OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2572, 5 January 1889, Page 3

OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

(fuom ouk own cobkespoxdkst). Sydney December 12. HAM.OON* ASCRNSIO.V. Pekhaps tho nioHt excitiiiK event of the week, next to tho story of the unfortunate boy who was disembowelled by a shark while bathing, \((8 this bnllixin nsoent, or rather descent, made by Mr J. T. Williams an ingenious and daring Sydney watchmaker, who, for many years, has been employing liis iute'lect in perfecting n parachutn. In the language of lliu plm bills he ascends with a balloon without a car " straight into the clouds" then jumped into spa.ee, trusting entirely to his parachute. He ascended from AshKeld, rapidly (jaitird a great height, becoming a inorc speck in the air. Then a second speck was seen to part company from the first, and commence a slow descent. As it ne.nred the earth the umbrella-like form of the parachute, with the plucky aeronaut dinginsr to it iitcame more distinctly defined. The parachute rolled and wobbled very much as it descended, giving rise to many apprehension*. Mr Williams, however, descended safely near Honiebush, three miles away, and when he h.i:l returned to tho ground from which lie stalled, he explained that the eccentric movements of his frail support, which only weighs about :JOlbs, were caused l>y his own manipulation in eu'leavnoiins to steer it through tho air. Tho police were pivsrMl. and took the nnmes and addresses of Si concerned, declaring tliat if any mishap occurred they would hold (!>:■■ inmnoters criminally responsible. .Souk tisiht or ten thousand persona witnessed the. feat. Only about one thousand, however, paid for admission, tho remainder preFening ths cheaper qualification of an "outside ticket," so that the amount realised was not very great. Perhaps this is not to bo rpgretlisd. as the all'air was bossed by the inevitable " syndicate" who uiake no »eori;t of thenintention to " wmk" their man for all he is worth. As far as Willi.uns is concerned it would seem vn-y hn.rd lines to deny him the opportunity of demonstrating the successful result of his researches, at best it is one that was made abundantly clear runny yours aRo, and has been recently revived by Prof ensor lialdwin, in London, it is fair, however, to state that William's perform men is considered to hate entirely eclipsed Baldwin's a>id takin together with the fact that he had never been in a , balloon before, establishes his reputatioii as a man of rare coolness and nerve.- It cuiiiot, however, be forgotten that simitar displays have, ended b'jfiir: now in revoking ami fatal accidents and that the chance of such an occurrence has a great deal to d<o with the interest that draws the spectators. In William's case this morbid expectation was heightened by the announcement that h<; would make the "descent lia-nginz by liin hands fnun tluparnchiite." A "piling on or the agony" which cannot c'aini any justification from the semi-scientific nature, of the feat. Whether it is allowed to stimulate ;v feelint; (if this, and for the purpose of coining it into money, is a (piestion which will sooner or later have tit be taken into serious consideration. KAILWAV 51 ANAGK.MF.XT. Our new railway coimni-sionr.rs, appointed in order that they might bo absolutely freo from political o.'iitro , , himboen the suhJKct of a. virulent attack from a Sictinn of the Hfi>UM\ They appointed two independent inspectors, ening to England for one and to America for the other. No one who underHt.i,lids l> >vv compactly the existing officials are banded together will fuel any surprise at this step. But it vyas fiercely resented by the paid repro-entatiie of the railway officials' 'L7iiii>u, and by the loud-voiced demagogues who make ihfinselves the niontbpiecos of the most ignorant prejudices of the labour party. "If Mr »jdy averted that hocon!d_ii>t get suitable men in New South W'alo- Ik wa.» a ' crimson liar.' " And the " orator "—s;-.ve tho mark, repeated this choice Jl"Wer of rhetoric several times. The incident poes to show that if the railways arc really t<. be. freed from the political control of an interested class, the nettle will have to be grasped with n very firm hand inde'.d. To begin ti» quarrel with the administration of the commissioners before they are fairly settled in their seats is like the conduct, of a child who pulls up his newly-planted seeds in order to see if they are growii'jr. TUB BOTANY/ rOIsSONINO CASK. Aftr two inconclusive trials, Mrs Collins, the central figure in what is known as the Botany poisoning case, has been found euilty of the murder of her second husband. Tho theory of the prosecution is that she also murdered her first husband, and that both were done to death by that most horrible and painful process of slo«' arsenical poisoning. The crime is one of tho most atrocious on record, and there can bo no doubt that it deserves tho most condign pumshme,nt known to tho law. Tho fact that two juiies had previously disagreed will, however, exercise a disturbing j influence when the .sentence cornos. to be considered by thy Cabinet. Albert, the Chief Justice, who tried tho case, s.iki that bo could net hold out the slightest hope of mercy. niKI'KKKXTJAI- CJiKIMTOIIS. An important case was decided in the Bankruptcy Oonrt yesterday, which appears to hit a very common "blot "in commercial life. W. J. Stephenson was a boutmaker who had become insolvent. Me had had large dealings with, and considerable, monetary assistance from the well-known firm of John Hunter and Co., to whom eventually ht sold his business. The general result of these tninsicuons was stated by %! official assignee) to be that although Steuhunsnn owed £1,300 to other persons, Hunter alone was paid. He, moreover, wae paid in full, and tiio other creditors got nothing. Under these cr ; cumstances tho assignee sued Hunter for the refund of certain payments to him under promissory notes, on the ground that they were fiandulen'ly preferential. For the defence it whs urged that Huntnr did not know that Stephenson was in difficulties and that the payments wore bouu firio. The Commissioner thought this rather hard to believe and made an nrdw for the repayment of K750 within 21 days which I suppose will be appropriated to the payment of the other creditors.