SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

Evening Star, Issue 7429, 26 January 1888, Page 2

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

The Victorian Football Association by 13 to 10 agreed to rescind their resolution refusing their patronage to the English footballers, who leave England on March 4. The resolution found a strong supporter in Mr A. G. Major, who said that the Association had been looking at things too much from a local standpoint. They had fostered the game by playing oup matches, and by permitting Mr Lillywhite to visit the Colony they might make the Victorian game in reality an Anglo-Australian game, There was not the slightest doubt that if the Englishmen saw that the Australian game was the best they would adopt it, and it would be a great feather in the caps of Victorians if that was accomplished. As to the question of professionalism, even though the promoters were professionals, that was no reason to throw mud in their faces. The team was coming out, and that was proof euffioient of its representative character. The New Zealand team of bowlers are expected to arrive at Melbourne about 20bh March, will play their matches, and will then accompany the Victorian team to .Sydney, say on the 28th. The Sydney champion medal will be played for on Good Friday, 30th, and following day. The intercolonial match between Victoria and New Scdth Wales will be played most probably on the Monday and Tuesday following. New South Wales and New Zealand will then play. At the last meeting of the Canterbury Jockey Club Mr Stead asked if some steps could not be devised by which a check might be placed upon the increase of small and undesirable race meetings. The papers were teeming with accounts of these gatherings, and they had become an actual burden to the community. He had ascertained that prominent members of the Auckland and Hawke's Bay Clubs were ready to co-operate in any action which presented a fair probability of lessening this evil, and if the number of such meetings could be largely reduced it would be in the interest of the metropolitan clubs and of the sport generally.—Dr Prins suggested that the matter should be considered during the Dunedin meeting by delegates from the various metropolitan clubs.—The Mayor of Christchurch said the subject was of the highest importance. The excessive attention given to racing by all classes of the community was regarded with serious alarm by business people.—Mr Stead felt so strongly on the matter that he would rather give up racing altogether than see a continuance of the present state of affairs; He moved—"That the Committee should communicate with the other metropolitan clubs, with a view to stop the iHcrease of small race meetings."—This was seconded by Mr Garforth and carried unanimously,