The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-09 00:00:00

THE MILITIA.

On Monday last the Ist (Duke of Lancaster's 0 wn)
Militia was inspected at Lancaster by General
Douglas, the inspecting field-officer of militia. The
regiment assembled under, the command of Colonel
Talbot Clifton, and, after the general salute, they
fell into open column, and marched past at slow
and quick time. Nothing could be more steady
than the dressing of each division as it passed in
succession. General Douglas addressed Colonel
Clifton and the regiment, and in the warmest terms
congratulated the former and complimented the lat-
ter on the state of efficiency to which the Ist Royal
Lancashire Militia had attained.

The Royal North Gloucestershire Regiment of
Militia assembled at Cirencester last week for train-
ing. The force consists of 24 officers, and nearly
500 men, who have been supplied with the long
Enfield rifle.

The 2d Regiment of Royal Middlesex Militia
has assembled at Barnet for the usual period of
training.

The Somerset County Militia (2d Regiment) has
been called out. It consists of 736 men.
The Hampshire Militia, under the command of
Lieut.-Col. Stretton, assembled last week at Win-
chester. The force consists of about 400 men.

The 2d Regiment of Derby Militia (the Chats•
worth Rifles) will assemble at Chesterfield on
Thursday, the 24th inst., for their annual training.
The Chester Militia assembled on Monday last at
Chester for 28 days' training.
The sth West York Regiment is to assemble at
Knaresborough, for 27 days' training on Monday,
the 4th of June, and not on the 26th instant, as
previously stated.

MR. BAPTIST NOEL AND THE RECENT

PRIZE FIGIIT.

The Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel, whose exer-
tions in reclaiming the frail sisters of the Hay-
market we lately had to notice, has turned his atten-
tion to the scenes of the prize ring, and has just
published "A Letter to the Noblemen and Gentle-
men who attended the Fight been Heenan and
Sayers" (Nisbet and Co.) Mr. Noel takes the nar-
ratives of the sporting papers and of the Times as
the groundwork of his appeal, and founds on them
an argument drawn from considerations of social
order, morality, and religion. The reverend writer
has evidently paid close attention to the copious
literature of the fight. His remarks are invariably
in good taste. The reader will find no disparaging
references to Sayers or Heenan, who of all the per-
sons present he evidently thinks made the best
figure at Farnborough on the 17th ult. It is for
the spectators he reserves his censures, and of them
and their tastes he says :
" To go 50 miles and pay three pounds in order
to witness the intense sufferings of others, 'while
sitting one's self at ease on a comfortable chair, en-
veloped in a warm wrapper, and then, after lolling
in an easy carriage, to laugh over a good dinner at
the end, seems to me a process adapted to form al
effeminate ruffian. A ruffian, because every man is
a ruffian who takes pleasure in the sight of suffer-
ing ; and an effeminate ruffian, because the indul
gence of the appetite for horrors is in these circum-
stances accompanied with no danger, and no hard-
ship. When a delight in the pain f others is ob-
tained in the midst of perils, as in the strife of bri-
gands, a ruffian becomes at least bold and hardy ;
but when it is combined with luxurious ease, it may
leave men no less effeminate than cruel."

Further on Mr. Noel urges an argument which
has always appeared to us most worthy of the con-
sideration of all candid and reflecting men, the
consequences to be apprehended to the order and
tranquillity of civil life from encouraging people to
look to individual strength as a means of redress
for real or imaginary wrongs. He says :
" Pugilism, like pistol practice, makes strong and
practised men bullies in common life, ready to in-
sult others because they know that men without
muscle and with no practice cannot fight with th( m.
At the same time it tends to make all others qur r-
relsome ; for if fighting comes to be considered tl e
best way of settling a dispute, a man who has at y
strength will always be disposed to fight for an.
trifle, and our cities, towns, and villages will be
filled with fighters. Your support of these fights
will set your own villagers all fighting."
Mr. Noel pushes the argument much closer, and
in fact gets his antagonist "on the ropes." He
observes, truly enough, that if these fights are goad
for the working classes making them more manly,
they must be good for the rich and noble, whose
luxurious habits render it more necessary that they
should cultivate the power of endurance.

" I suppose, however, that much as you advocate
this way of invigorating the poor, you do not pro-
pose to adopt it yourselves. You would, indeed,

-- • -
draw some monster trains to your ring were you to
announce that the Earl of A---- and the Duke of
B-- would, on such a day, for the improvement
of their country, strip and fight ; and an assem-
bly still more aristocratic would probably crowd
round the ropes to see which should first blind or
disable the other. But that not being intended, vul-
gar blood alone is to flow. The earl does not mean
to be smashed himself, because he smiles at seeing
Heenan mashed ; and the duke does not mean to
have his right arm broken or turned into blue
jelly, because he conies to see the arm of Sayers so
treated. Is not this to make poor men your sport,
while you do not mean to be made their sport in
turn ? But if it is beneath gentlemen to settle their
disputes by the fist, it is equally beneath working
men ; and I believe working men are becoming too
well educated, in general, to make their bruises and
their blood a spectacle for your amusement."
We should like to see the answer to this argu-
ment. Noblemen, who are making our working
men more manly—and there are many such—are
not to be found among the frequenters of the prize
ring.

" You say that you wish to make the people
manly. How can they be made manly when they
work all day in ill-ventilated workshops, till ex-
hausted, and then poison themselves with drink?
If you wish them to be manly, improve the venti-
lation of their workshops and cottages ; raise their
wages by encouraging emigration ; teach them
self-respect by a good education ; then with good
food, temperance, and a sense of duty, you may
make them the bravest and manliest nation in the
world."

It will be seen from the foregoing extracts that
Mr. Noel can hit hard occasionally. We regret that
he has here and there weakened his position by
misconceptions and overstrained applications of
arguments right in principle. We are surprised to
find him stating that the lords and gentlemen who
attended the fight were drawn thither by a sordid
love of money, and that if they exulted in every
gash inflicted on Heenan till their shouts rent the
air, it was because those gashes were likely to fill
their purses. Doubtless there were many present
of whom it is true that " each blow was like a
cheque upon the bank, each fresh protuberance like
a purse' of gold, and wolfish eyes were sparkling at
it, and eager throats yelled out their frantic de-
light." The betting on the men heightened the
excitement for all ; but these allowances made, Mr.
Noel's statement is still much exaggerated.—Daily
News.