University of Virginia Library

Fine for an Aeronaut.

"An aeroplane while maneuvering is suddenly caught by a treacherous gale and swept to the ground. A crowd of people hasten over to see if the aeronaut is injured, and in doing so trample over Tax-payer Smith's garden, much to the detriment of his growing vegetables and flowers. Who is liable for the damages? Queer as it may seem, a case very similar to this was decided in 1823, in the New York supreme court, and it was held that the aeronaut was liable upon the following grounds: `To render one man liable in trespass for the acts of others, it must appear either that they acted in concert,

or that the act of the one, ordinarily and naturally produced the acts of the others, Ascending in a balloon is not an unlawful act, but it is certain that the aeronaut has no control over its motion horizontally, but is at the sport of the wind, and is to descend when and how he can. His reaching the earth is a matter of hazard. If his descent would according to the circumstances draw a crowd of people around him, either out of curiosity, or for the purpose of rescuing him from a perilous situation, all this he ought to have foreseen, and must be responsible for.'