The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-04 00:00:00

OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE

BOAT RACE.

TLIIS DAY.

Twenty-eight years have waxed and waned since the
collegians of Oxford and Cambridge raced their first boat
race at llenley-on-Thames in the presence of a mere
sprinkling of gownsmen and townsmen. Little did those
through whose instrumentality that contest was brought
about over conjecture that it was to be the forerunner of
a series of great spirit - stirring events which were
annually to create the most intense excitement, and to be
witnessed by myriads of admiring spectators, including
the distinguished presence of royalty. Since that meagre
two miles exhibition to which we have above alluded, and
which the chronicles tell us " was won by Oxford by many
lengths," a marvellous change has taken place, and wo
repeat that it could hardly have been conceived that so
small a beginning would lead to so great an end.
It was the foundation of an epoch which has
been magnified by each succeeding contest, until
the time has arrived when it inaugurates the
aquatic year by the principal and most important race of
the season. The increasing taste for this healthful, scien-
tific, and beautiful sport is daily more apparent by the
growing accession of boating clubs throughout the king-
dom, and it is generally acknowledged that the sister
schools of Alma slater present rowing iu its very best
type.

There has been during the last quarter of a century a
vast improvement in boat building—not the least of which
has been the introduction of the outrigger. Training has
been cultivated as a science, the combatants have been
brought to so high a state of strong physique that it has
been difficult to choose between them, and the " many
lengths" of the opening contest have given place to victo-
ries of only a length or half a length, in a nearly five-
miles course. As the race gradually grew in popularity so
it advanced in sportinginterest, until now—when, although
the stake itself is of an unsubstantial character iu the
game of life—it assumes the feature of an aquatic Derby,
and large sums of money annually depend upon the
result.

From the first race in 1829 there was an interval till
1836 before they again met in honourable rivalry, and then
three years more elapsed. Some short gaps intervened
until 1856 when it became annual. The results briefly
summed up are mainly these :—ln 1860 there were 10
races in favour of Cambridge and 7 to Oxford, and the
contest of that year was the last Cambridge ever won, so
that when the challenge was sent by Camkidge the
score in all was 14 to Oxford and 10 to Cambridge. The
first of these, as we have before stated, was rowed at
Henley ; the five next from Westminster to Putney, and
the whole of the remainder between Putney and Mort-
lake, three of these only being rowed down.
We pass over the challenge, the desire to withdraw,
the continuance of it and the unwearied training
in the country which has from time to time duly been
laid before the public, until the arrival of the
crews at Putney, nearly a fortnight ago, where the
practice of the last two months was resumed, and thousands
repaired thither to see what material each Party had in
hand to meet the coming emergency. There were many
there day after day who seemed never wearied at the wait-
ing, never tired at the looking on, never deterred by the
sharpness of the weather, which, in the early part of the
present week, has reminded us of November—they
were too much engrossed to care for anything
but the view of the racing, and the main ob-
ject of the great bulk of the frequenters, as
may naturally be supposed, was to endeavour to ascertain
how they might make lucrative investments. The num-
ber of strokes taken per minute, their length and depth,
the particular progress of the two boats, the time of each
performance, and the appearance of the crews both in and
out of their boats, were duly noted. From the first trial
onTuesday week to the last, a day or two ago, there was a
growing feeling in favour of the Oxonians. Having so
far adverted to passing events, it will only be requisite to
now state that the first particular trial which fixed the
general impression of the superiority of Oxford was on
Saturday last, when, both going the whole course, on the
same tide, with only one hour intervening, and nothing to
prejudice the calculation of comparative pace, Oxford did
the distance in a minute and a quarter less than their
rivals. Subsequent trials of both crews only served to
establish their claim to superiority the more, and added to
this it was generally thought that the sharp exercise
was telling unfavourably upon the Cantabs.
The following were the crews :