LAWN TENNIS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1025, 14 January 1911, Page 12

LAWN TENNIS.

,(Bi Side-line,).

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Tournament Fixtures. v Dannevirke Championship and Handicap Tournament, January 17, 18, 19. Entries dosed. Wellington Provincial Championship and Masterton Handicap Tournaments, at Masterton, January 21, 23, and 24. Entries closed. Taranaki. Championship and Handicap , Tourjiament, , New Plymouth, January 26, 27, 28. Provlnoial Events'at Hand. ' Entries have closed for tho Masterton and Dannevirke tournaments, and these events now promise to bo much more successful than was at first anticipated. Indeed, at Dannevirke, an even more successful gathering than that at Blenheim is hopefully expected. That the double meeting at Masterton will exceed that again is a practical certainty; Players from all parts will participate. At Dannevirke there will be present Messrs. H. W. Brown, 11. A. Parker, Upton (of Auckland), and probably Messrs. Sherrifs (Auckland), F. M. B. Fisher, and J. C. Peacock; Misses Brewster and Simpson (of Taranaki), Travel's, Nunneley, -Williams, Williams (Sydney), Hartgill, and Wellwood (2). These players, with Messrs. Beere, Kean, Lawrence, Aitkcn, Bonnington, R. N. K. Swanston, E. T. Redward, H. M.- Gore, and probably Messrs. Goss, Iviver, : and Ollivier (Canterbury)—tho last-named just having won the championship at Ashburton —will also bo at Masterton. C. C. Cox will of course bs at Dannevirke, and should'ho (with Pearso and Gawitt—who wero at Pahiat.ua at New Year) bo also at,Masterton, there will be ono,of the greatest tennis gatherings possible at the present timo in New Zealand. It' will, in fact, run very close to the exhibition meeting.

Dannevirko has seven courts in the best of condition, and, should tlio weather keep right, the committee arc looking forward to plenty of hard work. Arrangements aro very well advanced at Masterton, and tho big meeting should go splendidly.

H. M. Goro lias been appointed referee at 'Masterton—a well-deserved compliment to him, and a proper recognition of his standing in the sport. The Provincial Association certainly owes something to its president. The Masterton Tennis Club deserves ninch credit for the way in which it has pushed forward the provincial meeting. It is to bo hoped that success now will father a future virile association with Masterton as its centre. Representation Question. Auckland's motion on the representation question was discussed at length at a meeting of delegates of the Provincial Association hold on January 11. AVhilo it was recognised by most of the delegates that there was a large amount of reason in the scheme for redistribution, yet it was felt that, should it come into force, the smaller associations will suffer unduly. After much discussion a motion was accepted that further amended the already altered rule. This provides for one vote for each hundred, members under three hundred, And one vote for. every additional three

hundred—by roducing tlio votes for tho first thrco huudred members from three to two. The ofi'ect of this is to weaken still further tho powers held by the smaller bodies, who, according to their membership, were holding an absurdly overwhelming percentage of strength—calculated on tho democratic principle. But, that they should (as would bo tho case under, the Auckland motion) bo completely swamped by the larger bodies was held to be totally against tho interests of tile game, which must be fostered more in the smaller centres than in tho larger, whore, in fact, it could now hardly bo checked if it were so desired. The second part of the motion was received very "unfavourably by the meeting. It was very rightly voted that even, should the management committee be abolished, it must not for a moment bo thought that the council would do all the business, but that, instead of having an ideal singlo chamber government, matters would simply revert back to tho two-body arrangement. There would bo the council and sub-committee, which sub-commit-tee would bear the same relationship to the council that tho present management does to the present council.. This (tho changing of one method of government to another that would virtually have to work on tho original lilies without any gain) would be a Gilbortian position. When other probabilities were weighed—for example, that tho council as so constituted would be answerable to no one, and also that a delegate, who was not "in tho running" would have a difficult positionit was decided, almost unanimously, not to support that part of the motion in any fonn whatever. Delegates, while feeling that the motion is emphatically a hit at Wellington—with her unfortunate geographicaal position—deserved commendation for the good feeling displayed, and the absence if parochialism that marked the discussion. Considering the lively interest that, this business has aroused (at' the last New Zealand meeting and since) it is eminently pleasant'to know that our own council has only one 1 object in view. The object is undoubtedly the general, advance of tho game.