ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. NOTES BY FORWARD. LOCAL CLUB MATCHES. THE VISIT FROM NELSON POSTPONED. HIGH SCHOOL v. OTAGO. WAITAKI HIGH SCHOOL v. OTAGO HIGH SCHOOL. SATURDAY'S MATCHES. INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE. SOUTHLAND NOTES, OAMARU NOTES. THE ENGLISH TOUR.

Otago Witness, Issue 1918, 24 August 1888, Page 26

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT.

NOTES BY FORWARD.

LOCAL CLUB MATCHES.

THE VISIT FROM NELSON POSTPONED.

HIGH SCHOOL v. OTAGO.

WAITAKI HIGH SCHOOL v. OTAGO HIGH SCHOOL.

SATURDAY'S MATCHES.

INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE.

SOUTHLAND NOTES,

OAMARU NOTES.

THE ENGLISH TOUR.

Oapxaim writes :—" A player having touched down proceeds to take the ball out to place it, makes his mark on the goal line, and afterwards touohes the ball on the goal line. Should the kick at goal be allowed or not ? " There is no reason why the kick should not be allowed.

The very sad news of the drowning of Mr Seddon, the captain of the English football team, was received in Dunedin, and indeed, I am sure, all over the colony, with the utmost regret. Mr Seddon was a quiet, unassuming fellow, and a splendid footballer, who was respected and liked by all who knew him. His death will cast quite a gloom over the team for the rest of the trip, and his loss will also be much felt in the remaining matches to be played, for he was one of the best forwards, and an excellent captain. The Obago Rugby Union, I notice, acted in a very nice manner in cabling over a message of condolence to Mr Lilly white immediately on receipb of the sad news.

The telegram announcing the accident ran as follows: — "Mr Seddon, the captain of the English football team, was drowned in the Hunter river at Maitland this afternoon. He had gone out rowing in an outrigger, which capsized with him, and before assistance could be rendered he sank. In consequence of bis death the match arranged to take place to-morrow between the English team and the Northern District has been postponed." A day or two af terwftds news of the funeral was received. The message was as follows : — " Mr Seddon, the late captain of the English football team, was buried at Maitland yesterday. The ceremony was of an imposing ' character. A fund has been started with the object of placing a memorial stone over his grave." The match between Obago and Southland, which is to take place at the beginning of September, is now commencing to attract attention. Otago will not have so strong a team as she had against the Natives. Eeogh's absence will be felt, as there are no really first-class half backs left in Otago now. Treseder will probably play for Southland. He is residing there now, and has resigned his position on the committee of the O.R F U. M'Farlane, of the Union Club, a well-known interprovincial forward, is the latest emmigrant. He left Dunedm for the colonial Eldorado last week, so Melbourne has robbed us of yet another of our good players. Warbricks native football team sailed from Melbourne for England in the Cuzco on the 18 bh inst.

The English team defeated Brisbane on Monday by 23 points to 9. " Whistle," in the Southern Standard, says :, — " I hear that it is freely asserted in Invercargill that a certain footballer has his place booked in the Southland Fifteen, not b. cause of his ability as a player, but because he will make -a good captaiu. This no doubt should have a certain amount of weight were no other man capable of filling the position; butwhatabout the ability as captains of, for .instance, Harry Treseder or Aleck 3albraith? Both are sure to be in the team, bar accidents."

" Goal Post," in the Cromwell Argus, has the' following remarks:— "At "a meeting of the match committee of the Cromwell Football Club held on Thursday evening last, it was unanimously resolved to appoint Mr W. W. Mackio captain of that club in place of Mr J. Harvey, who has left the district.— On Saturday last, on the Cromwell football gr'onnd, a scratch match was played, Bides being picked by Messrs A. D. Thomson and W. W. Mackie ; the game resulting in a win for Thomson's team by eight points to four. — The following team has been selected to play against the Bannockburn Football Club on Saturday first on the hitter's ground : — Full back, E. Jolly; three-quarter backs, A. D. Thomson, H. Wise, J. Swan ; half backs, W. t Jolly, J. Stenhouse ; forwards — M. Ritchie, J. Ritchie, W. W. Mackie (captain), J. Harvey, M. Fierce, J. Perriam, A. Murrell, J. Cahill, and L.

.Hartley; emergencies — H. Cameron, W. Mitchell, W. Solomon, and H. Solomon. — The members of the Bannockburn Football Club will, I hear, turn up for practice on their own- ground on j Thursday afternoon at 4 o'clock, when tho team to be pitted against the Cromwell footballers in the return match will be selected." A match was played at Wyndham on Saturday between junior teams representing Wyndham and Menzies Ferry. Wyndham was represented by Messrs Duncan, Hay, J. Davey, Woods, M'Kay, C. Pratt (captain), Nutsford, Traynor and Dempster ; the Menzies Ferry champions being: Messrs J. Shields (captain), Blackley, T. Ayson, W. Ayson, Stauntou, Young, Branigan t Dempster, and Muir. It will be seen that the teams did not play the orthodox fifteen. At the conclusion of the gamethe scores were : Wyndham, five points ; Menzies Ferry, one point; Wyndham thus winning by four points. It was generally thought' that Wyndham would have no show at all. Messrs H. W. Hilton and W. J. Pratt acted as umpires, and gave every satisfaction. The passing of the Wyndham boys was very good. The secretary of the Alhambra Club writes :— " In reading to-night's Star of the report of the match between the Caversham First and the Alhambra Second it states that both teams played short. This is incorrect, as the Cversham played with afteen and the Alkambra with ten in the first spell and nine in the second, owing to one of them receiving an injury. I presume the same report was sent in to your office, and if it is not too laije to kindly mention the above in the report you will greatly oblige." I would respectfully draw the attention of Dunedin clubs to the remarks cited below regarding the question of taking the ball out of the scrum when the game stops. The practice prevails here to an undue extent, and I think I have before referred to it. The North Otago Times says :— " The Oamaru Football Club's Second Fifteen and the Excelsior Football Club met in what was supposed to be friendly rivalry yesterday afternoon, and the Blues were defeated by two tries to one. The game, which would have been more interesting had there been less inclination to squabble, was played in spells of 45 minutes, and was fairly fast. Oam&ru won the toss, and Jones kicked off. The Blues immediately rushed the ball up and scored before the Yellows were well aware that the game had started. After some smart play Murdoch scored for Oamaru, and half-time found the scores equal. In the second spell, especially towards the end, the Blues had the best of the game, and would have scored had there been less individual and more concerted play, but the only score was got by Cork, for Oamaru, after a smart run. For the winners, M'Laren, Murdoch, Jones, Smith, and Cork ; and for the losers, Lawson, M'Dowell, Proctor, and Holt rendered good service. In connection with Oamaru football there are one or two little matters of football etiquette, the strict observance of which would make the game more enjoyable fou players and officials. The rules of the game recognise no such articles as " umpire's ball," and unless it is absolutely necessary to remove it, the ball should remain in the scrummage — that is, after the game has been suspended by the referee as dangerous — unless, of course, either side may be taking unfair advantage. Umpires' and referees' duties are strictly defined, but players often appear not to understand them., Umpires are not to interfere in the game unless appealed to. The referee stops the game if in his opinion it is dangerous to allow it to proceed. If a player appeals for an infringement of the rules, the umpire, if he allows the appeal, ■ raises his stick. If the referee endorses, he blows the whistle, and the game stops; but if both nags are raised, the referee is without alternative, and must blow his whistle, no matter what his opinion may be.

The season for club matches is now practically at an end, and all interest that remains regarding what matches may yet be played is very small indeed. The season has been a good deal cut up in consequence of the visits of the English and Native teams, and on that account the Kaikorai team have to thank their stars, for it is more than probable that with their two best backs away they would have suffered one or two defeats towards the end of the season had matches against some of the leading clubs, been played. Still they have played consistently all through, and though their lisb of matches is a very short one, it is certainly a very creditable one, for they have not lost a single match. The position in which the principal clubs now stand is: — Kaikorai (no defeats) ... ... 1 Zingari-Richraond (two defeats) ... 2 Dunedin (three defeats) ... ... 3 Union (three defeats) ... ... 4 University (three defeats) ... ... 5 The last three clubs it will be seen come out equal in the li&t of matches, but the Dunedin Club heads the list in the scoring by points, while the Union Club comes nexb. The Union Club, fourth on the list this year, was at the top of the tree last year.

The Nelson Union have definitely decided not to send a team South this year. Mr Ross has shown me a letter from the secretary of that union in which he expresses regret at their inability to do so. " Unforeseen circumstances," he writes, " have cropped up, rendering it quite impracticable to get anything like a representative team away. It has been decided to postpone the tour until the early part of next season." Regarding the South Island match, the letter proceeds as follows : — " Referring to the latter portion of your letter, I have been requested by my committee to thank your for your consideration in offering to allow us to be represented in the South Island Anglo-Colonial match. They will gladly avail themselves of your offer and can send one or two really good men — a forward and a three-quarter back. The latter is a really first-class man (Harper), and he would, I am sure, be an acquisition to any team."

The following will probably constitute the team, High School Past and Present, which is to play against the rest of Otago at an early date : —

Full back— C S Haggitfc (School) ; three-quarters— J Thomson (University), R Hendrie (School), J Mill (Dunedin)j halves— W Cran (School), O Fulton (Dunedin) ; forwards— Morrison » f School), Montgomery (School), Hunter (Dunedin). Stephenson (Dunedin), Ma:tin (Duiiedin), A Morris (Pirates), P Morris (Pirates), Webb (Zingari-Kichmond), and Torrance (University).

This team is of coarse only 'approximately correct, but I think it will not be altered to any great extent. It will be noticed that the Dunedin Club contributes no fewer than five of the above-named players.

A football match was played on the Carisbrook ground on Monday afternoon between a fifteen from the Waitaki High School and the second fifteen of the Ofcago High School, and. resulted in a victory for the loca} team by 5

points to 0. Shortly after the , kick-off the Waitaki team made the best of the play, but the Otago boys replied with one or two good dribbling rushes, and for some timo the play became fairly even. The Obago team once or twice assailed their opponents' lines, but they were prevented from scoring till just about; a second before time, when the ball was dribbled over the line and secured by Butement. A neat goal was placed from the try. On changing ends the school at once rushed the ball up the field, and before half a minute had elapsed Fitchett had scored a second trj. No goal was placed from, this try, and the score stood — Otago, 3 points ; Waitaki, 0. The visitors then offered a stubborn resistance to the dashes of their opponents, and played in a most plucky manner. They were, however, at a disadvantage in having several very young playets in their team, and the heavy ground also told against them, so that all their efforts to score were unavailing. The School (Otago), however, were not to be denied, and a fine dribbling rush ended in Butement scoring another try. This was the last score, and the game'ended in favour of the Otago team by a goal and two tries to nothing. The match was played from beginning to end in a most chivalrous manner and there was an entire absence of disputation. Indeed, in this respect some of the older clubs might very well take a lesson from the boys. Among the visitors Gifford (captain), Stuart, Sumpter, Borrie, and Menlove, played aboat the best, while on the other side Morris, Fitchett, Butement, Herd, Firth, Boyd, and Ritchie did the best work. Messrs Fisher and A. Y. Smith umpired, and Mr M. Ross acted as referee.

HIGH SCHOOL V. DUNEDIN..

The match Dunedin v. High School was played on the Caledonian ground, and resulted ia a victory for the " dark blues " by two tries to nil. The match, owing to the nature of the ground, was chiefly confined tc the forwards 1 Some good back play was, however, shown on occasions. In the first spell Sonntag got over the line, and in the second spell Hnnter obtained a try. For the .School, Gillies (2), Owen, Cray, Montgomery, Campbell, Webster, M'Brearty, and Gibson played well. For the Dark Blues, Fulton (3), Harper, Mill, Wright, Hunter, Fache, Carter, Smith, Turton, and Martin (2) played well. Next Saturday — no trial match taking place — the Dunedin meet the Montecillo on the Caledonian ground. PIRATES V. ZINGARI. Saturday saw the return match between the Pirates and the Zingari-Richmond First Fifteens, in which, after an exciting struggle, victory crowned the efforts of the Colours. Esquilant won the toss aud defended the southern goal, and Drabble kicked off for the Pirates. After some play a scrum was formed close to the Pirate's' corner flag. The ball slipped out at the side and Proctor rushed it, evaded Cottrell's grasp, and fell over the line, scoring the only try gained throughout the, match. The kick at goal went wide. The game which followed was exciting, but pressure on our space prevents our giving a report of the many incidents. In the second spell Treston, for the Zingari-Richmond, dribbled over the line, but the greasy ball eluded not only his attempts to fall on it but also several others, until it was kicked out of bounds. Shortly afterwards A. Morri", for the Pirates, had an almost similar experience. He dribbled over, bnt the ball slipped away when he fell on it. Brodrick and Duncan ponnced on it; the umpires differed, but the referee gave it as " Colours' ball." The four brothers Morris, Buckland, and Drabble played well for the losers, and Treston, Wales, Duncan, and Dunn were most conspicuous for the winners. Messrs Rattray, Fleming, and Marchbanks watched the interests of fair play, but did not seem to have much trouble, as the game was most friendly. Brodrick got a nasty sprain in the second spell, but managed to continue playing. UNION V. UNIVERSITY. The match Union v. University came off at Tahuna Park under somewhat unfavourable circumstances, and resulted in a win for the Union by_ one try to ml. Good play was impossible owing to the state of the ground, which was covered with pools of water. To such an extent was this the case that if a player happened to get down in a scrum he only emerged in a half-drowned condition. Milne won the toss and Wright kicked off for the Union. After some play Tattersall came out of a scrum with the ball at his toe and gained a well-earned try. Gordon took the place and made a good attempt considering the state of the leather. On changing ends the ball hovered about the centre for some time, and Thomson, Cook, and Reid did some useful work for the Blues, as did Bee and Walls for the Reds. The Union then forced the 'Varsity down repeatedly, and Mackenzie, Gordon, and Wright crossed the line, but the tries were disallowed, and perhaps the wettest game ever witnessed about Dunedin ended as above. For the 'Varsity, Fooks and Cantrell played well, as did Mackenzie (late of Hawke's Bay) and Tattersall for the Union. WELLINGTON MATCHES. A Wellington telegram states that in the match for the championship between the Athletics and Poneke's senior teams the Ponekes won by 1 point to nothing. Wellington beat the Union team by 7 points to 1 point.

The members of the International Football Board, who meet annually to review and alter the laws of the Association gnme, sat at the Wynnstay Arms Hotel, Wrexham, on June 25, the meeting lasting several hours. A number of the rules were altered with the view of assimilating the laws of the several associations in the four countries, but only a few of these corrections were important. Rule 11 as revised now stipulates thai if bars or studs on the soles or heels of the boots are used they shall not project more than §in, and shall have all their fastenings driven in flush with the leather bars, shall be transverse and flat, not less than l£in in length and |in in width. Studs shall be round in form, not less than §in in diameter, and in no case conical or pointed. With reference to the disputed points as to whether a ball which crosses the line in the air is in play or not the board decided that such a ball shall be considered out of play.

The match Town v. Country was played here on Saturday, and resulted in walkover for the Town "reps," their score at the call of time being four goals and five tries to nil. Such a, licking was nob anticipated by the countrymen ; indeed, several of the country scribes almost anticipated a win for their men. It is only fair to the losers to state that three of their best men, in the- persons of A. and F. Wallis and W. Hirst, were unable to play, while the Town were without the services of Ekensteen and A. Galbraith. The play of the. winners conld hardly be well gauged owing to their easy victory, but Treseder, P. Cuff, M'Loskey, and Hope were the most prominent. Dagger and Thompson were the best of. the' losers. M'Phereon did a lot of running, . bnt.it was principally across the ground, and consequently of not maoh service to his.side., . './■.•.'

A writer in a local paper makes the following comments on the trial match which will be of interest to Otago readers at the present juncture :—": — " The halves could not have been improved upon much for stopping rushes or for collaring ; but my idea is, and always will be, that a really good half must think more of passing—and do more— to his three-quarters than* of trying a short run (for " short" only ib almost invariably is), even though there is a touch of "pluck" about ir, from a spectatorial point. of view. ErffO, the halves should pass more. Another matter they were deficient in was judgment in throwing in from the line-out — too frequently the ball was taken by the "other feller." The three-quarters did good work. M'Master, a Star man, has a lot of dash, and is an improving player. R. Galbraith (captain), in the centre, proved a wily general ; and although he has lost the dash which made him famous in days of yore, his sound judgment proved of great service. Maepherson played by far his best game tbis season, collaring in good style, cutting off opposing passes, and making the longest run of the day. A. Wallis' tackling was superb, and brought him into prominence as a likely candidate as the ' union's fullback. Dagger shone conspicuously as the leading Colours' forward, and is almost a • moral ' for the team, in his present form ; next to him came Dalton, Stewart, Murphy, Brownley, and Jenkins. C. Cuff displayed plenty of vim in loose play, bub shirked the scrums in the second spell. An Otago interprovincial veteran, in the person of Quintin M'Kinnon, was among the Colours' forwards ; but old Mac's day has passed, and he did not last very long. For the Blacks, Harry Treseder played a game that was worth copying by less experienced men— his was by far the best forward play on either side ; Ekensteen and Twemlow seconded him well. E. Hawke was a iagrant delinquent at ' offside.' A. Tapper (half) was as hard.as nuts, and fed freely and with judgment, also cutting off passes quickly. The three-quarters were Fred Wallis, W. Hawke, and De Joux. The Gore man had few shows. W. Hawke tried kicking principally, and was not too expert. De Joux made a number of very smart runs, and certainly played the best 'of the three. Arnett (full back) had very little to do. Up to 3.45, when the country contingent had to cease play, the score was in favour of the Colours by six points (potted goals by P. Cuff and M'Master) to two (tries by Treseder and A. Tapper). The Blacks (thanks to their forwards) had the best of the game. The Colours were forced down many times, and were penned in their twentyfive territory a good deal in the second spell. The ultimate fifteen is a very open choice yet, especially as regards backs. I would advise my constituents to keep in form, for they still have a big say in the matter — judging from last Saturday's exhibition. Unlike my fellow-scribe 1 Goal Post,' I oeg to differ from his opinion that there is * only one (Dagger) from Gore who stands a show of getting into the^ interpro. Brace up, ye countrymen, for next' Saturday, and let the Match Committee see what stuff ye . are made of !"

The football match between the Excelsior, First and the Oamaru Second was played on Thursday, 16th inst., on the North road cricket ground. The weather was fine, and consequently there was a satisfactory attendance, with a good sprinkling of the fair sex, Mr W. Whyte and Mr R. Hewat were the respective umpires, while Mr Forbes was referee. The following were the teams : — Excelsior (Blue-and-black).— Full back-J Holt; three-quarter backs— W J Jones. (caotaiti), W Lawson, W Alexander ; halfbacks — It Hood, 0 Proctor; forwards — J Miller, R Mahan, J Church, J M'Laren, V France, B M'Dowell, T M'Ghie, A Grave, C Ogilvie. Oamaru ( Yellow-and-black).— Full back— M'Niel ; three-quarter backs— A Jones, J Weir, H Thomas ; half backs— W Proctor. W F Cork ; forwards— J Patterson, J Wilding, J M'Laren, J Miller (captain), H Grenfell, L.Snow, A Murdoch, E lane, J Every. Miller winning the toss, Jones kicked off at 3.30. The Excelsiors by fast following up spoilt the return kick, and M'Ghie scored near the corner flag in about three-quarters of a minute's time, amid loud cheering. Jones took the kick but failed. From the kick-out the play was pretty even, and about half-time Murdoch scored for the Yellows, making the score even. The ball being put into play again, the Blue-and-blacks by some, good loose play took the ball on to the Oamaru goal line, and would mostcertainly have scored but for the persistent habit of Patterson and others lying on the ball. After some time the Yellows cleared their line, and Cook eluding the Blues' backs, scored behind the posts. H. Thomas made a miserable attempt with the kick. Time was soon afterwards called, with the play in neutral territory. The Excelsiors had the best of the game from start to finish, their play being much admired. The latter team averaged about 10 5 to their opponents 12.0. For the winners, H. Thomas, McLaren, and Murdoch played well ; and for the losers, Holt, Lawson, Alexander, Miller, Mahan, and McGhie played splendidly. The - umpires and referee gave unanimous satisfaction to all concerned. Judging from their present form and team the Excelsiors will certainly have the crack junior team here next season. The Timaru .First play the return match with the Oamaru First on Wednesday, 22nd inst. The Oamaru Second meet the Athletic Second on Thursday, 23rd inst., when the latter are expected to win. The Excelsior Second journey to Otepopo on the same day to play the school there. Marvellous Melbourne takes three of the Athletics' First Fifteen next week. Half Back.

REPORTS IN THE HOME PAPERS. THE OTAGO MATCHES.

This regarding the first match in Otago : — " The game is said to be in every way the best ever played in Obago. The running of the Colours was excellent, bub the smartness and judgment with which they passed was even more marked. Their kicking was not first-class, but they ure expected to improve ia this valuable department. They lasted splendidly, and finished quite as strong as when play began. They watched their men like the proverbial cat watches the mouse, and when they collared they made just about as sure of their man as a wolf makes of a defenceless lamb. Anderton (left side three-quarter) was about the most prominenb. He was fast, strong, and neat. Stoddart was also brilliant, and even stronger than Anderton. Speakman kicked well ; Bumby and Nolan did , good service. They relied more on passing than running. Thomson did the best work for O bago. From the kick-off the Englishmen indulged in a little -off-side play. This feature characterises their game,' only they do it so smartly as frequently not to be detected." Regarding the second match the following appears: — "The Englishmen therefore won a grandly contested game by four points against three. They had no easy task, and had it not been for the accident to an opponent, matters would have gone hard with them. Anderton played the beat game for them, his runs especially being invaluable, Stoddart, Nolan,

Paul, and Haslam all did good work. Keogh, for Ofcago, played the best game on thegroui.d. He ran, kicked, and 'passed grandly. Morrison, Lynch, and Thomson (until- he vy/is hurt) ably backed up Keogh." -' ' The gpeoial correspondent of the London' Sporting Life writes as -follows regarding the concluding act of the second match ENGLISHMEN V. CANTERBURY. " Eagles, Seddon, and Thomas dribbled the ball back to the centre, and Bumby getting hold of it travelled as far as the Reds' twenty-five, where he was collared. After more scrummages, the ball was taken nearly under Canterbury's bar. Paul had a flying shot, which was sot straight enough. Then Speikman also kicked wide of goal. Nolan was~tbe next to distinguish himself by getting the ball over the line. Paul for the third time took the try, and for the third time failed. Then Haslam treated the spectators to oce of the most brilliant runs ever seen in a New Zealand football match. He secured from the kick out, well past the* half*' way flag, ran straight for the Reds' line, and with tremendous strength he dashed passed all his .opponents, who seemed hardly able to realise what he was doing. At last, when almost under the bar, he was collared by Roberts. Directly afterwards Nolan got the ball, and ended a fine run by getting right behind the posts. Paul tried once more, and agaiu, to the amusement of his comrades, missed an easy chance. Soon afterwards, with the ball in the centre, time was called. The result was : — England, four tries (four points) ; Canterbury, nil. The game was splendidly contested, especially in the first half. During that portion of the game the local men had slightly the better of the play, but in the last half, except for about 10 minutes, England's representatives were too good. The bad kicking, of course, is accounted for by the slippery ball. For the Englishmen Haslam, Nolan, Speakman, Stoddart, Paul, Eagles, and Penketh ; and for the locals Helmore, Harley, Turnbull, Homer, and Broughton were the most conspicuous players." The second match was, it will be remembered, won by the Englishmen by 14 points to six. " Undoubtedly," says the correspondent, " the better team won. They have stamina, and it was nothing but that, combined with sheer pluck, that pulled them out of the fire. AU their sqore was made within half an hour. Stoddart played the best game on the ground. Haslam, Eagles, Paul, Williams, and Anderton were all good, although the last-named was not up to his usual standard. " Canterbury played grandly in the first half. They kicked, scrummed, and followed up well, but as soon as the Englishmen got a goal the" local men fell all to pieces. Helmore and Harley (backs) and Turnbull and Homer (forwards) did bosh work for them. Canterbury's weakness was back. This will explain the great success of the Englishmen once they had their opponents' under the whip." The same correspondent writes as follows regarding the granting of FREE RAILWAY PASSES. " Amongst other steps taken to secure to the Englishmen every opportunity of seeing the lovely scenery in New Zealand has been the obtaining for them of free passes over the railways. This has raised the ire of the Btar, a New Zealand paper, which indignantly asks why the passes are given. >It says: 'Even if we agree to look upon them as amateurs, they are none of them paying their own expenses. Nor are their expenses being paid by any football club or union constituted simply and solely for carrying on the game of football, and winning nothing buthonourand glory thereby. The team ' is travelling for the purpose of gaining money for Messrs Lillywhite and Shrowbbury. The footballers have just as much right to free passes as an operatic company or a circus troupe.' The grumble is more pointed because when interprovincial matches are played free passes are not allowed to local amateurs, who have to travel at heavy expense to themselves. Now, so far as these strictures go they are quite reasonable. The promoters were very cute when they obtained the passes, for they save a few pounds, and as the saying has it, • a penny saved is a penny earned.' They certainly have no right to the passes. But little objection would be made if the passes only referred to lines leading to various places of interest to tourists. Still very little harm has been done. Tt is only a principle involved auyhow, as Oousin Jonathan would remark." HOUGH PLAY IK WELLINGTON. — THE ENGLISHMEN'S OPINION. The Sporting Life's special correspondent writes as follows regarding the Wellington matches : — " The Wellington forwards were now playing with great determination, but terribly rough, and amidst uproarious applause they drove the Englishmen back until the play was inside their twenty-five. Moorehouse getting the 4 ball from a scrum,' passed it to Thomson. Anderton went for him, but the' local man slipped out- of his clutches, and took a pot at goal, sending it clean over the bar, amid tremendous cheering. This made the score equal. " The ball was wellreturned from the kick-off, and the English players made a big rush, but some grand play on the part of King and Fairbrother equalised matters. The ball was worked towards the English goal, and Warbrick took a shot at it but failed. Haslnm brought down the house by a splendid dodgy run, but was wpII brought down at last by Warbrick', and the same player directly after stopped a dribbling rush headed by Kent. " Haslam now had to retire for a time, having hurt his thigh. Nolan received a bad kick in) the breast, and Bumby was very roughly handled. Some good passing took the leather to the English twenty-five.when Anderton got £he ball, but was overpowered immediately. Thing* were very lively for the Englishmen at this point, as Stuart, badly hurt, had to be carried away. With 13 men only it seemed that the local men must again score, and Paul was obliged to force down iv self defence. On resuming, Haslam again took his place, but the dash was gone. The Englishmen now had to work desperately, and to make matters worse Banks sprained his leg and had to be taken from the field. Directly after, Moorehouse was severely knocked, but recovering, the game was con tinued. Stuart now limped into the. field again and joined most plucHly in the scrummage. A line pass by Bumby to Anderton, who got clear, looked, as if he would secure a try, but he was floored near the line by Fairbrother. The play ended in the English twenty-five, the match resulting in a draw, both sides having secured a goal. " The English players Btato that the game was the roughest they hail witnessed - for years. Many of the Wellington players depended entirely on brute force, kicking fiercely either a* the ball or a man, they cared not which, and besides those who actually had to retire, nearly the vAole of the English players received some nasty kicks, two getting a pair of black eyes. " The attendance numbered nearly 8000, many leaping the fences. The pnblic of Wellington are woll nigh football mad, judging from the uproar, shouting, cheering, and frantic gesticulations of the crowd; and the .feeling was mucb more one-sided than had been shown either aP Dunedin or Chri»tchurch, not only by the general public, but by the players thexnselyeß. : The otdley appears to h,avs, been, isßued to ww»

Whether by fair play or foul , and by the bullocking game which they adopted, the chance of success was in their favour. For six weeks all the men had been in strict training, consequently they lasted full of go till the end ; besides this the weight of the forwards was considerably more than their opponents. "Altogether the game was not a pleasant one. By invitation of the union the visitors were invited to a smoke concert in the evening. About a dozen accepted, and passed some enjoyable hours. "A drive out on Sunday was refused on the grounds of keeping in condition for the second game on Monday." ENGLAND T. WELLINGTON AND WAIRARA?A. This match (says the same paper) had been fixed as a combined one, the Wellington and Wairarapa unions joining teams. On Sunday a committee of the Wellington Union met, and decided that the match should not be played, for what reason no one but themselves can at present tell, for tbosi; urged as an excuse so far are ridiculous and paltry iv the extreme. However, such inhospitable conduct as this was not to be ■tolerated for a moment by the army of footballers, and a large meeting took place. In a very short time a powerful team had been selected, including 10 who had taken part in the first match. The vote of the uuion was entirely ignored, all the players being disgusted with it. It was done at the eleventh hour, probably through some fancied grievance. The ill feeling of these select few was confirmed when it was discovered that exertion* had been made to, if possible, prevent the match taking place by taking away the right of playing on the ground, but by the energy of those determined that the game should take place, this difficulty was also surmounted. The contest was a very exciting one. The weather was very unpleasant, as driving rain fell the whole of the day, and the ground was very slippery. The game throughout was a fast one, and in every respect a great improvement on Saturday's match. Unfortunately two serious accidents happened Whatman, the only Wairarapa representative, breaking his leg after 10 minutes' play, and Thompson, just at the end of the first spell, put his shoulder out. The changes in the English side were Dr Brookes (three-quarter back) in place of Aaderton, who took Bumby's position as half back, and Williams and Laing took the places of Banko and Stuart in the forwards. The game was a good, friendly contest, hardly any rough play taking place— a striking contrast to the bjittle of Saturday. [We all know that Wellington men play a littlo rough, but I fanay the correspondent of the Sporting Life is rather one-sided, and has gone just a leetle bit too far. It will be observed that in the match which the Englishmen won there was " hardly any rough play." And yet 11 two serious accidents happened "—one man breaking his leg and another putting his shoulder out. But of course these two victims were not Englishmen.— Forward.] THE TARANAKI MATCH. I make the following extract regarding the Taranuki match : — " The ball was sent out from near the corner flag, and on being thrown in Thomas got the ball and put it down over the line, but to his disgust the referee disallowed the try. Again, directly after, Thomas once more took it fairly over, but the referee would not give it, and after nearly 10 minutes' wrangling, lime was called. Taranaki thus won by 1 point to nil. There was tremendous cheering on the result being known. Taranaki is the fir&t team that has beaten the Englishmen, who have now played seven matches — winning five, losing one, and one drawn. The gratification of getting the victory was, however, marred by the certainty that it was not gained in a fair manner. The referee was incompetent, as well as partial. But this was no fault of the players themselves, who played with rare pluck throughout, and although the Englishmen had the worst of the play nearly the whole of the time, they never lost courage, their certain collaring preventing what might have been»with weakness in that line a heavy score, aud great credit is due to them, although if a dozen more matches were played between the same teams, I should without hesitation say the Englishmen would win the whole of them. A banquet in honour of the visitors was given by the Taranaki union the same evening, and a pleasant time was passed till half-past 9, when the drags were in waiting to drive the team to the steamer. The right good welcome given by the union was highly appreciated by all.