DUNEDIN RUGBY LEAGUE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 99, 29 April 1927, Page 13

DUNEDIN RUGBY LEAGUE.

STORMY MEETING HELD. NO SETTLEMENT REACHED. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) DUNEDIN, Thursday. Rugby League and dissension appear to be synoymous terms in more than one part of New Zealand at the p~esent time, and the war in the local camp of the League was advanced a further stage last night when an extraordinary general meeting was held. The president of the Otago Rugby League, Mr. J. T. Cooper, presided over an attendance of about 100 delegates and supporters of the code. The purpose of the meeting was to determine whether or not the recent annua] general meeting of the League was properly constituted, but last night's meeting made little progress in this direction. The chairman at the outset ruled that it was out of order for the meeting to decide whether another meeting was properly constituted or not. It was soon evident that two warring factions were engaged. Broadsides of a personal nature were fired at frequent intervals. The chairman allowed a good deal of latitude, and at times the meeting was in a state of uproar. No definite settlement of the dispute was arrived at, though the meeting went into committee half-way through the proceedings. At 11 p.m. the meeting, which had reached a high state of tension. broke up in partial disorder, many of the members leaving the hall. Some 30 members remained until 11.45 p.m.. when the meeting terminated. A motion of confidence in the present executive was put to the meeting bv those remaining, and the number for and against it were about equal. It was intimated that the match committee had in hand arrangements for the draw for Saturday. Comment on the Dispute. The "Star" editorially comments: ( f the League's annual meeting was not a nice one' in the opinion of certain critics of its proceedings, no more satisfaction is likely to be felt by anvbody with this sequel to it. If it was nonproductive it was illuminative, but only of division and acerbities within the League which must be fatal to it so tar as this district is concerned if they are continued. One might have thought that the bad advertisement which was made for the code, when a sood one was so easily to be had, by dissensions in 'ts team which went Home last year would have been a sufficient warning against local divisions and wrangles, but it evidently has not operated in that wav."