The New York herald., 1866-04-12

is by the present heavy expense of maintaining
and transporting regulars and militia, it will
not be in the service Of Prussia. England, in
fact, has quite as much on hand touching her
domestic affairs as she can well attend to at
present.
Ocean Yachting Matches-The America
Prize Cup.
Our recent allusion to the prize cup won by
the famous yacht America has recalled the at
tention of yachtmen on both sides the At
lantic to this almost forgotten trophy. We re-
publish in another column this morning the
comments which Hunts Yachting Magazine, the
English organ in such matters, has seen ft to
make in reply to the HERALD article. While
American yachtmen are becoming more and
more eager for ocean matches. the yachtnen
of England have lately been losing interest in
this phase of the glorious pastlme. This Jack
of spirit is 80 marked that it is regarded as ga
danger as serious as ever sappeG the foundation
of a national institution" II seems that at
most of the races In British waters the yachts
are left entirely to the care of professionals,
as racehorse is entrusted to its jockey and
the owners "are content to look on and admire,
and gradually become little better than pas
sengers on board their vessels, without any
incentive to become thorough working hands,
practical sailors, good helmsmen and average
navigators." AS another instance of this want Of
enterprise, it is related that Captain P. Lovet
of the Royal Thames Yacht Club, proposed
an ocean race from Plymouth to Gibraltar; but
although the project created some excitement
and was talked about at all the clubs, it had to
be abandoned because only three vessels, In
cluding that of Captain Lovett, entered for the
contest, and all of them belonged to Captain
Lovett's own club, although there are twenty
royal clubs in the United Kingdom nc
wonder that this state of affairs Is regarded as
decidedly dangerous to the very existence of
yacting as national institution.
The victory of the America, at Cowes, on the
22d of August, 1851, reused the English yacht
men to sense of the inferiority of their
vessels. They purchased the America,
although they did not know how to sail her,
and used her as model for their shipwrights.
All the novelties in her hull, spars, gear,
canvas and ballast were carefully initiated.
Their "old-fashioned yachts looked like tea
boxes alongside of the Americanized beauties
that sprang forth from almost every yacht
building slip in the kingdom" In fact, as this
Yachting Magazine confesses, they "swallowed
humble pie with the pleasantest of grimaces,"
and forthwith rushed into framing and plank
ing, pulling to pieces and building up again,
putting sterns where bows had been, and
almost vice uersa; for surely such transforma-
tons never had been seen in shipwrights' hands
as in the first few years after the Americas
visit" But now, after all these alterations,
the English yachtmen believe that their vessels
are the best in the world. AS the yachting
writer says:-"We have obtained class of
yachts that may be studied with advantage as
models of naval architecture, such as the
science, skill and practical experience of our
builders might be expected to produce; and
we may now be said to possess yacht feet as
nearly approaching to perfection as possible"
1t is upon this very point that we desire to un-
deceive the English yachtmen, and for that
reason we have reminded them of the America
champion cup, which was presented to the New
York Yacht Club by the owners of the America
"as perpetual challenge cup for all organ
lied yacht clu6s Of any foreign country"
This challenge to British yachtmen has not yet
been accepted, although it has been open for
several years. Enthusiastic Englishmen still
''fondly cherish the idea that the cup will still
travel back across the Atlantic and yet be
shown In British waters" ;" and f liter themselves
that they shave the means, the talent aud the
pluck to do it" but none of them. has yet been
bold enough to make the attempt We invite
them to come and try; we promise them the
most cordial welcome; but we assure them that
il will be much harder work to take back the
cup than it was to win it on that memorable
English yachts nowhere.
If the English yachts have been immensely
improved since 1851, so have those of This
country. They may have equalled the model
which We then sent over to them ; but we have
surpassed it long ago. Our yachtmen, too,
are in far better case than ever before. The
Juror for ocean matches, which has died away
IN England, is In full force here. Last season,
when Captain Lovett tried in vain to get some
body to race with him to Gibraltar, half a
dozen ocean races were sailed here, and if the
gallant captain had been on hand with his
yacht he would have found plenty of American
yachtmen ready to accept his challenge. The
English sneer about the comparatively
smooth Long Island Sound" has long since
lost all its application. The days of duckpond
yachting are over on this side the Atlantic.
The Yachting Magdriae hopes that Captain
Lovett "will again bring forward his spirited
programme this year." and that ''it win be met
with that plucky support II so well deserves"
This hope we most cordially re-echo for we
are assured that the race to Gibraltar is merely
preliminary to the organization of "a feet Of