DELAY CRITICISED

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 56, 3 September 1936, Page 11

DELAY CRITICISED

MINISTER'S OPPOSITION

(By Telegrapli.-J?ress Association.) ROTORUA. This Day. Criticism of the delay by the Hon. W. E. Parry. Minister of Internal Affairs, in indicating his opposition to the Rotorua and Bay of Plenty Hunt Club's holding its Annual Meeting at, Cambridge on October 24, instead of at Rotorua on September 26, was expressed by the master of the Rotorua ahd Bay of Plenty Hunt Club, Dr. H. Bertram, today. The*' club was granted an annual one-day permit at a recent meeting of the New Zealand Racing Conference, and September 26 was allocated as a date. In view of the fact that the Arawa Park Racecourse at Rotorua is at present under repair and that it is considered that it had better prospects of a successful financial return by holding this year's meeting at Cambridge in conjunction with the Waikato Hunt CJub's Annual Meeting on Labour Day,, the Rotorua and Bay of Plenty Hunt Club applied to the Auckland district committee and to the New Zealand Racing Conference for permission to hold the meeting at Cambridge. Permission was granted by these two bodies, but yesterday the Minister, by telegram, intimated that he would not consent to the meeting's being held anywhere except in Kotorua. pr. Bertram said that the Minister was advised. of the club's application for a change of venue on August 14, but he did not reply until August 24, when he intimated that he; was sending an officer to Rotorua to report upon the position. The club was not actually informed that it could not race at Cambridge until September 2. As a result of this delay, the club had been allowed to proceed with its arrangements and was now, with three weeks' notice, confronted . with the necessity of completely changing its plans' and endeavouring to put on a meeting in Rotorua. There appeared to be no reason whatever for this delay, which had placed the club in a most unfortunate position.