AN APPEAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7233, 21 October 1901, Page 2

AN APPEAL.

Fcr reasons which we.' do not propose to diagncss just- row, cricket does not flourish in Canterbury as it- should do. It suffers not only from the neglect of the general fmblic, hut also sometimes from the pinch of poverty. Just now its absorbing nioilady is a ahovemts of cadi. It seems that the expenses of the Canterbury Cricket- Association f last year wera rather larger than i usual, find the revenue, under the influence of bad weather and other circumstances over which th? Association may justly claim it had no control, was a great deal smaller. The two failed to balance, and, unfortunately, the difference was on the wrong side of the ledger. Moreover, this is not the enly deficiency which the cricketers of Christ-church h-ava been called upon to face. The revenue of the Hagley Park cricket ground has- also b&en exceeded liy the expenditure-. The fu-ndr-i at the disposal of the Hag'ley Park Ground Committee are invariably small. They amcunt simply to ihe- somewhatslender contributions which the clubs using the ground can afford to pay, and nothing beyc-nd. But the ground h3.s to be kept in order, and occasionally some additional expenses have- to be incurred for this purpose. This extra outlay became necessary recently, and it has taxed the resources of the committee so severely thr.t an appeal for asiisti'nce has been deemed necessary. The Asrociation and the Ground Committee have accordingly combined, and are seeking help from the public. But they are offering something in return. Owing to the kindness of a number cf well-known amauur actors, they are able to announce a couple of performances of amateur theatricnl?. These performances will take place in the Theatre Royal en Thursday and Friday evenings, and the names which appear on the cast may bs accepted as a. guarantee that they will be mort enjoyable. We hope that the public will resp-ond liberally to the appeal which is being made. For the credit of Ghristchurch, the greatnational gam? of England should not be al-l6we-d to languish here for the Eake of a little money.