The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-19 00:00:00

The Balloon Riot at Leicester,

Yesterday, at the Town Hall, Leicester, before
the Mayor, Geo. Baines, Esq , J. Harrison, Esq.,
and E. S. Ellis, Es.q., Mr C. J. Carttar, solicitor,
Greenwich, appeared before the bench to take legal
proceedings against certain persons concerned i❑
the destruction of Mr Coxwell's new balloon
Britannia at the Foresters' fete on the Leicester

racecourse on Monday last.
Mr Carttar, in a lengthy address, stated the case
to the magistrates, and proposed to indict those who
had committed the wilful damage to appear at the
next Leicester sessions in answer to the charge.
,The Town Clerk suggested that it would be better
to prefer the charge under the Criminal Law Con •
solidation Act, 21 and 25 Vic., chap. 97, sec. 51, for
malicious injury, and the indictment was so taken

accordingly.
Mr Ellis, one of the magistrates, told Mr Coxwell
that he was within 50 yards of the balloon, and he
did not notice the slightest obstacle to the ascent.
If there had been any, and Mr Coxwell had spoken
about it, he was sure that there wore thousands of
persons who would have helped him out of lus

difficulty.
Mr Coxwell explained the circumstances which
led him to open the valve, after which Mr Ellis
said he thought Mr Coxwell exercised a very wise
discretion in not attempting to ascend. If they got
a certain number of persons together, and a certain
number of beer barrels, they must expect to have a
certain amount of force. It was an unfortunate
circumstance for the credit of the town.
The Mayor said he noticed that the balloon
collapeed, but he did not notice any riot or any
approach to one. He came off the ground without
seeing any disturbance.
Mr Coxwell was then sworn. He said—l am a
surgeon and dentist, and reside at Tottenham, in
the county of Middlesex. I was on the Leicester
racecourse on Monday last, the 11th inst. I bad
with me my largest balloon, the "Britannia," and
appurtenances connected with it, including scientific
instruments and apparatus for meteorological obser-
vations. The balloon was constructed especially
for the observations of the British Association and
making high ascents. That balloon, when properly
inflated, was capable of taking up 25 people, not for
high ascents. The mention of 25 people in the bill
is always supposed to allude to the number that it
will take up for practical ascents to have a bird's-
eye view of the ground. I had with me a valuable
barometer presented to me by Mr Glaisher ; the
intrinsic value of it was ten guineas. The value of
the balloon and apparatus was £7OO. The whole of
it, even the grappling-irons and valves, are lost. It
was not made of silk. The cost of a silk balloon,
which I contemplate making, would be £2,000. It
was made of an American mixture—sponge silk—
a vegetable matter which would cause it to resem-
ble cotton. There were, I should say, about
4,000 people surrounding the balloon—about
50,000 on the ground. I tried for two hours to gel
an open space from which to ascend. Some clung
to the netting, and broke. Possibly it was not
done intentionally, but with a desire to assist in
getting it off. I may explain, that with a single
piece of cordage being broken, more stress was
laid on the other part, and rendered it unsafe
to go up. Several persons in the car were very
violent, and feeling that if I went up great damage
would be done to the community, I feli, it ncessary
to empty the balloon, as the only remedy for the
protection of the bystanders. With the pressure it
was impossible to ascend. I therefore adopted the
only alternative of letting off the gas. I should
have ascended by myself, unsafe as it was. Im-
mediately I lot off the gas the crowd commenced to
rip up the balloon, and to cut the netting, and to
threaten me personally. Violent hands wore laid
upon me, and I received sundry blows. A bottle
was thrown at the balloon, and it was subsequently
picked up by my man. Whether that wan thrown
before or after I let off the gas I cannot say. In-
spector Haynes and Sergeant Chapman took me by
the arm and led me off the course. I considered
my life was ill danger. I have not the least por-
tion of my balloon. I subsequently learned that
my balloon was destroyed, burned, end paraded
about the streets. The car, liberating iron, and
barometer were destroyed. I am linable at the
present time to give the names of those who took
pert in damaging the balloon. I know the name of
one nerson, William Pegg, who used most disgust-
, ing language, and incited the crowd to act as it did,
Mr c0,m,5.11 was then bound over in the sum of
£lOO to prosecOs at the quarter sessions.
Mr Carttar wish; d, to correct a statement afloat
that Mr Coxwe'll had received money for the ascent,
He had not received one p‘:'nny of the £5O. A man
who was taken by the crowd for Mr Coxwell was
ferociously mobbed, and had his coat ripped up the
back as well. The defendant in this case has,how-
ever, been convicted, and sent to gaol for a month.

Neglect of a Family in St, Luke's.

Yesterday Mr John Humphreys, Middlesex con)•
tier, resumed at the Green Gate Tavern, City-road,
the adjourned inquiry respecting the death from
starvation and neglect, at the hands of the mother,
of Sarah Blake, aged two years, and second
inquest was opened on view of the body of
Blake, aged two months, Who died from the same
cause.
It appeared that the mother of the deceased chil-
apart from her
di en was a married woman, living
husband, who cohabit!, with anoLher woman. She
was an artificial florist. and she cohabited with a
person of the same trade, named Beaman. Her six
children were left by her in a room, fist in .Bishop's-
court, Clerken well, and then in Pearstrect, St
Luke's, without furniture or bedding, and almost
without food. They were found by the parish au-
thorities dying from starvation and neglect, and the
child Sarah died almost immediately.
Mr Dixon said that the infant deceased was the
daughter of Mai Blake, and was unnamed. It was
an illegitimate child, the father being a potman
named 'Wright.
Honors Lyons, nurse at the workhouse of St. I
Luke's, said that the infant was admitted on the
25th of June, ill and exhausted. The loidereloth-
ing was pasted to the skin for want of \d g.
Everything was done to save its life, but it had not
a chance of surviving, and it died on the 12th inst.
Mary Ann Blake, a little girl ten years old, said
that she used to get enough to eat. She used to
got broad and butter, and sometimes a little sausage
or bacon ; but the two little children that were
dead could not eat the bread and water. Until
Sarah got the smallpox she could eat the dry
bread. They slept on the boards.
Dr. E. C. Harris, surgeon to the workhouse, said
that he attended the deemed infant child on ad.
mission. It was very thin, and its eyes were sunk.
It was weak and ill. Witness did all he could to
save its life, but it died on the 12th of July. The
body was very destitute of fat—a circumstance
quite unusual in a child of that age. Al
organs were tolerably healthy. The mother's
neglect was the cause of the loss of the child's life.
There was no disease to cause death if the child
had been carefully tended and fed. Being allowed
to lie on the boards of the room was destruction
to it.
Mrs. Wagstaffe, 4, Bishop's-court, said the chil-
dren lived for three weeks in a room at that house.
They wore shockingly neglected and starved, the
mother leaving them for three or four days together.
The girl Sarah was quite wolfish with hunger. Tho
infant was quite as badly neglected.
It was stated that Beaman, the man with whom
the mother of the children cohabited, and whom she
assisted in his business, made £3 or £4 a-week,and
she had the management of the money for house.
keeping purposes. The bread which she gave to her
children—four loaves every Wednesday, was fur-
nished by the parish to her. Her husband was in
prison.
The Coroner summed up at length, and
The Jury after a brief deliberation returned a
verdict of manslaughter against Mary Ann Blake
for feloniously killing and slaying Sarah Ann
Blake and another daughter unnamed.
The Coroner then issued his warrant for the de-
tention of the mother in Newgette until her trial at
the Central Criwival Court.