A Corrected "Correction." TO THE EDITOR

Otago Witness, Issue 2358, 4 May 1899, Page 39

A Corrected "Correction." TO THE EDITOR

I Sir. — Whilst correcting me aa to the crro* I hafl committed in connecting him wjth the meeent handicapping at Williamstown, Mr F. F. Dakin has, to my mind, laid himself open to the somewhat serious charge of being -" disingenuous " in moie than one instance. In my remarks on February 23 I simply stated that " although that gentleman already apportions ; tha weights at Williamstown, Sandown 3?a,rk, j and a number of up-country racing centres, i in addition to Flemington, ho appenrcd tc be I nothing loth to accepting the small crumb " afforded at Mentone. I made no mention of either Moonee Valley or Maribyrnong. where, Mr F. F. Dakin informs your readers (Witness, April 6) he " only " apportions the weights on very rnre occasion"?, when "pressure of work incommodes his brother, Mr W E. Dakin. Hay/ing opened up such new ground himself, lie ceii not blame me for directing attention to tho fact that for months past the Victorian Hacina

"Calendar (the official organ of the V.R.C.) has contained a notification to the effect that the tandicappers at both Moonee Valley and Maribyrnong were — " F. F. and W. E. Dakin." No. further back than last Thursday, the apportionments published in the Argus :n connection with the next day's racing at Moonee Valley bore the signatures — " WE. and Francis OF. Dakin, handicappers," as also did the Eight Hours' Day racing programmes. To the lay gnind it certainly must present itself as ■"passing strange" that under these circumstances the partnership is not a conjoint one, knd that Mr F. F. Dakin should only handicap jfor Moonee Valley and Maribyrnong on "very irare " occasions — when his brother was too jtmsily engaged otherwise. Where do the conjoint signatures come in ? In connection with the appointment of a landicapper at Epsom, Mr F. F. Dakin's statement as to his being " offered " the position by jthe Epsom authorities, but " declining " to •act there, I have the authority of Mr George JMayger (Epsotn secretary) that" such statement Us entirely without foundation. "So far as jEpsom is concerned, " remarked Mr Mayger to jna when I placed the statement in the Otago "Witness before him, "we would not have F. ; 'F. Dakin, although we would have accepted his .fcrother, W. E." j Mr F. F. Dakin takes credit (inferentially) to ; •a certain extent in Mr George Vowles securing ,the position of Handicapper at Caulfield, which j advised him to apply for. Seeing that his fcrother was likewise a handicapper, this vas a course of action on the part of Mr J)akin I .which was all the more commendable "owing to jthe old-fashioned ideas once prevailing with regard to loving " our own " the best. More- j Jover, jt tends" to prove that the acceptance of ; .the inevitable with- such a resigned spirit on jths part of Mr F. F. Dakin is confirmation ,'etrong that time has tempered his views in at ileast one respect; as I have still in my pcs- j JBeseipn a letter from Mr F. F. Dakin, headed \ f" Railway terrace, Ascot Vale, August 6, 1891 " i •(just after he received the appointment of V.R.C handicapper) relative to the " in- ; justice " done him through his not receiving .the Caulfield position as well as the Fleming- , "ton one. ' i ■ In finishing up any further reference to this matter (so far as the Otago Witness is con- j cerned), will you allow me to suggest that there is a remarkable unanimity of opinion between j your correspondent " Non Quam Dormio " and ; u&X F. F. Dakin as regards my remarks in the jWitness of February 23 being an " attack " on Jthe V.R.C. handicapper. It is now close up to :40 years since I first contributed fugitive /' lucubrations " to dear old Bell's Life in Vie- j loria, and during this lengthened term this is j ,«he only occasion on which such a charge has Jaeen brought against me. Per contra, I hold documents from influential gentlemen, who fcav? been driven off the Victorian turf through ;what they have deemed to be " unfairness " on flae part of racing officials, complimenting me bn'ine "fairness" with which I have held the IBcales of justice in my contributions to the tress. — I am, etc., Hori Poene. . Kensington, April 26. i» i