The Sun.
London, England, 1844-07-02 00:00:00

GREAT FOOT RACE.

The great foot race between William Jackson, the " Ame-
rican Deer," and Thomas Maxfield, the " North Star," which
has created much speculation of late in the pedestrian circles,
came off yesterday, in the grounds of the Rosemary Branch
Tavern, Peckham, and inflicted some disappointment upon
those congregated to witness it. Instead of the bustling close
contest between men whose pretensions to fame were se great,
and who had been backed for 501. a side, the assemblage,
which was very numerous, were doomed to view a very in-
different race, in which the winner never gave his opponent
much more than a shadow of a chance. We have not the
slightest doubt that the loser did his best, but his opponent's
speed was so good, that he was not disposed to complete the
distance. The match, as we have before stated, was for 501.
a side; the ground selected to try the speed of the men, three
miles. Betting was 5 to 4 on the ‘: American Deer," odds
which increased as the time of starting drew near. The men
were prepared for the race, when " the pelting of the pitiless
storm" induced them to defer it until the rain somewhat
abated. The Star went away with the lead at a rattling pace,
and kept it for the first mile and a quarter or so, when the
Deer came up, dashed by him, was never overtaken, and was
declared a winner in a few seconds over sixteen minutes. The
Star, after trying very hard to keep pace with his opponent,
gave up on completing two miles and a quarter.

PARRICIDE IN FRANCE.—A man named Simon, in
the prime of life, was tried at the assizes of Nancy on the
23d, for the murder of his father. It appeared from the
evidence that the prisoner had always been remarked for
the violence of his character, and that he had on one occa-
sion struck and severely wounded his father, for which,
however, he had not been prosecuted. He entered the
army, and on being discharged married, and took a café
at Luneville, where he soon qot into embarrassment, and
applied to his father to assist him. The old gentleman did
so to a certain extent, but refused to impoverish himself by
advancing all that his son required. In this state of things
the son resolved upon a desperate and horrible course, and in
March last wrote an affectionate letter to his father, in the
name of himself and his wife, to come and pay them a visit.
The old man came, but very soon afterwards lie was found
dead in a ditch, near Luneville, his skull having been beaten
in in several places with some heavy blunt instrument. On
the first announcement of the fatal news, the only feeling
that seemed to enter the mind of Simon was what he was to

gain by it, for he immediately sent his brother-in-law to
Blainville, where his father had resided, to have the seals put
on all his property, so that nothing might be lost. Still, on
being brought to view the body of the deceased, Simon, in
presence of the magistrates, showed all the signs of deep and
sincere affliction. After a time, however, his conduct excited
suspicion, and it was discovered that the deceased had
been killed in the son's cellar. The proofs were so irresistible,
that Simon at length confessed that he was a parricide.
He avowed that his invitation to his father was given
solely with the design of compelling him to advance money
to relieve him (the son) from his difficulties. The father
and son being engaged in the cellar bottling beer, the son re-
peatedly entreated his father to grant him the assistance he
required, and received positive refusals. The son gave him
two severe blows on the head, and laid him senseless on the
ground with a heavy piece of wood; but finding from the
noisy the father made that he was still suffering, he
repeated the blows till he was quite dead, and then left the
body behind one of the wine casks. The following night
he put it into a sack, and carried it to where it was found.
It was pYoved that although guilty of this heinous crime, and
the body of his father, who had just been murdered with his
own hand was lying weltering in its blood in the cellar
below, the prisoner was, during the day, even more gay than
usual, and was singing songs with his guests. On the trial
the prisoner retracted the confession which he had made,
but the proofs against him were too strong to admit of a
shadow of a doubt, and consequently he was pronounced
guilty by the jury, and condemned to death.
MR. JAMES COCKBURN BELANEY.—The parties in
this lamentable affair are well-known in the neighbourhood
of Belford and Alnwick, and the following particulars will
correct some of the mis-statements in the London papers.
Mr. Belaney is a Scotchman, and is either a native of, or has
lived several years in Berwickshire. His father was in humble
circumstances, but by care and industry contrived to
raise resources to enable his son to attend to the medical
class at Edinburgh. For about four years he practised as
a surgeon at North Sunderland, in this county. Here he
amused himself in training hawks, and wrote a treatise on
falconry. About a year and a half ago he married Rachel,
the only child of the late Mr. John Skelly, of North Sunder-
land, and formerly of Denwick Lane End. Mr. Skelly was
the proprietor of extensive lime-works at North Sunderland.
The mother of the unfortunate lady was a Miss Wood, of
Craster West Farm. The wife of Belaney was respectably
connected on both sides, and was possessed of considerable
property; she was an only child, lived a retired private life,
and did not, of course, obtain notoriety as " the Rose of the
North" for her beauty, and had no connection with the
county of Westmoreland, as it has been stated in the London
papers.—Neweastle Journal.
The clear profit of the late ball given for the bene-
fit of the Polish refugees, after payment of all expenses, ex-
ceeded 1,0001. Last year this ball at Willis's, for the same
purpose, produced about 620/. only.
A NOVEL MODE or Lxvnio.—The following ruse
has been played off this last week on Mr. William Filk r,
innkeeper, of the Griffin, at Whetstone. He had been
anxious, for some time, to dispose of his interest in the
Griffin, and on Saturday a respectably attired man, who used
the name of Mr. Hands (of the firm of Meux and Co.), but
whose real name, from the documents he exhibited, appeared
to be Stuart, called and said he had been commissioned by
that firm to form an accurate opinion of the business of the
house, and for this purpose he thought proper to stop a few
days. Mr. Filler, crediting him to be what he asserted,
treated him with the greatest hospitality. The person ex-
pressed his approval of the house, and suggested alterations
which he should make in the evsnt of his liking the village
and customers. On Sunday, to aid the deception, he attended
divine service, and on Monday and Tuesday proposed to
visit the halves of the village by turns. On the second day
he proceeded upon his supposed investigation, having made
arrangements to return to dinner at a certain hour, and ob-
taining from Mr. Filler the loan of a favourite stick. The
sequel is shortly stated ; he never returned, and by the
stratagem employed saved the amount of his four days'
board and lodging.
OXFORD CIRCUIT.—In consequence of the indispo-
sition of Mr. Justice Erskine, Mr. Sergeant Atcherley has
been appointed to go the Oxford Circuit along with Lord
Chief Justice Tindal.
Macready, who has of late been playing at New
York to good houses, is expected to return home either at
the end of the present month, or early in August, after an ab-
sence of about twelve months.
Last week it became a matter of doubt whether or
not the stables in Regent's-park Barracks were infected with
glanders, three of the trooper's horses having been recently
shot, in consequence of their exhibiting symptoms of this
malady. It, however; fortunately proves, upon a veterinary
inquiry which has been made, that the disease is merely