PRIZE FIGHTING.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VII, Issue 1075, 19 April 1880, Page 2

PRIZE FIGHTING.

The decline of the prize-ring has, it must probably be admitted, been followed by an increase of brutality in the method of fighting, and "fair play" is no longer a jewel" in the eyes of those who take part in or witness personal contests. Differences are not now as a rule settled by fists, but often by both fiats and feet. Kicks follow blows and blows follow kicks until one or other of the combatants is seriously injured. Some observations in this point were (says the Pall Mall Budget) made by Lord Justice Brett at the Lancaster assizes, when passing the very mild sentance of two's months imprisonment on a young farmer found guilty of the manslaughter of another farmer by killing him in a fight. In commenting upon the fact that the prisoner had hit the deceased "below the belt," and also upon the pratice of unfair fighting which now prevails in Lancashire, the Judge snid he had made up his mind that if a man fought fairly, although fighting was contrary to the law, he would not punish him should an accident result from the fight. In the present case not only had the prisoner struck the deceased in the stomach, but after he was down he had kicked him, which made the offence ten times worse. It was hard to believe a that " human Englishman " could allow himself to do such a cowardly act, and made him shudder to find that Englishmen could do such things. He thought it should be the endeavour and wish of every one in this country to bring about a state of things that used to exist in every part of it. He could recollect in his own time that in no village in England that he was aware of, when two men went out to fight upon a quarrel would one fight unfairly, because if he did everyone in the village would scout him. Now it had come to pass that Englishmen fought like cowards and took unfair advantages, and sometimes used the knife. Such conduct was really degrading, no doubt ; but on the other hand, it should be rembered that of late years Englishmen have been taught by judges and magistrates that it is no great offence to kick even their wives to the point of death.

The Government of Queensland offer a reward of a £1000 for the discovery of a cure for rust in wheat, subject to the condition that the cure be proved successful during three consecutive seasons in Queensland.

In a lecture on the utility of electricity, Dr. Werner Siemens, of Berlin, recently prophesied that energies of the solar rays, manifested in currents of ait, or in falls of water, may by and by, through the electric current, furnish all necessary heat, and render us independent of oridnary fuel.

"jam the oak; you are the tine," remarked an ardent tnough silly lover to his Marianne. ' ' Let the vine therefore, creep around the oak until it reacdes the topmast leaves — " " And finds nothing," there exclaimed the heartless beauty,