The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-09 00:00:00

suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act up to Tues- Athletic Sports at the Cambridge
day night is 176, of whom 42 are Irish Americans. University.
Four have been discharged.
The 60th Rifles proceeded by special trains this CAMBRIDGE, Wednesday.
morning, which left Westland-row station at 8.15 The last day'sv athletic sports at Cambridge University
' took place on Fenner, s Ground to-day; Magdalen sports,
and 9.15 a.m., to Kingstown, under the command of
Col. Charles N. North, where the Nvhieh wore to have been held on Wednesday last, being
y embarked on held to-day. The following was the programme as carried
board the transport ship Simoom, for transmission out:—
to Malta. Two companies of the Depot Battalion, One Hundred Yards—First Heat—Johnson, 1; Hook), 2;
60th Rifles, at present in the Royal Barracks, will beating two others.
leave on Saturday. Second Heat—Messrs Willcox and J. N. Richardson ran
a dead heat for first.
Final Heat Jehnson, 1 ; Willcox, 2 ; won by three yds.
Putting the Weight—Willcox, 1, 28 feet 3 inches; John-
son, 2, 26 feet 5 inches.
High Jump—Willcox, 1, 4 feet 11 inches; Harley, 2,
4 feet 91 inches.
Hurdle Race—First Heat—Willcox, 1; Harley, 2.
Second Heat—Johnson, 1 ; Richardson, 2.
Final Heat—Willcox, 1 ; Johnson, 2.
Throwing the Cricket-ball—Harding, 1 ; Johnson 2;
95 yards 2 feet.
Quarter-mile —H. Johnson, 1; Harley, 2.
Long Jump—Richardson, 1 ; Willcox, 2.
Throwing the Hammer—Wheeler, 1 ; Harding 2 ; 57 feet
7 inches.
Strangers' Half-mile—Thornton (Jesus), 1 ; Webster
(Trinity), 2 ; Garnett (Trinity) 3. A good race ; won
easily by Mr. Thornton. Mr. Webster being out of con-
dition, could not spurt. Time, 2 min. 10 sec.
Mile Race—Stevens, 1 ; Harley, 2. Mr. Stevens went
away with the lead and was only passed once by Wheeler,
but soon regained his position, winning very cleverly.
Time, 5 min. 28 sec. The winner of this race is a runner
of some promise, and will probably next year be heard o
amongst the University winners.
A Consolation Race terminated the day's sport.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

--

LIVERPOOL SPRING MEETING.—TIMUSDAY.
The sport to-day only included five races, and presented,
after the important event of Wednesday, no feature of
general interest. The Steeplechase has been the event of
the meeting, and the Spring Cup, formerly an attraction for
the opening day, now only brought nine moderate perfor-
mers, of which the best was Jezabel, to the post. The
Handicap Steeplechase was won by Lord George, the trial
horse of yesterday's winner, Salamander, and both the
property of Mr. Studd ; and the Molyneux Cup, a hand-
some tankard of frosted silver, with goblets to match,
manufactured by the Emanuels, of Burlington-street, was
almost a gift to Reporter. The attendance was moderato.
The Molyneux Cup Steeplechase, of 100 soy; added to a
sweepstakes of 10 sovs each. Grand National Course.
About four miles and a quarter. 14 subs.
Lord Poulett's Reporter, aged, 12st (Mr. Edwards) 1
Mr. Spark's Stormcock, aged, 12st 71b .............. (Jervis) 2
Mr. Cockburn ns Frank, aged, 12st 7lb (Mr. Lawrence) 3
Betting-11 to 8 each agst Reporter and Frank, 3to 1
agst Stormcock.

Frank jumped off with the lead, followed by Reporter,
Stormcock laying off, and they continued in this order for
the first round, when, after coming to Beecher's Brook the
second time, Reporter drew away, was never afterwards
headed, and won in a common canter by 12 lengths; Storm-
cock, who passed Frank soon after entering the straight;
gaining second honours by four lengths.
A Steeplechase Handicap of 100 soya. About three miles
to Canal-1
Mr. E. Studd's Lord George, aged, 10st 81b

GYMNASIUM, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY.
The second competition for Challenge Cups, open to the
University of Cambridge, commenced on Wednesday after-
, noon at the Gymnasium, and was attended by members of
the University. Two well-known Trinity men were um-
pires, and Mr. F. Grant referee. The preliminary heats for
the light weights were competed for first by Messrs. G. F.
Sams (Peterhouso), and W. Doig (St. John's), the former
winning. Last year the winner was the Marquis of Queens-
berry, who gave up the cup on leaving the University.
The second pair were Messrs. Rowan and Walker, the for-
mer winning. The final bouts will take place this day.
For the middle weights, Mr. Paget (Trinity), the pre-
sent holder, beat Mr. Taylor (Trinity), and Mr. Doig
(John's), beat Mr. Braithwaite (Trinity); and Messrs. Doig
and Paget compete this day for the Middle-weight Chal-
lenge Cup, as well as the Heavy-weight Cup, which has
been given up by last year's winner, Mr. Milvain.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

- a.--

TlmEs.--It is the fashion to compare the excite-
ment which awaited the introduction of the Reform
Bill of 1832 with the languor of 1866, very much to
the discredit of the present time ; but it would be,
perhaps, more to the purpose if our feelings now
were compared with our feelings on the four more
recent occasions when her Majesty's Ministers sub-
mitted as many Reform Bills to the consideration of
Parliament. 1832 is a long way off, and its circum-
stances were altogether different from ours. The
men are changed, the chiefs are for the most part
gone, and some who are left were Radicals then and
are Tories now. The fault is not wholly theirs, for
they had to encounter a different task from that now
before Parliament, and what they did was, in fact, a
revolution. The government of the country was
transferred from an oligarchy to the middle classes,
and even if the same men are sometimes found
serving the same offices as before, they do so now
by permission and free choice, and not simply be-
cause it is their will and pleasure. It is useless to
compare 1866 with 1832 ; we must compare it with
1852, with 1854, with 1859, and with 1860, when
other Reform Bills were brought forward to perfect
the Bill of 1832, and to redress the very same evils
and anomalies which Mr. Gladstone will have to deal
with on Monday. It must be confessed that we have
changed very much since 1852. Chartism was then
not yet extinct, and the agitation for the repeal of
the Corn Laws had created a disturbance in the
political world which threatened to pass into a
struggle for power between the different classes
of society. Lord John Russell's Reform Bill,
introduced in that year, was certainly the crudest
and most worthless that we have seen in our
time, yet it excited hopes and fears and raised
a fluttering which we look for in vain in 1866. The
bill of the Aberdeen Ministry in 1854 was of a
very different character ; it proposed to enfranchise
£lO occupiers in counties and £6 in boroughs, be-
sides fundholders, depositors in savings-banks,
University graduates, and persons paying 40s. a
year in income or assessed taxes ; and it contained,
140LeRYPL.a11.'iniiiiiTtlYitthiVrahiSer. where three
members were to be returned. It provided, also, for
the transfer of 62 seats from small and decayed
boroughs in England and Wales to countiAg ana
new borough constituencies. The bill was vehe-
mently discussed even in the midst of the war, and
was at last reluctantly abandoned. It is unnecessary
to go through the provisions of the bill of the Derby.
Ministry in 1859, or of the Palmerston Administra-
tion in 1860. Each of them contained large en-
franchising powers, each of them provided for a
redistribution of seats, each of them in its turn
aroused hope and inspired dread, though it must be
owned that the hope and the dread diminished with
every succeeding bill since 1854. The House of
Commons was, in fact, learning its own mind and
the mind of the country, and at last came to the
conclusion that the one already perfectly represented
the other, since both were profoundly indifferent to
all projects of Reform. The result, was a reproach
to the sincerity of the Legislature and of the people,
yet it was tuideniable, and the last Parliament ex-
pired with a feeling of perfect self-satisfaction at
having done what was wanted, if not what had been
promised. We should be well pleased if we could
believe that the measure of Monday will put an end
to a protracted agitation which is not creditable to
any of us. We have found out, it is true, how little
the people care about Reform, and in this instance
their indifference may be so far fortunate ; but a
session free from the disturbance of popular passions is
just the opportunity which should be seized by
statesmen for settling questions which have been
long debated, and upon the principles of which all
thinkers are agreed. The apologists of the Ministry
may, perhaps, say that they, too, have beea learning,
and have at length slowly found out the limits of
what is possible ; but they forget that what is pos-
sible depends very much on themselves. If they
were united and in earnest, they would compel the
support of waverers who are now uncertain, if they
have not already passed into hostility. What is
wanted is a bill which shall make the House of
Commons a more perfect mirror of the nation by
making the distribution of power within it corre-
spond to the distribution of power outside its walls.
POST.—The changes in the management of the
National Gallery make us more hopeful than we
can be under an established regime of possible im-
provements and changes. We wish to render all
due honour to Sir Charles Eastlake for what he did
of good. Refined taste and general tact in carry-
ing out his views—in harmony with those of the
Prince Consort—must be fairly allowed to him. He
will leave his mark upon the Gallery. Without
wishing at all to depreciate the results of his direc-
torship, we should like to suggest two points which
may, we hope, be not unworthy of consideration by
his successor. In the first place, the specimens ac-
cumulated of the earlier schools of painting seem to
us, to say the least, sufficient. A national gallery
ought to contain only very first-rate specimens. An
historical series, without regard to absolute merit,
might be interesting enough in a mere school of
painting, but a national gallery appeals to others
than artists. It is not necessary that it be made up of
specimens, whether good or indifferent, which shall
carry on the mere history of painting without pleas-
ing or interesting the general visitor. We would
suggest that what is necessary for the history of art,
but fails to please any but antiquarian artists, should
be kept in some separate collection. The series of
paintings to be exhibited to the general public should
be only of chefs-d'ceuvre. A chronological arrange-
ment may be useful, but this points to study
rather than an exhibition of national treasures.
Large ecclesiastical pictures of everlasting Virgins
and Holy Families, and very ugly Saints and
Martyrs, should not fill whole rooms. No
doubt, at certain periods, the Church was the
only patron of art, but these things, however
valuable to the student, do not please the gene-
ral taste. We are in danger of being bored in
an intolerable degree with the fancies of some
modern theorisers on art. Private collections of
noble paintings are free from this mannerism, and
are much more pleasing than some of the rooms at
Charing-cross. We hope that the new director will
strike out a new line, and make the national collec-
tion something better than a museum of ancient art
only. Even in the light of an historical series our
Gallery is sadly deficient in pictures which show
modern progress, or, if the word progress be objected
to, which show modern tendencies. Pictures of the
last century are very few in number. Let the
Gallery be compared with the noble room which
was recently erected in the Cromwell-road—not in
its capacity only and suitableness for exhibition, but
in the subjects exhibited, and we think every one
will admit that we there saw specimens worthy of a
public collection of which we have sadly too few
among our national art treasures. In the next
place, why have we no Gallery of Sculpture? We
have many names of great note. Roubilliac, Chan-
trey, Flaxman, Northcotc, are all repreriented in