CANTERBURY DOINGS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2401, 8 March 1900, Page 41

CANTERBURY DOINGS.

By Fbitz

The New Zealand Trotting Association has disposed of one part of the All Day— Little Archie case. I am just about tired of writing on the subject, and it goes without saying that all concerned will be mightily pleased to see the matter brought to a conclusion. The members of the association made up their minds to go exhaustively into all the circumstances, and as is generally known, they have sat many weaxy hours discussing probably the most troublesome case it has been their lot to have laid before them. At the meeting on Tuesday last the chairman opened the proceedings by setting out the issues to be decided by the association. The first of these was whether tho protest lodged by Ken against Little Archie getting the race had been decided by a properly qualified tribunal; and secondly, whether Edwards's statements have been justified, and whether he had sufficient grounds for making his allegations. After reviewing the evidence the chairman suggested that it would be preferable to take each issue separately. After a lengthy discussion it was unanimously decided that the protest had not been heard constitutionally, and a subsequent motion was agreed to that the Canterbury Trotting Club be asked to constitutionally decide the protest. Edwards, in his statement, alleged that several of the stewards were financially interested, two of them having horses engaged in the race, and by the upholding of the protest they would benefit by the increased stake money, and he also alleged that another steward had backed All Day through a friend in Dunedin, and that others had backed All Day on the totalisator. Edwards submitted that in view of a nile of the club to the effect that no steward financially interested could sit in judgment on any. case^ showed that the

protest had not been fairy heard, and asked ■ m his appeal that the associat.on should deal J with the matter, and he also stated that he had been given no opportunity to call evidence, and tlial when he as^ed the president ol tne club to re-open the case he had been told that this couid not be done unless he (Kdwards) agreed to allow the club to pay out on Ail Day. 'lhe association held that Kule 23, quoted by Edwards, was meant to appiy solely to races and not to tenders, as some or the witnesses suggested, and that tue rule was tatal to the club s action. Xlie majority oi the de;e&ates held that even without sucn a rule stewards financially interested ought not to sit m- judgment, but witii &uch a rule the case had not been constitutionally heard, 'lhe matter was, therelore, sent back to the club. This phase of the matter I can leave until it has oeen finally settled, and will shoitty touch on the action of the club in disqualifying Edwards for 12 months. When Edwards matte his serious allegations the association submitted these to club, with a request that its members should inquire into the charges made against some ot tneir number, with the result that Edwards was put up tor 12 rnoaths. It was never anticipated by the associat.on that any of taos»e accused by Edwards would take the slightest part m the club's .inquiry except to defend themselves, as they were irealiy on their, trial, 'lhe club was not asked to try Edwards ; it was requestted to put upon trial sojne of its own members. The result ot the club's inquiry went to prove, that though one steward codeu An Day to a fellow-slewiud in Duiiedin, he had not, as assumed by Edwards, backed All Day for a single penny, and it was also shown that instead of £10 being wired trom Christchurch the amount was only hall that sum, an/d that wa3 invested for someone who was not a member of the club. The gentleman who wired the £5 to Dunedm admitted that he had executed commissions for the steward charged by Edwards, and there appears to nave been an understanding that a commission might be worked lor him on jtJoxmg Day, although no mention was made as to what the money was to be put on, or whether in Auckland oc OJir.stchurch. Undoubtedly Edwards had reasonable grounds for assuming that Ail Day had been backed in Dunedm, as he nad been mioimed by a friend, wno also gave evidence to that eliect, that money had been wired to Dunedin, in addition to winch a letter was produced by this mend whica he had lecexved irom Dunedin stating that £10 had been put on jiii Day. .Shortlj', then, Edwa-rds's alienations re backing the horse iailcd, though aevexa.l of his allegations were proved. The statement that he had not been given an opportunity to call evidence was denied by the piesident ot the club and two stewards, and the president also denied Edwaids's statement that he offered to re-open the case i: the money w*s paid out on All Day. Ihs proper course for the committee to have adopted would have been to pass a resolution, if liiey saw fit, exonerating the stewards trom the allegations made by Edwaids, seeing that tiisy were asked to inquire into their alleged conduct, but instead oi doing that they merely disqu'ilihed Edwards, giviag no reasons to the association lor so doing, though, ot course, tho disquai.fication lnferentially meant chat the slcwaicu were exonerated, and that the club' viewed Edwards' s conduct as deserving o. &eveie punis-nment. But whilst no man should, under the pica that lie " verily beiie\ed such to be the case, wantonly accuse stewards oi §1033 misconduct, Edwards is not entirely to blame m the matter. In fact, it seems to me that the stewards missed the poait. Edwards merely tired the gun other people loaded for him, and his solicitor naturally made all he could of his client's case. Why disqualify Edwaids for 12 months, and merely ask tor an apology from his informant, wlo admitted telling Edwards as to the backing of the horse in Dunedin? Under the circumstances Edwards waa somewhat harshly treated, and it was little wonder the association declined to endorse the disqualification. Mr Clarkson, one of the members of Cne association, proposed an addition to the motion that the case was not properly tried by the stewards, to the effect " that this association believes that the stewards acting honestly in sitting on the case. ' No one seconding this, Mr Clarkson left the loom. He evidently forgot that the motion merely stated that the stewards acted unconstitutionally, not dishonestly, and it was, therefore, quite unnecessary to ask the members to afnrni that which had not been questioned in the motion. Summed up briefly, Edwards's contention that the rules forbade several of the stewards sitting on the protest was allowed; but it is generally admitted that the two owners affected had no idea that ifhey were breaking the rules when they attended the meeting, and the rule had been hung up so long that it is extremely unlikety that anyone of the stewards gave the matter a thought when thsy adjudicated upon the protest. The chairman of the association was deservedly congratulated by the members . of the association for the impartial manner in which he had conducted the case, giving him, as it did, a large amount of, work. Several witnesses stated at the inquiry that they had been led to believe that the evidence they gave before the club would be treated as confidential, and were surprised to discover that their names and statements had been forwaided to tho association. Of course, as pointed out by -the chairman of the association, the mles of trotting provide that all evidence and documents must.be sent in to the controlling body, and if the club allowed the witnesses to believe that their ev-dence would be confidential a mistake was made. At the same time it is unfortunate that several gentlemen have been dragged into the case who have nothing whatever to do with it, and the publication of their evidence may do them harm. I hope, however, that such will not be the caae. The committee of the club also consented to expunge certain evidence, and though Edwards proved this had been done, thus showing that a mistake had been committed, the evidence deleted scarcely affected the case or his position.

At the time of writing the Canterbury Trotting Club had not finally decided on a programme for its May meeting, but it is probable tnat one will be arranged to-night (Monday). The Colonial Secretary has decided that only two permits will be granted, and these -have already gone. . In the event of his declining to grant a permit it is possible that the meeting will bo held without the aid of the totalisator for decreased stakes, though probably the Juvenile Stakes will be endowed with the advertised amount. It is intended, I hear, to place a Ladiesl' Bracelet Race on the programme, the horses to be nominated by ladies, and driven by accepted amateurs. The race is to be contested m either saddle or harness, over a-dis-tance of 12 furlongs. On Thursday next the annual meeting of the Hororata Racing Club takes place, and given fine weather, judging by past years, is sure to have a capital attendance. Acceptances are not to hand at the time of wilting. The following are the winning payments in connection with the C J.C. Summer meeting : Mr Stead £695, Mr Sheeuan £525, Mr Solomon £160, Mr Livingstone £140, Mr Watt £110, Mr Aynsley £100, Messrs Boyle and Hobbs £90 each, Mr Harris £75, Mr Claridge £60, and other owners from £15 to £10 each, making a total of £2130. Mr H. Mace, the well-known trotting horseowner, has, I hear, greatly improved in health from his North Island trip. After making the third payment the following are left in the FOURTH JUVENILE STAKES, of 200sovs. For two-year-olds. One mile. Mr J. A. Buckland's b g The Heir, by Vancleve—Fraulem. ,

Mr J. A. Buckland's -br g Si. Simon by St. Louis — Verbena. Mr W. Jenkins's br f, by Wildwood — Ta-aducer

mare. Mr A. Quigley'a br g Vanity, bj ImperiousBilly "Button mare. Mr R. Sunderland's br f Wildflower, by Wildwood — Paulina. Mr H. Mace's b f, by Brookholm— Puella. Mr H. Mace's b f, by Rothschild. Mr J. Hanna's b f Wildwave, by Viking — Linton. Mr W. Lenhart's eh f Gingerntit, by Rothschild — Beatrice.

The Cup secured by Djin Djin at Wellington is now occupying an honoured niche at Chokebore Lodge.

The Autumn meeting of the Plumpton Park Tiottmg Club promises to provide interesting cor>te£.ts. Acceptances are not due until tomorrow night. In the Maiden Handicap I like the prospects of Occidental, The Workman, and Eddie; in the Pony Handicap, Skipper, Farewell, and Ken-I-No; in the Sockburn Handicap, G-eorge L., Kingston, and Moana ; Progressives Handicap, Yanclifte, Roxolla, and Sue Dudley; Selling Handicap, Prince Albert. Young Boston, and Mistake; Plumpton Handicap, Dorman, J. H., and The Baron; Electric Handicap, Moana, Baltimore, and Boswell : Dash Handicap, Carolina. Vai, and the selected of The Member and Judah.

The Chiustchurch Polo Club's sports attracted a fairly good attendance at Riccarton on Thursday, which would probably have been much better had the ciub advertised earlier than they did. ' * The ladies, of course, turned out in great strength. The various events were got through without a hitch. The Polo Ball Race was secured by' MY W: H Woodroffe. Mi A. Clark only Just suffering defeat. The Ladies' Bicycle Binding Competition, a new item, was won by Miss E. Basseit, who defeated Miss M. Irving by a bare yard. The Polo Cup, four furlongs, V3s a gift to Mi E. D. O'Rorke's Brown Bess, who is by the Nor-denfeldt horse Lebel out of Poppy, another well-bred one in Stella, by Nordenfcldt, running into second place, with Scorcher third. The winner started at even money. (I omitted to mention that a good number of bookmakers were doing business on the coivi-se). Mr R. H. Rhooes was successful in the Flag Race; Miss Woodroffe's Punch (ridden by Mr Wocdrofie) got honp in the Ladies' Bracelet, and Miss L. Basset took the Ladies' Bicycle Competition (Tilting at the Ring). Tho Polo Club Race, three furlongs, provided a gieat struggle between Mr O'Rorke's Retan (3 to 1 on) and Puddy (8 to 1 against), the judge being unable to separate the pair. Mr A. E. G. Rhodes won the Yiclpria Cross Race, and Mr WoodroflEe was awarded the m-ize for the -best dressed dummy.

Skobeloff has been taken to Wanganui. He will take a lot of beating in the Cup. Screw Gun also went witli him, and he will be sent on to Hawke's Bay.

Though the acceptances" for the annual mcatin« cf the Oxford J ockey Club are not to hand, I would suggest that Banner ougbt to win the Cup, Blucher the Oxford Welter Handicap and District Welter Handicap, and I cannot see what is likely to defeat the same horse in the Stewards' Handicap.. Klondykc may secure the Two-mile Trot. Mr C. O'Connor is handioapper and starter for this club, hvi will be unable to undeitake the latter duties, owing to the meeting clashing with that of che Plumpton Club.

The Akaroa County Racing Club's annual gathering is set down for decision on the 13th irst., and looking over the handicaps I am ijiclinei? to fancy that .Leather Medal, v/ith 7.7, ys against Huku 9.5 (top weight), and Phryne 8.9, * may gel to the end of a mile and a distance. On fcrm, however, Huku anrl Phryne ought to fight out the finish, and ths former may win. Persioner and Sub Rosa are a likely pair in tha Hurdle Race. Medallius ought to win the District Welter, and Leather Medil, Hawthorn, and Rougemont may betweea ihem fvrrish the winnev of the Flying Handicap. The Amuri Turf Club has received very fair nominations for its annual meeting. The Watch Dog and Parthian were well supported for their respective engagements at FJkmington on Saturday.