ENGLISH FOOTBALLERS.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7157, 19 September 1888, Page 5

ENGLISH FOOTBALLERS.

THEIE AUSTEALIAN TOUE.

HOW ME SEDDON WAS DEOWNED.

Yesterday, by the s.a. Wairarapa from the North, a portion of the English footballers team arrived from Wellington, including Mr Shrewsbury. With that gentleman a representative of the Pbbss had a chat last evening, and gathered a few particulars in reference to the tour of the team through Australia. "We thoroughly enjoyed the trip," Mr Shrewsbury said, " and were well received everywhere. £ a to terms, however, the Bugby Unions in New Zealand, New South Wales, and elsewhere, showed great liberality in contrast with the treatment we received from the Melbourne Club and others playing under the Victorian roles. The Melbourne Club played for its own pockets. In the first big match on ita grounds there were about 35,000 people present. The Club received between JJBOO andjeOOO— We had some very good games in Sydney, and a lot of people attended the watches. The New South Wales men pla ed a very good game, but there is no doubt they are behind New Zealand in football. They appeared to have no show of winning with our team. They are very :ond of the Eugby game and there is every reason, to believe considerable improvements will be made in the next few years. Our visit has given the game in New South Wales a great fillip. The Eugby Union does all it can to encourage the game. I do not believe it made a penny out of our visit, bat did. all it could to make the matohea popular. There wee a large attendance at the first match in Sydney, but the public would -have liked to see the games more equal to induce ti3ft"T to turn oat better. There was no opportunity, of oowee, <j£ comparifig the New South Wales play era with the victoriaad, on account of the latter playing their own game. It is a game I do not think will ever grow at Home. Boys will have to begin m their infancy in order to cultivate a Hiring for it. It was a necessity for oar men to play the game. Several of them tried hard to become fully acquainted with it, and succeeded fairly well, but it was very disheartening to lose match after matah. They had ao much of the Eugby game to unlearn. When they had the opportunity for a ' little mark' they frequently forgot themselves, and gave the ball a hard kick. When this failing is overcome, I do not see why the team cannot play the game. Ihe people turn out well to see the Victorians play the game. There is one Eugby Club in Melbourne, the Union, but it does not contain enough players to form two good teams, and bo give the Victorians a fair opportunity oi judging the merits of this game. We played a match with this Club on the day the Exhibition wae opened. We bad five or six thousand people to see us, in spite of an opposition match organised by the Melbourne Club on their own ground. We received good treatment in Adelaide and in Queensland. At Brisbane we found it excessively hot sometimes, more life , * the cricket weather at Some in July. he weather agreed with ua in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, though it was quite war v enough at times. The public, we found, werevery fair. A good deal of ' barracking was indulged in by young people, mostly boys, at the match with the Sydney University. The University is the strongest club in Sydney, and the representative team there, is practically chosen from its ranks. We met with several New Zealand players. Anderson, a former Auckland player, we luet in Brisbane. He did not play against ua. Ue had had hie shonlder blade broken -while playing against New South Wales,- a few days before our arrival. Ido not remember the names of other New Zea- ! hinders we met. The Eugby game is run- ! ning out the Victorian in Brisbane. " The death of Seddou was a severe loss to ua. To my mind it is clear that he met his death through being seized, with cramp. With Stodd&rt and Anderton he had intended to stay behind at Mainland on the Hunter Eiver for a few hours, the rest of the team going on to Newcastle -where they were to play next day. Seddou took an outrigger or ekilf aad went for a pull on the river, which is about twentylive or thirty yards wide. He went down the river some distance and then pulled | back, passing the place where' Stoddart and Anderton were seated on the bank. After going about two hundred yards beyond them he disappeared round a bend in the river. About twenty-five minutes afterwards a boy came along and told Stoddart and Anderton that Seddon had been drowned. The boy said he saw him turn on his back in the water and make for the bank, -which was distant about fifteen or sixteen yards, but he went down before he reached it. Seddon was a fairly good swimmer, but there was a nasty undercurrent in the river which made swimming diffioult. He would, I think, have stuck to the boat if he had not been seized -with cramp, and his turning over on to his back also strengthens my opinion that he was seized with it, probably through making a strong effort when he was first in .the water. I do not agree with the suggestions made by several newspapers that his feet were caught in the leathers oa the footboard."

Messrs Stoddart, Mathers, Burnett and Stuart also arrived yesterday in company with Mr Shrewsbury. The remainder of the team viU reach here to-morrow morning, on which day the match with the Canterbury representatives will take place. There is some talk of a half-holiday being asked for the occasion. Daring the stay of the Englishmen in Christchurch they will put up at Harris , Occidental Hotel, Hereford street.

Since the last Presidential election there has been an increase of 7,000,000 in the population of the United States. This will give at least aa additional million of voters, making 11,000,000 votes to be cast.