TROTTING TROUBLES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7154, 19 July 1901, Page 3

TROTTING TROUBLES.

[From pun Correspondent.] ..,.•: ' WELLINGTON, July • 18. '.. Complaint' was made by a deputation of Auckland members, who "waited on the Colonial Secretary last evening, regarding tho rule passed by the- Racing Conference last, yeaj : in. reference •: to tta disqualifies,- • tiqn.of pfilcers of -trptting'-. clubs. --.Sir 4 - Mkwice. O'Rprkje said lie \was,,. president, of a 'trotting clu|), and ioundi . that he, was.liable to.be warned off 'the' racecpurees . of the colony. " the . case was that the Racing Conference had passed a rule that no officers of trotting clubs, honorary or otherwise, would be al-^ lowed on racecourses controlled by the feon- - ference. He described thus as an act of, tyranny worthy cf Russia. He objected to be coerced, and asked if thie Minister could see that justice was done before issu- . ing totalisator permits to the racing clubs. ". Sir Joseph Ward said he would bring the matter before the Racing Conference. - He. could not, of course, suspend the operation, of an Act. of Parliament by refusing to issue totalisator . permits, but 'he hoped- on the matter being gone into with the Racing Conference that that which, was. flair and just would be done. He fully, .recognised that the Trotting Association was' quite as duly a constituted body as th# Rac-~ ing Conference. Mr, Mark amd Mr Harris, of the Auckland and Otahuhu Trotting Qlubs, also protested! against the rule. • Speaking as a member of last year's; Racing Conference, I am of opinion that the rule" was inserted merely to- deal withi clubs which had pony races on their programmes —mixed programmes, in fact. This entirely lost sight of by ith© deputation. That such was the case seems to be./ijorne out by the fact that only Aucklao4 is prejudicially affected by the rule^ ', :