THE RACING COMMISSION.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVI, Issue XLVI, 28 June 1911, Page 3

THE RACING COMMISSION.

COMPLAINTS BY COUXTKY CLUBS. A CANDID CRITICISM, (United Pjresb Association.) OHRISTCH VitCtii Tuesday, Regarding the report of the Hating Commission; Air O. Hood-Williams, President of the C-'hristßhureh Racing •Club, tin it representative of sSvt?rnl country clubs on the Racing Conference, stated in an interview that be held no brief either for the metropolitan or country clubs, and the sole object of !iis remarks to follow Wa-s that iii his own opinion, it was iig| jfl the best interests of racing that the: Racing Commission, in dealing* with the subject of reducing the number of days' racing appeared tti havg paid tt>o much attention to the subject l)t reducing the number of days of couiitiy clubs, and too little to the possibility of giving fewer days' to the metropolitan t'lubd. All Will admit, he continued, that the metropolitan clubs have done yeoman service in conducting their affairs in such a maimer' that they ha-We L>o<?r enabled to give stakes which hO-t only encourage the breeders of romghbreds, but aiso to afford attraction and support of the general public and also enable powerful owners to win money to assist tt> iiiaintuih tlltfir large racing establishments. On the other hand there are owners and trainers possibly not so wealthy who own or train two or three horses, not fnst-clas s ones, and not equal to successfully coiupetc with the beforementioned large racing establishments, and hence these owners look to some extent to country race clubs to provide' them with stakes which will enable them to successfully conduct their calling. It must be admitted that the local owners of racehorses not first-class have not "Buckley's chance" of Winning races at metropolitan meetings, where the pick of the horses of the Dominion are gathered together, attracted by rich stakes which tho principal metropolitan clubs arc enabled to offer. Quoting from . the return of stakes paid by the eight metropolitan clubs of Auckland, Canterbury, Wellington. Hawke's Bay, Dunedin, Taranaki) Wanganui. and Greymouth. it will be found that they paid in stakes during the racing year of 29.10, the large sum of £107,700, but country clubs paid in stakes during the same period £lOl,128, and trotting clubs £41.©27. The total for Country i-acing clubs and trotting clubs combined wa s £142,775, and the.se (figures entitle the latter clubs to a more equitable adjustment, both in regard to their totalisator permits and in reference to the country clubs better representation Upon the Racing Conference. After referring to the recommendations of tho Commission a s to the days of racing and pointing out the difference between the number allotted to metropolitan and to country clubs he said thisapeparg to be not a fair proportion, a'nd he mav be allowed to express the opinion that it would have been a wiser and better policy had tb Racing Commissioners more fully considered the claim of clubs, more especially those which held only one day's meeting during each year. This certainly could have been done b3' further reducing the number of racing clays of the metropolitan club s and of the country racing clubs which are at present recommended for three days and up to fiv e days for the year's- racing.

The reason furnished by the Racing Commission for not' recommending the Christchiii-ch Racing Club for a totalisator permit, nam el v "■Contiguity two miles from the Ricenrton course," is not. in his opinion, n sound one. as the Christchurch Racing Club catered for a class of horse s which as a rule were not equal to successfully compete at meetings of the Jockey Club where horses came from all parts of New Zealand to fulfil their engagements.

A PAHIATUA PROTEST. THE LOSS OF THE TOTALISATOR LICENSE. PAHIATUA, Wednesday. ■A meeting of the Pahiatua Racing Ulub oonsijieired the .recommendations of th,o Racuncr Commission, that no totalisator license be issued' to Pa'hiatua. Strong n-rotests were mad,© 'bv irvembe-rs at Pahiatua being deprived of a, meeting, while smaller centres retained theirs. .Stress was laid on the fact that the c]ub possessed one of the best and safest freehold- courses in. New Zealand. It was resolved to confer with the' Woodvil.le Club, with which the Pahiatua Club is recommended to coalesce, to see- if it could be arranged to hold one meeting a year at Pahiatua and one at Woodville.

It is rather disquieting to learn that out of fifty pigs which wert reeentlj- slaughtered at the "Wanganui f'reezi'ncr works, only thirteen were suitable foj- export, the remainder heingr mor" or less affected with überculosis.

The auxiliary steamer Nimrod, owned by Sir Ernest Shackleton, C.V.0.. and used by him for his An-iareti-e expedition of 1908-1909, has been sold in England to a British firm, and will now be used for commercial purposes. This vessel, which is 334 gross, wa s built at Dundee in 18G6 as a whaler. She was offered by auction in December last, and withdrawn at £2975, the reserve price having been fixed at £3O-00.

In connection with the Marsden centenary, the lie v. J. King Davis writes as follows to the Auckland "Herald":—"The Eev. Samuel Marsden sent Messr s Hall and Kendall on a preliminary visit to the Bay of Islands about the middle of 1814. In the last .part of the year h e made his first visit, and the first mission station was formed at Oi'hi. There he left not only Messrs Hall and Kendall, but also Mr. King—each with his family. Sooner or later the first and second of these missionaries left New Zealand. Mr. King- remained to the end of his life. His grave is in his family burial-plot, not far from the Marsden Cross. Yet his name is not mentioned in (he historical account printed annually in the New Zealand Year Book. Hitherto I have refrained fi\,ni drawing- attention publicly to the imperfection of Ihe Government record. The doing of good work is thp essential thing* not, its be rag published abroad. And T believe that Mr. King would have said: 'Better so. . . . Let. it be.' JJut. now thai the Marsden centenary in 1011 is so near, it, seems time that the account was made complete "