The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-19 00:00:00

Name.
Albatross.....

Britannia
Julia

7 White, with red cross.
7 Light blue.

Undine . 7 White, with red and blue triangle.

SECOND CLASS.
Idas 6 Red over white.

Truant 5 American flag.

THIRD CLASS.
Demon 3 White, with his Majesty in centre.
Ca11i0pe........... 3 Blue, with amber border.
One minute per ton allowed; only one vessel of each
class to receive a prize. The distance appointed was
from Blackwall to Gravesend and back, and the Truant,
although of the second class, was backed by her friends
to eclipse any on the larger list. She was declared to
be an American clipper that possessed the advantage
of a shifting keel, and could beat or run at such a paco
as to warrant the favourable opinion expressed of her.
There were other very good things on the list, but the
American so engrossed the attention of leading yachts-
men that but little thought was bestowed upon them.
As the tune approached for the start the most lively
interest prevailed, and as they had to beat against a dead
noser all the way down, it was quite evident that, bar-
ring accidents, the merits of the boats would be tested,
and soon enough indeed they were. Mr. J. Berneastle,
the commodore, having inspected the yachts at their
stations, gave the signal to go off at 11 hrs. 44 min.,
which was most promptly obeyed by the whole of the
fleet. The Albatross was first fairly under weigh, and
next the Idas, but the Truant almost immediately took
the lead of the whole of the fleet, and never forfeited her
proud position. Her rig was of the sloop character, her
foresail and jib being in one, and, like the America, laced
to her boom. A more handy craft was never seen on
the Thames. Without reference to her keel shifting at
pleasure, she showed herself infinitely superior to her
rivals in working down. At Woolwich the Britannia
was second, the Ides third, Julia fourth, Calliope fifth.
The Julia shortly afterwards passed the Idas, and in this
position they arrived at the flag-boat, just above Graves-
end, the Truant being more than a quarter of an hour in
advance of the Julia, and the latter 19 minutes before
the Idas. Of the third chase, the Calliope was considerably
in front, and in this order they run up to the return post
as follows

I.
Th; Truant 6IL
a.
18 10
Julia 6 35 25
Idas
6 55 26
Shortly afterwards the Britannia, and the Calliope and
Albatross together at half-past 7.
Tho prizes were duly presented, with appropriate
speeches, by the Commodore.

THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY.—A number of ad-
ditional workmen have been engaged by the direc-
tors of the Great Western Railway Company to form a
new terminus at Paddington, which will bring the line
nearly half a mile nearer to the Edgware-road than its
present site. Last week an extensive goods shed—the
registration and goods offices, &c., which were erected
at a considerable expense by the company—were dis-
posed of, and are now being demolished for the purpose
of extending the terminus. It is intended to bring the
line close to the new and splendid hotel, which is now
nearly finished, when omnibuses and other vehicles will
enter there at gates adjoining the hotel. At the new en-
trance there will be a spacious semicircular roof of cast-
iron ribs, covered with glass, similar to those at the
terminus of the Great Northern Railway, Kings-cross.
It is not expected that the new terminus will be opened
for at least twelve months.

INSIDE THE HOUSE.

BY AN EYE-WITNESS.

THURSDAY NIGHT.

Gentle reader, what shall we tell you of Gavan Duffy,
who, the last few days, has filled so large a space in the
world's eye and his own ? Shall we tell you how, ala
Palmerston, he found a mare's nest—how the house first
became vehemently indignant, and then went off into a'
fit of laughter ? The matter would have died away on
Friday, had not Mr. Ball unwisely resuscitated it with
funereal solemnity. Mr. Ball, a fine, jolly-looking man,
is a ruined tenant-farmer, and an advocate of ruined
tenant-farmers, and always speaks as if he was not only
" going, going," but actually "gone." However, he
does not speak worse than the Marquis of Granby, and
that is something. It is to be hoped that here the matter
has terminated, and that Gavan Duffy will, by his future
sensible conduct, remove the prejudice which his foolish
escapade has created against him. The lower you go in
society—the more vulgar and ignorant are the ritz.n
with whom you mix the more you will hear of
bribery and corruption. I take it there is not a pot-
house in Clerkenwell where you will not find beery poli-
ticians who will tell you how Government buys up whole
batches of M.P.s, and the exact amount of money paid
down for the bargain. Men who are depraved, and
gross, and selfish themselves, will believe anything that
is charged against other men. After all, the House of
Commons is an assembly of gentlemen and men of
honour. Of course there are exceptions ; but I speak of

the mass.
I would now say something of Duffy himself. He
on the Opposition side of the
sits below the gangway,
house, with the rest of the Irish Brigade. He is
youngish looking, rather under the middle size, and, in
person and manner, very much like Disraeli ; but he
has not the grace and polish, the Belgravian finish, of
that distinguished advocate of the Semitic element. He
is Disraeli, minus his gentlemanly appearance. Nor can
he have that. Doth not Disraeli dine with dukes? Has
he not a lord for a private secretary, in the same way
as Moses a poet ? While, on the contrary, poor Duffy
has languished in gaol, has been tried for high
treason, is the mouthpiece of priests, and the companion
of the people. Still, after all, Duffy is one of the most
noticeable of the Irish representatives. He is the editor
of the Nation. He helped to break down the power of
O'Connell. He is one of the leaders of the Young Ire-
land party, whose cause he pleads in glowing verse and
passionate prose. He is what few men are—a name
and a power. But he must remember that the House
of Commons is not a partisan Mob—that it contains men
of the highest attainments, of the finest intellect, of un-
sullied honour; that he speaks there to the nation's jury,
who require argument and fact alone—to men who, like
the gods in Olympus—

" p Arove
The depth, but not the tumult p
of the soul."
Poets talk of " the merry month of May." Con-
sidering the snow, and rain, and bitter winds we have
endured, it is questionable whether it be that : that
may well be doubted. About the fact, however, that
May is the month of meetings there can be no doubt
whatever. That it is so is very clear from the aspect
of the Strangers' Gallery in the House of Commons.
All around you are provincials, with sun-burnt faces, and
their best clothes on. Many of them have white neck-
cloths, that badge of the waiter or the divine—a very
unbecoming one, and, in London, where you don't get
your linen washed gratis, a very expensive one. Most
have a strong Protestant bias, and, on Tuesday night,
felt very much inclined to sympathise with Mr. Cham-
bers in his Bill for the inspection of nunneries. Then
there are several farmers up, who can't get the barley in
this wet weather, and so have come to town—
" The dodges for to see."

And who, with becoming reverence, stare at Lord John,
admire the size of Sir J. Graham, and are all struck with
'the splendour of Dizzy's unrivalled vest. Outside the
house, too, there has been some curious scenes. On
Tuesday I saw a group that only Hogarth or Wilkie
could have done justice to. It consisted of some fine
Milesians come to give evidence relative to one or
other of the disputed Irish elections. The group was a
small one, but it' was arrayed in every variety of costume,
and consisted of grown-up individuals of either sex, and
male and female were alike regaling themselves with the
darling weed. Their costume evidently was not made
for them, but it was their best, and they were proud of it
accordingly. The house was meeting, and passed them
hurried peers and M.P.'s, and high-born dames—and
coroneted carriages dashed up—yet calmly they smoked
on with a coolness and self-possession perfectly delightful.
Charles Mathews, in Used Up, never exhibited greater
nonchalance. Nothing touched them—nothing excited
them. One might as well have shouted to the Sphynx or
sought a glance of its stony eye. It is said that it is
civilisation that produces the embarrassment so common
and so painful amongst us, that the savage is always dig-
nified and self-possessed. The wild Irish group that
excited my intense admiration certainly, to my mind,
gave some :additional weight to the theory to which I
have just referred. "Go, get thee to a nunnery," says
Hamlet. That is the very thing Mr. T. Chambers, mem-
ber for Hertford, wanted to do, or did, on Tuesday night,
when he got leave to bring in a bill for the inspection of
nunneries. Though printed as it was in the notices as a
bill to facilitate the recovery of personal liberty in cer-
tain cases, it was not at once that the real object of his
measure was seen. The house was not very crowded,
and several efforts were made to close the debate, but it
was kept up with some spirit till about eleven, when the
most tremendous cheering that I have heard for some
time made it clear that Government had been beaten,
and that Mr. Chambers had got leave to bring in the
bill. Lord John, however, did not take it much to heart,
for he went through the lobby on his way to the Lords,
looking more lively and smiling than usual. All night
the Opposition side of the house was almost forsaken.
Disraeli occasionally looked in and then went out again.
On the second Opposition bench, which, as Disraeli told
Sir James Graham on Monday night, he had made
almost classical, sat old Spooner and his colleague,
Mr. Newdegate, who, if the Freehold Land Societies
had done their duty in Warwickshire, would have ceased
tormenting the house long before this ; but they were
almost alone. The Ministerial benches were much better
filled. Ch-ambers made a maiden speech, and it was one
that told well—and so did his reply. But Chambers is no
younker. He is already nearly bald, and a barrister in
good practice. What a pity it is that we don't achieve
fame earlier ! Our young poets, our rising barristers,
are all middle-aged men. Alas ! for the mockery of life.
Just as we get great we get old. Whiteside, Sergeant
Murphy, Mr. Lucas, and Henry Drummond, all spoke,
and spoke well. Lord John's speech reminded us of the
wicked entry in the last volume of Moore's Diary.
" Lord John, mild and sensible." I do not say this to
disparage Lord John, for I do think he is the model of a
Parliamentary orator : but one of the worst speeches—
if not the worst speech, was that of Newdegate.
There aro some men that excite your antagonism
directly they rise. Newdegate is one of them.
Tall, very awkward, with a self-satisfied air, narrow-
bodied, narrow-headed, narrow-minded, looking as
if ho could only take in one idea at a time, and that
a very small one. I felt it a great relief when Mr. New-
degate sat down. Poor Berkeley looked very unhappy
all night. He went limping about the house disconso-
late. The Ballot debate was knocked on the head, and
when ho can get another night for it neither he nor any
one else can tell. Fat bucolic Sir John Tyrell closed
the debate with a few leaden words, and the house want
to a division, and left us thankfully to go home.
On Thursday we had, as if that were needed, an ad-
ditional illustration of the way in which the time of the
house is wasted. When we went in we wondered why
the house was so unusually full. In the lobby every seat
was occupied, and up in the gallery were assembled hon-
ourable M.P.s. eager for a little fun. It soon came out
what it was that attracted such crowds at such an un-
usual hour. It was a notice of Mr. Magan's, member for
Westmeath, relative to the affair of Monday. He wished
to get up another Duffyad. His part was very easy.
The game once begun, it was the easiest thing in the
world to keep it up, and amidst " Oh, ohs," and " Hear,
hears," and "tremendous laughter." Maurice O'Con-
nell, Lucas, Mr. Hayter, Sir Charles Wood, and many
more spoke and respoke. That very useful man, Mr.
Hayter, according to one set of statements, had hum-
bugged the Irish members; according to another set,
and according to his own statements, he had done no-
thing
of the kind. As for myself, I could not help think-
ing
of the passage in " Sybil," in which the late Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer favours us, the uninitiated—many
thanks to him for charging only eighteen pence for
the favour—with his idea as to, the use to which such
pleasant men as Mr. Hayter can be put. Speaking
to Taper, in the prospect of a change of Ministry,
Tadpole says, " At present go about and keep our
fellows in good humour. Whisper nothings, that sound
like something. But be discreet ; do not let there be
more than half a hundred fellows who believe they are
going to be Under Secretaries of State. If they push
you, give a wink, and press a finger to your lip. ' I
must call here,' continued Mr. Tadpole, as he stopped
before the house of the Duke of Fitzaquitaine. 'This
gentleman is my particular charge. I have been cook-
ing him these three years. I had two notes from him
yesterday, and can delay a visit no longer. The worst
of it is, that ho expects that I shall bear him the non-
official announcement of his being sent to Ireland, of
which he has as much chance as I have of being
Governor-General of India. It must be confessed that
ours is critical work sometimes, friend Taper. But
never mind : what we have to do to individuals, Peel
has to do with a nation, and therefore we ought not to
complain.' "
A. conference with the Lords was desired. That
always puts a stop to the business of the howl till the
deputation sent by the Commons returns pause
did that
did not interfere
with the little row Mr. r. Magan had
so
ingeniously cuotntrived. That lasted till half-past six,
when it -was
to by a few good, sensible
words from s )1.
ry an enii
Russell does that s'orii Generally Lord John
°f thing ; but lie was absent all
night, and Sir Harry InogliF7vistely saved the house from
an idle waste of words
escaped Scylla It turned out that tile
house had merely
andt.ltiget foul ?f. Charybdis.
The Speaker left the chair, IseVesaunfsiftatnuarterrsosfreutmo
propose the exemption of crtain el
.ndaoutbt.edly he
the income tax. Mr. Van sittart maya
is —a very nice young man for a small tea-party
certainly is not the man to teach or electrifyrY ,13i.t.he
British
House of Commons.. He might have made avaer
speech, but we certainly did not hear a word of irtgooldt
was a relief when Mr. Gladstone rose after him and ;poke
with that fluency and power which he has always at
command. He was followed by Sir Fitzroy Kelly,
who, since he has bought an estate in East Suffolk,
and represented' the county, has bitterly repented the
vote he gave for free trade
under Sir Robert Peel,
and is, sow that Protection is gone—now that it can
only be a cry with which to clog and em
to
barrass Govern-
ments, and nothing more—a Protectionist the back-
bone. Bright demolished the elegant lawyer with one
of his usual murderous speeches, and then the debate
languished terribly, till about ten, when a division took

alobby. miserablel
If
place, and Mr. Yan soit te-, ar
expected,walked into
t oh
withte
minority, as every one
this is not factious opposition, it is very much like it.
It was pas'e ten when the House got to real business,
and went into committee on the Legacy Duties ; but even
at that late hour, tired as every one was, so artistic an
orator is Gladstone, that every one listened with hi-
terest. For myself, Ido like to see the Chancellor con.
ducting a debate. He is' all attention and life. He
leans slightly forward, turning his face to 'the Speaker
—on his knees he has a note-book, and with a pencil in
hand he takes a note of every argument advanced, or
fact stated, on whichever side of the case it may be.
You are tired, are you, my good sir ? Well, we'll
stretch our legs and walk into the reporters'
gallery. Did you see, as you came in, as you
went into the waiting-room, a little door on your
left ? You will find it leads you to a narrow stair-
case. We go up that staircase, and come to a little
lobby, where we shall find two lads dressed in a
kind of uniform. They belong to the electric telegraph
office, and are waiting for dispatches—which in another
minute will be on their way to all the great towns of our
own and other lands. We enter a room on the left. The
good things of life are all around us—coffee, roast-beef,
and capital stuff it is. This is where the reporters re-
fresh the inner man, and well may they do so, though
those we see at present do not look very weary, and
seem far more inclined for chaff than work. The ami-
able fellows are now poking their fun at each other as
they pass up the gallery orcome down from it with their
short-hand notes, with which they will now hurry to '
their respective offices and copy out quickly, for they
must be back very soon. This room is virtually un- '
der the management of Lord Charles Russell, sergeant-
at-arms ; but really of Mr. Dodd, whose "Parliamentary
Companion"—we hope we shall not be charged the ad- ;
vertisement duty for saying so—is really an indispensable I
work. Mr. Dodd is the manager of the Timer's Parlia-
mentary corps, and is therefore a man of much weight ;
but, good sir, he sees you are not one of us—so, with
your leave, we will make our exit. The reporting gal-
lery
none can enter but reporters themselves.— Weekly
News and Chronicle.