COURTNEY, THE ROWING MAN.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 11 August 1880, Page 2

COURTNEY, THE ROWING MAN.

« The New York Times thus makes merry over Mr Courtney and Lis misadventures : — " Hard is the fate of the .American people. J^o sooner does its

collective bosom swell with hope than something of tbe most discouraging nature happens. A week ago tbe belief that Mr Courtney would really row a race in May had become general, and now we are suddenly confronted with tbe terrible prospect that be will not row at all. There is no subject of mote trans^* eendent importance than the rowings abilities of Mr Gouriney. It needs only a glance at out newspapers to be cons vinccd of this fact. When the prospect that he will row is a doubtful one, the country is in a feverish and unsettled state, People sometimes wonder why Uie United States Government has to tMy 4 per cent for money, when England can borrow all she waDts at 2\ per cent. Beyond any question, the real reason is the uncertainty which capitalists feel as fo Mr Courtney's intentions. What prudent man cares to buy the bonds of a eouutry which is liable at any moment to be convulsed by the refusal of Mr Courtney to row a match which he had ~ promised to row. England is not exposed to any such contingency, and therefore her consols are regarded as a safe investment. JVIr Courtney isanele* ropnt of such terrible uncertainty that it is impossible that the bonds of his coun* !ry should be regarded as perfectly safe. For the last two months the prospect that i lie would row in May was so good that there was a general revival of commercial prosperity, and Mr Sherwin expressed the opinion that if the confidence in re* gard to the approaching race continued, he would be able to place a 3 per cent. ioan. And now, just as we were con* gratulating ourselves on the apparent stability ■ f our insti ufions, tbe newt conies that Mr Courtney has devised a new |Im for not rowing. The reason why people believed that Mr Courtney would row was the fact that he had ex* hausted all the known methods of avoid-* ing a race. He had on one ccasion rowed his skill against a concealed sub* aqueous wire, which had ripped a hole in the boat and put a sudden stop to the match ; on another occasion he had fallen -■■ suddenly ill ; and last fall, his boats werff sawn asunder on the morning of bis most important match. These seemed to be all the conceivable methods of avoiding a race, and it was manifest that none of r!ee could be tried twice. Concealed ' wires and sawn boats are misfortunes which will not bear repetition, and no oarsman can fall sick on the eve of two different matches without running the risk ot having his second attack prora fatal. There was, then, good reason for believing that Mr Courtney could nol escape rowing on the Potomac next month, and the State Department was fu'ly justified is expressing that view to the Government of Jlurope. Just as the revival of public confidence wa* enabling people to pay some little attention to such comparatively trifling matters as the next Presidential election, there comes, like lightning from a clear sky, the an«. nouncement that Mr Courtney has in* vented something that be calls a WW r wingorig, which will, as he claims, enable him to row about three times 4 faster than any man has hitherto rowed. This ingenious rig he intends to use in the appraching race, and witb it he promises to leave Mr Hanian so far behind that the latter will not know that a race is in progress. Of course, Mr Courtney will not do anything of tbe kind. His new rig is simply a new method of not rowing at all. He expects that the referee will forbid bim to nse it, on the ground that it will be an infringe* ment of the conditions of tbe matcb, in which case he will refuse lo row, and the hopes of the American people be once more ruined. She ingenuity of the device cannot be denied. It is much moreeconomical than the plan of having one's boat sawed in two, and is much moreconvenient than falling sick. That it wVI be effective there is not the least dbofct, and we must make up oar minds to tlieawlul certainty, that Mr Courtney wilP* not row." We need not remind our readers how these prognostications have' been fulfilled by the sudden ' illness 'of Courtney in his contest witb Hanlan.