FOOTBALL.

Evening Star, Issue 11512, 1 April 1901, Page 2

FOOTBALL.

OTAGO RUGBY UNION. j The twentieth atmnal meeting of the Otago Rugby Union took place at the City HiTtel on aSturday night. Mr A. Wilson (president) was m the chair, and the members of the Management Committee present were—Messrs .T. M. Gallawa.y. C. Morris, F. H. Campbell (secretary), FT. Harris, J. Hutchison, R. D. Isaacs, G. M'Laren, P. S. K. Macassey, and W. Rows. The delegates in attendance were—Alhambra. Messrs W. Coffey and A. Rentieaiix; Athletic, Messrs G. Smith and W. Hobbs; Dunedin, Messrs S. Solomon and B. Fmnegan; Excelsior, Messrs Familtem and Boland: Kaikor.ii, Messrs W. Wilkinson and S. Railantyne; Oainaru. Messrs G. Brown and C. Beeby; Peninsula, Mr .T. Rosenbrock: Pirates, Messrs P.M. Priest and W. H. Young; Port. Chalmers. Mr J. Pickard; Otago High School, Mr C. H. Broad; Southern, Messrs Cavanagh and Miscall; Union, Messrs S. D. Minn and D. Munro; Universitv, Mesrrs M'Ara and Boillie: West Taien, Mr J. White; Zingari-Richmond, Messrs A. Gregory and D. Cameron; and Ravensbourne, Mr G. M'Donald. . j THE ANNUAL REPORT. A precis of the annual report, of the Management Committee of last season's doings 'has already been fully reported. The President, said it gave considerable (satisfaction to -tie Committee and himself to meet delegates at the annual meeting and be able to congratulate itihem upon what he thought must be regarded as on the whole an extremely successful football season. Though he sai dit himself, the Committee had given all the attention and energy and enthusiasm to affairs that could be looked for from any committee.—(Applause.) There had been a considerable expenditure of money, and he was happy to say that there were fund's there to meet the expenditure and to leave a very comfortable margin over. This year a policy had been carried out to a greater extent than it had ever been before, by whidh the funds of the O.R.F.U. were so expended as to contribute to the general comfort of all the players in the province.—(Applause.) He referred to the unusually large expenditure that had been made towards assisting the various clubs to improve their grounds.—(Hear, hear.) He did not t'hink there was any u&e to which the funds could be put so praiseworthy an this. There _ were too few football grounds in Dunedin (hear, hear) and the grounds they had were not good enough.— (Hear, hear.) He hoped the day would come when the Union would even possess a ground of its own. In the meantime it had made a very convenient and favorable agreement with the Caledonian Ground people for the use of their ground for a number of years. They lad also "the rights to the Carisbrook Ground, and he understood it was now contemplated to secure the Tahuna Park Ground as well. Of course, they could not look for a return in money for tie money expended in all cases, but they had taken the wider view that they must spend money without a return if thev wished to encourage the game in certain parts of the province. Other funds they had expended, he had no doubt, mrald b"o returned with interest to them at a future day. There had been fewer of those painful cases which occurred in all unions—cases in which they had to bring offending members under correction and discipline! Unfortunately, there were one or two, one of which was in connection with the representative tour. He would not have mentioned that, at all, because the offender in that case had been properly dealt with, but he desired to say that, according to all the evidence before them, it seemed to them incontestable that the player in cruestiomhad received very great provocation, and that the player who so provoked him. was deserving of more severe punishment, and yet it seemed, an far as they had any knowledge, he escaped scot free,' while the Committee of Management in Otago deemed it necessary to measure out a suitable penaity to the offender from this end of the colony. He could not 'help thinking that, if what seemed to him such a piece'of injustice as this was possible Wider the by-laws of any union the sooner the by-laws were amended the better.—(Hear, hear.) With regard to the report and balance-sheet, he wished the meeting to take an unusual course on this occasion. He moved—" That the balancesheet be considered in committee."

Mr F. H.. Campbell seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. On the meeting resuming their regular business nearly thirty minutes later, The President moved—"That the report, be adopted, with the omission of the financial clause, and that the balance-sheet be the balance-sheet duly passed by the auditor, as placed in the hands of delegates, and dated March.27, 1901." Tfevimotion for the adoption of the. report and amended baiaucc-sheot was seconded bv Mr Smith (Oamaru Club). Mr Coffey said that with reference to the remarks of the president on the Porteous disqualification, he, as an official of the Wellington Rugby Union last year, would like to know what action that Union could have taken in the matter. Under the present bylaws there was no power to deal with the matter, and to meet further cases of this kind it would be necessary to amend the bylaws as suggested by the president. He was quite sure that if circumstances had necessitated M'Guirk being brought before the "Wellington Union last year the members of that body would have meted out drastic punishment, if the offender had been proved guilty. As to the Otagodelegates to the New Zealand Union, he would like to say from past experience of the annual meetings of the colonial body that while some were excellent and in every way capable men for the position, others Were mere dummies and antiquated in respect to their ideas on football matters. men should bo appointed, and it would perhaps be as well to select gentlemen for the position who were in thorough accord> ance with the present laws of the game, irrespective of whether they we're ex-residents of Otago or elsewhere. The President, in answer to Mr Coffey, said he wished it to be understood that any reflection he had made was on the by-laws that prevented action being taken such as would have been desirable in a case of the kind he had referred to. He did not reflect in any way on another Union. There was a motion to be brought forward by Mr Callaway with a view of amending the- .rules, and so meet the requirements of tfe-caso

cited, which doubtless would receive Mr Coffey's support. The motion was put to the meeting and unanimously adopted. ' MOTIONS. Mr Hutchison moved—" That the Committee of Management be empowered to deal with any applications that may be made t6 the Union for grants in aid of the improvement of grounds, with the. limitation that their_ authority: shall be restricted to an expenditure nob exceeding £25 on any x>ne ground.''—Mr Isaacs seconded the motionj, which, after discussion, was carried. Mr Hutchison moved—" That the Committee of Management be empowered at their discretion to vote sums of money out of the funds at the disposal of the Union in aid of charities or of objects of a public character." i—Mr Morris seconded the motion.—Mr Solomon moved as an amendment to add the following words :—" Provided that in no particular case shall the Committee vote more than £lo."—The motion as amended was carried.

Mr Campbell moved an amendment to bylaw 14, to give the Committee power-to-elect new members after the date of the annual meeting, without necessitating a special meeting for that particular purpose.—Mr Cameron seconded the motion, which was carried. Mr Callaway moved an amendment to bylaw 21, empowering the Committee to inquire into cases of misconduct on the part of players reported by persons other than the referee.—Mr Coffey said that he was formerly opposed to anything in this direction, but recent experience had convinced himof the utility of amending the rules. He seconded tho motion.—Mr Ma.cassey thought that in making a complaint a member of the public might be biased in reporting a player to the Union. A complaint should be accepted only from players, members of the Committee of Management, or the referee. He moved an amendment accordingly.—Mr. White seconded the amendment.—After discussion a vote was taken, and the motion was carried.

The President moved an amendment to bylaw 5, providing for increasing the number of members of the Committee of Management from six to eight. There were, he said, too few members on the Committee at present to do the work, with the result that the present members could ( not overtake it.—Mr Gallaway seconded the motion, which was carried without discussion.

Mr Smith moved—"That by-law, 13 be altered to reach* The annual*subscription for senior clubs in Dunedin shall be three guineas, for senior clubs out of Dunedin two guinea.-:, and for all junior clubs "one guinea and a-hiilf, which subscription shall be payable to. the treasurer at the annual general meeting in March. Should any dubs"subscript ion be in arrears on the Ist June notice shall he sent to that effect by the secretary, and if the subscription is still unpaid on the Ist August, such club shall cease to belong (o the Union. Each senior club in Dunedin shall be entitled to receive fiftv copies and each junior drib twenty-five, copies of the O.R.F.U. Annual free of charge.'"--Mi-Brown seconded the motion, which was carried. NTTV CLUBS. Application was made' by thts Waitaki Boys' High School Club and the Taieri Rovers' Club to be affiliated with the Union a,s junior clubs.—The applications were granted.

Mr 11,.I 1 ,. R. Booth, Dunedin. wrote stating that the following clubs on the East Coast wished to join the 0.R.F.U., provided that they had a. fla.g to play for or-a-cup, the fees to he made as light as possible—viz., the Waikouaiti Football Club, the Karitane FootJ.il! Club, the Palmerston Football Club, the Hampden Football Club, and the Kakanui Football Club.- -The letter was referred to the Committee. KIiBCTION OF OFFICERS. The following officers were elected for the ensuing year.: President, Mr Crosby Morris ; vice-president*—Messrs' A. -Wilson, J. M. Gallaway, S. Solomon, and J. Hutchison. ; secretary, Mr F. H. Campbell (reelected) ; tteasurer. Mr. H. Harris*; Committee of Management—Messrs R. J). Isaa.cs, O. M'Laren, G. Smith, W. Ross, P. S. K. Macassey, G. M'Donald, D. Munro, and W. Wilkinson ; auditors, Messrs W. X. Monkman and T. Chalmer.

Mr Morris's election as president was: greeted with applause, and on taking the chair he. warmly thanked members- for the honor they had conferred on him.

At the instance of Mr Coffey the secretary was voted a salary of £25 for the ensuing twelve months, not a dissentient voice being raised against the proposition.—On the motion of Mr R. Isaacs the treasurer was granted a sum of £lO for a similar period, and the question of the remuneration of the auditors was left in the hands of the Committee. PRESENTATION 'OF FLAGS. Mr A. Wilson presented the Hags won in the matches of last season. Mr Ballantyne called attention to the fact that there was an omission on tba senior flag. It was won in 1899 by the Kaikorai Club, whose name was not inscribed as the winners m that year. •

The President said that was so. The matter would be attended to by the Committee, and the Kaikorai Club ? s name inscribed. VISIT OF A NEW SOITTH WALKS TEAM.

Mr Coffey moved—"That the delegates of the Ota-go Rugby Union to the New Zealand Union have positive instructions to facilitate matters in connection with the visit of a New South Wales team to New Zealand, and that the delegates be instructed to push the matter forward with all possible despatch." Mr G. Restieaux seconded the motion. The President, thought it unwise to tie the hands of the delegates, and he suggested they should be left a free hand m the matter.

Mr R. Isaacs said he would support the motion if the last four words were omitted. The mover agreed to accept the suggestion.

Mr Cameron moved as an amendment—"That, the delegates be given a free hand in the matter."

Mr M'Donald seconded the amendment, which was earned. ENGLISH DELEGATE. The question of appointing a successor to Mr Sleigh as the representative of the Otago Union to the English Union was left to the Management Committee to decide. One delegate thought there was no necessity to appoint a successor to Mr Sleigh ; it 'was simply frittering money away. COMPLIMENTARY. Mr Solnnmon proposed a vote of thanks to the outgoing Committee, and especially to Mr Wilson, the ex-president.—The motion was carried by acclamation, and Mr Wilson returned thanks on behalf of the Committee and himself. On the motion of Mr Campbell, seconded by Mr Smith, a vote of thanks was accorded the Referees' Association for their services last year. THE f!LUB. Mr M'-Ara moved, and Mr Hutchison seconded—" That the Committee be empowered to grant the University Club a bye in the first round of the flag matches, the match to be played later in the season if the Committee think it advisable." It was resolved to leave the matter to the incoming Committee.

FOOTBALL MEETINGS IN HOTELS. Mr Cameron drew attention to the fact of football clubs holding their meetings in hotels. It was a practice he objected to. Mr G. M'Laren said it was outside the jurisdiction of tho Union to dictate to clubs as to where they should hold their meetings. The President said that was so. The meeting then closed. SATURDAY'S PRACTICE MATCHES. The Union Club journeyed to Ravensbouruo on Saturday, and held a combined practice match with the local club. Sides were chosen by D. Munro and A. Walker, and after a good gamo victory rested with Wa'.kcr's team by 18 points to 16. The Zingari-RichmondClub held a practice match on Montecillo on Saturday. Over forty players wero in attendance, and the game was of a fast and interesting character. The Southern Club played a practice match on Saturday Probables v. the Rest of the Club, the former winning by 19 points to 3 points. The following team will represent the club a.gainst the Albion (Christchurch) at Carisbrook on Saturday nextr Backs : Clarke, Chambers, Casey, Stanley, Strang, Duncan, Irvine; forwards Willett, W. Foster, Allen, Le Brun, Casey, Leydea, Utsil,

Chnstaef emergencp _ back, Dray; fortfards—S. H. Alexander. The men art specialljjTWmested to meet at the Forbury-SchooT gyinnasium on Wednesday next.

• The held a very suocessfttl match at OpoFfgHp, at the conclusion of which the following'teams were selected to fulfil tie club's engagement* next Saturday s —Alhambra v. Merivale (Christchureh), at Caledonian Ground: L. M*Kay. G. Stephenson, W. Dacre, It. Bennett, J. Johnston, W. Dey, J. Knowles, A. Hobson, J. Mitchell, F. Given, D, O'Brien, 0. M'Kewen, J Connell, J Watson, T. Bond. Alhambra Second v. Pirates (Invercargill), at Invercargill: E. kimm. W; Wilkins, R. Heron, H. C.Quee, W. Coulter, S. Abrim, A, M'Ctdloch, J. Gillies, J. Ferens, W. Johnstone, E. Savers, J.. Clements, W. Dodds, S'. LarMna, J. Bamford. "The teams meet on Wednesday' evening at Albany street gymnasium.

PORT CHALMERS FOOTBALL CLUB. At the annual general meeting of the Port Chalmers Football Club Mr F. W. Platte presided. There was a record attendance of some fifty members, - ■ , - "-.' The report and balance-sheet for 1900 were" read and adopted. • ■ ■ . The Chairman congratulated the club on the great success of the past season, it being financially one of tho best-seasons of the Port Chalmers Football Club. The performances of the First.Fifteen were very satia* factory. He wag proud to say the Second had not been beaten during the season. The election of officers for 1901 resulted as follows: President, Mr E. G. Allen, M.H.R.; vioe-presidents—Messrs J. MS], J. Watson* W. Beck, F. W. Platts, N. Dodds, CapUiin Cameron, Dr Borric; hon. secretary and treasurer, Mr B. C. Tennent; • general committee—Messrs W. Facer, G.-Oashman, J. M'Queen, C. Braiihwaite, W. King, J. Foote; match committee—the captains of the First and Second teamß, Messrs W. J. Wilson, E. Smith,<and T. White : delegate to the 0.R.F.U., Mr W. J. Wilson. A special vote' of thanks was passed to the retiring, secretary (Mr J. R. Moore) for his valuable assistance to the club in the past.

A Wellington telegram states that at the Wellington Rugby Union's annual meeting on Saturday night'Mr J. P.-Firth was unanimously re-elected president and Mr J. M'Kenzie secretary. It was decided to donate £5 5s to the Queen's statue fund. It was also resolved that the Union be represented 'in the welcome to the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, either by making a display in tho procession or by erecting an arch.