LEAGUE OF WHEELMEN

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13364, 4 March 1909, Page 8

LEAGUE OF WHEELMEN

SECESSION FROM SPORTS FEDERATION.

The Council of the League of New Zealand Wheelmen met last night. Mr D. ii. Wood prosified, and there- were pros.-!it—.M.»rs W. J. Walter, E. J. Kiirhiou. 13. Harding and T. Smith.

Mr Smith rej>orted that the Tcniuka Club had accepted the championships, which would U> run at the Easier minting of the dub.

The Chairman stat.«: that the Co.uicii's rtHjiwvit u> the Sports Federation 10 ren.ovo the dLsqiiaiiiicalioiis imposed on the I>.-ague':> officials who \vt re members of the suspended Caledonian Su-rit-tv l.o<l U'c-ii considered by the Federation, but nn reply had bei.>n suit to the Council. What haprx md, luw-f-vr-r, was that the members of the Fe.l.-ration held they had no power to remove a disqualification which had l)i-i n iiv.pc>.;r«l by another body an<l only endorsed by the Federation. Mr Highton &nid that an official rep'y should have been sent to the League.

Tho secretary of the South Canterbury Centre wrote stating that W. J ?hi-:i's protest relative to the action of he Oamaru Caledonian Society in re-

lucing t.he prize money at their New Year meeting lwd not been upheld. Tho President of the Caledonian Society explained that the reduction had 1 bern maclo by arrangement with the competitors, and that Shea, the winner of tho race, had accepted tho leducrd niny.mt without objection.

It was resolved to ask the South Canterbury C-entre if they had givew the Society permission to vary the programme. Mr J. H. Thompson wrote stating that the control of cycling in Taranaki IMS to be- taken over by the Tarannki Centre of tho New Zealand Athletic Union, as there- was no hope of keeping alive a branch of the League there. It was resolved to apply for further information on tho subject from the Council of the Union. asking under what rule the Union a.-i>uuu-d control of cycling in a district.

The Otago Centre applied for a £10 donation towards the prize fund for their roa<; race to be held on March lith.

The secretary of the South Canterbury Centre wrote stating that his Centre had accepted the Council's *tan<i'in<r offer to grant a £10 fi.uht>idy towards the prize fund for a. road raeo they proposed to hold.

After a short di.-.cussion it was decide*! to rrply to the Otago Centre that the application was not in accorchnco with the ' condition.; covered by the rule. Jt was also resolved to apply for furtiher information from the South Canterbury Centra.

Mr T. Smith gave notice of motion to delete the rule under which the applications were made.

Pursuant to notice, Mr Walter proposed tiiflt the disqualification imposed on Mr C. F. Baker should be removed. Mr Walter said tliat Baker had been treated somewhat harshly. He had already stood down for two years, and that- should be sufficient punishment.

Mr B. Hording, who seconded the motion, said that the Canterbury Centro were unanimously of the opinion that the suspension of Baker enould' be remov<xl, provided Baker pubJished , an expression of regret for the statements ho had made in a letter to a local journal. Mr High ton proposed en amendment that tho question should bo deferred for twclvo months.

After discussion the motion, was rejected, and an amendment on tho lines suggested by Mr Harding carried. Mr Harding moved:—"That this Council, being of the ooinion that the operations of the Sports Federation are inimical to th-e best interests of cycling, can no longer see its w«y clear to remain attached to tJie Federation, and decides to withdraw immediately therefrom." He pointed out that the Union had in a recent trouble treated' the very shabbily, and showed how, as the result of the Southland dispute, certain valued officials of the I>eague had-' been subjected to undeserved disqualification. The motion was seconded , by Mr Walter, who said the position had become such that in its best interests tho Lreague should secede front the Federation.

.Hi Smith said ho hoped that bettor rosult-s would hove followed frcui tlie constitution of the Federation. It was never thought at the time that fciich swooping disqualifications would bo imposed as had been imrxxved in .Southland. As it was, the" sport of cycling was being most serious , y threatened, end in the interests of the sport secession was the best thing that coukt be done. The cli-squalifi-ention imposed on the Southland Caledonian Society affected every member of thr> Society, and cycling in that district was practically killed. Th-e Chuirmen mentioned the matter of the League's relations with tho N-ew Zealand Athletic Union, andi Mr Jtighton proposed a motion that the union should be informed' of the fact that the League hnd seceded from the federation and asked to forward a draft of the agreement between the two bodies whereby each recognised the other s disqualifications, together with any proposeb the Union might wish to make to the League. The motion was seconded' by Mr Harding and carried.