FOOTBALL.

•(By «.<Pttkeha. lv |

The Question Bag.

MA.Gv" (\ftatotara).^(l) m 1891. <2) "«U your top-piece is screwed on .. you ought to be able to coiniprekend t<he position. (3) Six aijnd eigjiipence will do the trick. | NB3ati*her fj (Wellington). -Hpw can it \>9 » British team wi.tyi the Scot-. ' Wghsand irish players pissing from tjae r xanks. It is purely an. 'EngllshWelsh' combination and no argurflent on this ' mortal earth can convince us to' the' contrary.- \' ' ••^Outrageous" • (Westport).— The expenses attached to the bringing out of the English teaia will run into somewhere about £6,000; perhaps a little less. It is quite impossible •tp reckon up to within a few pounds. ■ "Rusty" and "8.W." (Blenheim). - Have you both been on a drinking bout. We will give, it- close attention m, the sweet by-aad-bye. Looks Very much like a rieaSly !.«.'• o\ed plot to pull the leg of ih<j staff, ¥fJiich isn't having any this time; Apply -to the treasurer of the ■ JfcZ.ja.U. «5L.F." CMastertonO.-rrifyes, Harding .'. Turn rovod here with Sivwright's torn. He kicked a lovely penalty gp&l just on half-time m the nia-tch 'Ci|Sfith.AU l 'New -Zealand. '"/:■' -/. '■■'-.'..'■" .wXS&PT' -(iipwer- Hut,t) i rr-You -lose • ii«dß©ni«ljr. "Andy" Thompson; n&Tf Sj^pendiary Magistrate at PalMl^^n'/Noti cleverly and de?feeioHfily potted a goal for Welling- ' vtM .. m it« match agairist Seddon's famn ftn"\tiifi Basin Reserve. Mick EfcjiaM flayed m the -vanguard and ; : .tfljwM o\iV ' very conspicuously m •' «o*»'work. '' ■ ' ■ ' ' . '■''■''' tf *&mh*i:» . (Auckland) and "R,G." (lNa«Uii) .—Thanks for your good xriafcM. We are' pleased to hear • tibiX out outspoken '■criticism meets • Tattfc )^u?h hearty approval from few footballers m general. We don't ■ tul«BLii to emulate "the old man and . iiM ass' >; example of by-^one days. •^jjiwoei" (Chriatchurch).— What bal- .. ly . r»t ypu write. Quote . iis any i^jstanca where the formation df the sttnw Zealand Referees' Association fciAS led to the betterment of the Raffle m general. We/ repeat with isjreat emphasis that the parties you tuame would he more at home partikdng .of' afternoon tea- shefpikv. This class of pastime would ftuit them infinitely better than tootIng a whistle on the •football ground. ■ ! ■: " : > ? t'TJfr.'h (Wanganui).— A fine beauty you .are to poss as an authority on the game. You have': opened' yotir lan-tern jaws»pretty widely on the same subject m. another place, and the. feeling at the finish was one of pity for the footballers who 'have .ij&d .to suffer tlje inflictions of your fitttolerable. presence. Pratingi: pos- . tiring, - -. . pelf-pouching, prank-per-iprjoaing and jawful Rugby parasites it your v kind are a scourge on the eawmiwity. . , . ■ •■ , „-.i ' <NAJaf." (W©lling.tdn) and v l '.One or the Other . (Marton) .—Articles on that . fiwstion, have appeared at , not , intt«Quent intervals m previous, issues it ''Ti'uth:" We will, however, . fears auotker go when: the matter Ijks . bean discussed by the Wellington. RujJ»y Union. ! •«<3:T .B/ 1 ' (KuJmiara).-The Union has ! stuak- to; i/he one-test matoh.-i It "liww't^aßpear as if the programme yUi he iiwierfered with m any way««3^O," (Ashburton), "Get t<* Graff .idSiellington), ' 'A.S." Christchurch) '* Jfod. "Awkward" l (Nelson) .—Wliati, ah , Iflfernally stupid, questioa to put^tp ms. The "speculation" suggestipn . is. an, assinine pne. Have no idea ais to. the method of selection, but presume it be on very similar lines lib those existing m previous .yl&ars. : .. l\ ;-.;■'■

Footballers m the city were- robbed 6f theii preliminary canter on^Satwday by reason of the vagaries .of Mie weather. Most of , them, however, got goirig m real earnest during the current week, and "footie" will lia once more m strong evidence befiore the present month gives up the f^st. An indication was giyen at the annual' meeting of the Rugby Wai on to the effect that competition matches would start" on April 11th. *£he annual meeting of the . Otago Rugby Union . is set down for this evening. It is anticipated the .. prooe,e^ings 'will be unusually placid. '; William Kerr is one of the best lap^ballers m Melbourne, and he is me of' the bright and shining stars %f "I*e Sou^i Melbourne Club. IJnte^tunately William ? s moral qualities *cc not ,pn a par /with his football rivpaibilities. ;, He has left a maiden I'^wientirig, .and. the manner m which hrn: did- it moved the Magistrate m iffy Port Melbourne Court to refer to Wtea.as "this mani who is Kerr by iwnie and cur. by nature." Willie ?*t the fattier of a verbal trouncing ftrom the "Beak" when the case came to, \a , termination, as well .as a rewinder of his financial obligations to U)| maiden. A Dunedin. writer singles , himself for . distinction yearly by his "•sitiaklng, fish" cry over; the prosV«4iß Pf Otago rep. team.. We have fati several occasions to chastise him i* the past, but the admonitions fail *»>jproduce.. any good' effect, and we tt^st now give him up as a "gone eiwee." T-hougJi the season is yet right jb its infancy our Dunedin friend gets ftis Dathetic blea^t pfl his chest,:— *^Sfe> far, as Otago is concerned, the peirescntatiye team of 1908 will be *artioularlv lean. Read this mournpi list of departed representatives : »ißxa"y| Adams, : Macpherson (Otago's tfe^eKJuarter line), Loma.s,' Scamiel. rwwrison and Foote (theJatter last Wttson's Ota<ro representative capfcMti.); To repiice • the departed we fey'« fievep^l very promising, young, they will take; a;season : #c t^b td'^eveipp, wherefore : li. ; say i W^les teani is cprnuig

at a good time for itself, but bad for us.' 1 Anyway, the Dunedin scribe's Rugby townsmen, are m no worse straits than those of other places m the Dominion. At the annual meeting of a Southern club last week, the chairman naively remarked that it would be better to reduce the number" of 'vicepresidents from 14 to three, as the [club was ■■ ''.financial?? now, and didn't need so many figure-heads ; they had ' mjerely been elected in* order to help the club put of financial straits- The • idea seemed to meet with 'general approval, but when it came to nominations it .ff-as found .there were seven, so to avoid a ballot the bunch r were declared elected. Music Halls to football ■ matches were given by the chief constable at Hanley m his annual report as the chief reason for the decrease of intoxication m the district. . Taranaki footballers have m their minds a proposal to perpetuate the memory' of the late Alf. Bayly. One suggestion is that a memorial trophy should be competed for by. all the teams m Taranaki, and a memorial pavilion erected m the Recreation! Sports Grounds, . New Plymouth 1 . The N.ZvR.U. is to be asked to render assistance to the, movement. It would: be wise on the 'Taranakites? part to abstain from anything of the kind. That . letter; m • "Truth" ' somS month's ago ''from- the late Barney Armit's brother was a '"killer." Commenting on the removal of the disqualification on Baskiville,.. , an;* Auckland writer says that .the 'embargqi 'placed- l! on ptofessloriai footballers, barring' them from going oh to amateur: grounds •was absurd, m view of the relations between amateur 'and '■"■• professionals m other sports. The Tukapa (Taranaki) .Club voted its secretary amd treasurer an,, honorarium of two guineas each. Both, however, 'declined the vote with thanks, preferring, they said, that the money should be put to the juniors trip fund. . . The All Black cry, "Still they're bobbins up." Billie Stead will again don the jersey this, season. In declining the position of captain of the Star (Irivercargill) G!ub at its re-^ cent annual meeting,. Stead stated that as . 'he was now m his declining stage of- football,, and losing a certain amount of enthusiasm for the game, he would fay or : Frank Glasgow, for the captaincy' as that gentlem>an was yet young- 'and active, and had no tie to hold him 1 at home. Glasgow was -appointed. : Notwitbr standing that Stead and other miem-: bers of Gadtaher's combination are now m. their declining stage of Rug-* by, it's a pretty, safe bet to sriavel that most, if hot all of the push will be again m the lwrieJJight when the Eriglishmfen cofoe round, -not that their merits deserve selection., but .the glamour pi. an ..All ■...-Black'- ','has ,been" is' top strong an .influence '■ for the selectors to.-. rid themselves- ofAnd a sparkling/ young player has to ,be, put a^ide,' merely 'to- ffiye 'the "has been" another final flutter against a foreign team whose drawing powers With the public 'happen ..to, be pf.an' .exceptionally magnetic .kind. .They, do so loye to eom>e sntp the • limelight, do these All ; Blacks. . ' My Patea corespondent reports that the. Rugby fever is raging strongly m the AlWn-HuxWyVilie districts, and the prospects for '&t exceptionally iriteregt'in'g : season have not been so bright for years. He-ihr forms me that the Patea i; O]iub has fenced off the touch lines of the fool* ball ground ; on 'the . Doinain, a step which will enable the inquisitive spectator to be kept off ''the line," . and make it better for everybody concerned. ' . , 'According to a Kaitangata cojtres ? .. ppndent there is not much prospect of raising a soccer 'team there this;season for the ■Banner and. .Cup contest, as most' of the leading "soccer" ex-, pohents' are throwing m their \oiwith/the Rugby boys. Arch ? Middlemass, J. T. Ramsay and W. Penman are taking on Rugby this year,; he says, and their help will be very useful an the "Blue and Blacks i"- --: There are, however, ,plenty< of: players, for both forms of the winter game m Kaitangata. • -,-. ..-'-. The composition of the new managing committee of the Wellington Rugby Union is hot altogether satisfying ■to the Brown-Mtarray sectipn, which had confidently looked forward to ruling the roost for another twelvemonths. W. v Hardham, Jim Sweeney; ; and* Jack Burns should -be an acceptable leavening, ami* .'though the trio have had no previous experience of Rugby administration, their lorigcori-. nection with the game should go to make up • "Whatever deficiency they « lack in^that former respect. From^ what the writer knows of the men he does not expect they w)ll *see things entirely through club specta^ cles but realise they have been severally placed m a position which demands of them an impartial mlind and unbiased judgment. Hard'hami and Sweeney are known to . the newer generation of footballers as sterling players on the field. .Jack Burns has long since quitted the Rugby arena, but m his day the. little fellow rendered splendid service behind the Mel-rose.-scrum, and both as a junior and j senior player assisted materially m the many victories; .whi'A .-ha vo Ijeen placed, to the, credjt of the red and blues since their, club was first- launched up.on the local ß^by world. 1 ..- Athletes m general are mo£t . un- ! grateful beings, acid this fact must have strongly impressed itself upon j Berny Gallagher and- Len McKenzie- ! when the result of the, ballot "was disclosed for selectors of senior teams for the 1908 season. Col. Campbell was not having any more of this ' thankless task, but his . colleagues were induced to again enter .the list of candidates on the assurance that' substantial support would be theirs. Neither was hankering after the billet, ■ which invariably brings with it morek.ick»s than ha'pence.. However, the. slimy dodger had been at work; to compass their defeat- by " setting ■ lip a ticket which found support from

most of the delegates present, and the sequence was Gallagher and Mac found themselves m the cpld. Person-, ally, I see no a;eason why such a rad-i ical change should, have been necessary, 'as last year's selectors did their duty very well on the whole. Thpir choosings were not altogether to my liking, but 1 must concede that ' no selector or sejectors will ever find : then^seives m the happy position of : haying satisfied everybody:, -There will . always be a 'divergence of view.^«as , to thi mierits of particular pldyers,. many of whom are on such an.aquat< plane that it is very' difficult indeed ; to sort out the right pea. If the anr : gel Gabriel were to make his appeara'hee on this plaaiet and essay the task of picking a Rugby representatiA"ie team m any part of the world where the w/inter 'game holds sway, there would be 'found plenty of dissatisfied critics to decry his verdict. In the case of one of the rejected men, there is very good business to believe that his failure to obtain re-election was largely due to traitorous tactics on the part o£ a club- . mate. As for the successful candidates I 'Wdll ! at once he enough to say that a mistake' was • made m putting H. Kelly on the -list. Granted that he has a good | "knowledge of the game, he yet lacks tyhe essential qualifications which i necessary m a first-class select- I ■6v. His powers of discrimi'na't'oh are I -not comprehensive enough to m ju'dgnient' upon those player's whose , t^rsai.tili'ty m the Rugby .arena, piitr fihine others iix 'their special depart.■ment and this remark is particularly appiicatole when dealing with the •back diyision. A man may "be a top.notcher^himself actively partici^ patin-g on the field, but he may als6 k be ?l rank dufief as ■ selector, just .'as inariy a fiiie-vplayer is a howling 'failure when carrying the whistle. Kelly also, mmy opinion, is too flexible ; a selector should be of suffirciently tough fibre to withstand the hypnotising influence of a stronger mind, i don't, of course, urge that a selector should be pigrbea'ded, he should be amienajile tp.reason ; but fifty times would J prefer the s.tuiifborn mule-like gentleman to the individual ;who dtoesn- 1 know his own rndrifl for a few seconds. ' Meredith might turn out trumps if he doestft pay top much attention to payers 'behind tli© scrum. His optics w-ant to 'be trained on the vanguards at- 'times, for it is ( m the scrum . where the weakest points are generally clouded over. Mick Hogan's judgment should not bo at fault m regard, to the capabilities of forwardsT-among whom,/ ,he has toiled consistently hard and well m past years. If Mick has a mind of has own He should be o-ne of the "meai for Galway.'' It is to be hoped *that his powers of observation will ,-not be lessened nor has judgment warped by the legal persuasiveness at "Mer-ry." In cohhectipn with the selection of Hpgan a©d Mevedith, it may be as -well to point out that objection has been raised tp them m certain quarters on the ground that 4hey are coaching the Southern arid Wellington Clubs respectively, that Ttbeir attention is likely to-be ai> irhP.st wholly directed to the doings :pf their charges .m the field, an 3 that .'the players m dtherv teams wdll-proib- ; abiy come less under their eyfe for 'tfeat feaspn;; also/ that preference' 'will be given to .those men of their '<pwn clubs who-rKappen tp come into "the lvmelight on occasions. I men* ition this m order to give the pair, an Qpporitunfity of showing that the : ><3tarrcl taken, by the objectors is un- : '. ' . Personally, Tommy Hunter is a de- , cent, well-imeaning, shrewd, and, . .withal, smart,- little chap", one who : .in,varik'bly brings plenty' of logic to |ie.ar when hammering home his , $acts, and who pften scores jp'oint afj^ter point w"hen traversing an opponent's. '_. argumentative delivery^ The professor, however, is top. prone to jSplit straws, and for this reason his . bcemarks not. infraqiiehtiy lose the weight they otherwise would have. ■ Quibbling on small matters gets on the fterYes of delegates, who don't want 'io be romindedi of the fact that opinion on parliamentary ! pra,OKie is on a par with that of suchMistinguds-hed fvutborities da Todd^nd'May. Sometimes he is on tho. ' right' track, but there have been occaK sionS when an intimation cajne from tho chair that his point of order hold water. If Tommy would bvly stop q*uib'bl;ing' and get down, sooner to the 'bedrock of. facts, '..his influence on the Rugby Union would cover a much wider sphere. He is piie of the brainiest of Wsllirig--ton Rugby . Union delegates, ;ind, if J mistake not, the present executive :pf the >f ; Z.R ; .U. will' get a' good roasting when" he sets out to deal • with it on the amateur and pvcf.es- ' sipnai question at the annual ineet;irig of that body m May. But, for heaven's sakfe, Tommy, give us your conscientious and well-thought-out speeches m preference to airing your opinion on the, proper procedure to be adopted for the conduct of a meeting. ' Arty FulKord fired oR one • r two squibs at the Rugby Union meeting, and the effect was to make one's "tummy" ache with laughter. Arty's posturing would, have been a godBend for sculptor Nelson. Illvngworth had that artistic chiseller of marble been present. A sitting froxn-i '; Arty would have bean worth a j month's journey m the King Coun- j ;,sryto Illingworth. A delegate Whis-. ' jpered'to me that the Melrose Club's . -patron, Was the finest study m oilcolors that he had ever seen at a 'Rugby Union meeting. Anyway Arty always comes to light with the >"splosh'- when it is wanted by his club, and very few people of that • practical turn of mind are associated with Rugby nowadays. The little . fellow deserves well of the Melrose 'Club, arid the members know it. ' "Bungler'? Bogle was on the job agafn at the meeting with one' of the most atrociotfsiy-canceiV'ed proposals , that it has" ever been my lotto listen to at a Rugby meeting, or any - ibthef gathering, for the matter of 'that. . His asinine proposition was.: ithat m order to put down rou^h play :, cluibs should lose a championship' point eVery time its representatives, were adjudged guilty of an oßence^ol < "this kind. The effect on delegates '■ when Bogle had stated Ms. proposal 1 was electrical, so much so that Jack Grant, who'had Seized the chance at a wearisom.e stage of the- proceedings tp irnSutee m a riap," awoke with a frfeiitened start and besran to gesticulate so witdly as to lead delegates 4o believe tfta% his brain -had priven •v^ay under the shock. The shouts of ;lauaihter "and derision all round the room quickly convinced tiriond Bosle th»t lie xv>as m troubled woters. Nohpftv came forward to p-ivo .}iim a helping band and t^n sq.uftlr.lunp; pro-

cess was mercifully and quickly, applied. It was this blithering '.'hass" fthat wanted to send Tom Cross up for. life for striking an opponent m retaliation last season. What freaks we dp have on the Rugby Unions, to be sure ! It is the proud boast of -the Scots . that they have not benefited -by one' penny piece f rom, intercourse with colonial sides. New Zealanders and South Africans got every penny piece ; of 1 surplus irom the matches at Inverleith and Hainpden respectively ; ■ .not even would the Scots. avail themselves of the visit of the AU Blacks to protect their grounds and deduct the cost from the receipts. Ttte position of Scotland is one of out-and-out hostility to professionalism or the suggestion of it, and not one man can condemn them. Theirs is 4>he beau ideal of . sport from the ethical point of view. Bob Thomas, one time full-back for Rockhampton (Q.) representative football teams, went -out on March 9, with a dog and a gun. He told Ms wife that he was going shooting. Unfortunately the trigger of the gun caught m a 'banbed-wire fence, and when Bob was found there was a hole through 'his " breadbasket." The Waikato R.U. has decided to support a proposal with a view to i securing representation on the Auckland . Rugby Unions for country unions, aiid the president and Mr F. .H. Tuck were appointed to confer with the Gpldfields Union on the/ matter. ' /•' PootbaJlers are not likely .to forget the occasion when "Gun" Gar;rard's Rugby monstrosity, long 'Brooksr,- was actually chosen to represent New Zealand m its Australian campaign Of 1897. Brooker turned out to'"be one" of 1 the biggest frosts that e.ver took part m the Rugby pastime, and no more hideous f area was perpetrated m the selection of New Tor even provincial comibinaIHons than his inclusion on the oc~ casion referred to*. One only wants •to mention Brooker 's name to Rugrftyites conversant with the ■qualifications of New Zealand players at the time Ho raise peals of convulsive laughter. I am reminded of the Brooker selection incident by a paragraph m a OhxistchutCfh paper ■anent the proceedings, a<t the "annual meetiisg of the C.R.U. on Friday week, wherein, it is stated that the said ■ Brooker impressed upon the Union that it was its duty io do everything m its power to discourage professionalism. The hide-'b'OiuntV cheek of this one-time Rugby freak takes the whole ovenful of biscuits. If there were many players of Erooker's stamp knocking about v at the present time, it would |aay unions handsomely to place them, on a special pension list. Their presence on a Wellington .field, at least, would lead to a riot and loud ■ clamors from patrons to have their admission money back. : At the Taranaki Rugby Union meeting Dr. Fookes carried a motion to the effect that 'its direct representative, "Skinny"" Humphries, should xbring up before the New Zea- . land Union the >qtrestion of establishing an 'insurance fund. Another.: : delegate said his cltfb had found that the best way was to get members to Join a friendly society. Anyway, why should afßiia-tßd unions shirk theix xesponsibilities m the way of providing for the needs of the injured playdrs by asking the parent union to undertake the duty? TheN.^.R. tJniou can, and .does, I believe, look after tfee;interests of injured playets, wllSn directly under its. control, but as regard's inter-iinion and inter-club fixtures, the swbsidaary unions should iiaye enough domoion-sense and en^ ergy to ; evolve a scheme that would meet the wants of linen incapacitated by Injuries sustained . on the football •field without rushing elsewhere foi' assistance. : Mr F. T. Beilringer has been ap-: pointed the vice-president of the Taranaki Rugby Union on the New .Zealand Rugby. 1 Union, vice Mr. A. Bayly deceased. The Union's delegate tp the parent body are "Skinny " Humphries, Edgar \Vylie, and George Facie. Wylie is being shifted a-bout a good deal m this ' connection, he daving represented Manawatu and South' Canterbury m former years. I •notice that "Skinny" is to exercise '"the major number of votes to which ' the . Union is entitled. It looks very much as if the present regulations attached to the Ranfurly Shield, cqmpetitions will undergo a change when thfe matter comes forward at the annual., meeting of the 'New Zealand Union. in May. Several j unions have expressed their -■ dissatis.faction with the. conditions now m force. As a matter of fact, this, bit of furniture should be consigned to the dust heap, as. its inti-insfc value wouldn't provide long "ste«vers"fdr a travelling football nartv. and the contests for its possession have only given rise to pf ovincial jealousy amongst players and unions. Payment for lost time to members o! representatives teams journeying: from home is a question agitating the football world at the present time, says an Invercargill paper, and the matter will probably be threshed out at the "annual meeting of the N.Z. Rugby Union. There is a likelihood also of its being brought forward at the next meeting of the Southland Union. The Waikiwi Club has instructed its delegate to vote for the proposal providing the unions are financially m a position to give effect to itIt wa ; s on the football field when Billy Shakespeare was picked to play,, his first match with the Stratford-. on-Avon First Twenty, that, as he landed on his sit-down and missed both his ankjes, he gave voice to Ms ■famous quotation— "Gone-shins- makes cowards of us . all !" Then he swore like Billio (that is like Billio Shakespeai'io !•) . Frank Surman, the old New South Wales and New Zealand player, has joined the. St. George Club, Sydney. It was Surman who scored the sensational try for New Sputh> Wales against New Zealand at the Sydney 1 Cricket Ground m 1897, when he ran from near his own 25 straight through untackled. I According to a Sydney paper, Ernie Booth, the Otago and New Zea- | land rep. full-back and three-quarter, is m the N.S.W. metropolis, and may remain there. The N.S.W. forwards to visit Ens^ land promuse to be a pretty good lot m the pack and out of it, thoueh m the loose they will require to ttc driven a good deal to bring them into line with tho international for- ■ ward brigades. ! The Metropolitan Rupby Union of ; N.S.W. finished 190 C with a credit

balance of £2399. It wound ufc 19.07 with £2853. Items on the expenditure list were : Sending team io country, £444 17s ; hire of grounds, £392 14s" ■;. club- sustenance, £425 >; medals account, £251 15s'; and in-r surance, £3^87. Clipping from a Sydney journal :— ''HoWeyefr, now that' the Ru^by league ..jexists constitutionally— an<<l not lonly^jn , that is, it is -com4 VOse&yqp-^&ftiDihez of. clubs, let .it its effort's to show that; it is '■destined 'to. do something for football and footballers that the JRugby Union has not done, and cannot do.' 1 ; ' '■■■'■ The best laid schemes of men and mice, etc. Seems everything was nicely (Cut, and: dried by Chairman tJrown and most of his colleagues of the outgoing Executive m connection with the election of new office-bearers for 1908-9 season, at Friday week's annual conclave of the Union. . The arch-conspirators were keeping their plan of operations, as they thought, n Vdead secret," but the other party ,got wind of the affair, and it promptly laid its plans for the dis-. , pomfiture of Stan, and'h'is chums Nothing was allowed to transpire as tp its strategical arrangements, and when the mine was fired on the evening of- the meeting, the results, were disastrous to Stan and Ms friends, one of whom w*is, metaphorically : speaking, blown to smithereens. It was the "dirtiest have" that the Union.'s wire-pullets have experienced for many a long day, and the elumness of their pbys.ogs told the tale only too well when the little I>octor from the ohair made known the ballot results. Robert Wnlpolc, the English statesman, believed that "every man had his price,'-' rt nd was not backward m tendering what he believed to be that price. The union's delegates assessed the conspirators at the-ir proper price, and they were not backward m. coining for* ward and declaring what that price: should be. We do not expect a fishhawker to cry stinking fish. Neither ought wo to expect the chairman of the Wellington Union to fend himself to reprehensible tactics for the sole object of purtting Eis own particular i pets m power and bossing the whole 'machinery of that Union. On tv/o occasions last year when a vacancy came about on the Managing Committee, Chairman Brown worked his hardest to shoye Albert Wylie into the position, but m each instance the oppositionists were strong enough to ' toaike his purpose. At the annual \ meeting last - week, "Wylie was again | put up, and thp influence of Brown and Co. was exerted to its utmost m order to ensure Ms return. When I the numbers were declared, it was found that Albert was right down at the bottom of the list. The report that Edgar 1 Wylie was at the back of his brother helped to kill the latter's pig, 'tis true, but Stan Brown's relentless determination to have him on the committee at any .cost was a potent factor m determining delegates to give Brown the "straight griffin." that he (Wvlie^ wasn't wanted. We give Stan every credit for the splendid work he rendered the Union last year, and we further compliment him upon the way m which he' has administered its affairs. We also acknowledge his courtesy to officials, players, and the public generally. Lastly, we think it a good thing for th&. Union that such a shrewd business man as Stan is should be at the head of the Union's affairs. Having said all this m his favor, we wish to remind him mno ungracious manner that his work would be still further appreciated and his influence more widely extended were he to drop the "coterie , racket" and take every member of his committee into his whole confidence. He did not cut an altogether presentable figure on Friday night week ; we hope to see a wonderful change for the better m him when delegates are gathered together to discuss the 1908 season's happenings. J. T. King was, m his own opinion, a much-wronged man at the annual meeting of the Rtlgby Union last week. It is passing strange that J. T. should have been so ignorant of that particular by-law of the Union which: refufies to conceded to its vice-presidents the option of exercising their voting powers at any annual or special meeting of the Union as to plape his ballot-papers m the hands of the r scrutineers for the first two elections of office-bearers on the programme. When the Chairman's attention was dlrawn to the fact, he intimated that by the ' rules of tto?. Union, he himself, as well as J. T., were debarred from voting. At a latter* stage our Petone friend made a strong protest against restrictions of this kind being placed upon vicepresidents. He said he wanted to be something more than a vice-presi^ dent m name, It was not Ms desire that he should be installed m such a position for purely ornamental purposes. J. T. made an eloquent appeal to the Management Committee to think the matter over before / next annual meeting came round. Delegates, however, appeared to treat the supplication very coldly, knowing, as they did, the events which had led to the adoption of the rule, and appearances indicate the likelihood of the rule remaining on the Union's statute for' some years to come. John Murray's defeat as one of the five delegates of the local Union to the N.Z.R.U. was the bitterest pill he has had to swallow during his Rupby career. John never dreamt | of such a calamity, and following as • it d;i<d upon G-. F. C. Campbell's fail- '

I ure to retain the vice-presidency of the Union on the governing body, .•completely Unnerved him for the time. ! being. Johnny had nothing to finish/ with m the contest for the Managing Committee, and the fact that only 23 out of 42 delegates voted for his reelection was sufficient excuse for him to remark on, the fact to §tan : Brown. At one stage ..John thought he had scraped through m thedelc•#ateship scuffle, but it was only a little joke on the part" of St. James's representative, Crewes, who was manipulating the chalk on theblackboard. I have always had & sneaking regard for Jack Murray personally, and, on this occasion I admired his brave attempt to steel himself against the bitterness of defeat^ We expect that John will place himself m early communication with Barney' Campbell with a view of that brilliant star m the Dunedin Rugby constellation securing Mm a place m Otago's representation at the bigt Dominionists gathering. put the Wellington defeat will enable some uncharitable persons to fling it up to him every time he gets too effusive m his defence of Chairman Dixon and his colleagues, or starts oirfc by denouncing these outspoken people who have the temerity to criticise the hundred and one shortcomings of the New Zealand Executive. Though the Wellington Rugby Union delegates refused to give its past representatives free admission to all matches played under its notice tho Canterbury Union has looked at things m a different light, and its Management Committee has be^n recommended to. adopt this proposal. The • flimsiest and most illogical arguments were put forward by local delegates m antagonism to the scheme, and none more so than by T. Hunter and T O'l^ary, the V C delegates. The question ©f finance was the only valid excuse for shelving the proposal, and that m itself was relatively of little importance. The proposal to divide the profits dtnyed from matches directly controlled by the N Z.R.U. is a step m the rigtit direction and must commend .itself to all who take an inter--est m the Rugby game. The parent Union holds a very strong position l ano i ally a ? d can well afford to givo affiliated unions & share of the revenue derived from the big matches directly under its control. There is no doubt that past experience has shown that -kom a local union viewpoint the matches played under the auspices of the N.Z.R.U. have resulted m a loss of revenue to the union on whose ground the game has 'been played, as it meant the stoppage of all its games, with no share of the profits. The position taken up by the Auckland Union m connection With the special ■ Ranfurly Shield match of last season is •evidenccitself ■that other unions m the Dominion share this opinion. To the smaller unions this is a very important innovation, and should mean to them— when fortune sends one of the big matches • their way— a substantia?" increase m their receipts. This alone is a sufficient -reason for giving effect to the propepal, as anyone connected with the management of football m the smaller districts lonow quite well how difficult it is to cai> ry the work of the season through without loss of revenue. Many other reasons could be given m support of the. proposal,' but space forbids at the present juncture. Says a Wairarapa player :— ">As is well-known, a good secretary is the main factor m the successful working of the club, and m Mr . Nioholls the Club has an enthusiast the like of which could no* be found, probably, m any other part ol the Dominion^ It is understood that he pays his annual sub. and does not charge the club a single penny ' for stationery, stamps, etc. (m itself a fair item of expenditure). This he has done for three seasons, 'and see- 7 ing the club has such a «uibs*antial credit m hand, the least that could be done is to hand a "fiver" of it over to "Jimmy" for past services." It is not the writer's intention to savagely gloat over the defeat cf Mr G.,F. C Campbell at the hands 'of Mr- T. WSlford m the. contest for the vicerpresidency of the Wellington 1 Rugby Union. The victory of Hutt's Parliamentary representative '.was a. most decisive one and served to, emphasise the delegates' marked displeasure at the arbitrary methods adopted by Mr Campbell at $c annual meeting, of the New .Zealand. Union last year when representatives Of affiliated unions were, gagged, m such a way as to effectually. -prevent them from criticising the administration of its _ Executive. The. service that Mr Campbell has rendered to Rugby, both as a player and an administrator, are cheerfully acknowledged, and I do not know a single individual who. can point the finger of scorn at him m the matter of integrity and disinterestedness. It was Mr Campbell who assisted E. IX Hoben to uphold the cause of the. New Zealand Union what time it was; fighting. for its very existence against the machinations of the Chapman-; Hutohinson push m Dunedin, and for that reason alone Dominionist footballers have much to be grateful to him for. It is reported that a movement is afloat to maintain Mr Campbell m an official position on the parent body, but I will be, very much surprised if he sees fit to adopt the humiliating course of sneaking m at the back door. Mr Wllford, despite reports to tho contrary, has always manifested a deep interest m the game, m which he was an active j participator what time Epuni and Melrose were fighting their historic ' battles for the junior cup.