Truth HANDS OFF!

NZ Truth, Issue 152, 16 May 1908, Page 4

Truth

HANDS OFF!

Published '^Eveby Saturday^ Mobnmo- at Luke's Lane (off maknebsstbeet), Wellington, N.Z. SUBSOBEPTION (IN ADVANCE), 13S. PEB ANKXJM. , SATURDAY, MAY 16, 1908.

This paper notes, \^ith some amount of misgiving, that the . Wellington City Council is, apparently, backing up the Wellington Rugby Union m its^ attempt to collar the whole of the valuable sports grounds within the Empire City and within easy distance of it, . for its own particular form of game, and warns the representatives of the people that m so doing they are playing with ©d'ged tools. . When the Wellington Rugby Union adopted the unsportsmanlike action • of outbidding other sports bodies for ttfie Miramar grounds, the Union was not, as is generally supposed, concerned about the increasing popularity of hockey, la crosse and Association football, but was more immediately concerned m regard to the return of the devotees of a rival ira-me— 'the Northern Ru-gby Union p •e.mfc— which, judging by attendances recorded ai the .m atches played m. Australia bids fair to oust Rugby from, its position as the winter game of the -New Zealand public. To prevent this interesting spectacular game obtainihf a foothold m Wellington, the Wellington Ru<*bv Union secured what they evid-entlv thought was the only ground available for the new' game, and did / not care a tinker's curse what? the. other sports might suffer, so long as Ruecbv remained top dog. But ths "kindred sports" hockey, la crosse and Assocition football have managed to make arrangements for the use of the Basin Reserve, Newtown Park, and the Athletic Park, and have been rewarded for their -efforts by weekly increasing attendances of the sportloving public, who are evidently getting tired and disgusted with the mutual admiration society wihich has for so 1 chip- mismanaged the affairs of the Wellington and New Zealand Rugby Union. In the meantime the Wellington Rug-by Union authorities have discovered that m transferring their matches to the Miram'ar grounds they have Mtte-n off more than they anticipated, with the result that the attendances, and consequently the receipts, m cash — that awful commodity which the Wellington Rugby Union , is supposed to love as dearly as his Satanic Majesty loves holy water—have not realised expectations. The mismanagement commitee, having come a cropper • also m their negotiations with the Athletic Park Conxpanv. and, noting I}he increasing popularity of rival games, are m a fearful -qiuandry, and feel that the returning Northern Union Rug-byites may secure the use of the grounds m the town, by amiable larrangement with the sports bedies, whom the Wellington Rugby Union have ridden rough-shod over, for a series of matches. Once the new gaifts gets a start here the cronk coons, who have for so long run the Wellington Rugby Union Mutual Admiration Society, know that their existence will be of short duration, as the public will go for the faster and more interesting Northern Union traxnc with the same keenness the New South Wales public -have -exhibited, notwithstanding the presence m the Dominion of a crowd of footballers from England. To prevent the returning New landers getting any ohance of securing a foothold and to enrich their own coffers with the cash ifhev so cordially hate, the Wellington Rugby Union management committee have approached the City Gouncil for permission to play five matches on the Basin Reserve and Newtown Park, and to charge an entrance fee. and though it is apparent that the latter condition cannot be granted, the City Council has gone out of its, way to endeavor to make an arrangement with the Athletic Park Company for the W.R.U. This paper strongly protests at the action of the City Council m lending assistance to the W.R.U. , who desire to dictate to the Wblling-ton public as to what kind of sport they must patronise, and who also desire to create a monopoly In the sports grounds of the city. But the most important factor, and one which cannot be overlooked is the •attenrpt of the W.R.U. to take away the people's rights m. their-, own property. The Basin Reserve and the Newtown Park, are the property of the citizens of Wellington, and nobody—no matter how rich, or how poor — applying for permission to lew a charge for entrance to these grounds should be tolerated an instant, and the City Council should have consigned' the application to the waste-paper basket. These grounds are the birthright of the Wellington citizens, and every child has the right to play thereon, and they who desire to take that right away should be severely plurrged on the nose at the first attempt. This paper is not concerned as to what sport is played on the city reserves, but it emphatically protests against the alienation of any of the citizen's rhriits, ami calls upon thn citizons themselves to preserve their rifht-s, otherwise we may here see what has

occurred with the common lands of England, which have, m many cases, been fenced m by adjoining landowners and ultimately the common people's birthrights have been filched from them. If the Wellington Rugby Union desire to charge a gate at their matches, let them do what has been done by the bowling clubs of Wellington — secure their own grounds — then they can do as they wish, but the public shoul-d not be called upon to surrender its rights m order to support a crowd of monopolists who desire to dictate to that public as to what sport they should patron-