THE SPORTS COMMITTEE.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 416, 30 November 1868, Page 2

THE SPORTS COMMITTEE.

(Per favor of the Westport Times.) To the Members of the Sports Committee, Gentlemen, —lf there is oue honest outspoken man in your Committee, will he please inform me through the press, why Mr Seaton's name was substituted for mine, as Clerk of the Course ?—-I am, Gentlemen, Tours truly, Geo. LnnmicK. [AD VERTIS EMENT. ] THE SPOETS COMMITTEE AND ME O'CONOR.

{To the Editor of the Westport Times and Charleston Argus.) Slit, —Most unwillingly I find myself compelled to assume a totally new chracter as a newspaper correspondent, but, in self-defence, I am obliged to reply to Mr O'Conor's statement published in your Saturday's issue. Mr O'Conor mast have the bumps of combativeness and self-esteem very largely developed, for, judging by his past public career in AVestport, unless he is the beginning and the end of everything he handles, his vanity is so grievously wounded that he at once retires from the field. Without doubt he is a great public character, and I am not ; and, only under pressure would I now make myself prominent. Singularly enough, however, all that he has hitherto undertaken as a public benefactor has ended in anything but success. If report can be believed, his conduct as a member of the Athenaeum was so overbearing that the other members refused to act with him, and he resigned or withdrew greatly to their relief aud public ad-

vantage. After this achievement, he was elected a member of the Hospital Committee, but here again his incompatibility of temperament occasioned such differences with his fellow com-mittee-men, that he voluntarily vanished from that scene of usefulness.

His career as member of the Progress Committee as yet has been unproductive of the usual result. As a promoter of Christmas sports, everything at first went on smoothly enough, but his native cantankerousness could not long be hid under a bushel; and, as I, one of the subscribers and members of the Committee, did not choose to be a pliant tool in his hands, and do obeisance to such a wooden god, he attempts to be sarcastic at my expense, and to drag my name into disrepute in connection with the forthcoming

sports. In justification of myself, I beg that you will allow me space for explanation, whereby 1 trust the public will be convinced that not only the insinuations contained in his letter are altogether unfounded, but that in some particulars they are absolutely, I will not say wilfully, false. Beginning with my pet arrangements as to my importing horses to run off with all the prizes, I may say that I only promised my subscription on condition that only South West Qpldfields' horses should be allowed to compete, and that principle I advocated throughout. In proof of this, a programme was prepared by a sub-committee when Mr O'Conor was present, and coinciding in it, whereby any such course as that referred to, even if contemplated by me, was effectually prevented. That programme, with very trivialalterations, was submitted to a full meeting of the Committee on the next evening and adopted, but on this occasion Mr O'Conor was unable to be present, and, hence, as he did not have a final finger in the pie, his dissitisfaction. The Towjl Plate conditions and other points formerly ageed to by him he suddenly and mysteriously found faulty, and he entered upon a round of visits to members of Committee, exhorting and converting some of them to his own or some one else's views. The result was another hastily-called meeting and the rescinding of all previously done. Disgusted with the vacillations and the lamentable ignorance of racing matters then displayed by Mr O'Conor and his followers, I withdrew myself and my money and left Mr O'Conor the self-constituted dictator of the sport. What the result of such government may be, has yet to be ascertained ; but those who know anything about racing can form an opinion from the fact of the Town Plate being made a handicap with penalties for winners in addition to the handicap! With reference to Mr O'Conor's statement that my .withdrawal arose through my being prohibited from importing a horse it is simply false, as I think I have proved, inasmuch as I was a party to preparing a programme which rendered it impossible. As to my pushing myself in as steward, I was urged to do it, and only on repeated solicitations consented to act ; and when I did so, I stated that it wa3 very likely I should not be in Westport at the time. As to his stating that stewards were ex officio disqualified from running horses, I am surprised that even his limited experience did not teach him better. With reference to the appointment of Mr Limbrick as elerk of the course, all I can say is that, though that gentleman is connected with my business, I should scorn to claim or exercise any authority over his actions outside such business, and his appointment or otherwise was a matter of the most perfect indifference to me.

If, by the exercise of any influence whatever, Mr O'Conor or anyone else is permitted, day after day, to alter previous arrangements, where is it to stop, and what will such childishness lead to ? % What is to prevent the Committee from again meeting, coming to totally different conclusions, and issuing a fresh programme from' dav to day, or week to week, whether for races or other sports ? As to the sneer with regard to liberality, I can well aiford my friend the benefit, though I should have thought the proverb hav-

ing reference to glass houses would have checked his utterance. To conclude, I dare Mr O'Conor to convene a meeting of the whole subscribers, and let them express their opinion on the conduct of various committee members, himself, of course included. I am prepared to submit to this ordeal. Is Mr O'Conor? Vanity and bounce are very well in their way but wdlnot carry Christmas Sports'successfully through better than they will bring an Hospital Ball to a profitable termination. Apologising for troubling you at such length, I am, yours, &c, I- FItEETH,