Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1870-11-04

long suffering ana patient. They mar
well stand astOnishcd at their great In0.t,.r.
alton. They sand now, as ever, on their
| detense-so Der, discreet ana iirm-res0,gs4.
| to bear end forOear until forbea,a;r ,
ceases to hc virtnc. Ii Ill becomes bis
ExceIiency 10 seek TO lay upon their shasj.
dcrs the responsibility Tor Il crisis that lg.
and his advisers brought about C,3,aaJi,
Is. O. Pho'nir.
War Balloons
The battle in HE mir. which VIZ .ga5ii.
ed the other day by both English and
Belgian newspapers, seemed almcat to
incredible for belief, get rs it has not been
contradlcted there IS probably truth III IT,
Our readers may remember that tbis is
one Of the incidents referred TO 4 short
time previously, in these columns, IS har-
ing been prehgured in romance, but at
that time rot yet realized. From present;
appearances, however, it seems likely that
such conflicts may become common affairs
The numerous aerial attempts and udyou-
lures of both French and prusSian- in the
existing war bid fair To add materially 10
the stock Of useful knowledge on aucb s,,I,-
lects, and to lead to more general use Of
balloons for military purposes hereafter
and the greater the number Of bclIicerent
balloons the greater the probability OF their
collision. A vastly increased use of bal
looms during the future wars aDpeArg. in
fact, to be seriously contemplated iv the
English Government, which ha4 recently
been carrying on qUite an extensive series
OF Seronautic experiments ut Woolwich.
The results OF some of these essays hay
proved, according TO the london pres.
very interesting 1t IL said as regards can
tive balloons-which arc the most prac-
tically useful for purposes of rcconnoia
slnce-that Il height OF six hundred feet
at horizontal distance of 5000 feet j.
best to enable the observers to secure the
widest expansc Of view. TO be lower
gives insufficient range TO be highcr en-
tails atmospheric obscu-itias and t. lie
nearer is too hazardous. Again, it Is sad
that o captive balloon attains stability.
and remains, like litc, Mt rest, ''u&cil
the horizontal resultant Of the asccnsiolat
force and the tension OF the cord are equal
to the force of the wind" the mpcilIue
being steady, fresh device is brought into
play-thls has been actually done, we M
derstand, at WOOlWICh-tO utilize science
Tor the prosecution OF war. Eight came
ras and lenses have been arranged about
the car st equal distances, and Il complete
view OF the surrounding country mas thus
been photographed for transmission to the
authorities below. Photographers VIII
understand how this may be done, under
consideration of the fact that the rrfrac
ton Of the visual rays is the same for nll
objects coming under the same angie,
while in horizontal ground-vicw it is very
irregular. The balloon view affords, then
d uniform refractiOn OF circle, aud II more
certain relative position Of the object.
But, although to get accurate pictures o.
the surrounding country IS important. t.
convey instant intelligence to friends below
may be more SO. The old plan Of doirg
this was as follows a message was written
on tube Of white pasteboard shaped like
u cartridge and open at both ends. 10
this bullet was attached, ard the nppa-
ratus, being slipped over line, ran easily
to its attached end at the earth. lie neW
method IS much more elegant and scicu-
titic. 1t consists in the use Of tcle8raphY
and was to some extent practiccd "a our
own war. BY the new system FOR tie field
adopted by the British Var Office it is
claimed that lines of telegraph can be car
rled through the or from the earth to q
balloon several miles distant. The wire
can De pald out, it ia said, a5 fast as the
balloon travels, so that, even If Il captive
oAhooL breaks or scars away, communica
tlo'I can be kept mp with IT for at lc & 81
.nlles. Or, again, two or more balloons
can be fent up and kept in telegraphiG
with each other EY means
OF aerial and land lines, 50 that telcgraphic
operations can De effected from the balloon
to headquarters, and thence to the base Of
operations. These experiments, it VIII
be remembered. were in some degree
made on the Potomac, but with only
partial and unsatisfac ;ory results. The
reports from WOolwich tell q far
more hopeful story. They declare that
the trials made there have unmistakabIy
fhnf
sance, of this application Of balloons arc
lncalculable. cit enabled tho observing
officers to survey an area Of thirty square
miles, not vaguely, bat sharply pictured
before them" And cit was found by prac-
tice that great skill can bc att9iuedin Iadg
ing Of the relative position If masses of
troops, while minuter details can be sub
obtained at leisure by field
glasses, as to the position Of Hiounratn
gorges, passes, limits of WOO e, course Of
streams" &c. If the accounts before Us
are not too warmly drawn, the problem OF
employing balloons for military
purposes will be solved by this happy cora-
Oination Of photography and the tele-
graph.
There is no doubt, ut all events, that the
English authorities are earnestly engaged
IN this investigation, and the English jour
nails express sanguine hopes of the trials
n progress at Woolwich. Two officer,
Capts. Brackenbury and Noble, have been
dispatched thence to the respective seats o.
war, to pick up and compare Information,
and it 10 whispered that war balloons are
already being manufactured in the Royal
Arsenal, and that officers of the Royal En-
yineers, from Generals downward ar3 to
% trained in their use. The difficulties
experienced by French and Prussians II
he use of military balloons are attributed
20 the fact that they have few or no oil
GERS of their own accustomed TO their use.
disadvantage which none of the CrcFi
Powers are likely in future to overlook, or
all to provide for.-N. y. Times.
Gen. Scnenck denies the assertion that
90 will contest the election of Lewis u