The papers this week have been full of the sailing
race for the America Cup. The English challenging yacht, the Thistle,' owned by Mr. Bell, and built at Glasgow on purpose for the race, has been beaten in the first heat by the 'Volunteer,' in New York Harbour. As usual when the betting is extremely heavy—as it has been in the present case—all sorts of rumours have been set afloat as to the defeated yacht having been tam- pered with. There seems, however, no kind of reason to believe these stories. The behaviour of the American yachtsmen and of the Press has been most fair and courteous towards the 'Thistle,' —a technical objectioa, which might have prevented the race, being waived, and the conduct of the boats interfering with the course of the English yacht being severely censured. Owing to the great interest taken in the race, immense crowds have been afloat in every kind of craft to witness the heats; the steamers which followed impartially taking the wind away from both competitors. It is carious that some of the yacht-owning millionaires, instead of trying to invent enamels for their ships' bottoms, do not plate them with silver or aluminium, as Stephen- son suggested. A thin plate of silver, polished like a spoon, would present about as little friction to the water as can possibly be imagined.
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