The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-05-17 00:00:00

THE CHAMPIONSHIP.

Tom Sayers writes to The Times :
Sir,---In answer to Mr. Heenan' s. letter, which
appeared in The Times of this day, I beg, first, to
observe that I have not been hiding myself, as he would
insinuate. I called, with my backer, at the office of
Bell's Life in London on Tuesday, the Bth of May. I
told him that my backer and I were going out of town
until Saturday. I visited Tunbridge on Wednesday,
Maidstone on Thursday, Tunbridge and Hastings on
Friday, and Brighton on Saturday. My movements
were well known, and a letter or telegram addressed to
" Tom Sayers," or " The Champion of England," would
have found me at either of these places, but none came
to hand.

The ridiculous suggestion put forward by Mr. Heenan,
of mutilating the belt, I laugh to scorn, and could afford
to treat it with the contempt it merits, but that some
good friends of mine—of the Peace Society—have, inno-
cently enough, patronised the notion.
The belt, Sir, I have fought hard to obtain,—striving
for that prize, I have within the last three years
defeated some of the best men of my countrv,—and,
without intending to cast the slightest slur on my
gallant opponent, I nay that no American citizen, nor
foreigner from any other land, however flowery
and sunny, shall bear it, or the buckle of it, from
Old England while my arm and heart are capable
of defending it. lam as ready as Mr. Heenan to fight
again, and I repudiate with indignation the insinuation
that I am not. In a very short time the Champion's
belt will be mine by indefeasible right ; and even if Mr.
Heenan had defeated me it would not be his. He would
have to do as I have done— -meet every aspirant to the
honour of wearing it for three years before he would be-
come the lawful possessor of the trophy. What, then,
becomes of the assertion made in Mr. Heenan's letter, that
the belt is equally owned by both of us ? There is no such
equality; but I will do him the justice ho appears
desirous of denying me, by admitting his equality in
valour. To run, swim,
,or wrestle for the belt of the
prize-ring is a challenge so eminently absurd that
one can hardly imagine it emanates from a sane
man, and the evidence of aberration of mind. is greatly
strengthened by the proposal to jump off a house top.
The same proposition was oxen made by a lunatic,
who met his medical attendant alone on the roof of the
asylum. "Let us," said the mad patient, seizing the
doctor with a firm grasp, "jump down;" but the medical
man, with great presence of mind, replied, "Nay, any-
body could jump down; let us go into the street and
jump up." Like Teddy the Tiler, I know something of
the roofs of houses, and their foundations also ; and
while I unquestionably admit that Heenan is a "brick,"
I hope always to bo able to say with truth, as I do now,
that'l am a bricklayer. The offer to fight four men, at
intervals of thirty days, savours of bounce, and is
unworthy of John Heenan. He should remember that
it might take him the first month to vanquiss Ss
h
ToAYERS.
Gordon Hotel, Covent-garden, May 15.

sporting 3uttitigenct.

BATH RACES.—YESTERBAY.
The BA DMINQTON STAKES of 1.0 SOV6. Each, with 50 Added.
Ariadn0....................... ..................................................
Diamant• .......................................................................
,Dartmouth .....................................................................
The WESTON STAKES of 10 hour. Each, with 50 Added,
Big Ben ...........
Fairwater

..................
Eight ran.
The SfIORTS of 23 Sovs. for all ages.

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