NO "SPORTS" ALLOWED.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 24, 5 March 1914, Page 5

NO "SPORTS" ALLOWED.

PARSON'S ADDRESS RESENTED. Tress Association. AUCKLAND, March 4. On Sunday the Rev. Jasper Calder, a young Anglican clergyman, who is wellknown here as "the sporting parson," delivered a special address to sporting men, the gist of which was that there should be a stronger sympathy between active church workers and sporting men. Horse racing had come to stay, and the preacher thought it would be better for the Church to accept that fact and endeavour to make the sport a good clean one than to display antagonism- towards horse racing, which would only alienate the sympathy of a large body of perfectly reputable men connected with the sport. "This address was considered at a meeting of the Diocesan Social Questions Commission "last evening, when the following Resolution was passed unanimously:—'' That this Commission regrets and strongly disapproves of the pulpit utterances of the Rev. Jasper Calder (as reported in the Press) on the betting evil." Interviewed to-day, Mr Calder was reluctant to make any reply, to the Commission, which, he said, was doing much excellent and very useful work. "But as regards the gambling evil and racing generally," he said, "the voice of the Commission seems to show that they have taken an entirely one-sided view. I believe I ha vie had enough experience of racing myself to give both sides of the question. Until one can do this one is bound to find a difficulty in gaining the sympathy of the sporting man in one's efforts."