THE ANGLG-WEISHERS.

NZ Truth, Issue 165, 15 August 1908, Page 5

THE ANGLG-WEISHERS.

THEIR PRANKS AT PALMERS-

TON NORTH.

How "Gaily" Splashed the Spons About.

His Gallant Slide Down a Pile.

/It will, of course, be put down as a piece of presumptuous and unpardonable and likewise impudent impertinence on the, part of a paper of "Truth's" stamp to poke its nose, figuratively speaking, into the financial affairs of that honorable amateur sporting body, now being cursed on all sides and known as the New Zealand Rugby. Union. Moreover, when football matters are discussed: m these sacred columns, it is generally' left m the hands of ojur football critic, who has the best part of a whole page to express, his opinions candidly, without fear or favor. Be that, however, as it may, the NiZ.R.U. just now looms large m the Rugby football world, not because it is alleged to control Rugby m this. Dominion, but mainly because of its plutocracy. It is qluite a wealthy body. No one who is vulgar or merely commonplace is suffered to demur one second to anything the "tail," i.e., Dhe Management Committee, may happen to do, and should any portion of the public or the press attempt to .even mildly suggest that the said Management Committee or any member thereiOf is attempting to, or is riding the high horse, both -public and press are cordially invited -to sojourn m Hell. Now, there is no personal element whatever creeping into the few terse remarks "Truth" is presently offering, but as it is "public money that is. maintaining the . game pi Rugby m New Zealand, .and as the public are rightly entitledj,to know the financial result of the recent, tour of the AngloWelshing , team 1 , it will be awaited, with .great interest. It is almost unnecessary to remind ; the reader that an alleged team of British footballers were a short time ago gallivanting .through the Dominion, being badly walloped here and there and occasionally scoring .'. a win to which no particular merit ' was attached. Kight cheerfully m most instances did the fool public pay the exorbitant charges made for admission. In one or two. centres there was : certainly a vigorous kick against turning sport into a business, and though those protests awakened many to * the sordid greediness of the ■ . ; . . n.z.r.u., ' . „ ; the latter having' the thickest end of the stick/ generally carried the day, though, We it said, a warm time was promised foe those responsible ' When the Rugby cockatoos got together -m their annual {.'magging" match. What will' happen at: the next annual meeting, of the N.Z.R.U. is. of course, jus£ at present hard to, anticipate. Poor, old "Truth," like a wearied and worried Titan; has been barracking all it knew against the mob. m "office," and it is just now. something of a relief to find that other newspapers m the Dominion are, m modified and more respectable tones, repeating all that this paper has said, costing us as it did, the few, paltry bob the N-Z.R.U. might have spent m advertising- m our valuable ' columns. We, however, digress. We remarked that a team of British footballers were recently m our midst: Certainly they did not" cover themselves m glory; Everywhere they went they made ignoble names for themselves, and it was only at the moment of their departure, when one or 'more tumbled from an ocean-going steam.er, that the press gave the matter veiled 'publicity, and veiled as it was, the public was quick enough to divine that v the gallant, lady-killing, andMn some Vespects hard-drinking and hoodlum-like 'British toeballers were far from being the perfect gentlemen they were proclaimed to be. f Now that . the Britishers have gone, and not likely to return, tongues are becoming loosened, the truth is being told, and if it is to be told right here, the name of British footballer stinks m. the nostrils ; of many a New Zealand gentleman, who, with courteous and manner, and acting as representatives of many a New Zealand provincial union, set out to treat the Anglo-Welshers as gentlemen, only to find, too late, that he had offered hospitality, real colonial, and therefore genuine, hospitality,' to ■ ' " \ . MONGRELS, SNOBS, CADS AND CURS generally. Now, we have to go no further, than Palmerston \ North to prove what we have here written, and if ttae N.Z.R.U. are prepared to take up the cudgels on behalf of its . imported cads and snobs, '"Truth" will be only too willing to substantiate all it has said, and, what is mote, it will prove some iMrigs which for the sake of a number of allegedly . respectable young females of Wellington and other parts of New Zealand, ought not to be mentioned. "Truth," however, will, content itself with ttiis one remark : Whether the Anglo-Welshers were chr.ste or not while ip. New Zealand, they certainly were chased by young girls m "New Zealand, who followed the team around like "garrison hacks" hanging on to a marching regiment of soldiers. Enough of that, anyhow. Last week this paper, m its usual, frank, style, made mention - of , the fact that at Palmerston North the team had a jolly fine time of it altogether, and' as the treasurer, the "'honorarium" treasurer, Mr Neil Galbraith, was honoring the team with his august presence, that fact no doubt m itself was accepted as a guarantee that all was fair, square and above board. Need we here discuss the fact that at the hotel where the merry, rollicking, hail-fellow-well-met crew of Rugby experts stayed, they behaved like wild animals and treated, the various servants as dogs, or worse ? Need we also remark "that they hit things up m great and glorious style, as Mr Publican Devine's bill amply testifies ? It is unnecessary to remark that things were done m style. "Gally's" washing bill' came to eight bob, . and we also find that several of the Anglo-Welshers' boots were, mended or something of that sort), and the N.Z.R.U. stands Sam. What a. glorious thing it must be to be a British footballer ! they're so superiah, dpneherknow to the New Zealander, who is grudged a lemon at half-time lest he. should impair his amateur status. But this is not all. When the British footballer wants beer or stout, pints don't suit him. Bless your simple heart, gentle reader, he ; wants quarts to comfort him on a train journey, and even then it was m such large quantities that it had to be PRACTICALLY SMUGGLED INTO THE TRAIN. There were "lashuns" of beer, as contained m Mr Devine's account. It was beer at the beginning and beer at the end, for [ was not "Beer, Mr Hairnett," "Beer, Mr Jones," "Beer, Mr Williams, V .set forth at sixpence a time. Why weren't they satisfied with a fourpenny pot? "Truth" would give half its worldly possessions to have just a peep at the pub accounts that have been rendered to the N.Z.R.U. for the British bull-dogs and beer-chewers. It would also like to make a comparison and see if other representatives of the N.Z.R.U. travelling assort oi male chaperons to the Britishers were half as lavish with the N.Z.R.U.'b cash as warf Mr Neil Galbraith at Palmerston North. As treasurer of this pot-bellied body, Mr N. Galbraith, we 'presume, will account to the Union, when things are squared up, and the item, "£4, Gratuities to Servants," written on Devine's bill by Galbraith, and certified to by GaJbraith, as being ; correct, will be, satisfactorily explained. Perhaps the servants so liberally tipped at Palmerston North deserved it ; m fact, they do, if what "Truth" hears is correct. Of course, the N.Z.R.U. can afford the four quid ; it has money to burn, though it prefers, uncle-like, to lend it out at 4 per cent. Still, "Gaily" has been making a hero ,of himself. We would all be heroes if we Were so placed that we could tip servants to the extent of £4, particularly if it did not come out of

our own pockety. "Truth" has not much more to say, excepting this : If the exorbitant charges for admission made at the various inter-national football matches were to meet I/he heavy expenditure incurred m , importing a team of British footballers,' and if the said expenditure m the ; main goes m buying QUARTS OP BEER, AND TIPS TO SERVANTS, then, for heaven's sake let the English footballer^ remain m England or .Wales, where he isn't much class at any time. And, as the Otago Rugby Union on Monday night carried a motion to the effect, "That it be a suggestion to the managers of football teams that liquor be not tak- ; en into railway carriages," it is to be trusted that the swilling of swipes" m jrailway carriages will be prohibited. . It is, however, sad to relate, a sorry precedent that the. Anglo-Welshers have set. They smuggled theirs aboard after the Palmerston North stationmaster had declined to allow it on the train. Reverting once more to the Auckland wharf incident, "Truth" confesses that hitherto it has done Mr Galbraith a great injustice. It accused him of ever posing m the limelight and of seeking the puff par. m the daily paper. Let the ■ truth out. No paper m New Zealand has told it, and we have to go all the way to Sydney to learn that when two or three men had dived m after Down, "Mr Galbraith, of the New Zealand Union, who slid dovra a pile, states that there was a third man m the water m a bad way." Hail Columbia ! Likewise, Hail "Gaily" ! So he slid down a pile. What a daring attempt at rescue. Singular, though, isD't it, that the New Zealand press failed to give "Gaily" his due. "Truth" has, and as a sort of affectionate farewell, it here desires to know if the N.Z.R.U. are payirg Mr Vassall's board and lodgings during his prolonged stay m Wellington. Why isn't he over m Australia showing Australians what an Oxford three-quarter is capable of doing I

erts asked Mrs Quinn if Mrs Hooper had SAID THAT MRS ROBERTS WAS A