The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-04-28

Nlttnl11l1 YHpaug.
SATURDAY. MORNING.. APRIL rs. 1850.
Naslsna1 DeaserasIc csavesuoa.
I'd anothee part Of so.days paper wal %
foasd faM teiegEaphic report OF the proeeeo-
tuSs OF the Nasioual Democsaac Oonveauon
1t Charleston. These lengthy special reports
for the DispastA will Be conaaued curing the
session Of the body named.
~ rhs Prize sRinx.
II has been LEES than forty years since Pro-
lessor WILSON, uader Ats favoritsF som de
s,sr,e Of Christopher NORTH" unosrtook,
through the columns Of Bsaekscsod's Magas ace.
to defend the 8 manly sport" Of pounding
and being pounded to death for . sum Of
money, againat host Of assailants. both In
Edfnbnrgh and London. lie employed all the
argumeAu usual ON such occasions. Ine
ring was the great nursery Of British ptHfk'
II developed The muscles. and promoted the
hardihood Of Brttain's unconquered ana IN
viucible sons. 1t impaired bottom 10 tne
short winded, activity to the clumsy, courage
20 the timid II took down superauous KAT,
and rum up deficient bone and sinew. Ats
efscts upon the moral qualities we're 80 SUR
urisins tina. the most arramt sinner who went
into training was In fair way to come out Of
Il only something less than M accepted saint.
II created courage where none existed before,
inspired patience even where the tempera-
ment was naturally averse, generated cool
ness in the most excitable constitutions, pro.
NOTED temperance. encouraged the growth Of
the kindly feelings, and caused a man not only
TO respect himself but TO be respected by
others. In spite of all this lofty praise, how
ever, from source considered at the time as
entitled to the Difference and respect which
men naturally pay to those whose right it is
10 lay down the law, the prize ring got into
bad repute. It became mere arena for gam
bling and cheating. The actors were the very
scum Of the earth. Its supporters were gam.
blsrs, pick pockets, sharpers, and adventures
Of every description. Nobiemen and gentle
men had taken delight in it during its palmy
days. They fell OF as it fell into the hands Of
what are technically called spor,smsn. One
last desperate effort has been made for the re-
vival of its pristine glories. An "interna-
tionnl fight" was the only thing that could
bring back the gentry and the masses, and that
has been resorted to with apparently complete
success. The eyes of two hemispheres are
uXeQ Uphu tWO Oe0oAys Os&"UO0cO
reprobates, that are supposed before thi. to
have pounded each other into sausage-m meat
for the amusement edifica,ion and profit Of
the two great branches Of the Anglo-Saxon
family. How enlightened, how humane, how
outstanding!
1t is not true that prixe-fghting and its kin.
dred amusements have tendency to exalt the
national courage, or to render the nations who
indulge in it more formidable in the field
Gladiatorial exhibitions were not known to
Rome until she began to decay, aud their ap-
pearance affords the historian a proper point
from which to date her downhill march. They
never fourished in such perfection as they did
under the reigns of NERO, CoMMoDus, and the
worst Emperors. That they had a tendency
TO harden the heart, and entirely destroy the
nicer sensibilities, is true enough. But We
have yet 10 learn that the Romans who re-
PEELED PYRRHUs, and conquered HANNIBAL,
were less brave, or less difficult to subdue,
than the mixed multitude Of Gauls, Dacians,
and Germans who went under the name, and
consritu ted the armies, under the last heather
Emperors. Ofall other nations the Spaniards
have, in these latter years, carried bull-fght-
ing IL the greatest perfection. 1t is sport in
finitely more da gerous than those of the ring,
and infinitely better calculated to promote the
yalor of a natioh, il national valor were to be
promoted by any such means. Has the free
indulgence allowed to this inhunlan sport re-
stored the Spaniards to the proud position
which they occupied, when it was q common
saying that ''the sun never sets upon the do
minions of the Spaniard p Is O'DoNNELL Il
better soldier than GONsALyO, OF Cordova, or
do the troops, which lately overran the Moor
ish triangle, fight better than those which
overthrow FRANCIS and captured Rome Is
not the degeneracy of the Spaniards bye
word in the mouth Of the civilized world b
That human life is held very cheap in Spain,
is true enough, and it is the natural con-
sequence Of encouraging such a bloody
sport. But it is notorious that the individual
Spaniard loves his own life as we'll as any
man. 1t is only to the lives of others that he
is Indifferent. In fact, brutal spectacles of
every kind, while their effect is inevitable in
duration of the heart, and indifference to HUI
man suffering, have no tendency to render men
less careful of their own lives, and, therefore,
beyond the actors themselves, can have no eff
feet upon national valor.
Even upon the indi viduals themselves, we
doubt whether its tendency has been pro-
motive Of that kind of valor which a SOL
slier ought to have. We do not recollect.
among the thousand heroes Of Rome. a single
Gladiator except SpARrAcUs. and he drew his
sword against her. Among all the Guerilla
chiefs who redeemed Spain from the reproach
which she must otherwise have undergone of
abject cowardice in the great war with France,
it does not occur to US that there was oac Bull
Fighter. Aud the Life-G uardsman SHAVE,
who was killed at the battle Of Waterloo, was
the only prize-f1ghter, SO far as we know, who
lifted a hand in the cause Of his country, dur
ing those long and bloody wars when she had
need of every strong arm and stout heart that
could by possibility be enlisted in her favor.
Depend upon it, the apologies made for prize
fighting are utterly without foundation. II
is, and it can be. productive Of no good what
ever, while the evils that flow from it are I'M
bounded. 1t hardens the heart-it promotes
licentiousness-it encourages gambling - it
makes thieves and pickpockets flour ish-it
lowers the tone Of society-it renders men con.
spicuous, who ought never To be SO. We will
mention one other objection to it, which, we
feel. will have but little weight in thsss times,
but which we really think ought to be some
what considered. II violates the law Of Cop
openly and professedly violates it,
Japan.
The American people have Violently formed
lofty hopes with regard 70 the Japanese trade
that is " be. We confess We do not exactly
understand upon what founda ton these hopes
are bnilt. The manufactures Of the Japanese
are said to be very perfect Of their kind, but
they are lar from suificiert to answer the pur.
poses OF AN extended commerce. From the
extreme jealousy OF the Government, it seems