The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-26 00:00:00

SATURDAY

being the case, he believed he was the party who first
suggested the place, but he would not deny that it was
approved of by Captain Warner.—(Hear, hear.) A
great deal had been said about an old oak
tree which was supposed to be the object aimed
at, but he denied that Captain Warner ever said he could
operate upon single objects, nor was he ever called upon
to fire at any particular object. The day before the ex-
periment was made, the commissioners wrote a letter
suggesting that the trial should be put off. Such a
course would have involved Captain Warner in a good
deal of expense, though it would have accommo-
dated the impatience of the commissioners, and pro-
bably to that impatience was to be traced the partial
failure of the experiment. The truth was, the arrange-
ment of the commissioners were not oily badly managed,
but exceedingly hasty and hurried, while they took no
trouble to ascertain where the shells fell which dropped
from the balloons, or they would have found that they
fell with great regularity. True, the Government were
in possession of a report and a diagram on this part of
the subject, but having gone over the ground
himself, he was prepared to say that the shells
fell with regularity, and in a continuous line.
Admitting that the whole of the experiment was all
moonshine, it was unprecedented that the invention
should be condemned on one trial. Captain Warner
said that the wind was unfavourable, and that with any-
thing like a fair wind, it would be seen that his opera-
tions respecting the efficacy of his balloons would be
established. The expressions which he (Lord Ingestre)
uttered, and which were made so much use of, were de-
livered without a thorough knowledge of the matter of
which he spoke. (The Hon. Member here read a letter
written by Captain Warner to Lord John Russell.) Now
supposing that that invention was a failure, were all the
other inventions to be ranked in the same category.
He did not think the Noble Lord (J. Russell) had
acted fairly in reference to this matter. He was always
desirous, on public grounds, that this invention should
be kept secret. Shortly after the experiment was made,
a connexion of his came to town, and said he heard of
the balloon at the Ordnance-office. Now he regretted
that so much publicity had been given to the matter.
Notwithstanding that, he did contend that with those
balloons, taking advantage of the elements, there was
not a town in Europe that might not be taken. He
must revert to the other invention, that of invisib'e
-shells, and he would stake his professional reputation, de-
spite the assertions of a Gallant Gentleman, he maintained
that if one of these shells:struck a veesel it must send it
to perdition. The effect of this invention would be to
prevent bloodshed.—(Laughter.) He could see that if
those shells were properly used, that they would effec-
tually destroy a fleet. He had been told that it was im-
possible to compress the gas in these balloons in different
atmospheres, but that he denied. When other inven-
tions in science of a more peaceable character certainly
were introduced, they also encountered considerable op-
position. For instance, to illustrate his observation, there
was the modern discovery of ether, which was proved to
be of the greatest advantage in surgical operations. Se-
veral high authorities concurred as to the practicability
of the invisible shells. There was Captain Harvey, who
spoke in most favourable terms of the balloons. He
feared that he had trespassed too long on the time of the
House. He must repeat that those inventions had not
had a fair trial. There were a great many
persons who condemned all inventions from
ignorance, and there was another class who
were actuated by professional jealousy. He was
no lawyer, but he should like to hear if the penalty
that had been threatened by the Noble Lord (John Rus-
sell)—a charge of high treason —would be inflicted upon
a person who might make any other invention, and sell
to another country. Under these circumstances, he would
move for a Select Committee to inquire into the sub-
ject, and to examine the report of the Commissioners.
The Committee would be as competent as any other
body to investigate the matter, and would, moreover, be
free from any professional jealousy, and he was certain
that he would be able to prove to that Committee that
Captain Warner was entitled to the trial which he
solicited. And that if opportunity were afforded to
Captain Warner to test his experiment, such for in-
stance as on Scilly Island, that that gentleman would
give most satisfactory proof of the efficacy of his inven-
tions. He would conclude by moving for that Select
Committee On the motion being put,
Mr. BROTHERTON rose, but gave way to
Mr. HOLLAND who said that he would only make a
few observations. He thought that the motion for the
appointment of the Select Committee ought to be
granted. The .Hon. Member read several paragraphs
from a letter from Mr. Green, the celebrated aeronaut,
stating that he had been called upon by a gentleman to
prepare a balloon capable of carrying 400 or 500 pounds
weight, for which he was to receive the sum of 2501.
He had constructed the balloon, and it turned out that
it was required for the purpose of Capt. Warner's long
range. The whole experiment, as far as he (Mr.
Green) could judge, turned out a decided failure. He
had not received payment for the balloon, nor was any
of his apparatus returned to him. He believed that the
whole subject was a gross deception upon the public, and
he hoped that a Select Committee should be appointed
to inquire into the subject, and that report would no
doubt expose the whole deception.
Mr. BROTHERTON explained what he had stated
to the House upon former occasions when the subject
was before the House, with respect to the statements of
Col. Shaw, that the whole affair was what might bo called
" humbug."
Lord J. RUSSELL hoped that the House would not
have heard anything more of this subject; it was through
the persuasion of others that the Government were in-
duced to appoint a commission to inquire into the sub-
ject. A commission had also been appointed under the
late Government, the. decision of which was, however,
objected to by Mr. Warner. In the commission ap-
pointed by the present Government instructions were
given to inquire into the " long range," that being con-
sidered as the most important invention. The impres-
sion of the commissioners was unfavourable to the
success of the measure, but they considered it their
duty to allow the experiments to be made. The ground
was selected by, or with the consent of. Captain
Warier himself. There was a certain spot fixed called
" The Fair Oak," and the gallant officers who formed
that commission placed themselves close to the mark.
It was his (Lord John Russell) fear, not for the
safety of the gallant officer, but for something
which might be very wide of the mark, some village or
some other property, perhaps, at the distance of a mile
or so from the mark.—(Laughter.) Captain Warner
waited for some time for the wind, as he said, being in
the proper direction. It is said that a certain number of
these balls or shells might be carried three, four, or five
miles. Now, the result was that a great many of them
were carried only one mile, and others fell at different
points from one to two miles off the point at which they
were directed. With respect to the balloon, to use the
words of the Noble Lord, it wabbled—(Laughter)—and
lost the road trice ; and in short the balls were not
found to fall at certain spots, and at fixed distances, as
had been expected. With regard to the two points,
certainty of aim, and the power of using the invention
under all circumstances, neither of them had been
realised. There was no certainty of aim, and there was
no power of using it under all circumstances, for the
alteration of the wind, and several other circumstances,
rendered this impossible. With regard to the testing of
the experiments, every precaution, he believed, had
been taken ; but notwithstanding this, it was impossible
to prevent some parts of the secret from escaping, for
they disclosed themselves. He said nothing with regard
to the other inventions of Captain Warner, but with re-
gard to the long range, which had attracted so much
attention, he had no hesitation in saying that it had
.failed to do what was promised respecting it. It ap-
peared to the commissioners, also, that it was no new
--invention, for at the commencement of the late war,
offers of a similar kind had been made to the Government
of that day. With regard to the money which had been
expended in its invention, he did not regret it, for it
proved, that although Captain Warner had no intention
of deceiving the Government, he had every opportunity
of testing the success of his experiment. The Noble
Lord (Lord Ingestre) asked fora steam-ship in order to
have a further trial, but he (Lord John Russell) did not
think this was at all necessary. It had already had
every facility for being tested, and the result had been a
complete failure in the promises which had been made
with regard to it.
Mr. AGLIONBY thought the Noble Lord had not
the slightest chance of getting this Committee, He
thought, however, that the arguments of the Noble Lord
who had just sat down were more fair and more honour-
able to Captain Warner than those which were in the
hoe.: ..f hoinrrmipri sal et hi g ieeeptin He depre-
cated the tone of ridicule used in the house towards
Captain Warner, for lie thought the subject was not one
of ridicule or absurdity, but one fully deserving of in-
quiry. Mr. Green himself would not say that the expe-
riment was an absurd one, and he thought it not at all
creditable to him to have his own case brought before
the House for the paltry consideration which it involved.
Sir HOWARD DOUGLAS opposed the motion.
He said the balloons which would be required would
cost about 3,0001. each ; and those who had been
appointed to investigate their value had reported that
the experiment which they had witnessed was entirely
abortive, as the balloon took a tortuous course, and came
sudlenly to the ground, without having discharged all
the missiles attached to it ; and that missiles discharged
frori a balloon would be utterly useless for the purpose
of varfare. It had been proved beyond dispute that the
lone range was utterly useless on land, and at sea he
woad undertake to riddle 100 holes in one of the balloons
at 1,500 yards from a 32-pounder. It was monstrous to
saythat those balloons would be of use in any case; their
lute size, their expense and the combustible nature of
fhematerials would prevent them from being of any use
whatever. After adverting to the experiment made by
Cad. Warner on " John of Gaunt," he produced the
each' of a ship which, he said, had been destroyed by a
ba'rel of gunpowder, and said he would undertake to do
th( same thing to-morrow morning. Powder was
on• of the most destructive missiles that could be in-
velted--a small quantity placed in a rick would
shtter it to atoms, and it was only the other
da; that they blew the Royal George out of the water,
eleply by its means. Then, with respect to the spark
of light, why, if he were to consult Professors Braude
aril Faraday, they would declare that there was no
ncrelty iu it, and that the preparation was one of those
elitmical compounds so well known and so dangerous.
Te man who could believe that he could accomplish all
hthad stated must be mad—(Laughter)--that was the
mat natural and charitable conclusion to which he could
arive. He (Sir 11. Douglas) had offered to throw aside
al his opinions in favour of the present system, if Cap-
tan Warner could prove that ho could accomplish all he
hrl stated, but he had utterly failed to do so ; and ho
fered he was labouring under a hallucination nearly
al ed to madness.
captain BERKELEY said, after Hon. Gentlemen had
ccue to the conclusion that Captain Warner's invention
ws of no use whatever, he warned them not to be
dteived, as there were many Captain Warners
in this town, who would claim to have I
Wanted something very extraordinary, and also would '