The Sun.
London, England, 1869-08-28 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, AUGUST 28, 1869.

Harvard a very favourable impression, which has
not been a little increased by the quiet unassum-
i manner, the diligent work, the intelligence with
which they correctly perceived, and the readiness
with which they adapted themselves to the new
position. Fine, muscular, well-formed young men,
they were admitted from the first to be physi-
cally fitted for the task, but many changes were
rsecestiary to fit them for such a race over a course
differing so totally from that to which they had
be en accustomed. The speed with which these
changes were effected astonished the more slow-
goi ng English people, and whether the race be won
or lost which we record below, it is generally
admitted that a few weeks more training over
the new ground might have had a decisive influ-
ence. The boat brought over by the Harvard
boys was considered uncouth, as it differed in form
from those used on the Thames. The style of the
crew was pronounced to be bad ; hence in the com-
ments of the English papers commendation was
confined solely to the physique of the men. The race
being regarded as a dead certainty in favour of Ox-
ford, the critics could afford to begenerous in advice,
and they suggested improvements in the form of the
crew, as well as changes in boats and oars. But
though this dose was administered ad nauseam the
tone of the press and the reception of the young
University men were such as to gratify the Ameri-
can people. Not only was a deep interest taken
in the event, not only have unusual efforts been
made to give the American crew fair play, and to
keep the course clear, but the sympathy with the
1, pluck" of Harvard has carried not a few Eng-
lishmen to their side, who would be gratified to see
them win. It has also become known in England
that Harvard being a Cambridge University and a
genuine chip of the old block, the light blue is on
this occasion represented by the American offspring
of the English University, after the mother college
had been so hopelessly beaten that no more run-
ning was expected from that quarter. If Harvard
defeats Oxford, a hearty chuckle will be heard in
the halls of learning which line the Cam. Hence
the contest in England does not assume a wholly
international character, for Cambridge can see
in the crew sent from the college founded by a
man of her own, in a town named after herself,
representatives, however remote, of herself. Nor
when glancing over their names, is there one which
may not often have been heard within her walls.
Not even a tinge of the foreigner is to be detected
there, and the chances are that the forefathers of
all, a few generations ago, had their places among
the progenitors of the very men whom they did their
best to defeat. Another circumstance adds to the inte-
rest of the race. The Harvard crew have attained
to the sort of fame in America to which the Oxford
crew have attained in England. The rival univer-
sity of Yale has for years been defeated by them as
Cambridge by Oxford, and the two now meet as
did renowned champions of old, after carrying off all
prizes obtainable in their own country. Doubtless
the Americans are weighted by the changes they have
been compelled to adopt ; but this is the very fact
which conveys public sympathy to their side. Their
usual number is six, but in this race they row four
(though Oxford changes from eight) ; at home they
do not carry a coxswain, the bow oar steering by an
apparatus he adjusts with his foot. This on the
Thames would be impossible, with its compara-
tively narrow water, winding course, rapid cur-
rents, and numerous obstructions; therefore the
change was necessary, though a great change, ex-
tending even to the construction of the boat, and
turning the bow oar, that is, the place into which the
best man is put in America, into the stroke oar, the
seat of thebest in England. But the greatest change
of all was from Lake Quinsigamund to the Thames,
from a broad, placid basin, to a turbulent, tide-af-
fected, swift running, muddy river. This necessi-
tated practice, of which the Americans have heartily
availed themselves, though the question is whether
the period allowed them to master the difficulties of
the change has been sufficient. The main benefit
of these friendly contests is in the friendly feeling
they engender when conducted with a generous fair
play. They all help towards that most desirable of
objects, to interest Englishmen in American affairs,
which cannot be accompliihed until a knowledge of
the country is acquired. '.Uhat ignorance is the
parent of most of the mischief, and the surest way
to avert misunderstandings and to get the two nations
to pull together is to teach each a knowledge of the
other. These friendly rivalries have this effect, often
perhal s, unconsciously, to the individuals. Hundreds
of thousands of EngliAmen, to whom the name of
Harvard carried no metniug, will now know all
about the most ancient of American Universities.
The ignorance of England on America must be ex-
perienced before it can be believed in the United
States. Even Cambridge, if the American papers do
not belie that seat of learning, in replying to llarvard,
addressed the letter to the town of Harvard in such
a way that the post-office sent it to a little village
in Massachusetts, where it lay for days, until the
thought crossed the mind of the postmaster that it
was intended for the University, when he sent it to
the town of Cambridge, wherein the University
stands.

Loring put •on the steam, and his crew answered
the call so well that they passed:under the Hammer-
smith-bridge a length a head, the time being 8 min. 30
sec. From that point Oxford began to gain, but the
prodigious efforts of the Americans long baulked the
attempts of the English crew to pass them; such desperate
work could not maintained against the better training of
the Oxford crew, who got abreast of them at the foot of
Chiswick Eyot, but it was not till Chiswick Church was
reached that Oxford was ahead, the time being 13 minutes
5 seconds. It was than that American pluck and bottom
were really displayed, for although the circumstances
were desperate, what the English press had all
along foretold, then occurring, yet the Harvard
crew never for a moment relaxed their efforts. But
they could not conquer fate, and they had the morti-
fication to see the Oxford craw slowly but surely draw
ahead, till at Barnes-bridge they were throe lengths in ad-
vance the time being 18 min. 3 sec. Again Loring made a last
despairing effort, and again the Americans began to gain
ground, but the pace could not be kept up, though they
ended close behind the English crew.
This was the best race ever run on the Thames, the
interest never flagging, the crews being beautifully
matched, the time 22 min. 18 secs., and the Harvard
boys lose a race they may well be proud of having run.
Of course such efforts told fearfully on the men, both
crews coming in amidst loud cheers, equally distressed.
By Benson's Chronograph the time was 22 min. 411 sec.

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS.

RECONSTRUCTION ( F THE IRISH CHURCH.

Though the mode of re-forming the disestablished
Protestant Church in Ireland remains, so far, a
Chinese puzzle, almost everyone having his own plan,
yet the Times correspondent is able to congratulate
the clergy and the laity on the moderation and for-
bearance they have shewn at this crisis. It is due
to the prelates to acknowledge that they have been
the first to recognise the conditions of the recent
change, and to make generous advances to the laity.
The latter, on their part, have shewn a deferential
delicacy in their demeanour towards the bishops,
while firmly maintaining their right to a share in
the management of the future Church. The laity,
however, are still in want of a leader. They have
resolved to hold preliminary meetings next week,
and it is thought best in many quarters that the
bishops should be invited to preside. They are the
proper heads of the Church, the natural links
between the clergy and the laity. But should they
decline, it is proposed that the Dukes of Abercorn
and Leinster be asked to come to the rescue.

The Bishop of Cork, following the example of his
brother of Down, has held a conference of the clergy
and laity at Fermoy. He suggested that district con-
ferences should be held, as best calculated to elicit the
collective feelings and opinions of all classes. It was
finally resolved that a conference be held in Cork in
order to constitute a diocesan synod of lay and cleri-
cal members.