Hockey. [BY BULGER.]

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 148, 23 June 1906, Page 14

Hockey. [B Y BULGER.]

| All hockey matches set down for last Saturday were postponed out of respect for the late Prime Minister. The games drawn for that date are set down for to-day. At the last annual general meeting of the New Zealand Hockey Association the question of continuing the North Island v. South Island annual match was discussed, and it was decided to obtain opinions from the various affiliated associations on the point. Evidently the bulk of these bodies are in favour of retaining the fiiture, as advices from Christchurch show that Mr. Frank Pope, of Wellington, has been appointed selector of the North Island team for this year. Although the council has not idefinitely decided where the match is to be played, the probabilities are that Wanganui will be chosen. The actions of the council are not, as a general rule, above question, but should that body finally decide upon playing the game at Wanganui, they will have reached the very summit of stupidity. Were hockey as widely supported, by both active players and the public generally, as is cricket, for instance, the council would be in a position to order tho game to be played in the various centres by turn, and to play it upon odd days. But when bitter experience has taught it that unless the convenience of the actual players is made the really vital matter, the game is spoiled on account of the teams being anything but representative, one would imagine that it would attempt to mend matters. The conditions under which teams are got together in the two islands differ very widely. A South Island eleven is composed almost entirely of Christ^ church players, as the game has not spread m the South to anything like the same extent as it has in the North. Up here the 'game is scattered all over the island, and the one chance of gelting together a representative eleven is to fix upon a to.wn which is readily accessible to all, which Wanganui certainly is not. Then again, whenever the match takes place in Christchurr.h, Thursday is invariably chosen as the day of the game. This means that the Northerners havo to arrango to leave their work for about four times as long as would be necessary were Saturday the day, eDd it further means that as far as the Wellington men aro concorned the selector is met with many •refusals to join the tour. !*■ is to be ardently hoped that the council will be prevailed upon to make Wellington the scene of the ganio, and 1 am given to understand that tho selector is using his best endeavours in this direction. The local association has not yet, as far as can be learned, appointed a successor on the local representative selection committee to Mr. Skelley, whose departure from this city has, of course, created a vacancy. The appointment should be made with as little delay as possible, in order that the new official may be given a fair opportunity of doing his work. In passing, it may be mentioned that the selection of the local representatives will be no simple matter this year, as many new players have come into prominence. We should have more than the usual number of outside games this season, as last year so many of the arrangements made fell through. A great war is at present raging ;n; n the ranks of the juniors. The evenness which is characterising tho senior play is being reflected in several of the junior matches, and it is quite impossible to foretell who will come through triumphant. The V.M.C.A. team is as yet without a point against them, and hot upon their heels are half the other competitors. The Uniteds were forced to strike their colours to tho V.M.C.A on Saturday week after a sternly-fough| battle in the mud. At the commencement of hostilities tho winners bagged a somewhat sensational goal, and then, as though contented with this achievement, they fell back and defended in rare style for the remainder of the game. It seems quite unlikely that a second round will be held in this competition, as timo will not permit, but the association will, one would say, follow the course adopted once before of cutting out those who havo no chance of winning the cup, and drawing a round for the teams left in. The third eleven of the Wellington Club had a day out recently at the oxponse of Victoria College B. Eighteen goals to nil is a handsome score, and bags of three, four, and five were obtained. This total closely approaches the local record of nineteen to nil, held by both the United seniors and the Wellington juniors, and, strange to say, both scores were got on the same afternoon. The loan proposals of the City Council for the formation of recreation-grounds aro to be shortly submitted to the'ratepayers, and advantage of this opportunity is taken to urge upon all hockeyplayers and supporters to do their best to have the proposals carried. Should the council's recommendations be again lost, it is safe to say that the whole question of recreation-grounds will be shelved for years to come ;' and, should this occur, tho very existence of the sport in Wellington is threatened Therefore, it behoves us to do our level best on this ocrasion. A match has been arranged between the Old Boys' Club of Palmerston North and the Wellington Club, to be played here at tho conclusion of tho senior championship games. The recently-formed Ladies' Hockey Association is now in full working order, and the games for the premiership are to commence forthwith. THE PRIVILEGED FOOTMAN. The wisdom of ascertaining every detail before imitating the practices even of intimate friends is illustrated by the following story, which used to be told with much enjoyment by a well-known nobleman: — A footman went on a visit to a fellow-servant in the country, and whiln the two were at lunch, the master — a septuagenarian squire — rang impatiently. "Confound him," 6aid the major-domo, "how troublesome ho is. He wants his luncheon, I suppose. Come upstairs and you'll see what a lesson I'll give him." The visitor accompanied his friend to the anteroom of the squire's bedchamber, and heard him address his master in an angry tone "What the deuce do you mean by disturbing me at my meal? I tell you flatly I'm not going to stand that sort of thing ; and if it goes on you and I will part. I have brought you something to enl, which is more than you deserve." Tlik old gentleman did not reply, and the visitor thought it a marvellous example of discipline, so when he returned home he tried similar treatment with his old master, who, however, instead of meekly submitting,' stared at tho man in amazement for some minutes and thon rang the bell. "Let this fellow," he said to the servant who answered the summons, "be stripped of my livery and kicked out of the house. He shall have no character from me unless I write one on his back with a horsewhip." The dismissed valet hastened to his friend and complained that his experiment had not worked satisfactorily. "Ah," said the successful disciplinarian, "perhaps I forgot to mention to you that uiy maater .is etone doaf t "-