The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1862-05-20 00:00:00

THE WEYMOUTH REGATTA.

It used.to be a very popular idea that grumbling
was the exclusive 'priviNge of the agriculturist.
After sevyrai dayatiaoessiat rain we once .heard the
farmers aniirket complain that the land gas so
wet that seed they had sownwould all rot in the
ground, kWh)* those who had not sown declared
they wouliincit be able to do so that season, for the
ground when, saturated that they would not be able
to work ?MT three months to come. The next
day thellreahlor ithangtd. At drat there were
drying wintin and then :the sun began to a inc with
great lutillascy and heat. The neat market day
the farina% changed their tone. It wan a. hot that
all theirxinspe would be parolied up, and it would
be parched up, and it would be mom hurtful to the
settle. We weather beeutne cooler and then their
crops inlaid 44 - The highly valnalde
Prerogat46li 144;rtili4 however,- become uni-
versal, aliTir‘ -the•highssit- to-the lowest, all
&asses of the oommunit enj..ity to_the utruoet_ e
gloriousdpfielft

aggrieved, certain that if their complaints are not of i
sufiacient importance tmall for universal sympathV,
there is no power to prevent their being published to
the world. Wernnuth thus far, during the present
week, has been full of life, and hustle, and gaiety.
l'he arri‘4l of "the Yeomanry" is sleet a looked
noon as the cotnmencetheut of the "sermon," just as
the first swallow is regarded hy coins as the
klinning of summer. And this year the town
has been more than usually gay. Among other
ittractions, a number of gentlemen formed a
committee, to get up a rowing regatta in honour of
the.Q.O.R.D.Y.C. Yet notwithstanding the bril-
liancy of the morning on Monday, the afternoon
was anything but faeourble for witnessing the pro-
ceedings, and this, no doubt was the foundation
of disconteut ; but the ostensible cause of indig-
nation was, that the Committee's barge was
moored opposite the pile pier, anti the eimrse for
the boats to steer lay so far from the Esplanade
that, in order to get anything like a fair view of the
sports, it was absolutely necessary to pay toll.
Some bodly asserted that the Pile Pier Company
and some of the Committee had leagued together to
draw the money out tf people's pockets for the
beeletit of the former, and the grumbling was
well nigh universal. Those who were in their
carriage* grumbled and rude home, and some of
those on foot returned home too, although some
hundreds remained, yet the pile pier, notwith-
standing the penny, was largely patemised. Now
we eolfess we have a very strong regard for the
grumbler who boldly vents his well-founded
displeasure or indignation. This giving vent to one's
feelings acts something like a safety-valve
toe steam engine—like a scion in the neck of a dis-
ordered body, through which the ill humours pass
away, leaving tho frame healthier and stronger for
the temporary inconvenience and disoomAirt. And
this seems to have been precisely the case in the
present ipatant*. The Weather was gloriously line on
fuesday,- and the sports, which had been cut short
on the preceding day on account of the rain, were
resumed, and the grumbling was lees prevalent.
Perhaps the spectators had remembered the adage
that all ties fair in love, war, and elections, and it
may upon a pinch be considered so in regattas, and
by Pile Pier Companies. Spe.aking of the Pile Pier,
we may here remark that the lessees have at the
farther end erected a refreshe,entrecen, and a sitting
room for the accommodatieu of the promenaders,
and an orchestra, where a hand will perform at
stated periods for thee entertainment. Here one
obtains a view of the expansive hay, far snore de-
lightful than can be obtained at any point on the
Esplanade.
Mist old English sports have their good and their
had sides. Fox-hunting, for example, is condemned
by some as a futile and dangerous chase after a filthy,
verminous animal, and extolled by °themes Hygeia's
best ally, and the nursing-mother of the British
cavalry. Ti. some, coursing hares appears a wanton
cruelty, and the reckless escapedes of steeple-ohasing
are frequently condemned by the thoughtful and
wise. 'll'hese and numerous others have, and will
continue to have, their moot points; but who ever
heard an argument advanced adverse to boating?
If we consider the matter seriously we find much to
commend and to admire in the pursuit of the manly
and invigorating exercise, as to us belongs, as a
birth-right and an inheritance, the dominion of the
waters—both salt and sweet. It is, as it deserves
to he, one of our national sports, and draws together
a larger concourse of speclatore, of young and old,
rich and poor, religions and profane, than any other.
The Regatta Committee consisted of the following
gentlemen :—S. Meade, Esq., A. Foster, Jour., Esq.,
Limit Hawkes, RN., Lieut. Osborne, U.N., Com-
mander Elliot, IL N., Lieut. Coles, R.N., Lieut.
Nares. 11. N., and Limit. Clanchy, RN. Umpires
Tufuell, R.N., and J. Ball, Esq.,
Referee : Captain Manning. Starter : Commander
Elliot, H. N. Clerk of the Course : E. C. Ball,
Esq., R.N. lion. Secretary :R. N. llowanl, Eq.
The first rare was by the let class coast-guard punts;
first prize 15s, 2nd 10s. They came in in the follow-
ing order :-
- 1. Wyke—Red and White.
2. Weynieuth—White and Blue Cross.

3. Poriland—White and Blue.
4. Portland—All Blue.
Second race-2.0l class watt-guard punts; Ist prize 15e.,
2nd, 10s.
1. Warbarrow—White and Red.
2. Preston—Blue and Yellow. _ _

The foaming al,w started : Lulwarth, blue, white
and red; Whitenose, blue and yellow; Ostniugtou, blue,
white, red ; Weymouth, white and blue cruse.
Third race—jolly boats—lot prise LT, 2nd El
I. Colossus—White, Black Bell.

2. Revenge—White, with St. George's Cross.
3. Trafalgar's Shooting Star—White, with Red Star.
The other boats that started, but were not placed,
were the Emerald's Green. with harp; Chanticleer's
Wasp, white and blue erase; Chanticleer" Bee, white,
reo border. This was a good race*

Fourth rsce—four-oared gigs-Ist prize £2 10., 2nl
1:1 10+., 3rd 21.
1. Mr. Coale's—Green.
2. Esau'. White Engle—Whits, Red Cross.
3. Deloiee' IN•fenoe—Red.