balloon equipment for a
foreign country,:which is based upon or practically
identical with the balloon equipment of the British
army, with which he was officially concerned, and
which it was his bounden duty to keep secret."
"Major Templerhas been connected with ballooning
in the British army for the past ten years. He was
formally appointed second in command to Major
Elsdale about a year ago. He assisted some time back
with Major Elsdale and Lieutenant Macdonald in a
series of calculations which enabled them to perfect
the steel tubes and valves used in our army for the
safe transport of hydrogen for field balloon inflation.
Major Templer was with the Souakim Expedition
under General Graham, and rendered most valuable'
assistance to the expedition by his observations of
the enemy's movements. He also took part in the ill-
fated ballooning trip which resulted in Mr. Powell,
M.P., being blown out to sea and never again heard
of. The major was making the ascent for the pur-
pose of taking observations for the Meteorological
Office, but saved his life, at the expense of a broken
leg, by jumping out of the car. The gravity of the
charge against Major Templer renders it necessary
for him to be tried by a general court-martial, which
will be held shortly at the Central Brigade Office,
Chatham. This is the only military tribunal which
is thrown open to the public. The accused
officer was interviewed in his quarters at the
Royal Engineers Barracks, Brompton, on Satur-
day evening. In reply to a question as to
whether he would like to make a statement giving
his version of the case, Major Templer laughingly re-
marked that he could say a great deal, but, pointing
to a volume of the Queen's Regulations, which lay on
the table, added that they prevented him. He then
opened the book and read one of the sections, which-`
lays down that no officer shall express an opinion on
any subject which'is being at the time investigated by
the military authorities. ", You see," he went on, "my
mouth is closed at present; but I can say this much,
that I have a complete answer to the charge, and only
hope that the matter will be brought before a court-
martial, so that I may have an opportunity of vindi-
cating my character."
Amongst the non-commissioned officers and men
Major Templer is a great favourite, and a strong im-
pression prevails that he will be able to clear himself
of the charges brought against him. He joined the 7th
Battalion of the Royal King's Rifles as a lieutenant on
Sept. 1, 1870. It was then known as the 2nd (or
Edmonton) Royal Middlesex Rifles (Militia). He was
promoted captain on Dec. 14, 1872, and major on
April 4, 1881
The balloon was exhibited in the Great Hall at
Aston Lower Grounds, Birmingham, on Wednesday,
January 25. During the day the balloon, after
being inflated and photographed, was packed up
and sent to Suez for transport to Massowah.
The aerostat differs from those used for pleasure
purposes in that it is made entirely of skin. A bal-
loon for military purposes must necessarily be of the
smallest practicable dimensions, so as to offer the
least possible resistance to the wind, and to require
for inflation a minimum of gas. Pure hydrogen com-
pressed in steel tubes to a pressure of one ton per
square inch, forms a part of the equipment. Coal gas
as used in the ordinary way for balloon ascents has
+b. I;ffiner rvvrrnrAlP Thew
pure gas, therefore, is a sine qua non tor war pur-
poses, but it cannot be contained in a silk or cambric
balloon, as it readily permeates the hydrocarbon
varnishes employed, and the aerostat collapses in an
hour or two. The only material which can successfully
be used with hydrogen gas is gold-beater's skin, and
as but a small portion is obtainable from each
animal, it follows that in the construction of
these balloons of 5000 feet to 7000 feet capa-
city the skins of from 15,000 to 20,000 oxen are
essential. The fabric consists of sever! or eight
thicknesses of skin, and, although collectively but
1000th part of an inch thick, a strip of one inch in
width will sustain a weight of sixty or seventy
pounds. The envelope is " built " by a continuous
process. The skins being laid in a cigar-shaped
roller, a series of revolutions is sufficient to produce
a perfect sphere. The balloon is 6500 cubic feet in
capacity, and weighs complete, including net, car, and
grapnel, 100 lb. When filled with hydrogen it has a
lifting power of 4501 b. It was provided at the time
of its exhibition with a steel rope, for captive ascents,
two-tenths of an inch in diameter, with a central
strand of insulated copper wire, and by means of a
telephone conversation can be carried on with those
in the car.

in-i
fo'f I

Leer!