LAWN TENNIS. AUCKLAND EDUCATION BOARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 1851, 30 March 1904, Page 54

LAWN TENNIS.

AUCKLAND EDUCATION BOARD.

A later Adelaide cable states tint Parker, of Kew Zealanii. won the Sii.gles Championship, besting Hai bison, B—6, 7—5, 6—l. The Doubles are luifinis'hed. There was an excellent contest between 'Parker and Harbison aiid Saxon and Heath. After two sets all each pair had scored seven games. In the fifth round the light fai'ecl. The match will be played a«jr>m on "Monday, iliss Parr and Harbison yon the ilixedl CiirAipionship, Miss Payne tha Ladies' Championship, and Misses Peyn« and Parr the Ladies' Doubles. LAWN TENKIS IX AUSTRALIA. i ADELAIDE, March 28. faiker scored an easy victory in thet Singles. His win is very popular. He also beat Odea in the handicap match He leaves for Tasmania aftet the finish of the doubles to-day to compete for the championship. In the Championship Doubles Saxon and Heath (Victoria) beat Parker and Harbison, € — 4, 6—3,6 — 3, 6—4.6 — 4. Parker showed fine play, but Harbison was badly off colour. In the Mixed Doubles Handicap Miss Black and Parker beat Miss Adison and Kitchen.

AUCKLAND, March 23.

At th& meeting of the Board of Education the Finance Committee submitted correspondence relating to the proposed teachers' training college in Auckland. The Chairman said the department asked for &n expression of opinion as lo the control of training colleges. A parliamentary committee recommended that training colleges should be under the control of local boards, whilo others, including the Education Department an-d -education boards and the chief inspectors, thought they should be under the control of the department at Wellington. He himself was strongly opposed to this, and suggested that, a sub-committee> bo appointed to go into the- matter. This suggestion was adopted. Mr Groenslade- said he was impressed with the great disabilities under which th.3 children of settlers in sparsely-populated districts labour in respect to education. There seemed to be too much dilitorincbS on the part of the department in giving efTecfc to the recommendations of the board, especially as regards special grants for th& erection of small schools in remote and recentlysettled districts. Ho had noticed the Otago Board had decided lo request the- Ministerof Education to amend the Education Act so as to grant increased allowances f° 1 ' schools with an average of eight to 16 ptipils, and thought the- Auckland Board should take similar action. H& moved — "That the attention of the Minister of Education be called to tho delay in obtaining special grants for much-needed school buildings, and that the board is of opinion tho School Teachers' Salaries Act should bo amended in tho direction of granting; increased allowances for schools with an attendance of eight to 16 pupils." — Th& motion was agreed to

Arrangements are being made for the establishment of telephonic communication between Waimate and Timaru aud Oamaru. «a

the Giand Hotel corner. The cyclist wa3 either a fool, or his brake-powor had suddenly become useless. Of course, most people put the careless riding down to foolishness, and one man's action may be the means of condemning all cyclists. There's certainly a strong temptation to free-wheel down the smooth asphalt track of the tram line, but c;a© must be taken to wa-tch for pedestrian* and allow them a little safety in crossing the road. — The League championships were run off at Christchurch on Saturday last. Geo. Sutherland secured two of the ca«h cham-pion-ships—viz., Half and One Mile. Raudrup w6n the Five Mile Championship, and Huston scoured the Three Mile. Of the amateur championships, W. Reynolds and T. Gates secured two each, the foimer winning the One and the Five Mile, and the latter the Half and the Three" Mile. A Motor Championship (five miles) was won by D. J. M'lnryre's 2 horse-power Mitchell motor, driven by J. Taylor. The One Mile Public Schools Championship was scoured by L. Hammon. — — The Canterbury Automobile Association is evidently a. very live body. It has been decided to have a run to Hanmer during the Easter holidays, and it is expected that a good nuir.Ser will make the trip. This is the firat long combined run. and it only requires fine weather to make ib--a

the Uiana Hotel corner. xiie u.vuusi »■" either a fool, or his brake-powor had suddenly become useless. Of course, most people put the careless riding down to foolishness, and one man's action may be the means of condemning- all cyclists. There's certainly a strong temptation to free-wheel down the smooth asphalt track of the tram line, but c;a© must be taken to wa-tch for pedestrian* and allow them a little safety in crossing the road. — The League championships were run off at Chrhtchurch on Saturday last. Geo. .Sutherland secured two of the ca«h cham-pion-ships—viz., Half and One Mile. Raudrup w6n the Five Mile Championship, and Huston scoured the Three Mile. Of the amateur championships, W. Reynolds and T. Gates secured two each, the foimer winning the One and the Five Mile, and the latter the Half and the Three" Mile. A Motor Championship (five miles) was won by D. J. M'lnryre's 2 horse-power Mitchell motor, driven by J. Taylor. The One Mile Public Schools Championship was scoured by L. Hammon. — — The Canterbury Automobile Association is evidently a. very live body. It has been decided to have a run to Hanmer during the Easter holidays, and it is expected that a good nuir.Ser will make the trip. This is the firat long combined run. and it only requires fine weather to make ib--a succes- 5 . George Sutherland was in trouble at Christchurch on Saturday. He was disqualified for collusion with Oonnell in the Five Mtfle Championship Race, in which R. Arnst fell and broke- his collarbone, and was fined £2 for abusing the starter in th© Three Mile event, when Connell and Sutherland were left at the post. • It will be recollected that at Invercargill on St. Patrick's Day J. Arnst had the misfortune to have his collarbone broken owing to *, collision with a small boy. Now we have news that his brother, R. Arnst, has also sustained a broken collarbone. This a.QQldeut took gjacfi >fc. ,GhrisJtcliurch fn

George Sutherland was in trouble at Christchurch on Saturday. He was disquali-

fied for collusion with Oonnell in the Five Mtfle Championship Race, in which R. Arnst fell and broke- his collarbone, and vvao fined £2 for abusing the starter in th© Three Mile event, when Connell and Sutherland were left at the post. • It will be recollected that at Inver-

•Saturday last, during the lunning of the Five Mile Championship Race.

On Saturday last, at Christchurch, Comiell was disqualified for the day owing to boring Arnst in the Five Mile Championship Race.

By winning the Sydney Thousand llace (vide last Wednesday's cable), L. Corbott lifts a cheque for £750. Corbett started from the 120 yds mark, and won by a wheel in Imin 54sec. The second man, A. E. O'Brien (180 yds) gets £100, and D. J. Plunkett (ISOycU), a New Zealancler. clears £50 by running into third place. This makes a total of £900. The other £100 was divided among the heat winners. Iver Lawson has returned to America, and before he left Australia he -expressed himself as perfectly satisfied with the financial results of his Australian trip, although disgusted with his disqualification by the League of A'ietorian Wheelmen stewards. He will race in the International Championship in London, and wil' there fight over again for supremacy a battle with Major Taylor. He will return to Australia next season.

Prior to the starting of the races for the opening night of the Sydney Thousand carnival, Mr A. Smyth, the amateur recordbreaker, indulged in a training spin under the track lights, reeling off the laps at ihe rate of 29sec to the lap. The object of the ride was to test the effect of riding behind pace at a fa^t rate on the lighted track.

For pacing Scheps in the eighth heat of the Watson Handicap, run at Sydney on 12th inst., J. Chalmers, of New Zealand, was disqualified for three months. This Action of the officials is looked upon as somewhat strange, considering that the same thing i.« done in almost every race. Something to this effept was said to a prominent official, who replied, "We do not object to one rider pacing another, providing he tries to win afterward*, but we will not allow anyone to pace another competitor, and then pull up." Chalmers had qualified for the " semi-final of the S3"dney Thousand. In Lawson 's opinion, the best riders in the world (leaving himself out modestly) are -—Kramer, Ellegaard, Major Taylor yeyers, Macfarland, and Den Walker. S'eheps. he thinks, as th.-> coming Australian champion.

The League of New South WaW "Wheelman has a membership roll of 2000, and a balance of £140 in favour jf its assets as against its liabilities.

Porta, the Italian, who at one time raced in Australia, is in business in Milan, Itely, celling bicycles. (The Automobile Club of Victoria ran off three motor races on the Sandown racecourse, Melbourne, jn 12th inst., on the occasion of the Commercial Travellers' picnic. Cher 60 motorists made the run down to the park. Two motor car races were held, and proved very interesting. These events were the first of their kind held in Australia, and the result proved that this new sport has a big future before it. The racing resulted as follows: — VOITURETTE HANDICAP. One mile and

a-half. (For c°rs up to 6 h.p.) Mr J. K. Crooke's 4.\ h.p. Locomobile, 500 yds 1 Mr C. B. Kellow's 5 h.p. Huinberette, 50yds 2

Time of winner, 3nnn 55Uec, the second car being ssec behind.

MOTOR-CAR RACE. Three miles. (For heavy automobiles.)

jtfr H. Tarrant's 10 h.p. Argyll, 450 yds .. 1 Mr TIIO3. Rand's 16 h.p. Decauville, scr .. 2

Time of winner, Grain 55 l-s=ec, the secord car taking 5 l-ssec longer.

A motor cycle race, one mile and a-half was ■\voii by C Mayman (50yds) in 2mm 42 2-ssec.

Afier the Five Miles Race at Sydney on the 9th hint, had finished, Mac farland lodged a complaint against Taylor for interference, and the champion was fined £5. To many this decision came as a surprise, because they thought Macfarland bad come down the track on to Taylor. It aeems that Macfarland came down off the banking for his run, but whether Taylor swayed out to meet an expected collision is not clear, but the fact remains that his pedal ripped some spokes out of Macfarland' S wbe&l, and he had to ietire. Taylor

denied that the collision was due to any fault of his, but the official declared him to bo guilty of careless liding, and fined him accordingly.

The best event c f the second evening's meeting- of the Sydney Thousand «a? the final for the Mo?man Handicap. Macfarland was on scratcli, with Walker and M'Donald as his nearest attendants. At the pistol the lengthy American sprinted quickly, ar.tl scon overhauling his nearest opponents forced the pace. Th© race was now divided into two bunches, the scratch and the limit elements. Each section was straining every nerve, and v - turn-and-turn pacing by both parties followed. At the boll Maofarlnnd looked beaten, so fast wa^ the pace- set by the limit 'men. Walker, however, made a last effort, and pacing Macfurland at a terimc bat from the bell to the shilling stand, brought him up to tho leadersat. the straight. Going all out, Macfarland finished in brilliant style, and won in tho world's record competition time of Imin 49is&c. The Summer Nights Amusement Committee, delighted with this lide, announced later that they had decided upon giving £5 to each of the four men who, by their splendid pacing, had assisted in breaking this record.

About 12 months ago the King said that the only drawback to automobilism was tho dust. At that time it was oon&idered here/ at least (says "Forfcie," in the Australasian) that this nmisan.ee was attributable to the high pace attained on fche English roads-, but whiclPwould not apply here, the conditions being different. iWifchin the last two months we have been disillusioned. A motor car travelling at 20 miles per hour oa our average highway makes the dust rise in a great degree. One cam hardly conceive a dustier roadway than that through East St. Kilda, Malvern, aud Caulfield, and when two or three more cars were in close ;ompany the clouds raised were impenetrable.. And this is tei'med the drawback to motoring ; that is to say, the unscientific methods of modern road construction render the coming 'method of locomotion uncomfortable on occasious. Therefore, the fault lies not with the automobile, but rather with our avenues of travel, which are not yet adapted to meet the faster i-dt& of motion. Automobilists must remember that- the railway ■era just passed caused the road question to become neglected ; the motor era makes it one of supreme importance again, amd the motorists are those who must now seek to effect the needed reforms.

Iver Lawson is sft lOin in height, scales 11.10, and is 23 ye-ars of age. He has been racing six years.

It is understood that 20,000 motor cycles will be placed on the market by France this year.

Cycle road-racing is being well catered for by the French sporting journals this season. The latest paper in the field is the Le Monde Sportif, which is devoting £2000 to rup off a big road event on the French roads.

Joe Nelson, a crack Yankee pacefollower, was billed 1 for a sensational "turn" in connection with the motor speed trials at Daytona Be-ach, in Florida, which were Using held when the last American mail left. Nelson has long cast envious eyes on Murphy's 58 4-ssec record for the cycling mile, which, it will be remembered, was done behind an express train cm a specially prepared track. Nelson will attempt ro beat it be>hind a motor car provided with special wind shields. The surface of the Daytona Beach track is favourable to fast ' times, and Barney Oldfield's Bullet 11, which ij the pacer selected, is capable of even fa°ter speeds than a railway train, so that the record may go in this particular branch of record-breaking. The three motor contests rum at Hondown racecourse, Melbourne, on 12th inst. were watched with interest by the picnickers, the ladies especially evincing much enthusiasm. The presence of a neat elec- , trie car, in which were seated two _ ladies, ' on-e of whom handled the motor with the skill of an cxpoit. loused the admu-atic.n of ; the gentlemen and the envy of the iadie?. It was. indeed, a novel sight, and mill go ;i i-ery long way to removing the impio^ion existing that an automobile is difficult to . uianasti.

Undei strong pressure of public opinion, the council of the city of Montreal, Canada, have definitely abolished » cycle tax that has beep in force for several years.

The motor as an adjunct to railway traffic is coming to the front. Mr Georgo Montagu, \I.P., in his paper read before the Automobile Club iu?t before the despatch of latest files to hand, showed how the Great Western Eailway i=; opening up Cornwall ;md Devonshire by means of motor cars. The service between Helston and the Lizard is arranged to meet the London trains, and' it is proposed to run services from Penzance to St. Just. Mullion to Kelston, Saltasb to Callington, and Medbury to Yelhamptcm. The old coaches used in conjunction with railways will gradually disappear, and the n&w and quick locomotion will take their place. • Particulars are to hand from America of the big annual motoring sneed meet on. the Orn.ond-Daytcma Beach, Florida. This motor speedway is the finest in the world. «nd is run on the hard sea sand wheii_ the tide is out, the. course being 15 miles iong. The tournament attracted the fastest automobiles in America, and resulted in several new world's, records — the- most marvellous performances being tho=se of the American, sporting millionaire, W. K. VandoibiJt, jun.. who drove his 90 horse-power Mercedes, and secured several world's record?, the premier one. being the mile, which he covered from, a flying start in the almost incredible time of 58sec, a speed of over 90 miles an hour.Vandeibilt also established the following re-, cords: — Five miles in 3min 313-ssec, 10 miles in 6mim 50sec, 20 miles in 17min 2sec, 30 mil&s in 24min llsoc, 40 miles in 33min 53 2-ssec, 50 mil&s in 40min 49 4-sse-c. The* average speed of the 50 miles was 732 miles* and 87 miles during the 10 miles record. The racers hafcl to turn in their tracks in all races over 10 miles, which makes "Vanderbilt's times more wonderful than if no 'turns or "ease ups'.' were mecessary. During the tournament the One-mile American, Championship was decided, the. winner of the coveted blue ribbon being Barney Oldfield, on a Winten. Vanderbilt ran soccod. Time. 43soc, from a slow start. The meeting -was being continued when the lasti American mail left. Nearly £33,000 was taken at the doors of the- automobile show in Paris — an almost incredible amount. For the leason that it was neither "fraternal, scientific, educational, nor religious in its objects," a Kansas City judgo refused to erant a decree- oT incorporation to an automobile dub. Great interest is being taken in Europe and America in the forthcoming Gordon-Bennett contest, tho blue ribbon automobile race of the world. The course of {his >sar"s race is considerably better {ban the Irish ore, over which the 1903 event wa3 held. This year's contest will be held in Germany, which carried off tho 1903 race, through the agency of Jenatzy. The course has now beua thoroughly surveyed, and found to be 86£ miles round. This circuit will be negotiated four times, so that tae> exact distance of the race will be 345 miles. The start takes place at Saalburg Castle, a few miles from that fashionable resort Hornburg. The eurface is said to be excellent, and the width of the road vaiies from 7yds to 15yds. Sharp corners are- to be rounded off and curves in the road straightened where possible. All traffic, including thetrain service over level crossings cm tho course, will be stopped on the day of the contest, and, following- the splenclid example tet by Ireland., every precaution will be taken to ensure the safety of the public and the competitors. Eight countries will be represented in the racp this year by three cars each. The eliminating trials to seelct the English representatives for the race will take place some time in April, over he Circuit dcs Ardennes course in Belgium. America turned out 23,000 automobiles, of the value, of £6,000,000, in 1903. Any rider can acquire tolerable ankle action by careful practice, and the- acquisition of such will inciease his effectiveness uphill by nearly one-fourth. The rider who has mastered the movement will drop his heel at the highest point of the pedal's path, and maintain a strong thrust during the most effective portion of the revolution. On nearing .the bottom, the toes are de-pi-essed and the pedal clawed round the 60called dead point, aided by the other foot, the heel of which has juet been depressed. In this manner, the rider maintains a certain pressure throughout the entire revolution of the crank In the Gordon-Bennett motor we race, Fournier, the crack French motorist, will use an 80 horse-power motor, capable of negotiating miles in from 35sec to 40sec, according to existing local conditions. Dr Turner, a well-known English medico, in an article on "The Physiology and Hygiene of Cycling," says: — "The scorcher's attitude, with the head down and, the back humped, and the arms stuck out, is very bad: and the perfectly erect, pokerback attitude, which in the last few years has been adopted by many riders as a protest against the # position of a scorcher, though more rational, is also wrong; a medium between the two te both natural and effective " A -well-known British make ot bicycle Has been playfully termed the "two of everything cycle " It has 2in tyres, twospeed gear, two brakes, two lamp brackets, twe pairs of handle-grips, etc., and it may, -.erhaps,' be added, too much weight. A five-speed hub is' amongst the latest inventions in the \ariable gear line. it is entirely self-contained, and the hubris not' any wider than usual and less than om in diameter. On the normal gear all the extra working parts are entirely out of action. Approximately the ratios are as fallows:—First or lowest epeed to second, 6i> per cent ; second to third (the normal gear), 20 per cent. ; third 1 to fouith, 20 per cent. ; fourth to fifth, 20 per cent. This means that with a normal gear of 81in, the variable gears are 54-in, 67^in, 81in, 97in, and 121 in. a An ordinary free wheel can be screwed on to the hub just the same as for the usual single-speed hub. The invention is not as yet on the market, but is in its experimental stages. Many hundreds of miles have been traversed by the testers, and. with *he exception cf a replacement of non-essential parts, so far as the patent itself is concerned, the de\ice is proving very satisfactory. A recent invention is what is termed an automatic swing cycle orank, the object of which is to allow a rider while freewheeling, either on an ordinary or motorcycle, to t-it with both legs extended, a byno means undesirable position. There seems to be, according to the illustration, an additional amount of metal at tho bo<-s of th& crank, comprising a socket block, spring etc Immediately the foot i^ rai-ed for fln\iiip- iha pr.iuk eurinus up to a uc^i^oii

opposite to the other, and driving is then perEormed in the ordinary manner. If desired, a check bolt can b& inserted, and the crank thus kept rigid.

— — - It has been arranged that the colours of the cars engaged in the Gordon-B&nnett motor oar race will be: — England, gre«n; Germany, white; France, blue; America, red; Belgium, yellow; and Italy, black. A man named James M'K&nzie. while cycling in the vicinity of the Botanical Gardens, sustained a fall owing to the wheel 'of hia bicycle being caught in one of _ the tram rails, and his right shoulder was dislocated. His injuries were attended to at the Hospital, after which he was able to return home.

At a meeting of the No'-th Canterbury Centre of the League of New Zealand .Wheelmen, held on Friday evening last, several of the members spoke against the Eractice of holding sports gatherings on Good Friday. During a discussion which followed, it was suggested that the churches should extend their condemnations to the Railway Department, which, it was stated, usually advertised excursions for that day. The Christchurch polioe are taking proceedings against bicyclists who, v«rhen they enter business premises, obstruct traffic by stacking their machines against shop and office frontages.