SPORTING.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 3508, 26 December 1885, Page 3

SPORTING.

(By Telegraph.) C.J.C. MIDSUMMER MEETING. Chbistchubcb, Dec. 25. The following weights hare been declared for the C.J.C. Midsummer Meeting : — CBiVBH BTA.JCS3. St. lb. St. lb. Lochiol ... 8 13 Rooket ... 7 8 Fusilada ... 8 9 Adventuress... 7 5 Capt. Webster 8 7 Titbit ... 7 0 Talebearer ... 8 6 Rubezahl ... 6 8 Marion ... 8 1 Water-C010r... 6 7 Fusilier ... 8 0 Conundrum ... 6 0 Maligner ... 8 0 Forest King.., 6 0 Everton Lad 8 0 Oorrie Vick ... 6 0 Spade Guinea 710 Atbol Daisy ... 6 0 BUly 7 10 NEW TEAR WELTER PLATS. St. lb. St. lb. Talebearer ... 10 5 Rubezahl ... 8 7 Leon 9 7 Conundrum... 8 0 Billy 9 7 Sediment ... 8 0 Fusilier ... 9 3 Mermaid ... 8 0 Rocket ... 0 0 May 8 0 Titbit ... 8 7 THE SALE OF THE GREAT EASTERN STEAMSHIP. The sale of the Great Eastern steamship at Lloyd's last week for £20,000 (says an English paper) is merely a characteristic inoident m the chequered career of the big ship. Her troubles commenced even before she was launohed at Millwall. Brunei, who designed her, was a genius, and m conoeiving the plans of this monster vessel he showed a singular foreknowledge of the future coarse of marine architecture. In 1858, when the Great Eastern was built, no one bad yet dreamt of constructing such large steamers as some of our big passenger boats of the present day. Brunei's notion was to build a boat so large that from her mere siza and weight sh.e would ride steadily m the roughest sea. He carried out his idea with the bold freedom of genius, and built the largest ship the world has ever seen. A passenger fond of walking exercise could enjoy a stroll of a little over a furlong from her stem to her stern. From side to side she measures eighty feet, so that a wicket of the orthodox twenty-two yards might comfortably be pitched across her deck ; her depth v sixty feet. To a person of common-place intelligence obvious difficulties m the way of building and using such, an enormous ship will suggest themselves. The brilliant engineer refused to see any of them ; he managed to get the nebes* vary capital, and at a, oost of not far short of a' million sterling the Great Eastern

was built at Millwall: The question how to launch her immediately- arose. Contrary to the ordinary rule, she had been built broadside to the river. Another anomaly m her construction was that the " ways " on which she was laid were of iron, and aa the ship was also of iron it was found impossible to move her. For some months the /monster vessel lay on the stocks, a subject of considerable amusement to the wits of the day. Punch published a set of suggestions for the benefit of Mr Brunei. One of these, put into the mouth of Lord John Russell, proposed that inasmuch as the House of Commons was the greatest power m the world and as the Great Eastern waa still on the " ways," the House should go into Committee on Ways and Means ; and his lordship therefore announced that at an early date he would move the House into Committee and the ship into the water. At a large cost the Great Eastern was at length launched, and started for her first trip to New York. Afloat, as ashore, she hardly answered public expectation. She seems on this first voyage to have been insufficiently ballasted ; she met very rough weather, and she rolled so violently that the unfortunate crew and passengers were engaged most of their time m holding on to anything handy. Soon after her return, she had another strange turn of fortune. She was seized for debt, and was only released on the intervention of Sir Daniel Gooch, who saw how useful she might be made m the telegraph service. In this new business the big ship did valuable service. She laid her first cable to America m 1805. This cable broke, but m the following year Bbc laid a second successfully, and also took up and repaired the broken wire of 1865. Two years later she was employed by a French Company on a similar task. But since that date new steamers better adapted to this special service have been built, and the unfortunate Great Eastern has lost the only occupation m which she ever greatly distinguished herself. She has dropped into the position of a white elephant No one knew exactly what to do with her. Innumerable projects for utilising her have been brought forward. It has been suggested that she should be turned into an hotel ; that she should be used as a cattle ship : that she should be anchored somewhere as a coaling station ; and the latest proposal was one made last year, that Bhe should be sent to the New Orleans Exhibition as a kind of floating bazaar or warehouse, with a view to being further utilised as a gigantic hoarding for the display of advertisements. But the hapless ship bad by this time got into legal difficulties ; this bold scheme fell through, and it was by order of the Court of Chancery that she was sold recently for a very small fraction of her original cost. When an attempt wasmade to sell her some four years ago, tho only bid for her was made, we believe, by a representative firm whose business is that of breaking up old ships and disposing of the materials. Yet the Great Eastern is as sound and well-built a ship as ever was launched. She has, however, one or two serious defects. Her enormous draught of water excludes her from most harbors and her great bulk can only be accommodated m the largest doctsß. Apart from all this, her engines were constructed at . a time when the modern methods of saving fuel without sacrificing power were unknown. It is said that on her first voyage with the Atlantic cable she burned a ton of coal per hour for every knot run, and as she steamed six knots per hour this made her consumption of fuel one hundred and forty-four tons a day. To fit her out with modern engines would be a very expensive operation, and it is difficult to divine what use her new owner can find for her. Some plan, it mto be hoped, may be found which will obviate tbe necessity of breaking her up, and so destroying a monument of genius of one of our roost brilliant engineers. AN EVENING WITH HENRY WARD BEECHER. (By the Rev. H. R. Haweis m the Pall Mall Gazette.) In the evening I made a pilgrimage to hear Ward Beecher, taking a car from Madison avenue, which m about half an hour brought me to the foot of the famous Brooklyn Suspension Bridge. No words can express the effect of that wonderful structure, which spans the river, swings on two mighty piers, and connects New York with Brooklyn. It took me about twenty minutes to walk across. The immense height of the Gothic stone piers, the colossal chains and binders, with their multitudinous network of lines converging m aerial perspective m the electric light, the glimmering cities on both sideß the river, and the fleet of night steamers and ferry boats brilliantly aglow wi'h ruby and emerald points of light, formed a magic scene never to be forgotten. Another tram brought me to within a stone's throw of Ward Beecher's tabernacle, a spacious but unpretentious looking edi6ce. On entering, I was offered a slab seat near the front, and very soon, on looking back, I saw all hope of retreat was complelery cut off. Every inch of .'space was utilised and every seat was occupied. Beecher, m ordinary frock coat and black tie, was reading from the Bible on a raised platform, A tall horn-shaped glass full of large yellow daisies was on one side, and a mass of tropicallooking scarlet foxgloves and drooping creepers stood on his left-hand side. Ward Beecher's hair is completely white, his oval face strongly marked, with finely cut profile, expressive mobile mouth, rather restless eyes that sometimes flashed out with sternness and at others seemed concentrated with a sort of inward gaze. His manner was very quiet ; his voice very low and distinct and musical ; his reading, to my mind, almost perfect m its natural but impressive emphasis. In the prayer which followed, and which was quite buoyant with hopefulness and trust and full of comfort for the weary and heavy laden, I was much struck by the absolute stillness of the dense throng ; every inflection told ; thero was not a superfluous word, no attempt to prompt the Almighty or dictate to him, or make a personal display of rhetoric ; it waa quite an ideal presentment of tho creature, with all his wants and sins and hopes and fears, submitting himself to the Creator for guidance and help. Then followed a hymn, which might have beon more congregational m its delivery, and then the sermon, which lasted about thirty-five minutes. Mr Beecher preached on Christ before Pilate, and I shall not attempt to give any detailed analysis of his sermon. He read the whole account, and proceeded to deal with two criminals — one an individual Pilate, the other a collective body, the multitude who cried, "Crucify him !" He showed up Pilate as a weak person, who had not the oourage of his opinions, ! for he knew that Jesus was innocent, but he would not do the right and honest thing, because it was "bad politics." Upon this theme he played with many good side hits at immoral politicians ; but be only reached his full effectiveness nhea he came to. dsal with the corporate " criminal "—the crowd who, m their eagerness for their victim, had oriod, "His blood be on us and on our children." " Oh, yes ; they were quite ready to take the responsibility of the criminal action——" Beeaher stopped suddenly and turned to » passage m the Acts, where theie same men, when confronted with the preaching of. the Apostles,' lira found whimpering »ud corn-

. plaining that the people are now charging them with the blood-shedding of Jeans. "It is always so," said Beecher ; "when passion is hot you will take any risk. But by-and-bye, when you have to take the consequences, you are not so well pleased." On this theme he waxed most eloquent, with a solemn and altogether impressive and earnest seriousness. He dealt with the inexorable nature of the moral law, the inevitable connection m the moral and m the > physical world between cause and effect. The penalty might be delayed, for five, for tea years, but the day of reckoning . would come, and every breach of the , moral law would sooner or later be i visited. Towards the close of his sermon he introduced a very powerful and dramatic illustration. "Down by Hell t gate," I understood him to say, m allui sion to some well-known place where i certain blasting was to be carried out, "the rock is tunnelled, and deep under > the solid masses over which men walk with such careless security there are now ; laid trains of explosive powder. All . seems so safe and firm outwardly, it is hardly possible to imagine that those solid masses will ever be shaken, but the time will come when a tiny spark will fire the whole train, and the mountain will be 1 m a moment rent m the air and torn to atoms. There are men," he said, looking . round — and a kind of shudder went ! through the assembly—" there are men : here who are tunnelled, mined ; their ; time will come, not to-day or to-morrow, ; not for months |or yean, perhaps, bat it ' will come ; m a moment, from an unforeseen quarter, a trifling incident, i their reputations will be blown to atoms, : and what they have sown they will reap —just that. There is do dynamite like men's lusts and passions," Only once or twice did Beecher rise to anything like , oratorical fervour. I can understand i that he is often more powerful, but I should think seldom more really impressive, and all the more so on account of a certain deliberate and aad restfulneaa of delivery, like that of a man speaking out of the wisdom of his heart concerning the things which he knows to be true. As I mingled with the throng who passed out into the Brooklyn streets every one seemed subdued and solemnised. I could not wonder at Beecher's longsustained and, as it seems, unabated popularity. \Ve hare no such orator m the English church — as a thinker Spurgeon can't touch him — and the feeling m New York, even among those who are no friends of Ward Beecher, is that he is intellectually, and as a mere master of his craft, a head and shoulders above any other preacher m the States.