LAND & WATER.

Otago Witness, Issue 1856, 17 June 1887, Page 23

LAND & WATER.

On Saturday night, at the Exhibition, we (Sportsman) had a little talk with Mr W. G. George, the English champion, as to his intentions in regard -to the offer from "A Native Youth" to take 100 yds in a mile for £100 a-side. Mr George says he doesn't quite see it. There is no reason why he should make a match in the dark, and he don't want to throw a hundred away. "Why," he added, "there is no reason why there should not be as good mile runners in Australia as in any par* of the world. I have a young brother who can break 4min 30seo very easily at any time, and I know there are some of your runners who can come a long way inside of that. Let us say, for example, that v . A Native " can do the mile in 4min 25sec ; I have to give him 100 yds, which is equivalent to, say, llsec. That will leave me just 4min 14sec to run a dead heat with him, and I shall have to break that to beat him. Yes, if you remember, my record time is 4min 12f sec, so that you see it leaves me very little margin for condition." "But would you entertain any proposal for a match ?" . " Yes, anything that was at all fair. But let " Native " come forward and show himself. I don't mind conceding 50yds, but even that I consider a little too much for some of your runners." In answer to a remark that a good many people thought he was "on the briny" by that time, Mr George said he had missed the boati but should go on very shortly. Scott has repeated his challenge to Captain Cotton for a 24 houis' walk on the same terms as the last, but the captain has declined to walk him again at present. He is suffering from an attack of sciatic:*.

The lacross matchat Tahuna Parkon Saturday afternoon was certainly the moat keenly contested of any the Dunedin Club has yet played. M'Kerrow and Trythall captained the respective s'des, and as the members all round worked well together and showed a very marked improvement in their play, a brilliant and exciting game, which ended in a tie, both sides winning three goals, was the result. For M'Kerrow's side, he himself scored one goal, Grant and C. Wilson the other two; and for Trythall's side, Borrows secured two goals and Armstrong the other one.

An Auckland telegram states that a punt race for £60 a side and the championship of Northern Wairoa was rowed on Saturday last on the Northern Wairoa river between A. White (of Mercury Bay), the champion, and H. Brown. White took the lead soon after the start and maintained it to the finish, winning easily by four lengths. A Wellington Press Association telegram states that at a meeting held on Wednesday to consider the question of sending Hearn to New South Wales to compete in the Champion Sculling Sweepstakes, it was decided to raise subscriptions, so that New Zealand might be represented. One speaker intimated that in order to show that Wellington did not wish to force Hearn on the colony as their representative, he would guarantee £100 towards a sweepstakes to be rowed here, so that whoever won it would be sent to represent the colony.

A public meeting, called by the mayor, was to bp held in Wellington on Wednesday night to consider the necessary steps to send Hearn, the champion sculler of New Zealand, to Sydney to take part in the world's sculling races to be held there in January. At a meeting of the Otago Institute, Mr Muret gave a lengthy description of the oar which he has recently patented, a sample of which he exhibited. We have already described the new oar. The inventor credits it with many advantages over the ordinary style of rowing. A short discussion took place about the apparatus, the inventor being generally complimented on its ingenuity. It was decided that a practical tost should be made of it.

The B Battery was inspected by Lieutenantcolonel Wales on the Bth inst., when the parade state was— l captain, 2 lieutenants, 6 sergeants, 1 bugler, and 42 men; total, 52. Lieutenant-colonel Wales complimented the corps on the state of the arms and the appearance of the men. After inspection the corps was marched out and put through a number of movements.