The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-30 00:00:00

The young jockeys have also their word of caution. Tur
fites of the old school, who remember Robinson and Chif-
ney, are thought censorious, but still they, and many of
their juniors, will be found to agree with the Admiral,
when he observes that he " never saw worse riding than
amongst the young crack jockeys last autumn." We are
glad to find that the power of jockeys to withdraw their
services at the end of the season is recognised, as their
seemed a disposition some time since to consider that once
your servant always your servant was the rule, and that
practically a jockey could not send in his jacket. Betting
rules are very ably treated, and the sale and purchase of
horses and the legal points which may arise within the
scope of a steward's duty are from the pen of a well-
known barrister. In the article on a stud, there is a well-
merited compliment to Mr. Blenkiron, who has given such
a princely national prize out of his breeding profits, and
three things are espcially dwelt upon—the mode by which
roarers might be improved, not butting more than thirty
mares to a sire, and Count Lagrange's system with
young stock.

The Claxton decision, which is stated very briefly and
without giving the year, is the last cited, and there is a
sort of defence of it in the comment on Rule 5, in page 33,
but beyond that there is no special reference made to it,
and it would seem to have been purposely ignored. Now
it appears to us that, by the very wording of the fifth rule,
the owner of Claxton had no right to the bets, and that
according to the evidence which came out there was
"especial fraud," or something own brother to it, in the
way the horse was reinstated on the card at Huntingdon.
Admiral Rous may not have been impressed with Lo.td
Campbell's directions to the jury at Cardiff, but we must
hold with "Plain Jock" against the Jockey Club, and
believe that the farther the latter wander from great
legal principles the more certain they are to multiply
such strange decisions as that in the Claxton case.
There are no nice distinctions in Westminster Hall
between fraud and " especial fraud," and it is well
that an amendment in the rules of betting has been
made to stop such work in future. Turf moralists cannot
now say to Mr. Edwin Parr, " Thank you for nothing."
It is plain, however, that, as the amendment to Rule 2 of
betting appears in the Admiral's new book, it must have
been framed some time previous to its publication; but this
now law—which is to meet cases analogous to the Claxton
affair, and prevent a repetition of the absurd decision then
announced with respect to the bets—was not given to the
world till March 17, the same day as that on which Admiral
bous's new volume appeared. But the Admiral, doubtless
for reasons of his own, reserves the new rule for his own
book, and we consider that a gentleman who works with
so much disinterested zeal for the public benefit might
have availed himself sooner of the immediate publicity of
the newspaper press to enlighten readers on such an im-
portant amendment in the Turf statutes. Admiral Rous
must have been some time over his six chapters cf 64 pages,
as we find him (in page 3) recommending the Jockey Club
to pass the new law on selling races. This had been done
before the publication of the book. The appendix contains
the rules of betting and racing, as well as scales of weights,
and very useful they are. Abundance of stewards is the
current fashion, and Mr. Topham puts down eleven for his
Liverpool Summer; but with this book in his pocket any
one of them, if a knotty point arises, may feel quite a host
in himself, though the other ten be far away.—Sporting
L.

COUNTRY MARKETS.

MANCIIESTER-THURSDAY.

There was only a moderate attendance at our market
this morning, and a very dull feeling prevailed. The de-
mand for wheat, both English and foreign, was limited,
and a reduction of is per qr. must be noted. Flour de-
clined 6d. per sack, with a very limited business. In beans,
oats, or oatmeal no change was observable. Indian corn
was the turn dearer.