Star.
London, England, 1820-04-05 00:00:00

MATCH AGAINST TIME.

TA:4MIt DENDIG..--Captain GobnAkeg grand match, to drive
two horses, tandem fashion, eighteen miles in an hour and a
half, was attempted by the Captain on Monday, on the IteaJ-
Ing road. it was for two hundred guineas, and heavy sums
were pending upon it. The Captain did the first six miles in
twenty-seven minutes and ten seconds, and the horses paced
remarkably well together. In the eighth mile the leader broke
into a canter, and three minutes were lest in turning, and he
was two minutes over the: hour doin the twelve miles, when the
leader began to slacken pace, and tha attempt was given up in
the fifteenth mile.

MANCHESTER MEETING..

TO THE EDITOR OF THE STAR.

SZR —ln your Paper of Friday last, you have published in
you: lading article, what you may peisiely consider to be part
of a speech delivered by me at a Meeting of the Ward c f Cheap,
in October last, convened for the purpose of discuasing the oc-
currences which took place at Manchester on the liith of Auguq.
Had you left the matter hire, and been contented with giving
to the Public this pretended extract, garbled and essentially in-
correct as it is, I should have let it pas., as I have before done
mary similar attacks, like the " Idle wind which I regard not."
You have, however, thought proper to designate me as " th,,
witness" of the Meeting at Manchester; and, as such, having
-stated, at the Meeting of the Ward of Cheap, what you consider
to be false. Your statement is regarded by every person with
whom I have conversed on the subject, to be a gross and in
famous calumny; it being known to all who•attended the Meet-
ing, that 1 there said—" If there be any Gentleman in the room
who actually witnessed the occurrences which took place no.'
&. Peter's Church, I will thank him to rise, as, in that case, I
feel I should be unnecessarily taking up the time of the Meeting,
inasmuch as what I have to state Is front the evidence of others,
not having myself arrived in Manchester until the evening of
that day"—or words to that effect. lam ready, Sir, to make
every reasonable allowance for the difficulties with which the
Conductor of a public Journal has to contend, in guarding him.
self from imposition, as to the truth of articles to him fur
publication ; but I should be totaUy regardless of what is due to
my character, were I to suffer so unfounded a charge to go forth
to the Public, in a Journal hitherto considered so highly resrect
able. Your immediate insertion of this letter will be a pleasing
proof to me, that you arc seady to repair any injustice which,
through haste er inadvertency, you may have committed.
I take leave farther to remark, that whatever Itave stated in
regard to the unfortunate occurrences at Manchester, has been
upon the authority of those who were eye-iv:Messes—men whose
veracity stands unimpeached ; and I here repeat my sentiments
avowed at the Meetirtg in the Ward of Cheap, and which re-
main unaltered ,by anything which has since occurred—that I
cannot believe, that so honourable a body as the Magistrates
and Yeomanry of Manchester, can deserve those sweeping con-
, demnations which arc daily poured forth in some of the Public
Journals, and otherwise, against them, until they are fairly sub-
stantiated by the Tribunals of the Country.
• I remain, Sir, your obedient Servant,
Barge Yard, 4th April, 1820. J. B. SPENCER.

We feel always much pleasure in making prompt reparation
for any injustice of which we may -unsuspectingly have been
made the medium, and therefore readily give insertion to the
preceding Letter, which, we trust, will have the effect of re-
moving any impression unfavourable to the writer's character,
from the misrepresentation of which hese justly complains. We
beg, at the same time, shortly to explain how it was that we
were led into that misrepresentation. When the Meeting of
the Ward of Cheap took place, in October last, we copied an
account of it into the STAI from one of the Morning Papers,
and Mr. S. by referring to that account, will find that he was
there actually reported to hcve spoken as having been himself
an eye-witness of the transactions at Manchester. Neither then
nor since were we given to understand that there was any error
in the statement, and in recopying it in our observations or.
Friday last, Mr. S. Trust be satisfied that we could be under no
other than an honest impression that we were repeating what
was undoutitedmatter of fact.

As to Mr. B.'s observations on the Manchester affair itself,
we shall say nothing; our silence is as great a favour as we can
shew him.—We would only add, that it was on his statement,
made, as we now learn, not on his own authority, as on
eit-
wr:•s, but on the authority of other t7,e-witmesses, that the Ward of
Cheap came to the Resolutions then adopted. Perhaps some
may think,"that Mr. Sex:4cm having been the organ of tkeir
stot,ment, he ought now to furnish the• Ward, if not the Public,
with the names of " the eye-witnesses, whose veracity stands
unimpeach.:d." This would at once place the onus where it
ought to be.—Erns.