The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-10 00:00:00

AQUATICS.

WHITE AGAINST CLASPER FOR £2OO.
This great and interesting contest, which has
caused so much excitement in sporting circles, was
decided yesterday. The competitors for aqua-
tic honours were Thomas White, of Bermondsey,
and Harry Clasper, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and
the distance to be rowed was from Putney to
Mortlake. The state of the river at the
starting point was exceedingly picturesque
—the banks on each side were crowded by

the admirers of the men, who cheered them lustily
as they rowed to their respective stations. Fortune
smiled on White from the commencement of the con-
test by giving him choice of station, and he accord-
ingly selected the Middlesex side of the
Thames. At fifteen minutes past three the
men rowed to the centre of Putney-bridge,
and 18 minutes past the hour, after a couple of
abortive attempts, a beautiful start was effected.
White's first stroke was a miracle—he seemed
completely to lift his boat out of the water,
the effect of which was to give him an
immediate advantage over Clasper. In six
minutes from leaving Putney-bridge White
was off the Crab Tree two or three lengths
in advance of Clasper. Hammersmith-bridge was
next reached in 9 min. 13 sec., White increasing
his lead. ; At Barnes (19 min. 13 seconds
White, who had the race all to himself,
frequently turned his head to witness his competi-
tor's vain, but plucky, attempt to overhaul him, but
he (White) was now sure of victory, and the win-
ning post was reached in 23 minutes 12 seconds
from the time of starting ; Clasper being
about 130 to 150 yards to the rear. During
the race it was evident that Clasper stood no chance
with his opponent, who was by 25 years his
junior ; but it must be confessed that, for
a man who has seen forty-eight summers, he
acquitted himself very creditably. At starting the
betting was 2 to 1 on White, but in a few minutes
after the race had commenced it was " a guinea to
a gooseberry."
The winning man rowed in a very beautiful
boat, built by Jewell, of Newcastle, and Robert
Bain, of Lambeth, furnished him with a pair of
sculls worthy of the tiny craft.
The race between Francis of Teddington; and
Clasper's son over the same course, comes off to-
day. Francis is the favourite for the event.

RAIL WAY INTELLIGENCE.

GRAND TRUNK OF CANADA.

Messrs. Peto, Brassey, and Betts, the contractors
for the Victoria-bridge at 11Iontreal belonging to
this company, have progressed during the past
summer at a rate that gives hopes they may be
able to open it for traffic in October, 1859, in-
stead of on the Ist of January, 1860, in ac-
cordance with the terms of their last contract
with the directors of the company. It is estimated
that if those two or three months can be
gained they will probably make a difference
in the receipts of the company for the
second half-year of 1859 of from £70,000 to £BO,OOO,
inasmuch as the Grand Trunk system would then
consist of a continuous and unbroken line of railway
communication of nearly 1,200 miles in extent be-
tween Chicago and the other great emporia of the
Western States of America and the Atlantic sea-
board. By means of this system the immense
produce of these regions would be conveyed with
the certainty of its reaching its destination, and freed
from those risks which now attend its carriage by
water at the busiest period of the whole year, that
is, the time between harvest and the stoppage by
ice of the great inland navigations. The following
statement will give an idea of the extent of the
operations in progress on the Ist of October last.
There were then employed 3 locomotives, 17 pump-
ing, hoisting, and stationary engines ; 3 rivet-
making machines, 2 riveting machines, 5 steamers,
of 365 collective nominal horse power and 645 tons
burden, with 56 men for their crews. These steam-
ers are principally employed on the river St. Law-
r2nce and the adjacent lakes, towing 63 barges (ofthe
united tonnage of 8,436 tons, and with crews of 319
men), which carry the building stone, iron bridge-
work, timber, wood, sand, and other materials
required in the construction of the bridge. Besides
the barges, there are 21 " scows," with a tonnage
of 1,550 tons, which are required for hoisting tim-
ber, &c., and also 27 ferry and row boats, with
crews of 75 men, which are employed in rafting
timber, conveying iron work, messengers, time-
keepers, foremen, &c. From the foregoing it will
be seen that the total number of craft employed is
116 ; the nominal horse-power 365 ; the tonnage
(exclusive of that of the ferry and row boats) 10,691 ;
the crews4so men. The nsml: er of hands engaged in
the.work on Oct. 1 was 3,281, apportioned as fol-
low :—Fitters and smiths, 153 ; riveters and platers,
421 ; carpenters, 280 ; masons and stonecutters,326 ;
painters, 19 ; labourers, 1,331 ; raftsmen, 49 ; boys,
75 ; crews of steamers and barges, 450 ; men em-
ployed at the Canada works, Birkenhead, in the
construction of tubes, 477. There were also em-
ployed on the bridge 142 horses. The bridge con-
sists of 23 spans of 242 feet each, and one in the
centre of the river of 330 feet. The spans are
approached on each side of the river by a causeway,
each terminating in an abutment of solid masonry
240 feet long and 90 wide. The causeway from the
north banks is 1,400 feet long, that from the south
bank is 700 feet. The total length of the bridge is
two English miles, less 150 feet.

RAILWAY CALLS.

Subjoined is a statement of railway calls falling
due at various periods :

Making
Call. Paid.
Ditto ditto ditto (Feb. 1, 1859) £25 0 0 £lOO
Ditto ditto ditto (Jan. 1, 18.59)
Ditto ditto ditto (April 1, 1859)
2 10 0 17
Ditto ditto ditto (July 1, 1859) 2lO 0 20
Ditto ditto ditto (Jan. 1, 1860) 2lO 0 25
Grand Trunk of Canada 7 per cent.
Debenture, 1862, issued at 20 die.
(Nov. 20, 1858)20 0 0
Ditto ditto ditto Jan. 20, 1853)
Ditto ditto ditto Mar. 31, 1859)
Great Western of Canada New Shares,
Lancaster and Carlisle, £167 (Aug. 1, .
1860)
Lancaster and Preston, £lll (Oct. 31,
1859)
Lombardo-Venetian (Nov. Ito 15,18.58) 2 0 0
London and North-Western Eighths
(July 1, 1859)
Ditto ditto ditto (July 1, 1860)
Ditto ditto ditto (July 1, 1560) 0 10 0
Ditto ditto ditto (Jan. 1, 1861)
Ditto ditto ditto (Jan. 1, 1860) 0 15 0
Dublin and Drogheda 5 per cent. Pre-
ference, 1857 (Oct. 1, 1859)
Exeter and Exmouth (Oct. 1, 1859) 2 0 0
optional prepayment (Oct. 1, 18.58).. 210 0
Italian Junction (Oct. Ito 20, 1858).. 2 0 0
London and Blackwall, New (Oct. 1,
1859)
Newry and Armagh Extension (Oct
1, 1859)
Ditto ditto ditto (Oct. 1, 1859)
South Devon, additional shares, £lO
(Dec. 1 1858)
Waterford and Kilkenny Debenture
Shares, £lO (Jan. 1, 1859)
Ditto ditto ditto (Jan. 1, 1860)
Whitehaven and Furness Junction,
Whitehaven Junction, £2O Pref., 5 per
cent. (Feb. 1, 1859)
Ditto ditto ditto (June 1, 1859)

1 0 0

1 0 1
5 0 0

1 0 0

1 0 0
1 0 0

81
22i
5
2O