THE AMERICA CUP

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8293, 23 September 1903, Page 4

THE AMERICA CUP

Nobody wants to see Sir Thomas lift the Cup (says the Philadelphia Post of August 22) —nobody on this side, at least; but it is a personal tribute which should be pleasing to him that, jealously as we guard the cup, we would rather lose it at his hands thaa at any others. The old veteran Hank Haff prophesies a. closer, more exciting contest than any we have yet had. Both boats have shown power and sweetness in. all weathers ; both have won handsomely from their trial competitors; there lias been the usual number of dramatic accidents, and yet public interest has, until recently, yisiblv lagged. Nevertheless, the usual processes of preparation have been going steadily forward. Sir Thomas himself, with his accustomed cheery optimism, lets it be known, that he is more confident than ever. Good luck to him I If he doesn't lift the cup, at least he can carry back with'him the memory of one lift. When Sir Thomas went South to take luncheon at Washington' with the President, he carried, as is the> Englishman's way, a formidable tonnage of hand luggage. It took all the porters in the station, or at least all on that particular platform, to disembarrass him. The young woman who was next to step off the chair-car after him noticed it with less amazement than dismay and vexation. Here was an able-bodied man monopolising all the portfrs especially provided by the railway management for overburdened young women. Clearly this unthinking, stalwart stranger should be made to feel the weight of his transgressions. He was —-mildly but firmly, as only an American girl could do it; and in atonement he carried that young woman's luggage the length of the lony train-shed, and thanked her for the privilege. When 6he bought, a morning papei she recognised her porter's face. But if h< should win. . . . Nobody dares say i

nit loud, bufc some are bold enough to beieve in, secret, that it would be a good ;hing for the sport-! They remember the Usabilities under which every challenger abors. He must name his boat, in advance. He must stand her expense individually. He must bring her across the ocean under her own sail to meet a defender built by a syndicate, and picked at the last moment, after a thorough trying-out. Perhaps? We wonder how Sir Morgan, of the Shipping Trust and the New York Yacht Club, maintains his undivided entity! With the cup atCowes, shares of International Mercantile Marine would sell at two hundred per cent, premium. Bookings for the next season would be exhausted before the clip got there. Everything afloat, from washboilers to coal-barges, would be chartered by the invading host. The three wise men of Deal would put. to sea in. their tub again. New York would be deserted. Grass would grow between- the cobblestones of Broadway. The Bank of England- would fly the Stars- and Strip?,s. "Tody" Hamilton would have St. James' Park staked with the tents of the Greatest Show on Earth, selling camp cots to the Peerage at five dollars a night. The Prince of Wales would have to sleep out on his- mattress, under the ancestral shelter of Stonehenge. The British Navy, searchlights going, would be cruising round the Island, busy picking careless Western somnambulists who had made a misstep and fallen off. The Prime Minister would spike down the crown. All the restaurants would be raided, all the cellars gutted, all the King's cigars smoked and air the Queen's tarts gulped by pipeeating Yankees, and when we had said the last good-bye we should all be better friends than ever.