The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-22 00:00:00

ROYAL LONDON YACHT CLUB.

The first match of the reason for prizes offered by
this club was sailed for on Saturday. The contest was
limited to third-class vessels only, belonging to mem-
bers of the club, and although the day was remarkably
fine, the wind most unfortunately disappointed the ex-
pectations which had been entertained by the numerous
company which had assembled to witness the race. Th•
committee had as usual chartered a steam-boat for the
accommodation of the members of the club and their
friends. The company having received a considerable
addition to its numbers at Blackwall, found on ar•
rival at Erith the following yachts ready moored for
starting :
Name. Tons. Owner.
Romp 9 .. Mr. Mumford.
Cormorant
Mischief
Kitten
One minute per ton was allowed for the difference in

size.
The Romp was on the Kent side nearest to the shore,
and the others in the above order. The signal for the
start was fired by the Commodore, Mr. Goodson, at half-
past eleven precisely, and the yachts at once got under
weigh. The Kitten, however, was much the smartest,
and although, from the absolute lack of wind, it was
some time before they could obtain any steerage way,
the Kitten first caught the breeze, and took a lead of
about 100 yards. She was followed at intervals of some
distance by the Mischief, Romp, and Cormorant. They
continued to drift down with the tide in a most mono-
tonous manner, and although their positions were con-
tinually changing, this portion of the match did not
afford the slightest test of the superiority of any of the
competing craft. In this state of affairs, the Commo-
dore most judiciously shortened the course at Rosher-
ville, when the tide turned, and the vessels with very
great difficulty rounded the steamer in the following
order :

Mischief 3 0 33
Kitten
Cormorant 3 56 12
Romp 4 5 0
A promising breeze having sprung up, the Mischief
made the most of the commanding lead which she had
obtained, and the issue of the match was apparent. The
wind increasing, the others gradually gained upon her,
and the advantage the Mischief had gained by catching
the wind first was made up for by the fact that the in-
creasing force of the breeze overtook the rearward ves-
sels some time first. The match, therefore, was no trial.
either of the capabilities of the vessels, or the skill of the
crews. They arrived at the winning buoy, off North
Woolwich, in this order :

. H. M. S.
Mischief
5 39 0
Kitten ................................. 5 55 0
Cormorant ..................... 6 0 30
Romp ................................................. .. 6 16 0
The day was delightful, and, in the absence of a
yatching match, the band of the Royal Artillery was
pressed into the service of the dancers, who improvised
a ball on the afterdeck of the steamer. There was a
great number of shipping and transports, in the rivet:,
dressed out in their colours in honour of her Majesty's
birthday, and the Jason was met with, steaming 1"
speed, with artillery on board for Constantinoplme•
was duly saluted with two guns from the Cuornme _,
d o n a
which act of courtesy was immediately OI td
oS rho:
somewhat grander scale. The enthusiastareexotefitethdetocotraht;
pany on board the other vessels
utmost pitch, and they loudly cheered the troops
o nip
lhnenon
twith
itit
board the Jason, who returned t 0
the greatest heartiness and goodwill.

MERCANTILE MARINE FUND.—On Saturday the
annual return to Parliament was printed containing an
account of the income and expenditure under the Mer-
icnacnotmilee,A rwitihn et
hAe cbta andne
et hwe
aSs t4e0729Nl
teaa. Navigation
balance. A, catu.
aTthhoest
expenditure,
7,2601. 33,034/. 15s. 7d. ;
MERCHANT SEAMEN'S FUND.—On Saturday a Par.
liatnentary paper was puplished giving an account of the
receipts and expenditure under the Seamen's Fund
Winding-up Act in the year ending the 31st December,
1353. The receipts, with the balance in hand, were, in
cash, 263,776/. 19s. 9d., and stock and bonds, 161,821/.
12s. Id. After various payments, the balance at the
end of the year was 30,401/. 10s.. lid. On the 31st
December last there were 26,306 pensioners on the
fund, and the pensions amounted 059,530/, 15s. 3d.
edcefaosrewdasgeaesmaenndweaffsec3tos,stir
Tnh
ielaanmd ofn amount received vde
Os. balance4d
.
and 13,908/. 14s. 10d. was paid last :year to the relatives
and representatives of 2,015 deceased seamen, leaving a
balance unclaimed at the end of the yea r 0f16,6761.113, 64