The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-08-08

The BRooxs AyfAm AaAN.-MesEs. Bocock
md Lane, the friends of Mr.. Brooks, have again
ncroached upc N our space to the extent OF
olumn or 40. in order to explain why Col.
Brooks did not fight Mr.. Burlingame, and what
e is goir % to do now. We may observe, en- pas
AMI, tn At in future gentlemen of belligerent pro-
'ensi' les will do well to remember that news
'ar er space is valuable and that if they insist on
.eing their foolishness in print, they ought to
pay for it as an advertisement.
To pass to the correspondence. Mr. Brooks
Friends make two points list, that the selec- |
ton by Mr.. Burlingames second Of Niagara as |
battle ground was "A miserable subterfuge,"
"back out, which terminated the affair and "a,
that Brooks wants to fight still. Now, with
regard to the frst, Gen. Lane quotes work
which he entities the Code Of Horror, edited by
Governor Jehn L. Wilson, of South Carolina"
and which Is said by Gen. Lane to be the only
authority known and Acknowledged in America"
This work denies that the challenged party has
the choice of weapons, place or distance, and
asserts that these mus, on the contrary, be de-
cided by tn c custom Of the place Now, it may
be owing 20 our lack of experience in the mat
ter the people of this State having somehow
fashion o { obeying the laws they make-but we
certainly never heard Of this work of the South
CsTolina. Governor before. Nor did we ever hear
that any authority" had ever attempted to over
set principle which has formed part of the
Code of Honor in every country from time i'm
memo rial, and watch is 50 well understood as the
one referring te the choice Of weapons, time and
place. We arc not singular in this respect. Mr.
Sabine, the historian Of duels whose work is now
| the standard text book on the sabject and who
certainly seems to have made s. closer study of
| the institution than any ether writer living
never ahnIes to Governor Wilson Or his Code,
and was evidently ignorant o. lis existence.
| Yea Mr.. Sabine has published full account OF
every i1portant duel tina; ever took place in this
country from the settlement TO the present day.
PERHAPS, however, General Lane may object that
| Mir. SABINE is Northerner. Inahat case we are
prepared to show that Southern men and duellists
are not only unconscious Of tire existence of Gov.
/ Wilson'S Code" but are quite satisfied that the
oniy rule with regard to the privileges Of the
challenged party still obtains, and must govern,
In the month of March. 1854, a difficulty oc-
CURED between Mr.. Breckenridge, the present
democratic candidate for Vice-President, and Mr..
Cutting of this city. Mr. Cutting having written
to Mr.. Breckenridge, and received no satisfactory
reply Col. T. T. Hawkins, the second of the lat
| ter, proceeded to submit the terms regulating
the combat" He fixed the place lat or near
the residence of +. p. Blair, in the State OF
| Maryland:" the time, that afternoon, between
| and o'clock" tie weapon, 1.-The Western rife
charged with one charge of powder and one rosnd
ball. the distance, sixty PAGES" and the gene
raj conditions of the combat. Now Mr.. Cutting
had never perhaps in his life fired rifle: he was
ready to take hie chance with pistols; but to
meet Rrootinridsa, who was sure to be dead
shot at sixty PAGES with rifle which he hardly
knew how to handle, seemed to him absurd. so
his second, Mr.. Monroe wrote to Col Hawkins to
say that Cutting, not Breckenridge, was the chal-
lenged party, and proceeded to fix time, place,
weapon distance, &c. To this Col. Hawkins re-
piled that the challenge came from Cutting, not
Breckenridge; and so the discussion was con-
tinued each party trying to prove the other the
challenger in order to have the choice of wea-
pens, until reconciliation was elected. Now If
the Code" of Gov Wilson had been the only
authority acknowle lged in America, is ii credi-
ble that Mr. Monroe and his friends would not
have referred to it, as their man would be at 50
great disadvantage with the rifle If the
| weapons to be used must be the ordinary ones. as
the Code says, how came Col Hawkins, man OF
fine honor and much experience, to choose the
rife: And is 1t possible that chivalrie Ken
tuckian like John c. Breckenridge, would avail
himself Of the Northerner's ignorance Of the Code
TO fight him at disadvantage? These suppcsi-
tons are untenahle, and the correspondence
| proves, what we never doubted, that AT Washing
ton the Code Is unknown, and the privileges of
the challenged party acknowledged as a matter
| Of course.
But Col Brooks has two strings 10 bis fdle.
| First be chooses to assume that Mr.. Burlingame
] has hacked down. and next he challenge him
again. Surely this Is no, according to the Code
| Col Brooks cannot posi- Mr.. Buriingame and
| fight him loo. If he believes what he said in his
card, he ought not to challfnge Mr. Burlingame.
for he there implied that tbe latter was unworthy
| Of gcntlemans notice, ~ having backed
down." and II h. really warts Mr.. Burlingame
10 fight him. he oaght to begin by retraciing hs
card and admitting that hia siversary il worth
| fighting. Indeed, according 10 the rules Of the
dsello we cannot acc how Mr. Burlingame can
In any way or shape take nctice Of Colonel
Brooks until the latter has anno,7ccd his reatG-
ne= 70 meet him at Niagara; and 4 be agreed T.,
thai, now, il would be great favor TO the cham
pion q South Carolina