The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-25 00:00:00

ARRIVALS TIII

r,S WEEK,

—ifotir•
Wheat. Barley. 1 Oats. Malt.
___,__ sada'
Qrs. Qrs. Qrs. Qrs• 390
1,240 220 80 600 ....
-- -- ,
-- —_
8,910

English ......
Scotch•• •• ••
Irish ........

Foreign ......

2,820
150

WEEITECHAPEL.
Our market ruled heavy t)-day, at barely otati°°s6l
prices. Beef, from 2s Od to 3s 2d; Mutton, 240 r
to 3s 8d; Veal, 2s 10d to 3s 61; and Pork, 3s t° 4s `e
Blbs by the carcase.

BOROUGH HOP ItIARICET.
0011%
Al•hough a good business is doing in ne"0,1000'
prices remain the same as on Monday. Duty 2b"

BANKRUPTCY.—(THIS DAY*) .0.
Mr. Commissioner Holroyd was the only 0°—,„611
sinner sitting, and the cases were unimportant.
IN RE J. MOORE. Oa
The plaintiff was described as a builder and --„,,Glisr
victualler, Hanover-street, Islington, and to-daY sd-
pointed for his last examination, which had bee"
journed till this day. issiOn
This was a second bankruptcy, former c001513‘,,,Ar5.
having been superseded after a lapse of nog Jsiross
The bankrupt had lately carried on an extensive buil Os
as a builder in Islington, but had mortgaged 2'4
buildings. ecard.
The 7ccounts having been filed on the last dal, n 9ing to the rules, a further adjournment was 4e-
consent.

INSOLVENT COUR THIS-DIA"
T.—( din t"
The Chief Commissioner sat this morning, to, hoi'
absence of the other Commissioners disposed of to •
ness set down for hearing in their papers.
IN RE JOHN LAING. 4,010
This insolvent, who has been twice bankrul*'-',Oar
for his discharge. Ills principal debt was to bis,rooo36
Dr. Laing, who had lent him money to pal °"' lli°
debts,
and enable him to carry on his businesici at 0
goods had been seized by the landlord, and 50
ruinous rate. 0 r till
The CHIEF CO3I3IISSIONER, after looking two-
schedule, adjourned his decision to enable the Sl'''.
to amend some of the items.

SOUTHWARK COUNTY COVIII%
(THIS DAY.) r.
r O'er
0. /3.
At the sitting of the Court this morning, f bar
Roberts, the solicitor, said that he was desirous (*),,,oiet,
ing his Honour's opinion upon a very impurtanii
which materially affected county court suitors .00 °E
the kingdom. It was with reference to the sectdefea.
the Act by which it was enacted " that when hu
ant did not reside in the plaintiff's district, -
tirocebs
cause of action aro:e in the district of the letEr: Phis dlr.
might issue, by the leave of the court, out O. it iffi.
triet." In the case iu which he was concerned' act is
or
to the
for goods sold and delivered to the defendant's
various parts of the country, the order being,seii,tfeth!
plaintiff in this district. His client accordingly ac. 0,1 .„
credit here to the defendant, who carried on gu'hotrefe"
of a hawker, and now nfgh cted to ay. Ile' Id ewe ii
entertained a doubt as to whetter
that the cause of action arose inetrhehdirsisetirliecr ocf°tilh„.l.9rceofourres:
although the order was given here. lie, „S'beject.,
wished his Honour to give his opinion on the sue bol;
Ale. TEAouE, another solicitor, said that 1;431 f
similarn application to make on the part of c-ots
the country.
supplied a hawker with goods in varionsloont'
country. He also wished to know Phis
'011"
opinion. ,he p 161,,
kits 'lloriona said it was his opinion that -Ai of ""te
could not make the required affidavit, ineoahecultr;
,pd if, •
goods had not been delivered in the district of t' Oh"
consequently the contract was not comple— oof tPt
however, have been differeat had 00 clitilise, could n
bet n for goods bargain, d fir and sold. -1-` at
ehi oat
Alow the summonses to issue
Mr. RuBERTS said no doubt the ruling 0. —,5,.,c1e111',(1
was good, but still it was a grt at hardship to "10 hop'/
who gave large credit to hawkers. However, our%
his en
si
the public would be made acquainted with his en ft.'
decision, which would prevent many "4°132
icing ruined.

BOW r EET.—(THIS D'AY.?liVal;
:Iwo4oeTolurieihFishmwor:iSng Jaynes Williams and Dennis Su
i'll‘6
i several
uc:
rt ilyh other asglee
three o'clock Poter.,dgoeatitii
as called to Charles-street, Pau, 05i0g 7,
he purpose sacaillitisntgablPes°,liwebeileeelinsiatbbele
of dispersing a /Bob who were wito 413blek.
fight.
Williams Witness found nearly 200 persons uss%g
V came up, and after using the 1393,,°00 the
when be laere
ni m moest sreevwer
gusting
in inch and a bleraitm.
drew
proceeded to take hien into
.., .traeit
left e language, struck witness a violent hic'casotiP
evidence andPnil'en.
1P i I it, atna, dei chargeddr sdh
the time. a Pliii
Powell, a ' iahi
ds
acrosse epottahh:e aabnledi
atedb,p,
iervedhs
ieverebrr
ye
vir ,;r9001,101
cot
ib Ist
with '' It
said while P►ke was struggling d woe f
flaws the
had considerablei.lo ditfic(lnuslt:,bilne'rsen:
other prisoner ca • d hita 1113 00 °
me hehin
him several times d• e
the upon the back of the ties and 01
prisoner's companions also struck Pike' Poo ate•
tion. wcr-ots were thrown from the theo, so
brickbats
Sullivanand paving-stones
were
thrown
° I'
hi°3°l3
threw a stone at witness, which sir '
Tne prisoners csoani
said
ttahbetye swseari
were
ii
i. they
us :a . utli
the back of the head andit '
removing
negatrboelo:attowe
in
c:lii:
cut severely. joie
Several other
assaulted. vot
the cone
ebrye 8160
1
vPb
who struck on the
them with their staves• P .-
bru/Ntir.. UE_NRY, after severely commenting ,11-nrov
ality ot the assault • ' d been clear/Jr r bieffr
s, Kidd it ha Os° jig
that William h '
5 ad violentl assaulted three c
_iep
for which he should send him prison for threeo con'
to vite also hit
months, being, a month for each assault. ••-• the as* ,
witted S • ullivan to prison for one month for i'v 000"
wo to
upon Powell;
and he also fined bim 54, or t
to the assault upon Kelley. oaf
a gr. '
The prisoners were then locked up, and r Peri°
said he otbed 0 00
would grant warrants aainst any
who could be • •
Identified as having been Ogg°
disturbance.
______— -.,-, A Y•) .

CLERKEN----WELL.—( TOTS ilfl'll4°lB'
eed:: William
were charged before Mr. T
circumstances George
yGrwerhairtd,t,
least °lie
A polie- constable stated that, about batil-aeoet
this m '-
a rain
torning, he saw the prisoners :tending Toosa
is, t, a dead wall in John-street-road. where t
lone bets
~,,,,, foro.: a considerable space, both dark and looentberli
:In _ b-erved that the woman repeatedly left the o
sier
red,walked loiterin 1
g-Y up or down the rod a c2:0010
rrway, returning each time, after awhile, to the 9 tbe
prisoners. This excited his suspicions (especialif fir ate'
b. man had been convicted in al court before o'oor
ing drunken men), and he concealedis himself ill Otal,
w way, where ho could hear and see what poesed,ii. ehteiti:
unagjr tAbrfollolvvia
afterwards he noticed a drunken man, lid ess"-' °il ck
,we r Ann !„,
down the road towards the spot, when .---- b. P.
said to her companions, ~ Here's one at last, °be AE
uostcd
persist the man, who pushed her from him, buts
,sea the
persisting when the witness interposed. Ile fluvlo. V 9
prisoners to go home, but they refused to do 6 0 Or'
left,
ccn.but kept his eye on them, and salv the WI tokeet
I gin the direction which the drunken wan h,il;fli till,
the other prisoners following, bus seeing P'—'to A
ql
urned another way. lie again advised theol ece
then were
and as they refused t', do so, and he 511010
were prowling about with the woman 0 D t
bb''
ro ing drunken
The men, he locked them tip. e tigb„.
tIY
MAGISTRATE said the cflicer did per
_AI
The woman was well known in the court, but as '00:h
was actually done in the way of robbery, " Air
they
reepi vett an Tied t
excellent character, he discharged
4 main.

THE SUN,

e WESTMINSTER.—(THIS DAY.)
$ John Hutchings was brought up on suspicion of having
i Pc'hbed George groom, shoemaker, of the sum of 61. 10s.,
and a !jiver watch.
3 George Groom stated that he went out on Sunday
3 arlernoon ab .ut three o'clock, and returned about ten,
when he found some one had been in his room, and ran-
i Eatked his box, from-which 61. 10s. was missing, and a
w'ttuh was likewise gone from his mantel-piece. The
i Pr'sonar was in the habit of coming to bis house.
a Robert Walker stated that he saw the prisoner on
P Honda y last, at a singing-room in the Waterloo-road.
a the prisoner was very flush of money, and pulled our a
• 'andtul of silver and copper, and also some gold. Knew
‘''
" Lad been cut of work for some time, and thought it
• strange he should have so much. The prisoner told him
be bad 61. 10s.
3 f Charles Revell, 175 L, apprehended the prisoner, and
r i)und 34. 54d. in his possession. had heard nothing of
3 the ether property.
1 . The case was remanded till Saturday, for the produc
I
100 of further evidence.
•
i t

REV. DR. CUMMING'S SERMON

BEFORE HER MAJESTY.
CRATHIE, SUNDAY, SEPT. 22.—This morning the
Rev. Dr. Cumming, of the Scotch National Church,
Gwent-garden, preached from Isaiah, 45th chapter,
22d verse—" Look unto me and be 3e saved, all ye
ends e: the earth." There were present in the royal
pew her Majesty the Queen, Prince Albert, and the
Marchioness of Douro. In the next pew were the
Duchess of Kent and other distinguished persons
belonging to the Court. In other parts of the church
we observed the Chief of Invercauld, Lady Agnes
Duff, and others. The preacher divided the religions
of mankind into three great categories—the religion
of man, the religion of the priest, and the religion of God
the Saviour. He enlarged on the last division without
notes, acd we should suppose he was the first extem-
pore preacher her Majesty ever heard. We understand
from good authority that the sermon will be sub-
mitted to the public, and will thus naturally excite no
ordinary interest. It was certainly a most impresthve
spectacle to see the Queen of England, her Royal
Consort, and her august mother, surrounded by High-
land peasants, with their plaids and brogue:, and
Highland women, with their white mulches, united in
worshipping God. The rich and the poor thus meet-
ing together, and listening to a clear and faithful ex-
hibition of the Gospel, as remote from extravagance
and licences as it was from Popish and Puseyite
superstition. The Queen was attired with extreme
.implicity. She joined audibly in singing the Scot-
tish Psalms, and listened with the closest attention to
the preacher. Dr. Cumming preached on the even•
ing of the same day at the parish church of Braemar,
at which Lord and Lady John Russell, General Sir
Alexander and Lady Duff, Lady Agnes Duff, Mr.
and Mrs. Farquharson (of Invercauld), Mr. Ricardo,
and other visitors and residents attended. The day
was extremely fine. Lochnagar showed his peaks
towering above the hills, and the red deer showed
their sense of approaching winter by appearing in the
valleys.
We venture to predict that Dr. Cumming's sermon,
however it may have been appreciated by her Majesty,
will be anything but popular with certain classes in
the diocese of Exeter.—Morning Paper.

AST INDIA-HOUSE:—('PHIS DAY.)
cThe quarterly general court of the East India
uttpany was held to-day at the India-house, at
"w*'lve o'clock.
to d• Shepherd, Esq., the Chairman of the Company,
1( the chair.
The minutes of the last Court having been read and
°Pted,
Directors
PETER GORDON recommended the Court of
lrectors to give to the inhabitants of India a Parlia-
Illellt of their own, however small it might be, but
"ene that would give to the people of that far distant
:41)trY a control over their local affairs. He could
t)t but think that it was a farce, nay a hardship, that
re; People of India should be under the necessity of
redress
to the Home Government in England for
elig.rees of any of their local grievances. He depre-
reted the mode in which the present Court of Di-
rectors were elected, and considered that that election
e_osuld be in the Crown, and by that means put an
1 to a long and expensive canvass which had
ti:(:tlerto taken place. He had himself suffered from
fJe present mode of managing the empire of India,
heri he had been punished without any accusation
ti,ng made against him, and without being called
itVri or afforded an opportunity to defend himself.
Honourable Proprietor, after a long and diacur-
re: sPeech, concluded by moving—" That the Court
fltiaStrnioennd their executive to take into their con-
the expulsion of Captain Peter Gordon
Madura, on the 20th October, 182 G."
pro During the course of Mr. Gordon's speech several
re jrietors complained most bitterly of the continued
reeentations of that grievance which the Hon.
thre?rietor imagined he had sustained, and hoped that
Lieould be put an end to.
14"-rrter rome discussion the motion was negatived by
busige majority, and after some further ordinary
4ess bad been disposed of, the Court adjourned.

MARSHAL HAYNAU.
sirTO THE EDITOR OF THE MORNING HERALD.
le b vs-Lord Drumlanrig encloses a copy of a letter
it 4s Seat to the Morning Chronicle, and requests
pub
lished in the Morning Herald.
Edinburgh.

Sir
1° THE EDITOR OF THE MORNING CHRONICLE.
rem. '-'4laving for many years been in the habit of
ti:)g the Morning Chronicle, I shall greatly re-
Boe'° find myself compelled to discontinue doing
e
da3, but, seriously speaking, if on every alternat
artier
the week I am to be obliged to digest a leading
oe tke on the virtues (!) of. General Haynau ; and if
00" e other three days of the week the same worn-
fore dtiresoine, and most un-English SUBJECT is to be
Potteh; upon my notice in the shape of letters pur-
te,„ gto come from indignant but anonymous cor-
thrdents—letters, however, which, until they can
10Z bond fide signatures and addresses, must be
leAteuPon as mere variations from the same ta-
ttioat" Pen which indites the leading articles--then
(IE4II Unwilling, but from sheer necessity, in self-
ttgeetee, shall I find myself compelled to request your
the -1,7.3 o discontinue forwarding me an old friend—
'°rning Chronicle.
Ot Haynau young—of Haynau old—
Of Haynau het—of Haynau cold;
Of Haynau tender—of Haynau tough,
I must protest I've had enough."
Ecio_. obedient servant,
[welnurgh, Sept. 21. DRUMLANRIG, M.P .
Pr e,s coincide so entirely in the opinions here ex-
thiree' by the Noble Lord the Member for Dumfries-
Dagt that We
_have suppressed now for some time
tbia a Multitude of letters transmitted to us, upon
INtlcti °et unpal
Hen atable subject, by a variety of cobeg
rre-
thee, ente• ctfortb, therefore, we must
Ile,sinc.errespondents to refrain from rendering us th,e,
Ing recipients of their " virtuous indignation.
Sun.]
411 L 171

ORICSHIREMAN AND OURSELVES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE
t4it SIR —My attention has just beSerdirected to
eeotst unwarranted and unjustifiable attack upon me,
sineis w in the Yorkshireman, of the 21st instant,
the writer, departing from the usualand
attlottel existing among members of the press, and
gentlemen, has thought proper to bring againstr
fvhrersonally and by name the grave, and to a p oof
ha°ll!4l Mao, most injurious and offensive, charge of
the pro-
bap, been operated upon,"—a charge which be
age. preceding week made in almost similar t
Yao) and which he formally, although ratherems
l.
ThVeefullY, with lrew in his last publication
horahl and obvious meaning of this charge is, that
half been bribM or unduly influenced by or ontieesble-
-14 hi" Alr. Hudson, to write certain articles
4r. -114314 favour, in which I was assisted by
ow, ,7113' Seymour, and that I was "practised
Xt :iirou-L
the instrumentality of Mr. Close.
report-8
asked, "May not this explain the erroneous
6uegt that the editor of The Sun had been the
°f Mr. Close ? Was it Mr. Martin,
then,ah°
4,44
,thus
figured in York as the editor of T
tehich We are informed, from a
source
ratircie n t
'e can rely, that it was so, and hus on "
the
Way thr is out." Here is a distinct statementthatl
e guest of M
Mr. Close at York, given from " a
beg t° an which the editor can rely."
In
air,. kr, Say, that I never, to my knowledge, saw
at, Close in my life, nor
teem communication from himd,iddirlectel
York, and
yvernrrec.edivie.
etv,l7," I was never in the city of
Is, en in Yorkshire but once, in 1848, when
ev4at down on professional business, on
1.0110,11. g) to lknaresborough, returning on onethe
to te"ing evening to London. I shall not condescend.
the .3' what articles I have written or not written in
to
}iournal with which it is my pride and happiness
been so long connected ; but this much I
Ittlth::,11 1 assert, that I have never shared in the
se yna-- ''''' of any article with Mr. Digby
Lk, b'ur) or
n any other person. What I have written
4sistßee °a my own sole responsibility, without any
tievor" whatever. I will further add, that I have
ety received (as I trust I would indignantly reject)
tl'ertetetilliarY favour, benefit, or advantage whatso-
-416 °r the promise or suggestion thereof, for any
the Which I have written in your journal, except.ed
tlire tgitirnate remuneration which I have received
AS fro_
A, ol yourself.
t'nly'dttlese are matters which I am prepared, and
a
fittin eero it necessary, to substantiate on oath on
lovfiiiii!litonetsiv oen ; and the editor of the lorkshireman
an opportunity of proving the accuracy
at I,
r4BSertiOnS, I shall not allude to the subject
411juiesent further than to state that this denial
but or ha been given without a moment's delay
znY temporary absence from London.
I am, dear Sir, very faithfully yours,
Luca_ RICHARD MARTIN.
E*4;u2, Sept. 25, 1850.
Nivv, f -Verbal), the editor of the Yorkshirema.n will
sitnae r°lll a sense of justice and fair-play,
the circulation give the
igPotlserkus to Mr. Martin's letter as he has to
charges he has just made against that
t.na.
"vgrienlith, and, in our own person, against t
-r
UL this journal.—ED. Sun.]

A1a5—......
~..,
____________
""1:,... 'si AND SCULPTORS' PROVIDENT INSTITUTION.
..
INnit,erda
evening .
Nil get/lent _ a special meeting of the committee t
1, star Lit 01 the above institution was. held at the 'West-
.,l4ll:4, erary Institute Great Smith-street, for general
West-
.,l
~ss, and to arrange f ; the first election ot pensione
'eotlarcjl3Prt of the so " tyo's progress was satisfactory, the
reliff eing suflicientlyc:aevailahle for commencing pensionary
pro • T
Ifidth be e)mmittee have met with the kindest support
Biel'Y of the ern do -ers who have liberally subscribe.d
aeoWelbed further einc3oura,gement,provided a disposition is
eulaterien the part of the operatives to support it ; it is cal-
itle.ail'atit,
tiakt.o...f. the latter class there are about 4,000 in Lon-
nth %%49 do "`".08, and above 26,000 in the United Kingdom.
e 1,,,,r, , ermined that two members should be elected on
ee fund, at 7s each per week, on the Ist of October
itrantide 1-o.'rhien:rport concluded by an earnest appeal to the
itB bens eased support to enable the committee to ex-
.m.
olent objects.
1,-, iN,,
h": eaten.' '3IEN POISONED.—A report has just reached
-toe 4,-.BoPer-liare of a most melancholy na'urF, viz. that
4), Pubren.ave met their deaths through drinking cyder. at
-1 aen house
at Wedmore the drink having been poisoned
"till rtiB-01,71.wkhich was found lying at the bottom of the cask.
11 I\ijoiv .v.l e a whale. .1.: ristol Journal.
4tik)l "'M.—A new bank, called the Pacific
th, 4..1as been built in Broadway. The well-known hotel,
Period Hotel, is being repaired and enlarged. At,
ok,
r no
or sue"u! there ever such activity in building lat New
2,4:44lrucalin.tttes ot h
...14ilding materials brought into the city.

LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 25, 1850.

DANGERS OF BALLOONING.
TO TEE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SIR,—An almost universal opinion prevails that bal-
looning is a dangerous art, but notwithstanding the
apparent danger of going up with balloons, few lives
have been lost, compared to the number of ascents
which have been made.
At least a thousand persons have ascended with bal-
loons, some of them many times : out' Mr. Green, for
instance, has made 450 ascents ; Signor Orlandi, the
Italian aeronaut, 420; and Mr. Green's son has made
more than 2.00 ascents.
Many others might be mentioned who have made
numerous repetitions of the experiment, but it is not
necessary to mention them here. Suffice it to say,
that near :3,000 balloon ascents have been made, with
the less of only 15 lives; and these were through care-
lessness, imprudence, want of caution or presence of
mind.
Of those who condemn ballooning as dangerous I
ask—Where is the danger ? Bat before we proceed
further, let us see what has been the cause of each
fatal balloon accident.
June 15, 1785. Messrs. Rczier and Romaine as-
cended from Boulogne with two balloons—a fire and
a gas balloon ; the latter being placed above the for-
mer, it was, as M. Biot remarks, similar to placing a
furnace under a powder magazine. When high in
the air the balloons took fire ; the two aeronauts were
precipitated to the earth and killed.
The "Encyclopedia Britannica" states that the
next fatal accident with balloons happened in Italy
several years later, when a Venetian nobleman and
his lady fell from a great height and perished. The
details of this accident I am not acquainted with.
Nov. 25, 1802. Signor Oliveri ascended from
Orleans, in France, with a fire balloon made of pa-
per, held together by a few strips of linen. The
balloon was consumed in the air, and the aeronaut
dashed to the-gtotind.
April 7, 1806. M: Mosment ascended from Lisle,
standing on a platform, which served him instead of
a car. His lifeless body was soon afterwards disco-
vered not far from where he ascended, and it is sup-
posed thtit he lost his balance while throwing out a
parachute. Having only a platform to stand upon,
there! was nothing but the cords left to prevent his
falling off, and these were too far apart.
July 17, 1812. Herr Bittorff, a German aeronaut,
ascended from Mannheim with a fire balloon. When
at a great height the balloon took fire; the aeronaut
fell on a house, and was so injured that be died next
day.

Sept. 21, 1812. Count Zambeccari, with a friend,
ascended from Bologna, in Italy. The balloon was
filled with hydrogen gas, and at the lower part of it
there was a spirit lamp, by the aid of which they
thought they would be able to ascend or descend at
pleasure, by rarefying the gas or allowing it to con-
dense by extinguishing the lights of the lamp. On
descending the balloon came down on a tree, and the
shock upset the spirit lamp, spreading the spirit all
over the car, which was immediately in a blaze. The
two aeronauts leapt out, and Zambeccari was killed
by the fall—his companion escaped.
July 7, 1819. Madame Blanchard ascended from
Paris at night with fireworks. Through the careless-
ness of the workmen the rockets shot into the balloon,
set it on fire, and precipitated the lady on to the roof
of a house, from whence she fell into the street, and
was killed.
May 25, 1824. Lieutenant Harris, R.N., ascended
from the City-road, London,- with a young lady.
The balloon had two valves, with a string to each.
Previous to ascending, the string of the largest valve
was tied to a car or hoop, and when the balloon bad
been up some time, on Lieutenant Harris opening the
smaller valve the balloon became elongated, throwing
the whole weight of the car on the valve-line which
was fastened to it. The large valve was, therefore,
opened, and the gas rushed out, Lieutenant Harris
supposing the balloon had burst. He was killed by
the fall, but his companion escaped with her life. Had
Lieutenant Harris taken the precaution to have fixed
himself in a stooping position he might have been
saved, or had he known the cause of the balloon's
rapid descent, and cut the valve-string, great part of
the gas might have been retained in the balloon.
Sept. 29, 1824. Mr. W. W. Sadler ascended with
his servant from Bolton, in Lancashire, and descended
at Whalley, where some country people who came to
assist, after holding the balloon a short time let it go,
and Mr. Sadler, not thinking of looking in the direc-
tion the balloon was going, it struck a chimney, and
he was thrown out of the car. He died the follow-
ing morning. He might have prevented the balloon
from coming in contact with the chimney by throw-
ing out ballast, of which he had sufficient for the pur-
pose, but he does not appear to have looked in the
direction he was going.
July 24, 1837. Mr. Cocking was killed in a para-
chute descent. The parachute was attached to the
car of the Nassau balloon which ascended from Vaux-
hall. gardens', and at the height of 5,200 feet Mr.
Cocking separated the parachute from the balloon. It
descended with frightful rapidity, and by the violent
concussion with which it struck the earth the un•
fortunate gentleman was killed. Some persons at-
tribute the death of Mr. Cocking to his having
wound the string by which he liberated himself
round his wrist, and the string being fastened
to the car of the balloon, he would of course be
drawn to the upper part of the parachute, when the
rope would break, and he would fall down again into
the basket of the parachute. This does not appear
unlikely ; and, indeed, it was said at the inquest held
on his body that there was a mark on his wrist, which
had evidently been made by a rope drawn tight round
it. Even admitting this latter story to be true, Mr.
Cocking might have descended without losing his life,
had not the circle or hoop which kept the parachute
expanded given way—it collapsed, and this was the
cause of his rapid descent. The parachute was of
enormous dimensions,: being 107 feet in circum-
ference, and had a convex surface, and not a concave.
Since the accident many trials have been made of
parachutes on Mr. Cocking's principle, and animals
have been let down from great altitudes with this kind
of parachute, and have always descended safely. In-
deed, the great surface of the parachute would have
met with great resistance from the air, and had it
continued expanded—that is to say, had the hoop,
which was of block-tin, been made of a stronger mate-
rial, of ash for instance, the descent would not have
had a fatal termination. The experiment was, how-
ever, an useless one, for even if parachutes should
ever be found to answer any useful purpose, the im-
mense size of Mr. Cocking's would render it objec-
tionable.
July 9, 1849. Mr. Richard Green ascended with
a balloon from Cardiff, and was carried in the direc-
tion of the Bristol Channel, and after remaining with
the balloon several hours, he appears to have descended
to the surface of the water, and was either;washed out
of the car, or abandoned it with the intention of swim-
ming to shore. Indeed, this latter appears the most
probable, for w hen the balloon was found twenty
miles inland, the car contained his coat, waistcoat,
boots, neck-tie, &c. However, be this as it may, the
aeronaut was drowned, his body being washed ashore
at Kewstoke about a week afterwards. Mr. Wad-
man, the proprietor of the balloon, stated that when
he foiled the balloon there was at least 150 pounds
weight of disposable matter in the car, which the
aeronaut might have parted with to keep himself
suspended in the air. The aeronaut might also have
seated himself on the hoop, and cut away the car,
which has frequently been done by other aeronauts.
It was a very imprudent act to attempt to cross a
large expanse of water without a proper car. A life-
boat should always be used for aeronial marine
voyages, so that if the balloon will not bold out suffi-
ciently to cross the water the aeronaut might in the
boat float on the surface of the water till the arrival of
a vessel.
Oct. 2, 1849. M. Arban, a noted French aeronaut,
ascended from Barcelona and lost his life in the same
manner as Mr. Green. He fell in the sea, and his
body was washed ashore a week afterwards. His
car was constructed simply of wicker-work, and not
at all suitable for a sea voyage. A car constructed
on the same principle as a life-boat would have
saved him.
The particulars of the death of Lieutenant Gale
are quite fresh in the recollection of the public, and
therefore do not need repetition here. The death of
this gentleman was evidently caused by imprudence
on his own part, and ignorance and carelessness
of the country people who were assembled at his
descent. It has been stated that Lieutenant Gale
was not perfectly sober at the time of his ascent, but
had drunk more than his usual quantity of spirituous
liquors. He bad also a very imperfect knowledge of
the French language, and his directions being given
in English to the country people were misunderstood,
and the balloon was let go again, ascending to a great
height, and the lifeless body of the aeronaut was after-
wards found at a distance of a mile from the balloon.
Some persons think he must have been suffocated, and
afterwards thrown from the car; but if this had been
the case, the balloon, losing so much weight, would
have gone more than a mile.
My own opinion is that Lieutenant Gale descended
on the tops of the trees (for his body was found in a
wood), and while exhausting the balloon, by opening
the valve, the car upset, and he was precipitated to
the ground.
This fatal accident makes the total number of per-
sons killed by ballooning fourteen, and one killed in a
parachute descent.
It is true that others have lost their lives with bal-
looons, but not in the ordinary practice of the art.
In 1786, while Lunardi was preparing to ascend
from Newcastle the balloon escaped into the air,
taking up with it Mr. Heron, who was only a spec-
tator, but who had twisted one of the cords of the
balloon round his arm. When 200 feet high the cord
broke ; he fell, and was killed. Perso4s who go to
witness a balloon ascent should not meddle with the
balloon unless requested to do so, and even then they
should be cautious. In 1838
. Mrs. Graham and Cap-
tain Currie descended Idarylebone-lane, in a