The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-23 00:00:00

ROYAL THAMES YACHT CLUB.

A special meeting of the above distinguished club was
held yesterday at the club house, Albemarle-street, Picca-
dilly.

Lord Alfred Paget, the noble commodore, presided, and
after some routine business, the following programme of
the season was announced :

Opening trip and dinner, Saturday, 19th May ; rendez-
vous off the Union Yacht Club-house, Gravesend, at 1 30
p.m. ; proceed on a cruise, under the orders of the commo-
dore, and return to the Union to dine.
First (Channel) Match, Monday, May 21, for Schooners
(luggers to class with schooners), Yawls, and Cutters.--
Three prizes, £lOO, £5O, and £5O, one for each rig, the
first to receive the £lOO prize. Open to any Royal Yacht
Club vessels, to sail in ordinary cruising trim, with their
usual fittings, to the satisfaction of the committee. Vessels
to carry their usual boats, anchors, and cables. A pilot,
but no extra hands, allowed. No time allowances. No re-
striction as to canvas or number of friends on board.
Course, from the Nore Light to Dover Harbour. Entries
to close at 10 on the night of the 10th.

Second (Cutter) Match, Thursday, May 24, for Cutters
of the First and Second Classes.—First class, a prizo value
£lOO ; second class, a prize value £5O. Course, from Grave-
send round the Mouse and back. Mall a minute time.
Entries close on the 22d.

Third (Schooner and Yawl) Match, Saturday, June 9 ;
open to schooners of R.T.Y.C.—First class, prize £lOO ;
second class, under 100 tons, £BO ; yawls exceeding 50
tons, £BO. A quarter of a minute time allowance. From
Gravesend to the Mouse and back. Entries close on the Gth.
Fourth (Cutter) Match, Saturday, June 23.—Cutters of
the third and fourth classes. Third class, a prize value
£5O ; fourth class, £2O. Half a minute time. Course,
Erith to the Nore and back. Entries on the 20th.

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, March 22.
The members of the Dublin Corporation have evi-
dently great faith in their " robes of office," and
the " civic insignia," when they think they can
make an impression on the Lord-Lieutenant, and
enforce the claim of a deputation asking his Excel-
lency's assistance to get money from the Treasury.
Yesterday the Lord Mayor went in state to the
Castle, accompanied by Aldermen J. Reynolds, W.
W. L. Joynt, and Durdin, Councillors Carroll, Bar-
rington, Murphy, Eakins, Mackey, Callow, Dolan,
Meagher, Carey, Hamilton, and Joseph. They
were attended by five of the corporation officers,
carrying the civic insignia. The Lord-Lieutenant
could not do otherwise than receive the deputation
in State also, and so he wore the collar of the
Order of St. Patrick, and the following members of
his household appeared in full court costume :—Mr.
Edmund Wodehousc, private secretary ; Captain
Everard, assistant private secretary ; Colonel For-
ster, Hon. Captain Dormer, A.D.C., Mr. Camp-
bell, A.D.C., Captain Howard, A.D.C., Colonel
Musters, Controller of the Household ; and Mr.
Lowry Balfour, Gentleman at Large. The Lord
Mayor read a memorial to his Excellency on city
taxation, from which it appeared that the amount of
local taxation in 1865 was £212,616, being 7s. Gd.
in the pound on the Poor Law valuation; and made
up of seven rates—viz., grand jury, ls. 2d. ; im-
provement, 2s. ; poor, 2s. north and 2s. Gd. south ;
police, Bd. ; sewers, 4d. ; water, ls. 3d., and vestry
abolition rate, ld. The memorialists complained
that the citizens are obliged to pay £40,000 per
annum for the support of the Metropolitan Police
force, over which they have no control, and that a
sum of £6,706 per annum paid by the owners of
hackney carriages for licenses is not paid to the
credit of the improvement fund in aid of paving,
cleansing, and lighting the city. What they de-
mand is that the corporation should have the con-
trol of this income, and then they would cleanse
the Liffey, which is " a gigantic nuisance" most
dangerous to health, widen Carlisle-bridge, and
make other necessary improvements. When the
memorial was read the Lord-Lieutenant wished to
know whether any gentleman wished to offer re-
marks upon the subject, to which the Lord Mayor
replied that Alderman Reynolds was prepared to
speak ; but the alderman politely declined to take
precedence and wished first to have the pleasure of
hearing his Excellency.
The Lord-Lieutenant was afraid that his reply
would not give Mr. Reynolds much opportunity
for making observations, as he had really very little
to say. There could be no doubt that the two sub-
jects they brought before him were matters of very
great importance, and he would bring them under
the notice of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, ac-
companied with the expression of that opinion, which
was all he could do. He had not the power to un-
lock the Treasury and give them the carriage rents.
Of the two objects he thought the purification of
the river the more important. The memorial stated

the case fully and clearly, but it would bemore com-
plete if they added returns of the city taxation for

0, 15, or 20 years.

Alderman Reynolds promised the returns, and then
procesded with his address, but he was evidently dis-
armed by the tone of his Eexcellency's reply. He
had some arrows in his quiver, however, which had
hit the mark ofteg before, and he was determined to
shoot them again. \Then he read the returns of
grants for public parks he :yas compelled to regret
that he was not an Englishman. ju ten years Parlia-
ment had voted for London parks ,C 704,000, and
for Phcenix-park, which was as large as the whole
of them, only £43,000. However, the corpoi,c4ion
had lowered their claims, and all they now asked

was the £G,700 a year carriage rents. The alderman
concluded with the following remarks, the last of

which is rather cool :
I cannot conclude my observations without reminding
your Excellency that if there be a city which has a claim
to what wo ask it is the city of Dublin. We lost an expen-
diture of at least two millions a year by the Act of Union.
Our nobility, our resident gentry, our merchants, have to

a great extent disappeared, and the city in its impoverished
state pays £212,000 in local taxation. I wish your Ex-

celloncy would kindly remind Mr. Gladstone of that fact,
and if we had the advantage of a resident Parliament we
would not trouble your Excellency with this memorial."

The deputation then retired.
A money grievance of a totally different kind has
just turned up in the Queen's County, and has called
forth two columns of reprobation in the Dublin
Evening Post. Incredible as it may appear, a body
consisting of 30 Irish gentlemen have refused to re-
ceive a sum amounting to several thousand pounds
for the support of a county infirmary, and this re-
fusal has given grievous offence, proving that Ire-
land after all furnishes some of the most striking
examples of " What money can't do." The case is
this :—The late Mr. J. Grattan 13 years ago left a
sum of £4,500 to the Queen's County Infirmary,
which sum has not since been applied. Mrs. Grat-
tan Bellew, owner of the Grattan estates, in the