THE KING OF THE RING PROTESTS

Otago Witness, Issue 2371, 10 August 1899, Page 35

THE KING OF THE RING PROTESTS

Mr Humphrey Oxenham recently wrote as follows to the A.J.C. secretary: — Dear Sir, — I thank you for the promptness and courtesy of your reply to my letter of the same date, also for acceptance of my resignation from thoiist of registered bookmakers. I may respectfully point out that your kindly- endered explanation of the decision and interpretation of your comnv'ttee ro the rule applying to offices just as effectually prevents a bookmaker having a useful office as does the wording of the original rule. A bookmaker without an address, or an office without a notified owner, might admirably suit a welcher, for instance, but would be an anomaly for a reputable bookmaker. Also, an office into which no person could be admitted, "for any purpose whatever," partakes somewhat of the character of a mortuary and the attendant trouble of maintaining bolts and bars, or physical force, to keep people from the tabooed quarter, which would be just as unpleasant as ineffectual. Further, your committee in deciding that advertising an address, "or in other way," is a direct infringement of your rule means complete relegation to business obscurity and attendant loss. I respectfully maintain that this rule is, in my case, arbitrary, and actually unjust ; also, that it cannot, even in the slightest degree, improve the character of betting, or elevate horse-rac-ing in any particular. The executive power possessed by your committee may, and does, destroy my racecourse business, and its loss I must submit to, not because it is right, but simply because of your might. Probably I might, by subterfuge and peculiar practices, while apparently keeping the letter of your new rules, violiite its spirit, with profit to myself; but such practices do not commend themselves to me, and are repellent to anyone desirous, of honestly conducting his business. I trust you will not think me egotistical if I mention that for upwards of 20 years I have conducted an office in Sydney, transacting the greatest volume of business by any individual bookmaker in the colonies. That dur-

ing this timo my business has been fair and aboye-board; without a breath of suspicion against its bona fides. Therefore, to close j this office without any tangible reason except | the will of your committee must, I venture to think, be deemed unreasonable by every j sportsman in Australia.