The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1836-11-18 00:00:00

VAUXHALL BALLOON.

Extract of a letter from Mr. Ilolland to his friend, Mr.
Prideaux, which was sent off immediately on the descent of the
balldon. This letter bears the postmark of Coblentz,
Novem-
ber 8, the day after the ascent iu London, and appears to have
come through France:—
" Weilburg, in Nassau, not many miles from
Frankfurt, Wisbaden, and Coblentz.
"EXTRACTS FROM MY AERIAL LOG-BOOK.
" Ascended at half-past 1.
"Crossed the Medway, seven miles south of Rochester, at 12
minutes to 3.
" Two miles south of Canterbury at 4.
"Raw the sea at 11. quarter after 4.
" Left England, one mile east of Dover Castle, at 12 minutes
before 5.
"Over France 10 minutes to 6, one mile east of Calais.
"Quarter-past 11, over the district of Namur.
" Midnight by London time—extremely dark.
"5 o'clock—symptoms of daybreak.
"Ten minutes past 5, greatest altitude, barometer at twenty
inches.

"Descended at half-past 7at Wei!burg above-inentioned."

(From Galelgnones Messenger.)
The following are a few additional particulars of the late in-
teresting balloon voyage—unqUeitionably the most remarkable
which has ever been perfortnedin addition to the brief notice
of the safe descent of the aerial navigators already before our
readers. It would appear that the descent was effected at a
little village in the neighbourhood of Wei!burg, that being the
capital town of the county of Nassau-Weiiburg, containing the
Ducal residence, The travellers were received with much dis-
tinction by the Prince, and their hotel had been crowded with
visitors from the moment of their arrival being known. The j
descent of a in chine so novel in aspect and colossal in size,
having, as may wed he supposed, created a most extraordinary
sensation among all ranks of the inhabitants. The only com-
munication which has yet reached town front the aeronauts has
been received by Mr. Gye, written by Mr. :Amick Mason ; .it
briefly describes the voyage as " delightful." -Further
and ample details are looked forward to with the greatest
interest, not only by the merely curious, but by the xarant, who
justly regards this bold experiment. together With the ample
means afforded by the immense machinery employed, as the first
great step that has ever been taken seriously to determine the
long-disputed question of the'utility of the scierrce of terostation.
Up to the hour of proceeding to press, unfortunately no further
communication has been received. We believe it is the inten-
tion of Mr. Gye that an ascension shall take place from Paris;
should he carry it into effect, the g,igantic machine will be im-
mediately transported from Geritianv. and the Champ de Mars
will. in all probability, be the spot fixed upon for this curiinis
spectacle. The great obstacle to the design promises to be the
difficulty in prOcuring a sufficiency of gas fur inflating so im-
mense a body, the proprietors havtug been obliged to erect very
extensive gas-works at Vauxhall, in London, for the purpose.
Shonld the ascent take place, we may safely predict that all
Paris, learned and unlearned, will witness the interesting ex-
periment; and no doubt it will be freighted with some of the
most distinguished men of science in France, many of whom
were warm patrons of the abortive attempt made last year by
M. Lennox, in the hope of being enabled to ascend with his
ill-constructed apparatus. We cannot conclude without quoting
a description given of the last atmospheric voyage across the
channel, and the arrival of the aeronauts in Paris:—"s3 years
ago the channel was crossed in a h,110,10, with this difference
in the undertaking, that Dover was chosen as the starting point.
Mr. Blanchard constructed a balloon in London, had it conveyed
.to Dover, and having joined in the undertaking a physielan,
Dr. Jeffries, by the first fair wind he ascended, and in the course
of an hour awl a half he alighted at G:iignes, in France. Flom
thence the intrepid travellers took a post-chaise and four to
.Paris, and arrived at the Grand Opera in the midstof all the beau
.ptoode assembled at a favourite performance. At their entrance
,the, whole audience rose; the ladies waved their white handker
•chiefs.lhe gentlemen applauded with enthusiasm, whilst cries
pr Vice les braves Anglais' resounded through the theatre."
The trip, thus so highly honoured almost provokes a smile as
ludicrous when compared with theterostation of the present day,
of which this last ascent is by many degrees the most important
example.

Mr. Monck Mason has been for several weeks previous to the
departure of the balloon in‘correapondenee with the proprietors
of the tzas-works in Paris, relative to their charge for supplying
wwas.
kneeatty named such a price per cubic foot of gas as
ould arequired the sum of £B7O to fill the balloon, but
others have agreed to supply it at a much cheaper rate. The
charge for filling ,L,
‘iie oalinoo with gas at Vauxhall is sixty gni-
neas• The proprietors of the
.n an gar contensplono, snoati to erect a dens
gas-in th
workk that
for sum t
heo seo mock d have i
t purpo
of Rupplying the ballo RS to be able to ascend several times
even
week during the neat aces„,,
Mr. Holland defrays the
'whole or the expense of
.th 6 late voYage,
'Act cbs t about E:300.--;Morni.y paper which was calculated.

Before we examine the circular issued by the Consta-
bulary Commission, we wish to remark on the fact, that
the government journals have taken the alarm at the
comments we have felt it our duty to make on the cen.,
tralization trickery. Mr. Stephen's pamphlet, which for
nished opportunity for our general denouncement of the
rapacious invasion meditated by the whig-radicals against
the rural districts, has found little favour with the "fac-
tion. But this is that gentleman's own affair. We
thank Jilin for furnishing a text for some very useful com•
ments to those who, despising the patchwork party, are
proportionately devoted to the public good—a cause, to
the furtherance of which our humble efforts shall never
be wanting. It has, of late, with an unblushing effron-
tery of Which none but the whig-radicals are capable,
been asserted that the conservatives in both houses of
parliament are equally answerable to the country for the
poor law bill with the government who, in the official
responsibility, introduced this monstrous measure ; but
let our readers observe the inherent but most shallow
cunning of these contemptible politicians. At first this
paltry faction took mighty credit to itself for its
liberali-
ty, philanthropy, and wisdom, in having devised a grand
scheme for the perpetual benefit of the poor ! They now
• find, that not only the poor, but that every humane and
• rational person yin the kingdom, contemplates their
mighty measure with disgust and hatred; they now,
therefore, wish to throw, part at least of the blame from
• their own shoulders, and they impudently turn round
Upon the conservatives with the pitiful expostillation,,
" You did not prevent our replacing; an evil by a greater
evil, which we staked our honour to be a decided good ;
therefore the evil lies at your door as well as at our
own." As we mentioned on Saturday last, welinpe this
Will prove a salutary lesson -to the House of Lords,
touching their future submission, under any circuni-
stances, to whig dictation, which we trust will not be lost
upon them. The threatened attack on the counties of
the "kingdom will furnish a fitting opportunity to their
lordships for proving that they profited by that lesson.
At all events, we will take good care to pliviate. all pos-
sibility of reproach against ourselves on the score of ac-
quiescence or apathy as regards the new, and we may
call -it incalculable, inroad on the national liberties.
In the morning organ of government .on Saturday
last the writer, with a cockney sort of security contra-
dicts the statement of Mr. S,ephen, as to the probable
operation of the new poor law act, in tending to the in-
crease of crime in the rural districts. It will be observed
that this confident speculater is speaking of a subject of
which he knows little or rrviiing, while the learned gen-
ileman whom he so unceremoniously takes to task has
written from actual observation in the county in which
he resides, (Buckinghamshire, we bel:eve.) and in other
counties which he has had occasion to visit, profession-
allY or otherwise. The goVernment scribe shortly after-
wards checks himself, finding that in the fervour of his
zeal lie proves (if anything) by far too much. For if by
the new poor law act crime 11-as-been represSed, there is
all the less necessity for a new constabulary act for that
purpose. This the ministerialist has just Mother-wit
, enough to see, and he wriggles out of the difficulty as
follows :—" Though," he says, " there has been thisdi-
minution, though crime has somezehat diminished (a lit-
tie before he hird told us that the direct Teel of the poor
.laws is to diminiskscriine,) that fact does not absolve the
government from the duty of extirpating it by the. most
effectual means:' Certainly not. But, as we said on a
late occasion, the real question is; " whether the sub-
mission of a gigantic tyranny, such as that proposed,
would not be a glea-ter evil than "any Which 'it pretends
to remedy ? We think it would, and therefore
pose it to the uttermost.
The circular addressed by the constabulary commis-
sion to the magistracy of England and Wales consists of
48 questions=-most of them of a very prying and 'corn-
mon-place character. Questions 1 and 2 are expressive
enough as to the jobbing spirit of tile whole affair. The
querists are anxious to know what is to be made by the
transaction, as topatronage. So impatient are the com-
rnissioners as to thiS'pOint, that they plunge in- medias
res.
," What is the extent your division ?" And
" what number of acting magistrates reside generally
within your•division ?" The plain myaning of this is—
Whit stipendiary patronage can we give to our adhe•
rents in your division ? The following query is one 'of
many which we think must puzzle the understandings Of
plain men :-
4410. Is there reason to believe that the depredations commit-
ted within your division have been committed by persons who
do not reside in it;- if so, what place or direction are they sup-
posed'to come from ?"
Questions 11 and 15 require information on the sub-
ject of " lodging-houses" (by courtesy) and beer7shops,
as to their moral tendency, &c , on which we thought
there could not at this timeof day be any doubt in the
mind Of any reasonable being. For this reason :we think
the swelling out the list With such foolish 'qtleitiOns is
only to be accounted for by a wish to produce an impos-
ing array—in other words, to humbug the public on the
approved whio.-radical principle. The 46th qUestion,
which we are about to quote, is art unrivalled illustration
of this principle :
"46. What proportion of the expenses now incurred by the
public in the apprehension and prosecution of offenders do you
conceive might be saved by the establishment of a inure 611i:tete
preventive force ?"

"Honest John Bull," when reading this, will rub his
eyes, or his palms, and exclaim, So, at all events, we
are to have a saving." Yes, but it will be a whig sav-
ing; and we have all, b✓ this time, abundant room to
know, that " retrenchment" in the ministerial vocabu-
lary, like " non-intervention," means the direct opposite
to its ordinary Signification. The two last inquiries are
too characteristic to be omitted. i—
"47. Do any, and what additional means appear to you to be
desirable in your division for insuring the actual security, and
the sense of security, to person and property.
Thus we see, that, whatever " proportion of the ex-
penses -now incurred by the public might be saved, it is
in contemplation to adopt additional means—and, of
course, additional charges is to accompany these—" for 1
the security, and the sense of security, to person and pro.
party." We don't clearly catch the purport here. If
security to person and property be establiShed, the sense
of security will follow, we presume. But, supposing
that it did not, the magistrates wilt be conjurors indeed
if they can contrive means to give a sense of security to
those who are already safe, yet in fear. Mr. O'Connell
must have suggested thiS adaptation of the old phrase,
" It's dangerous to be safe."
"48. Have you any other information to give, or suggestions
to offer, in furtherance of the objects of this commission ?"
Were we' in the confidence of the government, or of
the constabulary commissioners, we should advise the
omission of the word " other" in this question, and it
might very well stand for the whole of the preceding 32.
But to return to our original objection. This Mischiev-
ous mockery of the Bonapartist inquisition into every
hole and corner of the kingdom has clearly not for its ob-
ject the detectio❑ or suppression of crime, but the exten-
sion of tyrannical influence and factious power. We,
many weeks ago, intimated our conviction that the whigs
Would avenge themselves of the country gentlemen and
county constituencies in some way. And here we have
the scheme in all its enormity, unfolding itseif through
the specious form of authorized inquiry. The subject is,
in our judgment, so vitally linoortant to the independ-
ence of this country, that We shall omit no oppiirtunitv
of ke:Ting it at every stage before the public mind. ft
is a measure broadly marked by the ruffian Land of the
arch enemy of England.—Times.