Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-01-13

them. The required bail wRspthen enterc
into, and the defendants were liberated.
. The Standard OF this. Prize Ring.
lPrpm the London Daily News, December 24.l
King and Heeuan, the principals in th
prize light at Wadhurst, with their sec
oudsl and other aiders and abettors in ths
encounter, have been taken before a bencI
VI otgSusseN magistrates, who, Rfter hearfnt
the testimony of "a number of wit.
nesses of the fight, have bound then
over to appear to- answer any indictmen
that may be preferred against them at thu
next quarter sessions. AS the law on the
subject of prize fights is very stringent
andIas the evidence taken last Tuesday
was very clear, IL may seem at irsI
glance that the accused parties are in some
! peril. A slight examination of the fpro.
ceedings before the magistrates is sufi-
cient TO remove this impression, and to
show that nothing more than a formal
homagefto the law has been paid. Even
IN the act of committing the defendants,
Mr.iDonald Barclay, the presiding magis.
trate, observed that hewould not cay that
there was anything particularly reprehen
4 sible in what the men had done, but tba
persons were not to commit illegal acts
with impunity. We confess we do NOT
/
Sussex bench, as they stand in the light
of this remark. If it is meant that the
law which condemns prize fighting is to be
put in motion simply because it is law,
just as we sometimes see sbusybodies put
some obsolete statute in force to the dis
tress of harmless people, it is great pity
that the magistrates cannot perceive that
the dignity of the law is lowered when il
is employed to vex individuals without any
corresponding good to society. Itgis only
upon the suppositiou that the crowd of
persons which assembled at Wadhurst on
the 10th inst. was reprehensible that King
and Heenan aud their friends could prop
erly be subjected to the trouble and annoy
ance OF being made to appear before the
bench. ss.t .to4s s;.ts4.lti er
Butin TRUTH no amount of zeal and sin.
cerity in the promoters would save this
prosecution from the reproRch of futility
aud unfairness. No one, however, disposed
to condemn, the recent fight, can desire to
see the ,ofense visited upon the moor men
who on that occasion beat and bruised
one another for the amusement of, their
betters.g As;Kiug's advocate nswerabiy
argued. lsHWhateVer the feeling of the
Sussex magistrates might be in the mat
ter, it was quite clear that great favor and
countenance was given in certain high
quarters to men in the position of the de-
PENDANTS, and some allowance ought.
therefore, to be made for those who, rising
invariably from amosthumble and obscure
position in life, were made so much OF. by
those who so largely supportedithem. No
one could fail to see that persons of rank
and position did attend such fights, and
that was an additional reason which should
induce the bench to deal lightly with those
who had been selected for rpunishment,",
This is notoriously true. 1t is not merely
that people of exalted social rank sanction
prize nights, but that persons of high au
thorltyin tue slate countenance them by
their language, il not by their presence.
Lord Palmerston, replying in,the House
OF Commons toia member who had spoken
of a prize fight as if it were tsomethinp
which all acknowledged to be- wrong, o6
served that the spectacle was no more i'm.
moral than balloon, Rscenta The House
answered withSaPproYiDg laughter Prob.
ably not one OF the laughIers valued Lord
FalmerstOn's opinion on q point of morali-
ty,l but it was Instantly felt that " valve
had been opened, and that the pressure of
public opinion, which had SO long kept
prize-iighting down, had been sensibiy
weakened. In like manner the influence Of
some of our CleVerest public writer's has
been carried over to the prize ring. Some
of these eiadvOcateit in plain terms us an in
sutuuon deserving of the encouragement
OF society and the protection of the law
AdVocacy of this order perhaps does ore
to nrouse opposition than to make converts.
STILL the sanction TINS given to n sport
which is described by one not uufriendIy
critic as more revolving than n bnlI fight.
and having less excuse than duel, is well
come to those who wantan excuse for what
they suspectto be wrong. IA far more eff
teetual wayIOf encouraging the prize ring
has beeu followed byGa contemporary of
great influence. This consists in lkindlfug
the largest amouut,Of public interest in il \
by publishing conspicuously, and in disre-
gard of a long standing tacit convention of
the respectable newspaper press, elaborate
and exciting descriptions of fevery battle in
which 6rst.class men are engaged. OF
courses the decent ending of each report is
a confident prediction that the battle de-
lscrihed is tue last of the kind that can ever
take place, o strong opinion that prize
fight is a disgusting and debasing exbibi.
lion, and a stereotyped excIQmatiou that it
would be easier to restore the sports of the
arena than to revive the prize ring. Aud
there can be no doubt that for many readers
this cheap tribute TO shallow sentiments is
sll that is necessary TO .entitle reports Of
prize fights to place among edifyiug and
improving literature, Let US indulge no
illusions on this subject. There is no need
to revive the prize ring. That Institution
enjOys.an amount and kind of support such
as it has never before known in-Euglaud
The prime minister pleads for it. The
House OF Commons smiles on it. The chief
commissioner of police. sends bis men to
facilitate its arrangements. The railways
are at its service. The press supports it,
Above, all itpays. A.thousand persons are
found to give three gdineas each for the
privilege Of being carried to it in the dark
early hours of cold winters morning.-
And the Newspaper which gives the best
account of the battle sells more copies than
when it reported the victory of the Alma
tnIic feeling which. tLasn f,ls,n ;nnni ::