The Sun.
London, England, 1865-11-10 00:00:00

Mr. S. J. Welfitt's ch g Commodore, 5 yrs, list 131 b

' (Captain Tempest) 1
Mr. T. Stanley's gr g Early Morn, 6 yrs, 12st
_6lb _ _ _

(Mr. T. Price) 0

Betting-4 to lon Commodore.

Commodore, in consequence of Early Morn refusing the
first leap, was left to canter over the course at his leisure.

AQUATICS.

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY BOAT RACES.

Tho month of November does not seem exactly the sea-
son to strip for boat racing ; albeit the exercise is suffi-
ciently exhilarating to create any degree of warmth, as the
young gentlemen who contended yesterday at the Cam
evinced ample evidence. The day was cold, the sky gene-
rally covered with dark greasy-looking clouds, -which
afforded an occasional diversity in the weather by dis-
charging ungenial showers of rain. However, both sides
of the river from the lock to the railway bridge were lined
with students from the different Colleges, who certainly
did their utmost to create the usual amount of excitement
by running and shouting.
Only four boats were sent to the contest—viz., First
Trinity, Third Trinity, Trinity Hall, and St. John's. St.
John's held the challenge for two years, the third deciding
the permanent bolder.

In the first heat Trinity Hall led, followed by Third
Trinity, the heat resulting thus :
Third Trinity
Won by 13 seconds.
SECOND HEAT.
St. John's 1 I First Trinity 2
Won by four seconds.
FINAL HEAT.
Third Trinity
Won by 12 seconds, easily.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—The International Commission for in-
quiring into the origin and character of epidemic
cholera will commence its researches at an opportune
time. Never was the capricious nature of the disease
more signally exemplified than in its course during
the present year, and perhaps reason and science may
feel their way 13:y the aid of incidents so exceptional.
We have ground for believing that on this occasion
the plague did not come to us from India, yet the
last intelligence from that country informs us that it
has now broken out in Rajpootana, and all reports
concur in representing that the disease, whether in
the Mediterranean or elsewhere, has been of the true
Asiatic type. Again, though its progress has been
slow as well as eccentric, it has been sure, and it has
rot been checked so decidedly as usual by the fall of
temperature and the approach of winter. Of its
fatality we can only say that its ravages in Con-
stantinople and Cairo were as terrible as on any
previous visitation, but that in Europe generally
the disorder has been more controllable than usual.
We have explained on former occasions the sin-
gular track of the epidemic ; how it commenced
apparently on the Arabian coast, then travelled to
Alexandria, thence to Constantinople, and thence
again to various ports in the Mediterranean. From
the Mediterranean it crept into the Black Sea, and
afterwards through the Straits of Gibraltar and
along the west coasts of Spain and Portugal. Yet
it did not make the circuit of the Mediterranean,
nor did it continuously ascend the Atlantic shore of
the Peninsula. Its visits were capricious '-tt-'6,.dder-e--,_
gular in the extreme. To this day it has left not
only Greece, but all the eastern coast of the Adriatic
untouched ' • nor has it fallen upon the coasts of
Barbary. One coast of Italy was severely visited,
while the other, up to the close of last month, re-
mained completely exempt. Sicily escaped, nor do
we know that Sardinia or Corsica has been afflicted,
but Malta has suffered heavily. For a long time,
too, it seemed as if the disease could not penetrate
the interior of a country, or quit the seaboard for any
considerable distance, but that exception, as well as
some others previously visible, has now disappeared.
Cholera has been felt in inland towns, but still
under most eccentric conditions. After escaping
from the Mediterranean the pestilence first appeared
at Seville, and then, by a tremendous bound, at
Southampton, after which it visited Paris, and, later
still, Madrid. We learn, too, that from Odessa,
where it established itself in the autumn, it ad-
vanced, and •is still advancing, northwards to the
Polish provinces of the Russian Empire. Rumour
also describes it as present in Leipsic, but rumour
also placed it, without much foundation, at Nurem-
burg and Hanover more than two months ago.
Nevertheless, it is plain upon the whole that the
plague is no longer confined to the basin of the
Mediterranean, but has been hovering over Central
and Western Europe. The effects of the visitation
have been as uncertain as its course. At some places
they havebeen comparatively light ; at others, very
severe. At Marseilles and Toulon the disease was
obstinate as well as fatal, and was only dislodged
after serious and prolonged mortality. In Madrid
and Paris, on the other hand, though the virulence
of the epidemic was considerable, its career was short,
both capitals being now regarded as free. In this
country we have indeed reason to be thankful for
our immunities. It is now upwards of six weeks
since the cholera showed itself at Southampton.
Its appearance was unmistakable ; its severity in
one or two cases equally marked. The cases, too,
though certainly not numerous, occurred so far in
succession that the disease seemed established, and
one or two attacks were reported from the banks of
the Itchen. Yet this footing was not maintained,
nor did the malady spread. The account which we
published on Wednesday gave the place a clean bill
of health, while the rest of the country is absolutely
free. In London we have been without even the
symptom of an outbreak, though it is noticeable that
diarrhoea is somewhat more prevalent than is com-
mon at this particular time of the year. Usually
we have a considerable access of this complaint in
August and September, but very little of it in
November. We have not much now, but the
return is in excess of the average for the season.
On the question of contagion or communicability
the experience of this year will offer copious but
most conflicting evidence. It is asserted positively
that the disease was brought with a certain shipload
of passengers from Alexandria to Constantinople ;
it is undeniable that the ports attacked by cholera
are ports of call for Mediterranean steamers, our
own Southampton being an example ; it is said
that the disorder was brought to Leipsic by a par-
ticular passenger from the South, and it can be
argued that countries which established quarantine
were preserved, while countries which neglected the
precaution were attacked. Barbary, Sicily, and
Greece enforced a quarantine, and have had no
cholera ; Marseilles, Gibraltar, and Malta had no
quarantine, the cholera fell upon them. But the
exceptions to the rule are as numerous as its
examples. Many ports where there was no quaran-
tine escaped the plague; many places where no
steamer touched or called were heavily visited.
Cholera reached Paris and it reached Madrid, but
not by any visible track from the sea-coast to the
capital. As far as we hear, indeed, there has been
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visitation of cholera since 1831 has
been less de-
structive than that which preceded it. In 1849 the
mortality was less than in 1832, and in 1854 than
in 1849. Hitherto, the same law has certainly pre-
vailed in the present year, though perhaps not uni-
formly. If the plague has exhausted itself, and if
its effects can be already measured, the visitation
has undoubtedly been light. This has been parti-
cularlyevident in Madrid and Paris, where, although
the mortality for a number of days was high, it was
not lasting—indeed, it deserves special remark and

consideration that the disease was more easily con-
trolled, or more quickly exhausted, in the great
capitals than in the seaports. The duration of the
epidemic was not half so long in Paris as in Malta.