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New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume III, Issue 145, 4 May 1893, Page 4

Only a few weeks back we published the text of a circular which the secretjary of the Takapuna Jockey Club had sent, out to the Country Clubs in the Auckland district convening a Conference for May' 30 to discuss certain proposals therein submitted, the object of which was to; allow such clubs to have some voice in, the management of the laws that them. We quite expected from certain hints thrown out in the Southern papers lately to hear of a similar kind of agination in the South Island, and w6 were not wrong in our surmise, for . committee of the Ashbdrton Racing one of the strongest racing instittt&Qiis in the neighbourhood of Christchurch—have passed certain resolutions in tb,«? same direction, copies of vthich are ,to :

sent to., all South Island Racing Clubs asking them to appoint delegates to .attend a meeting at Ashburton on July s—which date, by the way, will be over a month later than the meeting convened by?the Takapuna Jockey Club. These resolutions read thus ; — That the Ashburton Club considers that the time 'has arrived to form an Association of . County Clubs, and that all bona fide Country . Clubs throughout the South Island be asked by circular to join, and generally to help forward the Association for the following reasons : — 1. That it is desirable that New Zealand racing should be governed by a representative body dr bodies, and not, as at present, by unrepresentative bodies. 2. That the Country Clubs should be represented at the Conferences held for the purpose of framing rules and considering matters connected with the welfare of racing in New Zeoland generally. 3. That under the present ruling, the very existence of some of the oldest and best Country Clubs, whose meetings largely assist to maintain the sport, are seriously jeopardised, and the con- ' tinnation of this undesirable state of affairs will have the effect of encouraging proproprietory clubs.

4' That the Country Clubs, if they were associated, would be in a better position to further the interests of racing in general. The desirability of the second of these resolutions being brought into force was, we take it, affirmed by the last Conference of Metropolitan Clubs’ delegates, - but, as we have pointed out before, they have been singularly inert about formulating any scheme —which scheme, though promised, has not yet been forthcoming. We hope the Metropolitan Clubs do not intend to treat the representations of the country clubs—made from both the North and South Islands —with silent contempt, because, if they do, we warn them that it will be all the worse for them The country clubs are entitled to a fair and courteous hearing, and should at least receive that, even if their proposals do not meet with the approbation of the “ powers that be.”

We cordially agree with Resolution No. 3 passed by the Ashburton Racing Club. They have themselves, luckily, been one of the “ oldest and best country clubs” whose existence has not been jeopardised, but they can feel for their brethern in distress, arid they have right on their side in stating as they do in this resolution that “ under the present ruling the very existence of some of the oldest and best country clubs, whose meetings largely assist to maintain the sport, are seriously jeopardised, and the continuation of this undesirable state of affairs will have the effect of encouraging proprietary clubs.” The framers of the resolution might have added with a good deal of truth that the action of the Colonial Secretary in granting totalisator licenses to clubs whose bona-fides was very questionable has been the cause of several of the thoroughly legitimate country clubs being at present in a very different financial position to what they have been in the past.