SCULLING. THE AMBITIONS OF WHELCH.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 49, 26 August 1907, Page 8

SCULLING. THE AMBITIONS OF WHELCH.

[B* TELEGBAPH. — PRESS ASSOCIATION.] CHRISTCHLRCH, 24th August. On Tuesday George Whelch, the amateur sculling champion of New Zealand, | received a cablegram from R. Arnst, who is at present in Sydney, asking if he was willing to row a match with him in New Zealand for £100 a side. Whelch, in J reply, a6ked Arnst when he wanted to ', take the match on, and up to yesterday he had received no reply to his question. In answer to enquiries as_ to his plans, Whelch stated that he will row for the Akaroa Boating Club this summer,' and make a bid for the Hidmond's Cup, as holder of the sculling championship for three years. He intends to allow no professional matches to stand in the way of his attaining this amateur cup. Should Arnst be willing, he will row off with him after the next championship regatta. Wbelch is anxious to meet Webb, and, once he has the Edmond's Cup, will make arrangements for a meeting with the world's champion.

The next sittings of the Supreme Court in Bankruptcy will be held on Ist October. It was reported at a meeting of .the Auckland Education Board that the prophet Rua has been responsible for materially reducing the attendance at the Waioweka native school at Opotiki. It was stated that there were only 17 Maori children attending, and that the European children were in the majority to the extent of 21, while tyua's influences had drawn away 30 Maori pupils from the school. What is a "watershed?" Most of us have learnt the definition at school that a watershed is a ridge dividing two river systems. But apparently this is by no means the only interpretation of the word. In scientific works,'according to the City Engineer's evidence in a compensation case this morning, the meaning of the word is identical with that of "catchment area" or area from which a river draws jts supply of vratsr. A controversy arose over the two conflicting meanings and dictionaries were produced— -first Johnson's, then the Standard, and finally the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Mr. Chapman argued for the derivation of the word watershed which means "water parting," but Mr. Morton said that the correct term for the water parting was "divide." The matter was finally left to his Honour's decision as to what interpretation should be given the ambiguous word. The exact meaning of the term "buildable" as applied to land round Wellington was a matter of some dispute this morning in a compensation case. One witness was constrained af- 1 ter some little cross-examination to admit that he could hardly point out a place where a builder could not stick a house. Another witness considered that the limit of settlement in one direction, at any rate, was fixed by tho ridge immediately behind Brooklyn, as there were btill a large number of vacant sectipes in the suburbs. In legard to the telegraphic strikes in America, advices recehed from Bam. field by the General Post Office state that messages posted to Seattle on Wednesday reached theic early this morning and went forward. Extra mail arrangements have be<>n cancelled. The embargo on the American traffic and the strike points is now removed as far as Canadian transit is com.erned, and messages may now be accepted subject to delay on American lines only. As a result of a conference between the Mayor of Wellington and the Premier, the City Council and the Government have avoided litigation over the much-vexed question of the water, mains under the railway track at the Hutt. An alteration has been rendered necessary by the straightening of the railway lines. An arrangement has been come to by which the cost of relaying the mains will be equally borne by the corporation and the Government. The Karori Golf Club notifies that it liaß engaged Mr. Hood as a professional coach, and lio will bo in attendance at [ the links during tho next, fortnight.