RACING COMMISSION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 15595, 11 August 1921, Page 5

RACING COMMISSION.

LOCAL RECOMMENDATIONS DIS "CUSSED, ' i OISBORNE MEMBER'S < OMMENTS

Some days ago the Gis],)orne membei of Parliament, Mr. W. D. Lysnar, wa: .'approached- to give his impressions of tin recommendations' of the Racing Cdiuims sion, in, so far' as they concerned Gis borne and district. Mr. Lysnar, on tha occasion, withheld comment, as he. ha< not then bad an "opportunity of perns ing the detailed report. Yesterday, however, .Mr. Lysnar, hav ing • considered the report, gave to ; Herald reporter his impressions thereof "Speaking of the report," said Mr Lysnar, "so far as it applies to Gis borne, it appears that the Commissioi could not have made up the positioi from a district or public standpoint ii coming to their decision when they sug gest closing the Park Racecourse. It i: no doubt a reasonable proposition U put forward that v a number of club; should amalgamate, but in deciding a: to what club is to go out surely tin first consideration is the convenience o the . public and the situation of the ground itself. The appointments on tin ground I should consider'as being a verj small factor in the matter, for you car always remedy any defects in this diiec tion by improving the, buildings, etc. but, you cannot so conveniently alter tin site of the course. The Commission goe: astray when it says that there are t\v< clubs, with courses in close proximity t< each .other, carrying on the same c'las; of racing, and serving the same racing public. They have overlooked entireh the fact that the Park course is usee for many other purposes besides racing and is found to be very suitable. .On: agricultural shows are held there; bi< military encampments and public de monstrations find it most suitable fo "their purposes, and besides this it is ti be noticed how useful the course wa; at the time of the Maori hni, when thou sands of natives were camped .there. Th< , Trotting Club also has a. substantial least of the Park, so that, in my judgment the Commissioners are not justified ii classing the two courses' as they hav( i done. Personally, I should regard il a; a calamity In the district, if anytliirc. , was done by (.lift. Commission or by'Par liamerit that would deprive the Gi'sboni public of the Park, which would be (In case if the recommendations .of the Commission .were given, effect to. Its proximity to the town lends itself very rei i ily fo large public demonstrations. ;nc it is known, of course, (hat if. is in tended fo extend the tram service right to the course. 1 When this is done il wit add greatly to the uses to which the grounds may lie put, and not only the JOwn residents, but. also a large section uf Hie country residents will benefit, fo, many of th£ latter spend periods of celebration in town, and would be able to reach the Park for a few pence, a;' against shillings which if would cost to "get to the other course. There is little doubt that ultimately the centre portion of the Park will be levelled, and greai'ei advantage taken of its position, to hold large sports, such 'as cricket matches and. fool ball ' games of importance, as Hie. town itself ' has no adequate accommodation in this respect for future requirements." The Commissioner*, continued Mr. Lysnar, stultify their recommendations by a subsequent" Clause, in which they lay down the principle, that no club shall hi allowed to maintain its totnlisntor privilege unless there is. acquired a freehold or a substantial leasehold of the course oh which it races, or unless such course is part of a public domain or reserve for recreational purposes. Here was the whole thing in a nutshell. The lark racecourse could be regarded as :i pub lie domain Or reserve, and its existence is therefore justified according to tin j Commission's admission, as against the [M.akaraka course, which is not so suitable for the public. • The Oisborne Rac ing Club has the freehold of the* Park, as well as the other uses required by the Commission. "I think it is a pity that •the Commission did irt>t investigate Oppositions of the two grounds from the public standpoint, which, from their report, I judge, they have not done.. For the present, I confine myself to the convenience of the two grounds for the public. The question of the buildings does not matter. I do not express niyseff as to Whether Makaraka course should be kept going or not. - That is another phase with" which I am not dealing, at this juncture. " 4 Regarding the legal aspect of the case, and as to how far the Commission was empowered by Parliament, it will be remembered that there was a very hot debate in the House, and that a Tew of the members, who were* out-and-out. op- ' ponents of racing in any shape or form. causerl an all-night stonewall, and thai, if it had not been that the Prime Minister insisted on a compromise,'the Act would have gone through, unquestionably, granting an increase of licenses. "My recollection of the compromise if that the terms gave the Government power to make the Commission's findings operative if they thought advisable, but that if there was any reason to object to the findings, the matter was to remain down till it was considered by Parliament. lam pleased to see that "the Hon. Downie Stewart has agreed to let the matter stand down until November 30. subject, of course, to the approval of Cabinet.' It seems tho only fair and reasonable course is for the Government not to allow the report to come into effect until Parliament has had an op port-unity of considering if, when, it is hoped, any hardships that the report is likely to bring on to the different districts will be-adjusted."