In the Open Air

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13939, 26 June 1909, Page 4 (Supplement)

In the Open Air

Sl'Oiri'S AND I'ASTIUF.S. Speaking at a bazaar (says a Homo paper of -May Gth), oil bi.-n:;If oi the Brentford Football Club summer \. ages fund, the Rev. G. W. Grtmdy, a local vicar, eulogised tin" football player of to-day. "He is the most popular man on earth," declared the vicar. "Should the hand <;! a voting woman be sought in love her first question, invariably is whether the young man is a member <.f a iooiball team. The wooer who is a football, r is more successful in love than lie who is not. Then 1 find the football man can appreciate a good sermon ; he does not hesitate to 'jritieise; lie is quick to lay a linger on the weak spois in the discourse. The football players who are members of my congregation tell me my weak points, and 1 ant grateful, because 1 can remedy them the next time I go to the pulpit. The football man is a man to be cultivated."

The Irisii Ladies' Golf Championship at Lahinch ou May Gth resulted in a surprising victory for Miss Ormsby, co. Sligo, who in the final round, beat Miss V. Hesdet by 4 up and •> to piay. Miss Ormsby had never previously done •uiytliiiig conspicuously good in the championships. In last year's tournament she was beaten in the second round by Mrs. Cuthell by •3 and 3. In this competition, however, she showed consistently good form. Apart from her victory in the deciding i-otind, one of her best performances was her defeat of Miss Walker Leigh, the Irish champion of ISJO7, in the semi-final. In the early stages of the final Miss Violet Hezk-t appeared likely to win her first championship. She won the third hole, and at the fifth she had established a lead of 3 up. Then, however, Miss Ormsby got right on her game. She squared the match at the twelfth, and, winning the next three' holes, became dormy at the fifteenth. The Western player also won the sixteen*h in -">, and thus gained the victory.

In writing of -he opening match of the tour, against Notts, the London •'Daily Chronicle" says: —The Australian cricketers made a good start to their tour .U Nottingham. Las ing the tdss, they dismissed he champions of 1907 for 289, and late in the afternoon scored 98 for one wicket. Thus with nine wickets to fail the colonials were within 141 of the Notts total at the close, of play. Not since the first visit' in 1878 had an Australian side' begun their programme at Trent Bridge, ;nul with so many players fresh to England their play was closely watched hy some 7,000 people. Of.the Australians who have come to England for the first time, Carkeek and Macalister had stayed in London with Hopkins, and Uartigan and Macartney were left out, so that the match afforded the opportunity of seeing Uardsley, liar-soford, Whitty, am! O'Connor. Of these lour, O'Connor, of whom a. great deal is expected, howled right hand medium, changing his pace discreetly, and keeping a good length without, however, looking particularly difficult. Whitty, lei t hand medium pace, often made the ball swing. .Both wore given a fairly good trial and were much more difficult to score off than Cotter, who did not often howl very fast, ami never maintained an accurate length. Armstrong was the most successful of the howlers. His length and break wire as excellent as ever, and, howling straight, he iiiade the batsmen play him his methods being so effective that live wickets fell to him at a cost of 11 -uns apiece. It was, of course, impossible to form an opinion of the capabilities of the new men on the day's play, and it was admitted that- it was unwise to have so few days in Kngland before the start of a match. All the players sull'ered from want of practice but the team under Noble's vaptaincy will, it is expected, prove, as formidable as any that has come over within repent vears.

Tn the House of Lords in May last, the Bishop of Hereford moved the second reading, of tlie Cruelty to Animals Bill, which imposes :i penalty en any person convicted of taking part in the bunting, coursing, or shooting of any animal ivlii.-h has been in confinement and released for tiie purpose of such hunting, coursing, or shooting. It was not intended that the act-.should apply to animals released fourteen days before the hunting, coursing or shooting. The Bill' aimed at tlie abolition of certain spurious kind.i of sport, and thus at the protection of animals which; though nominally wijd, were kept in confinement for sporting purposes. The • measure would satisfy the conscience of the community, but would not interfere with any one of our manly and Vgitimaro sports. Lord Newton, in moving the rejection of the Bill, said this was really the old Spurious Snorts Bill under another name. It was not diflicult to discern in the background of this measure the Humanitarian League and those persons who looked upon zoological collcetiojis as ill)mora I i:itutions and sltrieked with anger atthe spectacle of .Eton boys running with live beagles after a live hare. All snort in this country was year by year becoming more artificial, and at the same time more expensive. It would not surprise him if the present .Budget put an end to a vast amount of legitimate sports. Incidental to the cruelty which was said to attach to stag hunting, Lord Ribblesdale had given the case rif an animal which, after having been hunted all day, returned home in the most sociable manner with the hounds, and actually took its food 'with them out of the same trough. Lord Ribblesdale, while lie did not go so far as to say that deer actually enjoyed being hunted, asserted that eases of cruelty were few and far between. Lord Willonghhy de Broke also ,>ppnsrd the Bill. If there was one rhiug which ought to bo dealt with by legislation, it was the practice of putting up spiked railings in a hunting country. The Lord Chancellor said the spirit which animated all true .sportsmen was to give the animal fair play, but this was not tie- case in the 'ciasse:, of sport to which ibis Mill particularly applied. The ninui point to he dealt, with was rabbit coursing, which was not. a sport at all, but a cowardly and disgusting ■uiiiiseiiniil. The Archbishop of Canterbury supported the Bill. Ha,! Beauchaitip, on lie-half of I'm- Home Office. said the department uoidd not. throß its weight on one side or the other. The second r«.-adiiie. was fie gatived by W to -5.