OUR LONDON LETTER.

Auckland Star, Volume XV, Issue 3795, 28 August 1882, Page 2

OUR LONDON LETTER.

[BY OUR SPECIAL COBRPSPONDKNT.I

A Tribute to the Australian Eleven.

When I penned a few lines in my last letter drawing attention to the mewling, poking manner in which the English spoiling papers were bemoaning the defeat of the Gentlemen of England by the Auittalian?, the following eminently sensible pars, written by the much-abused "Pendragon' 1 in the "fteferee," had not appeared, I Bend them out to you now for two reasons First, bocauae they show that there sre at any rate some " sports" loft who lore fairplay; and, second, because I Know a mistaken idea prevails in some quarters to the effect that the ".Referee" nasa prejudice against foreigners in general, and antipodoans iv particular :-

" sportsmen in general, and cricketers In particular, must have felt somewhat disgusted at the way In which the Gentlemen of EDgland, who were so badly beaten by the Australians last week, have been handled since their beating. In their hurry to show that the Australians' victory was not so good a» it looked, cheap (and nasty) critics nave behaved most ungenerously by the English eleven. Every small-souled carper and pigmy witling has had his fling at them._ One might almost suppose that the selection of England's amateurs for the great match was a huge joke; that the whole business was arranged in ridicule. In ridicule of what? That has not yet been settled. Ksady as are the representatives pf ready-made—l might say slop-made — criticism to point out how incompetent were the gentlemen who opposed our visitor?, they do not aftpr all seem able to settle it among themselves with anything like unnt I nifey who ought to have been the exact eleven chosen. It h. singular how very few people there were who laid any objections to the English eleven before the Australians beat them. One thing is positive: if anybody really did object to them, collectively or individually, such body cannot be found' among the pel sons who are so cock-a hoop with previously suppressed cleverness. Also, the English eleven's want of a fast bowler, its want of this, Us want of that, and its -want of 'something else, moat certainly could not have been supp'ied by any'of those who since the match have wilh such wonderful ability discovered what was mi-sing. Perhaps it is as well for the English Gentlemen as for the Australians that such an exhibition was made this week of Mr Grace's eleven. Otherwise we should have in time been brought to believe that the English amateurs were the worst lot ever seea ; ' and that no credit whatever was due to Up Australians for their victory. By latest lights wo have been shown that the Australians are quite as goad as we expected them to bo when first they ap' p;ared, or, if anything, a little bit better. Grace's team, which is dignified with the tile of United Eleven of England, should be, if true to its name, stronger than the eleven the Australians mot at the o>al. Yet thou tralians won by an innings aad 263 runs 1 S > perhaps nov the folk who, when they are simply looking on, or wheu they are subsequently discussing what has happened, a'en.'tonly ' the best players bmthe best judges ot pUying_ iv the world, # will begin to reconsider their vocabularies, and admit that it is very likely that, let the Gentlemen's eleven ' be torraed (in imagination) as it might, ihe< Australians would have won very much aa they did win. After all, what do.s it matter who won ? The Australians have candidly and honestly admitted that their expedit'on here is a moDcy-getting expedition, aud i there certainly was money enough at Kenmngton, despite the threatening weather, ' to satisfy the most inveterate believer in toll-taking, The club upon whoso ground ! pne match was played sljpuld also be well • Satisfied. Its arrangements show that it is ' no less anxious than the Australians themselves to turn the honest penny, No opportunity was missed of turning it." ! Barbarous Cruelty to a Boy. i Another story of barbarous cruelty to a fieher-boy, ending jn-his death, comes from ■ Hull, where a skipper recently was found I guilty of the most cruel murder of a boy a\. j sea. In this casa' Edward . Wheatfield, second hand on board the smack Gleaner, Ischarged with murdering Peter Huge in February last. One of the other hands says that Wheatfield used to beat the boy un- i mercifully, jump upon him, prevent him taking,food, and compel him to take off his

clothes and carrya bucket^n^7 n « •.- head backwards and forward, un ?n? n hls exhausted. Finally, one mo Jin!L ° Waa four and five o'clock he drS ft etWoCtt hi. buuk to the aeck, and Bste°u to£ vruda called the crew, sayi n t °ffi 6 &f*et: tallen overboard. This C a4 be B «T -^ ful resemblance to that which Zn\ff^ the execution of the man Brand dln