The New York herald., 1870-01-24
Y.easias-Oee.. and 0sAer Races.

Sappho, has just published In London two chal-
lenges that we suppose English yachtmen will
find It equally difficult to mlsunderstand or to
ignore. He challenges, first, s'any schooner
yacht in Great Britain or Ireland to sail
against the Sappho from Cape Clear to Sandy
Hook, to sail on any day during the month Of
July the acceptor Of the challenge may
choose" This challenge is to remain open for
one month. The second challenge is Ito sail
any schooner yacht in Great Britain or
Ireland from the Nab Light to Cherbourg
breakwater and back, any day during the first
week In June, and this contest may be de-
cided s'either by one or three races over the
same course" Here, then, is q plain defiance
at once for fair trial Of yachts on the Allan
tic and in the channel. Our readers are
already acquainted with the theory on which
English yachtmen claim for their boats that
they are fitter for the open sea than ours are,
and they are equally familiar with the convic-
tion broadly entertained beyond the Atlantic
that American yachts have no chance to win
against Englishmen In channel race. They
will watch with the more interest, therefore, to
see how sincere English yachtmen are in their
two opinions when they have so clsar an oc-
casion to test tn, correctness OF their views in
two races against the same boat.
We cannot praise too highly the spirit and
the style Of Mr.. Douglas challenges. They
are, we believe, the only important challenges
recently issued for yachting contests, except
the several series Of challenges issued by Mr..
Ashbury. emay let our national reputation
for good taste and manly bearing stand by the
way in which the owner Of the Sappho proposes
contest without pitiful limitations and impos-
which the owner Of the Cambria has proposed
every contest that has commended itself to his
view of the chances. In Mr.. Douglas' letter
to Mr.. Ashbnry, published at the same time
with his challenge, he declares expressly his
purpose to rebuke the insinuaiion ''that Ame-
rican yachtmen are afraid to meet their English
competitors in any waters where the percent
age is not greatly In their favor" This insin-
uation, it may be remarked, was made with
regard to yachtman who was not eager to
LuuhC uuy IdCC, WIZ WOt0U SuIA Au OCcdu
race if it was pressed upon him, and no other.
The ''waters" alluded to, therefore, are the
waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and 1t is worthy
of note that we here have q leading English
yachtman, and the owner OF ons Of the finest
English yachts, admitting that the chances arc
greatly in favor of American yachts on the
open sea. What, then, becomes Of the theory
of the superiority Of the English model for
scaworthiness?
We are Of opinion that any reflection Of the
from an Eaglishmaa, as against Americans,
within memory of tho tim, when the Harvard
men went all the way to England to geta race,
and then had to yield every point of difference
regarding terms before they could get it.
In Mr.. Douglas deaanc, there is no
quibble, aud no little limitation left as q means
of escape. We may commend it to gentlemen
beyond the sea as the plain, straightforward
way in which our yachtmen deal. We may
also say for their information tha. the winter
ocean race between three American yachts
was made in ten minutes. II they have any
fault to find with the prolxity of some yacht
ing correspondence this may help them to q
knowledge where to make their complaint.
We hope that the gallant owner of the
Sappho will secure the races he desire and
particularly that his challenge for an ocean
race may be taken up by some such splendid
craft as the Guinevre, the Aline or the Alarm.
This would make very interesting ocean
race, and also make noble addition to the
number of foreign yachts to b, in our waters
next summer. With the presence Of several
foreign yachts here the Americas cup and the
chances of contest for its possession would
be great topic Of discussion-the more
especially as Mr.. Ashbury has so often
declared his wish to sail for it. It appsars to
us, however, that he, for one, has ruled himself
out of race for that trophy by his inability
or unwillingness to comprehend the term, on
which it is held. His claim to impose upon
the holders of the cup the conditions upon
which he shall sail for it is not modest, and his
notion that it should be sailed for now accord
ing to the rules Of the club that lost it nine
teen years ago is preposterous, particularly
as this would rule out of tAe race all but two
Of the yachts now in American waters. VIZ
are still of opinion that the America s cup is Q
trophy that should only change hands upon thu
clearast and least questionable demonstration
of maritime superiority; that it should b.
never subject to narrower terms than those OF
which the America won it when she sailed
'sagainst the world and beat q fleet Of seven
teen yachts.
MEXICAN NEWS. Our correspondent in th,
city of Mexico furnishes us with an account
of the progress Of the revolution in the Stat,
of San Luis Potosi. The latest news from
that quarter shows that the revolt, headed BY
General Asuirre, is spreading, and that thu
revolutionists had pronounced against the gen