The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-17 00:00:00

EVENING,

DISASTROUS BALLOON ACCIDENT.
Yesterday evening an accident occurred to Mrs. Gra-
ham, the celebrated aeronaut, and Mr. Graham, her
husband, which perilled not only their lives, but thorns
of many other persons, and occasioned the destruction
of a large amount of property.
For some days past an announcement has been made
that on last evening Mrs. Graham would take an aerial
trip, accompanied by her husband and other persons,
the starting place being Batty's Hippodrome, a place
erected, as its name implies, for feats of horsemanship,
in the Kensington-road, a short distance beyond the gate
which leads to the principal entrance of the Crystal
Palace. As early as 3 or 4 o'clock many hundreds of
persons collected in the neighbourhood of the Hippo-
drome with a view to witness the ascent, and these
numbers gradually swelled until nearly six o'clock, the
hour appointed for the ascent.
True to the appointed hour the aeronauts made the
necessary arrangements for the ascent, and a few minutes
after aix o'clock the signal was given for starting. Mr.
and Mrs. Graham were the only two persons who
took their seats in the car. The balloon rose gently,
and ascended about twenty feet above the top of a
pole which surmounts the building, but suddenly
de- ,
scended rapidly upon the top of the pole alluded to,
and alarge aperture was made in the balloon. The grap-
pling irons were thrown out, but there was nothing to hold
by, and the balloon again ascended and descended alter-
nately, until at length it drifted away in a norther!
dila ether towards the Crystal Pahrce. A policemaYn who was on duty in the park states that ass the benison
was passing from the Hippodrome four men man%grd to
seize the ropes which depended from it; but this appears
inexplicable., as it has been ascertained that four min of
average strength might have held down the balloon, and
have thus prevented the very serious mischief which
afterwards took place.
As the balloon approached the Crystal Palace great
fears were entertained for the safety of a portion of that
building, and of those who were inside. The police re-
port that at the time alluded to there were between
35,000 and 40,000 persons in the building, some little
departure having taken place from the ordinary time of
" clearing out." In a few mements the balloon was di-
rectly over the transept of the Exhibition. The aero-
nauts, seeing the fearfully dangerous position in which
they were placed, let out the whole of their ballast on to
the roof of the palace. At this time the grappling irons
were within a few feet of the summit of the transept, and
if a hold had been obtained a vast mass of the building
must have been torn away.
Clearing at length the Crystal Palaoe, the flagstaffs of
which it destroyed, the balloon proceeded, or rather
drifted, towards Grosvernor-gate, and thence took a di-
agonal direction between Half Moon-street and Engine-
street, Piccadilly. As though by magic it instantly rose
again, and was driven towards the front of the houses
in Arlington-street which face the Green park. These
houses, together with those in Park-place,
St. James's-
street, form two sides of a square, and upon these the •
work of destruction appears to have been moat severe.
Alighting on the park front of Colonel North's mansion,
16, Arlington-street, the grappling irons came in contact
with the parapet. A gust of wind arose, and the bal-
loon again slightly ascended, bearing away, by means
of the renewed force imparted to it, the heavy eepino,
stones and a large portion of the parapet, hurling meal;
on the roof, through which they descended, carrying
away in their downward course the rafters over the stair-
case, which they precipitated into the ball below. By
this time the escape of gas from the balloon was so
great that no altitude could be obtained. It drifted be-
tween the huge stacks of chimneys which surmount the
houses in Arlington-street and Park-place, tearing down
all with which it came into contact—breaking in roofs
wherever they fell.
At length the balloon became embedded between two
huge blocks, the chimneys from which had been torn
away, and this arrested its progress and prevented any
further damage. A body of police, under the command
of Mr. Superintendent Otway, immediately provided the
means of arriving at the top of the house,twhere a fright-
ful spectacle presented itself. The car of the balloon
was jammed between the two blocks so firmly that all
means of releasing it appeared for a long time hopeless.
Mr. and Mrs. Graham had been thrown from their seats,
and were lying on the roof of the house apparently life-
less. The first impulse of the police was to procure
medical aid for the unfortunate aeronauts, and they were
removed with as little delay as possible to the residence
of Mr. Moore, a surgeon, in Arlington-street. On ex-
aneination they were found to be alarmingly contused
sad lacerated, but the surgeon expressed his opinion
that death was not, to be apprehended. After
having their wounds dressed they were placed in a cab
and removed under the care of a police-officer to their
residence, No. 8, Liverpool-street, Walworth.
After considerable difficulty the tattered remnants of
the balloon were removed to the Vine-street station,
where the officials afterwards attended to make a preli-
minary investigation.
Mr. Harvey Graham, son of the unfortunate aero-
nauts, who was present, in answer to Mr. Superintendent
Otway, gave the following account of the matter:—My
father and mother made arrangements for ascending in
the Royal Victoria and Albert balloon from Mr. Batty's
Hippodrome in the Kensington-road this evening. The
balloon was conveyed over and ieflated in the ordinary
way. It was necessary that the ascent should take place
at the precise time mentioned, namely, six o'clock, in •
order that the Hippodrome might be cleared for the
evening performance. A few minutes after six o'clock
I saw the balloon rise, and noticed my father and mother
in the ear. It struck me at the time thaw it was a false
wind that had taken them up, fur the balloon almost
immediately, after rising about seventy teet, began to
descend again, and as I watched it very intently I
noticed that in its descent it struck a large flag-staff
which is erected in the Hippodrome, which made en in-
cision in the silk of the balloon, at a place as nearly as
I could see, about the zone. I immediately salt
that the gas was escaping, and knowing that my
mother was aware of the fact that the balloon had got
injured, my impression was that she would endeavour
to effect a descent in the park. As soon as the
balloon cleared the Kensington-road I followed its
course as last as I possibly could, and, as I had previ-
ously supposed, it drifted at an altitude of 100 feet, va-
rying however occasionally. On arriving at the Crystal
Palace they threw out the ballast; I should judge all
they had with them. I saw them fall on Colonel North's
house in Arlington-street, and tear away the front part
of the building. 1 saw them taken down from Colonel
North's house, and taken to the surgeon's. My father
was almost insensible when he was put into the cab. My
father is 66 years of age, and my mother about 47 or 48.
The balloon is nearly destroyed. I estimate the damage
done to it at about 150/. I have no doubt that had they
not thrown out the ballast when over the Crystal Palace
a large portion of the roof of the budding would have
been dragged away. The ballast thrown out was scarcely
sufficient to break the glass.
Police-constable Thomas Bird, C 24, said be was on
duty at the Crystal Palace. Shortly after six o'clock he
saw a balloon arise from Batty's Hippodrome in the,Ken-
sington road; when it had arisen about 80 feet,nasitsardae-a he could judge, he saw it descend andagain,
t
to
scent it appeared to come into contact with the
and of the
went
flagstaff on that building. It then rose again
towards the Exhibition. It
the transept, tore
trance, and then making its waywant
across the Sere
passed over
over the western en-
away several of the flags-aft?. It
wf
7direction over Park lane
a block of houses between
ant ) Pieeaditly, dropped on to
pentrne, took a suutn-westerly
Hat-moun and rose again, passed over
the reservoir in darted over Park-
. Ete,eginGe-rseterr,,teptes.,.k,
lie
whereton-
the car became jammed between two !Haat'
street, piece, and finally settled on the houses iu Arlington-
street, g
of chimneys.
In pectr Ws l,
who had been very active in render-
ing
every r° s
ssietance to the etifferers, d Jutted the
s e
particulars of the position in which they were found, mid
the measure which be subsequently took for their sale
conveyance home.
Sergeant Bsrnes was also examined, and corroborated
the statement of Police-coustab7e Bird.
From inquiries made at Mr. Graham's residence last
night it was ascertained that the unfortunate gentleman
had received a fearful cut on the forehead, extending
from temple to temple, and also a severe contused
wound in the side. Mrs. Graham received an incised
wound en the head and several contused wounds in
the back. Both are in a dreadful state, and are unable
to give any account of the accident which befel them.
It is estimated that the damage done to the houses of
Colonel North and his neighbours is not less than
5001. to 1,0001.
An official report was conveyed to Mr. Commissioner
from
particulars of the hccident were correctly
Msyne by Mr. Superintendent Otway as soon as the
particularly un
Mrs. Graham appears to have been
fortunate in her asceuts. A very short time since some
• h her balloon
rustics brought a light by means of whicascertained
was set on fire and herself dreadfully scorched.

Mr. 'rufflell, Airqnber tor Devonport, has given
notice of an instruction, on going into Committee on Mr.
Mutt's Colonial Property Qualification Bill, for the purpoaa
of doing away with any property qualification for members
to serve in Parliament. The last discussion upon the suh,_
ject, on Sir William Molesworth's motion in 1837, led to th%
passing of Mr. Warburton's Bill, which so much mitigated
the system which formerly excluded any person who bad
not a real property qualification from a seat ,in the lioun f
Commons. Public opinion has undergone a material halo:,
since that time; and were it cnly for the character
House, and to save it from the imputation the
allowing the evasion of a regulation which it is found
possible strictly to enforce, we ttust thpartoptheetyL:i bueardaliscimoi
possi
every shade will unite in abolishing any
tion, and leave the same tree choice of their -rerpieseunatal tire;
to the constituencies of England and Ireland which Scotland
Hutt has always enjoyed. Mr. utt's Bill
Wednesday next. 15 on the orders for
DETERMINED SUICIDE.--On Saturday evening,
BD. W. Chapman, a gentleman residing at No. 11, Hyde
Park-place, while walking
Gardens-bridge,
the north bank of the Serpen-
tine, near Kensington ens-bridge, observed a man pre-
cipitate himself head foremost into the water. He without
loss of time raised an al
the body was found and arm,
when the drags being procured,
conveyed to the receiving-house,
where every means were resorted to by Dr. Woolley to re-
store animation, but life was found to be extinct. Deceased
was attired in the
his pockets relativegarb of a stableman, an
a from papers in
~ a
smallbettingto horse-racing, was ascertained to have
been"Tattersall 's. No money w
found upon him, but a atetter addressed to his wi•eanacsl
written with pencil, commencing "y dear wife," and
saying that that was the last token she would receive
from him, for he could not thwart fickle fortune, and he
hoped that happiness would yet shine upon her; conclud-
ing with, " This is my last farewell. Your loving husband.
—W. Psemcte." .
At the recent dinner of the tindolnshire.Club, at
the Chu olden, London, the subject of the repeesentation of
Lindsey was slightly alluded to, and Sir Montague Choi-
meley as,ured the Tory gentlemen present that he would not
be ousted without having a good tight for his present psi-
•tion. It is said that some of the guests looked very blank
•at this announcement, as -it it the expenditure of
large sums of matey. The total cost to all parties of the
last untest tor Not,tiLiLcautiire way estimated it 26,0001.
1 —.istamford Xercurg•