MR. COBDEN CHALLENGED.—HIS OPINION OF DUELLING.

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 545, 5 July 1851, Page 3

MR. COBDEN CHALLENGED.— HIS OPINION OF DUELLING.

Tiir honourable member for the West Riding lias been challenged to light ft duel, and by no less ft personage than Ad mi ml Sir Thomas Hastings. It appeals that fit tho Peace Congress at Birmingham, Mr. Bright, ia the course of Ins speech, made somo allusions to the evidence given by Sir T. Hasting*, K.N., before a parliamentary committee on navy estimates. Mr. Bright is icported to have said : " There was no superstition greater thnti tho fear of ft war with France — ft superstition winch h.id been hnnded down to us from the Fionch war. He recollected Sir. T. Hastings, an adminil of the British fleet, who was examined befoio a committee of tho House of Commons a shoit timo ngo, '.\(is haunted with this fear of Fiance. Dm ing lv's oxamination lie was pressed inrder nnd harder as to tho authority upon which lie had gioundcd those apprehensions. At last it came out — luj Mated that ho had been informed by a pi test — no, not by n priest, but by tho Bishop of Madagascar — (loud laughter) — that the intentions of tho Fionoh people was extremely hostile or warlike. (Chcois.) Only imagine, tho only authority upon which t\ British admiral anticipated war was the idle etory told by the Bishop of Madagascar." Sir T. Hastings, upon tin's wrote to Mr. Blight, demanding his authonty for tho statement. Mr. Blight replied that (lie iinet dote had been relntod to him by Mr. Cobden, a member of the commit too in 'jucation. Other letters passed between the parties, nnd ul timitidy SirThomns Kent a challenge to tho lion, member for the West Hiding, in which he r ( nyu: — " I gave you credit in my last jotter for moro gentlemanly feeling and otrnightforward iiiitnlint'ss of character than you seem to consider to bo your duo. I onco more call on you to ntate, directly ami explicitly, whether, after reporting niv evidence, you can with tiuth assert <h«t my aole reason for believing that (he hostile feeling of Franco to tins country up to IBW was founded on an idle story told of tho Biuhop of Japan, which Mr, Bright declares expressly be anaerted J in puLho on your utithority ; and you, there/ore, uro r»f>ponßibl« to mo. And should you, in bo clear and Hiiuplo a case, rej'uso to give i«o a satibfvotory explanation, i shall ooncludo that U was and is your intention to i.iault me, p.nd 1 shall placo our correspondence in tlio handi of a fnond, who will wait on you on my bohalf." Io this hostile note Mr. Cobdon replied ns follows: " If in my earlier days my admiration for tho genius of Sheridan Imd not tempted no to witness the mimic exploits of fjir Luciub OTrigger, I might have been at a lohh $o comprehend the meaning of your letter. Aidod, however, bjr my recol lections of that model duollitit, i undorßtund you propose that we should lay down onr per.B, ami havo u personal interview, not to tulk over the matter in dispute, not even to approach within flp^aking d'stence, but to tuko our stand at ISJ paces apart, wilh pistola in hand, and ondoavour to blow out euch other's brains. Now, 1 am HfttMied, without i any such experiment on my head at least, that half an ounce of l«ad propelled by loss than a quarter of an ounce of powder, is quito sufficient to shatter tho huinui skull to atoms, end extinguish in a moment all powers of reason, all sense of justice, and every 1011gions sentiment, liut how such a process would HfUiufy me that I had acted unjustly towmds you, or convince you of tho contrary, ia, I confess quite beyond my comprehension. " So soon na I had lecovered from the fit of laughter into -\vl.i(,h, 1 must coulee, your challenge t>ire\° me, and niter 1 had mastcrod tho temptation I felt to nnmo loi my sooond my much-esteemed fiiend Mr. Punch, I erulcavouied to procure a copy of tho report of the committee, which with considerable- difficulty, and after a lapho ol a couple of days, 1 succeeded in obtaining ; and, having reheshod my memory hy a perusal of ) out evidence, 1 will endeavour to stato tho facts of tho case as betweon you and myself in such ft way Us shall admit of no Author misapprehension. "Alter tho committee had heard your evidence at oonsidetablo length as to tho piepnr.ilioim which had been made (partly under your direction^ to repel an imaginary invasion fiom. Fiance, I loquestod you to state upon what authority you assumed tliat the French nation wero eager to go to war with this country. Your answers wero somewhat vague, which induced me to press you more closely, when at last you quoted, its a proof of the belligerent disposition of the French, coitaiu warlike sentiments which somebody had heard on hoard a steam boat fall from the lipa of the French J'uhop of Japan,

" Tlio uplifted eyes and hands of more than 0110 member of the committee led to tlio interposition of tlio cbmrnmn. Tlio room was, if I recollect coiroctly, immediately ordered to be cleared of stinnguiH, and you were u'ljufßteil to withdraw. I was then appealed to by fioino of tho member* of the committee to allow tho above parr of your I'vidcnce to bo expunged ; others, on (In I'oriiraiv,1 'oriiraiv, wished it to ho retamod, as exposing' iliu tiivint f< rounds oiv which professional men iiro disposed to advocate an augmentation of our armaincuth. '■ At lant it wns ngrc«d Ihat your evidence, when, written out by tho alioithand wntor, should ]>c subnmii'd for correction to l<ord Seymour (tho chairman) and myself. Two or Ihieo (lays elapsed boloie tho irpott win placed in my hands by his lordship, when I (i^u'od that the passages respecting tho bishop of Japan Hhoulil bo expunged. In tho mean timo I mentioned the incident to iM!, Bright nnd sovcral olhor membors of the lioimc. " '1 he nhovo hlatements of facts you will not call in question. "

Papal Agciirssion. — Lord Camoya hni nddre^ncd a lciier to the Timei, muting why hr, though one of the laity, icfunsd to ni£»i ihe address to Cnrdinnl Wiseman, " Seeing how (ho Roman Catholic Church in Great JJnlain." he iibyh, " was prospering, I may well doubt the wisdom of petitioning for, as I may alio qucbticm the policy of establishing the hierarchy. But he Unit as it may, when I contrast the quiescent ill ate of the conntiy a* it was lant September with the criminations and ricrinunatioiis, not unuccompanied vrith danger to the public peace, which has uncc provmled, ttnd Hill prevail — n atato of initation unfortunately aggravated by other inflaences, yet all tha diiect rtmscqnciices of (he publication of the Papal dociimesit, and ccrtnin Pastorals accotnpunying it — I c»n»ot Join nn cx|ir«-fsioa of thanks to the chief, though I Hin sure, unintentional promoter of this wide aprend, and to the Roman Catholic body, 1 fear, luit~ ing mischief.