ATHLETICS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1102, 15 April 1911, Page 12

ATHLETICS.

1 (Bi Mercubi.) THE DAY 01 THE PARISH PUMP. FIXTURES. To-night and Easter. Week.—Amateur Athletic Contests, King's Festival, Town Hall. Easter Monday. University Tournament (Auckland)'. To-day,—Axemen's Carnival and Amateur Atheltic Events, Upper Hutt. Easter Monday.—Kopuarangi Sports (WaiTitrapa). The Pump and its Slave. When the representatives of the Otago Centre on the Council of the N.Z.A.A.A. assaulted the parish pump by voting according to enlightened conviction on the locale of the Australasian championships, it was, of course, foreseen that the pump might squirt back. Messrs. Marryatt and Pollock have apparently been struck i>y the backwash—by the body they represent and by the press of the Province of the Pump.

Of the various slaves, vassals, menials, dependents, serfs, and thralls of tho Pump, none have attended to its faintest gurgle during tho past twelve years with deeper servitude than the Dunedin '*jtar." So, when this journal takes up .the cause of the Pump in its editorial columns, such things as right and wrong fly to the four, winds of heaven, for the Pump (like youth in Conan Doylo's "Eodnoy Stone") must be served. The "Star" says as follows:— '

An insult lias been deliberately given to Dunedin by a number of persons who, unfortunately (though nominally unimportant- : as' , 'individuals), were placed in a position of honour and responsibility when they were given seats on the New Zealand Ama- .. teur Athletic Council by the various " athletic Centres. Unquestionably the position was one of ,trust, for each delegate sits there only as the representative of his Centre. So far as the wishes of his Centre were communicated to him, he was bound to act in accordance with their wishes,

and lus clear duty was to resign his seat if he were unable to conform to their desires. Yet, amazing to relate, the delegates of Punedin on the council (Messrs. Marryatt and Pollock), contrary to the express instructions of the Otago Centre, without any previous intimation of their intention to

the Otago Centre, voted to hold the forthcoming Australasian championship athletic meeting in Wellington

instead of Dunedin. And then the "Star" continues:—"To this meeting Dur.etUn had ri right; it was the most suitable place in many respects for the purpose. It was the turn of tho South Island to have tho meeting. Canterbury agreed that Dunedin ought to have it; so did tho. Southland and Auckland Centres. All these Centres had expressed their opinions, and instructed their delegates in the council to vote that tho meeting should be held in Dunedin. Moreover, it was affirmed unanimously at Ilia conference of delegates in 1010 that Dunedin should be the place of the next championship meeting. That resolution was confirmed at the conference of delegates held last month at Christchurch, the delegates from four Centres out of tho fivo voting for the proposal. Yet we have the spectacle of men occupying a seat on the New Zealand Council deliberately flouting the expressed opinioiU of all the athletic Centres of the Dominion except one, and deliberately betraying their trnst. It is now a question of principle No council can be allowed to exist the members of which deliberately set aside their pledges, and without one word of warning disobey in a most vital matter the instructions of the Centre which appointed them. The council will probably have to be made a peripatetic body in future; their last performance is so complete an outrage on decency that the constitution of the central body must be reformed, so as to effectually prevent a repetition of Tuesday's unseemly and indefensible proceeding. The circumstances are so unique that we hardly know how to adequately characterise them. But the Dunedin Centre has a duly to perform to itself and to the interests it conserves. It must take good care to let. Messrs. Marryatt and Pollock understand that such a volte face on their part will never be allowed to occur again." It is not intended here to attempt to combat tho very debatable assertions in tho above as to the degree in which the councillors are bound by the Centres, the right of Dunedin to the big meeting, the unanimity of the delegates at the Centre Conference in 1910, nor to criticise the spirit which evoked this extraordinary outburst. It is printed to account, for tho action and speech of tho members of the Otago Centre, for the "Star" article was published BEFORE the Centre met' to consider the affair. Not so Afraid of the Pump, The "Otago Daily Times" takes a very fair and- temperate view of tho position. In summing up (after a series of interviows with tho Centre officials, running into columns) says:— "The question of the allocation of the Australasian championships is ono which should have a wider outlook than mere provincialism, and, to do the council justice, it may be supposed this aspect of tho caso did not influenco it in its judgment in coming to the decision to hold the Australasian championship meeting of 1912 in Wellington. The council has no doubt gone into the question deeply and considered the matter from all its asneets, and having information at its disposal denied the Otauo Centre, is in a position to decide the most suitable venue. At the samo time, the recommendation of the conference of Centres in 1910, and again in 1911, might well have been given some consideration, and not totally ignored, as appears to have been the caso. The Auckland delegates . furnished the opportunity for the council to refer the matter back to the Centres, which was a reasonable and a just procedure, or to defer consideration, but '.this was defeated, and the decision come to that the meeting be held in Wellington. Wellington's claims may be, and probably aro, stronger than those advanced

by Otago, but if the Empire City, on account of its central position, is always to be considered more favourably than other centres in the Dominion, by the self-same argument of centralisation, the Australasian championship meeting some years henco must go to Wellington." The Gurgling of She Pump. From the. reports of the meeting of the Otago Centre, at which the motion, unseating Messrs. Marryatt and Pollock, was passed, it appears that thiv.e gentlemen gave previous offence through not notifying the centre of their intention not to comply with its orders. The morion, fathered by Mr. J. B. Callan, is repcrted thus-.—"That in view of the action of Messrs. Pollock and Marryatt in voting contrary to the instructions received from this centre, particularly without hiving given any intimation of any divergence between those instructions and their convictions, their appointment as delegates of this- centre is hereby revoked."—(Applause.) If the minute book of the centre were turned up it would be seen that Messrs. Marryatt and Pollock had definite instructions from the centre. They had ample time to let the centre know that those instructions were not palatable to them. The question of whether it was right or wrong did not enter into the matter at all. It was certainly not expected that the delegates would act at the meeting as they d'id. He had been in doubt, on a reading of the rule, whether they had power, in colloquial language to kick their men out.—(ApplauFjj It was really a debatable question wnether the centre could elect delegates at any other time than at the annual meeting, but even if this quibble occurred' to Messrs. Marryatt and Pollock he did not think they would retain their seats when they know their action had entirely forfeited the confidence of the Otago Centre. (Applause.) . The. discussion that followed was also interesting in spots:— Mr. Murray seconded the motion. Mr. Divers supported the motion, which, he considered, was not strong enough. (Hear, hear.) . Mr. Barclay said the' motion dealt in the lightest and easiest manner with conduct such as that of Messrs. Marryatt and Pollock. The attitude of the Otago delegates had been a shock and a surprise to all who took an interest in athletic matters. (Applause.) The honourable course for the delegates to have taken was to intimate that they did not agree with the desires of the centre, yet not ,1 single word of warning came from them either one way or the other. The motion indeed was mild. For himself, he would hove liked to see stronger and plainer language. (Hear, hpar.) The conduct of the delegates was absolutely inexcusable. And so on. The rest of- Mr. Barclay's remarks were remarkable chiefly for thsir intemperance and offensiveness. But Must the Pump be Paramount? It will be noticed that there was no discussion as.to the correctness or otherwise of the action of the recalcitrant delegates. In tact Mr. Callan expressly pointed out that the question of whether it was right or wrong should not enter into tho matter at all. The centre considered itself flouted, and, consequently, evidently has to- squirt back at someone. The "Star" had pointed out at whom tho squirt was to bo directed, and the centre did as directed. The reason - of Messrs. Marryatt and Pollock in not notifying their centre of the intention to disregard its instructions is plain enough to those who understand. These gentlemen considered, and in this they are ably backed up, that this was a matter solely for the council to decide, r.nd not at all within the scope of the centres. Necessarily, therefore, they considered that any instructions from the centres wore ultra vires, and so to be ignored.

One interesting phase of the revocation by Otago of their delegates' appointments lies in the fact that, by the constitution of the council, the members thereof hold their seats until the next annual meeting, or until their successors are appointed. So far (at time of writing, that is] Otago has - appointed no new representatives. Therefore, Messrs. Marryatt and Pollock are not yet unseated, and it will be very interesting to seo whether the Otago centre will bo able to find two delegates whose ideas as to the functions of a councillor fair in with tho centre's views. From all anpearances two sucli pliable delegates will bo hard to find in Wellington.

The writer went into the question Inst week as to' whether the council or the centres govern the snort in the Dominion, nnd there is no need ti so over it again. That is the i?sue at the bottom of tho present imiileii=anrness. If the council is the governing body, it must govern without any hindrance from the centres in matters of general policy. If the council is to be a figurehead, then it is time that a new system of eovernmpnt was set nn. While this miction remains unsettled a similar embriel'o to the present' mie is always to 1 10 looliprl {by. and. if it brings about this fetHcment. tlipn P'-pjit pood will p.ome nf it—unpleasant although thi business is for c-prynne. and especially ?o for the two delegates most immediately concerned. Nn Tennis at the Festival? In the ■ files of the London "Sportsman," to hand by the last English mail, appeared the following letter, which seems to convoy an extremely disturbing message to the Australasian Festival of Empire. Snorts Committee:—To the Editor of "The Sportsman"—Sir,—ln reference to the Imperial Spirts programme, in which it was proposed to include the game of lawn tennis, the Festival of Empire have been informed that the championships of the-Lawn Tennis Association have been fixed to start on Juno 2G, and that these competitions last for ten days or a fortnight; therefore, to avoid the clashing of important fixtures it has been decided to .withdraw tho event from the said programme.—Yours faithfully. William Henry, for the Sports Committee of the Festival of the Empire. If this means (as it apparently does) that tennis is to be totally excluded from the contests at the big Empire meeting, the alteration makes a very serious difference in Australia's prospects of victory. Moreover, there is another and a bigger view of the matter. Such an alteration lit such a liitu hour is manifestly unjust to the oversea Dominions, and particularly so to Australasia, which has built so largely on, Anthony Wilding's assistance. "Mercury" understands that no official intimation as to the change of programme has been received in town by the local executive, but it certainly appears as if some move should be made to got into communication with the Empire Committee in Sydney, with a view to getting at tho facts of the matter. It. fcoins so absurd that such a slep should be taken solely for the reason given—because of a clash with the English championship dates. At the most, there cannot be more than four players in the Empire contest, onu end. from South Africa, Canada, Australasia, and Great Britain, and the chances are all against each country having a representative. There would, in nil probability, only be Great Britain's champion and Wilding, and surely this match could be nrraneed, so as not'to'clash with the other fixture. Tt seems as though a vigorous protost from Australasia to the Home Executive would bo in order. Our Town Hall Experiment. To-night, at the Town Hall, will begin the first of what mav Ire a series nf indoor athletic "meets." if the present venture "takes on" with the public. During the coming wpek c.t;li evening's programme- of tho King's Festival will contain one- or more athletic competitions, track events, both running and walking, jumps, home-trainer cycle events, and the ever-popular hig-of-war. In America these indoor meetings have a great vogue, and there is no . Mason why Ihev should not be equnlly successful here. Guy Ilaskins, the Festival of Empiiv representative, has run many a match on indoor tracks, and many of the United Rtntrs champions keep themselves in condition during tho. close fpason by means of those electric-light meetings. A reeular series would be a boon to our local athletes, and would be the means of working up a hifrher standard in thn high iitmn and pole-vaulting contest?, for which the opportunities for practice, as matters .iro at present, are all too few.