The Conduct of Inquiries.

NZ Truth, Issue 130, 14 December 1907, Page 2

The Conduct of Inquiries.

In these clays of progress it is a strange tiling that racing clubs do not move forward at all and conduct their inquiries m a more business liX« -Qftnaer. Where, it is possible

at all an inquiry is dodged by the officials, but when the case is too strong and an inquiry is forced upon the officials it is usually conducted m a " very slip-shod manner and m camera. Evidence is: calledbut the accused person is not allowed to hear what is related agaiast him and the proceedings are generally led by some bush, lawyer who thinks he is clever and whose sole purpose is to put leading questions to the unfiortunate fytpfore him and get him to make damaging admissions. The next witness is then called and. the same process hurried through, and then the wiseacres quickly put their heads together and either dismiss the case or deal out suamnary justice. During the whole time the inquiry is going on the thought uppermost m the stewards' minds is how is the machine getting on and is the increase over last, year very great ? A meeting of stewards is one of the few tribunals, of public interest to which the press is not admitted. The racing clubs draw their support from the public, horse-; owners compete m events for prizes drawn from money supplied by the public, the totalisator is run on the public's money, and the public (and not the club) represent the people most vitally interested m an inquiry,since it is the ,pubHc's boodle that is on the non-trier or the bumped animal every time. Yet the public are carefully excluded, and the press, which is the mouthpiece of the pubr lie, is invited to remain outside. A laoing club, of all organisations, cannpt afford to lay itself open to the suspicion of. running things m a hole-and-corner manner, and as "Spearmint" has sufficiently demonstrated that the public should be taken into the confidence of the club m matters affecting the general in-r terest, it remains for some progressive racing- body to take the lead and issue special invitations to the newspaper reporters to be present at all inquiries touching protests and investigations instigated by the stewards into cronk- running. Such is done at one unregistered meeting m Perth, W.A., and it is something to reflect upon that a despised "out ot the fold" unregisteredi club should set other clubs such a noble example. ' ' /.