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Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3184, 3 May 1879, Page 2

' The anti-Chinese petition presented to the Legislative Council of New * South Wales sets out that an increase in the ' poll-tax to £25 -per head instead of £10 is desirable, then the number of Chinamen which a vessel may carry should be one to every 50 -tons instead of one to,eTerjr 10 tons, as in the present bill. ' LAnd liri the "" direction of further reßtriotipn the whole". of the eleventh clause should'be eliminated from the bill, and a clause inserted prohi-,, biting Chinamen from voting at ariy: elee'-' * tion in the colony of New South Wales. It gays " that the number "of adult merchants, hawkers, miners, skilled ™echanios, artizans, and laborers, in New South Wales, other than adults in our-pubhe^ institutions, and adult males not brought ' into immediate ' competition with the Chinese race, is not quite 90,000, whilst the adult Chinose population (males) numbers 9000, being one Chinaman to every nine of the adult male working population." ' •■ .. . * '; An American View of .the, Millennium. - ( —'- The end of the world will occur on July 11, 1879." So says'a priest of , Brahma in India. This date will-suit M.! well as any other. If there is one thing more than another we want to see, it 'i§' - Bob Ingersoll chained up for a thousand years.—N. Y. Com. Adr.

The Standard say■:—As Mr Bolton was geologising at the quarry some time ■mcc he, upon • breaking a large stone, found a foßiil chisel of the stone age. It was about an inch broad, well-shaped, and quite sharp. Mr Bolton fancies that this stone, which he has presented to Mr Hill, Inspector of Schools, will not quite fit in with the pet theories of Dr Hector, the great authority on geology and whisky. The Darkest Hour.—" He's my darkest hour," said a wife, pointing to her hus* band: " and would you know the reason why P It's because he always arrives just before the day." (lor remainder of Nmvs see Ist Page.)

upon the velocity with \yhiob. he descended* the wind came whistling and screaming through the bottom" of the* car, and he, feared tKatCthe' paXacHute~;^bul§;;|aH him. It split in several places, but still remained tolerably effective. On reaching the" ground, although; sustaining a fearful shock, he realised the' faet'that he bad escaped with hi» life. The folds^ok the balloon, however, pfessejl closely ut>6n him, and he was in dread of •uflocation, but finding a smallhole in the linen he placed' his mouth" to ib, and was enabled to obtain air by that means sufficient to sustain himself until assistance arrived. Qn? being rescued M.. L'Estrange was placed in a cab and taken to his residence, aiid. later in the evening he visited several places in the city. In consequence of the rumours circulated as to the fate of the aeronaut—whose escape the eye-witnesses 61 the disaster could scarcely be induced to believe—Messrs Hiscocks and Hayman induced him to appear upon the, 'stage'at Sk Gedrge's Hall, where he met with a most enthusiastic reception. 1 There is great diversity of opinion as to the height which the balloon attained. Many people say that 1000 feet was the maximum height, but others of more ex* penence declare that the balloon was at least a mile above the earth. However this may be, the escape was one of the most marvellous on record. The balloon used was an old one, and L'Estrange patched up some rents in the morning, But the direct cause of the catastrophe was the inexperience of the aeronaut, who Sid not allow for the great expansibri; of gas consequent upon his rapid ascent. L/Esfrange has been unfortunate in bis professional career.,.' He was famous as " the Australian Blondin,",but the friction of the rope by which he used to mount to his pedestal led to a cancer in the leg, and although he recovered he could not walk with the old facility. He then purchased •.the balloon Aurora,; with a view of gaining his living as an aeronaut. He could not manage to ascend at all in Sydney, and here he ascended too rapidly. He is a good deal bruised, and he has sprained his right arm, but he is in high spirits, "and talks of making another ascent if he can patch up the Aurora, or obtain a substitute. ; z ■ .■---, : -v •Monday's accident naturally recalled the incident in Sydney on January 14, 1878, when a balloon came to an untimely end in the grounds attached-to Gpv*rn-Kent-house. L'Estrange was hot, howfever, concerned in that episode, although it was currently yesterday^that he was. " A Montgolfier " captive balloon, inflated by Professor Wells, ■ broke looser and went away with a man named j! E. Stewart, who was carried to and fro over the > harbour, and finally, deposited in a tree near to the scene of a lawn party given by the Governor. A Mr Harden, who clung to the balloon for some distance, was killed, and other peleons were seriously injured. .;