HOCKEY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2144, 9 May 1914, Page 12

HOCKEY.

!Bv . Si'ECT.ViOH.J MARS AMD JUPITER PUgVIUS V. HOCKEY. At the time of writing, the hocjvo.v ; market is dull. A liotaft'lfl start was made three weeks ago, lint witen the • . military authorities c'tt'ißfe along and picked, ©lit most of tho choice jyieldefs of the stick, and dropped ihem in the mud ai 'i'akapa'.i, thcifl Was a tehipor- , <u'v cessation in ard.osu". Jlofrever, thts sevea-a»sKlo tournament was. inapted, < and evep thing pointed to an ntwestiiifj; eoiitcst on Saturday last. Jupiter Pluvsus hove into vimv on Friday, and successfully prohibited all gamps oh the Saturday, itavefer, the prospects are looming giiglit again. The ladies,* granting tirio weather to-day, ate to commence their games, while it Vyill surely have to be raining very hitn! to prevent the seve»*MSs& tournament ■ being played, •' The Proposed Change of Headquarters. I'csha.us t he solo item of in Sorest or-. '.Mipvinn U:e mind ul* jioelccy enthusiasts . at tho present moment is tho defeat of film motion to cliftHije U:e hoas'qtmrtcra for the siifining year iroui Chris'tchureh to AVoiJinntoi:. at the annual meeting : of the New Zealand Association last! week. Though a very strong ease was made on.t, as eould be seen from the letter from tho Auckland Association.. published in The Dominion- a week or: so back, the defeat of the motion did . not occasion very great surprise in, Wellington, though it was admitted on ■ all sides to he a good tiling. How Auckland FoeJs. Some interesting comments were made by tho ihairmiin of the Auikiaml Association, lit. t. It. Norton, wheii ; ■nppfoaohud oil the matter by a representative' of the "Xew Zealand Her- : aid." lie stated that he eould not believe that the voting Mgures of eight tor the change and sixteen Against in-, ilicatoti the aet.n?l feeling of the vari» nits affiliated associations. Iftdcedj !ho. lotrnl association hiid been advised o.f strong support by five associat.ion.E, re-. : presenting, with its ov.n ; 11 votes, aitfj

it could only be assumed that sortie of tlio delegates who were- given a freo hand in tho matter were influenced by tho remarks of the chairman of' the meeting, and by tlio general denial af bungling in eonneotioij with the proufissd visit of ail English team niatio by tho president and members af tlio sow* ' mitte. Brfore moving iu tiie matter, tho Auckland Association had c-onsit!ei> j ed it very Sarefuliy. and was fully con- < viiiced that in tho interests of tlio gaiisp < throughout. the Dominion a chango of i headquarters was absolutely eSsqnti-al. i It was i'olt that the present committee i had not tho confid.eiie:e of tho associa- . ■tiffiis which is essential if _tho game is ; ■to maintain its position i-n the sport of '.lie Dominion. _ 1 But even apart from this, tlio post- ■■ tion of Christeimrch was altogether too isolated for tlio majority of tho wsso- , oiatkms, and for tliis reason alone tho . time had arrived when Wellington should be considered as the only possible centre. Tho Auckland Association lintl always endeavoured to eliminate any question of north v. south, but the fact that, tho gams was progressing quit® twice as rapidly in the North Isiaml as in tho soutn was significant. Notwithstanding that tins smith Was tlio first to adopt the game, there wnfe now approximately two-thirds of tho affiliated players in the North Island, aiiij >~t seemed safe to say that this proportion is being and would he maintained. English Tour Bonsio. From Press reports, continued Mr. Norton-in tlio sgfile intoihl'Sew;., it would ] i 'appear that the motion Was decided 011 tho question of the. failure to bring out. , tho English tenia this season, ana* tho reported remarks of tlio president (Mr.: , 10. Nordon) lyero so misleading that it ! was not difficult to understand how ! Some of the delegates woro .possibly m.is-1 : , led. Tlio chairman made much of tlio ; point that tho New Zealand' ; not. only granted £0 'towards. tho expenses o.f the Auckland delegate to visit: ■ ■ Christciiurch to reopen tho question. bttt that tho members of ,t'h& comniitteo | h.ad personally £IGO for tho , tour. "What are tho actual faetsj?" ;' said Mr. Norton. "The committee in tie t first place actually refused i 0... refceive. a delegaio from Auckland, jiotwithstand- • ins that that association bad stated that it M't sure {he matter was capablo • , ] of easy arrangement, and tho conference was only granted when Auckland | pressed tho matter _ . The New Zealand Committee appnr- \ ontly thought so little of tho matter that there was iio quorum to meet tlio' delegate at the conference, and it had to be postponed until tlio following Monday, when tlio secretary again liad great .. ] difficulty ill Miting tiio requisite' five , : tr.enibers, and at least one member who ' was in town aid not think it worth 1 while to attend after tlio ■ Auckland . delegate had journeyed 000 miles. At this tisno til® tour had iieen definitely ! abandoned bv' tlio New Zealand COlll-' ; mittes, which admitted its failuro to; v find a minimum amount of £550 and a. maximum of £700 from all tiie affiliated ( ■associations., although Auckland had guaranteed £100, ' Wellington £75, ' HawWs Pay £75, Canterbury £100, [ Nelson ®50, Waikato £50., and Waira--1 rapa £50. Tiie Canterbury gnaranteo ■ 1 was put up the niplit the Now Zealand ■ Association abandoned the lour, tho 1 , latter body not troubling to find out; J w Irat the Canterbury Association was : dtiiisg iil tlio matter. At tho tiriio tho ! New Zealand Comniitteo abandoned tlio ; tour amicable:! England accordingly, j't. j 'had not itself guaranteed £.5, lot alono ' £100, and the reason that tlio £100 was 1 put up by tho members of tlio commit* tee was because tli.6 ABciflfl'nd delegate,' who committed his association for £300, did so on the strict understanding that • tlio New Zealand Association found tho 4 tHCEarenp'OL. £906, '! '.vliich"'waS : ' to Bo' 'guaraiiteod by the : ■ affiliated associations, and £1100, the : estimated total cost of the to'jir, as far ; > as New Zealand was concerned. . Indeed . from tlio verj- outset tho New Zealand' • Ooimnitteo failed to .grasp ,tSie problem • and showed a, Jack of business ability' that was utterly surprising, to say tho, least. The tour Was abandoned when it should never have been abandoned, and 1 after the Auckland Association kad re--1 opened thii- matter and practically given i the New Zealand Colnnikt.ee this means 'of successfully conducting the tour, even t though not one penny was taken at any : 1 of the gates, the Now Zealand body ;. again ict. tiie. matter s'lift through its . finger?, and this when the Knglish team t; liad' been got together and reported by tlio secretary of the English Council as. 1 ''a very strong; combination, ■comprising . seven internationals., and all tho rest i either, divisional or county reprcsonta-! : fives." .It was certainly unfortunate ■ that the English Council should leave ; . its request for an English guarantor so la'e, "but evwi so this did not in any w.av . . oxeuso the New Zealand Bovcrning . body. i' Tiie request for this guarantor reach-. ! ; ed the Xe - .v Zeal mid Committee through ■. Mi', liiiot Dav-is, of had • arranged the tour hi England. In. Bend* r ■ ing tire request to the New Zealand As, ■ sociation, Mr. Davis atked wl.ie.ther, . witl.t the guarantees in hand from * tlio / different associations, the committee cinfkl arrange « bank guarantco for : £700 (tiie amount asked by Englandi, : \ .pointing out that such a guarantee v would havo to reach t(i6 ■Engßsli Council : ~ before January 2.4, the day the council ■: . ■ >vas to meet, to receive New Zealand's. , reply. Xotwithstanding that the ques- , lion «f this guarantee being made before ' January 24 was absolutely essential, the next thing Auckland heard was that tlio. New Zeanltid Committee liad cabled offering a batik guarantee 011 April- 1. Auckland, in protesting, • offered tlio committee a bank guarantee tlie.ro and then for £300 out of 'the £;7§o. but not- ■ witlistandinr: this tho governing coun- : oil failed, cither through indifference or inability, te raise the other £'156, and • 50 the English Council, out of courtesy to New _Ze.ftJan.il, csjbioti that it regrettecl its iiiability to ijet a suffiei'ontlv strona team away. "Personally," sa.id Mr. Norton, "I cannot find any eScusti 1 for the Kew Zealaml Committee., and stioli is tluj opijiion of tlio Auckland ! : bVcuf : ve. If the New Zealand' Comniitteo had replied to Mr. Davis before: : c».U!in.2 England offerinp. a guarantee in " April when it was insisted on in Jaim--1 a'ry, tlte fvill would; li-a.vfe been arranged ill Auckland, ami the Knglish ; - fe.ini Would liow be e.mbarkinp for New ■ Zealand. It is entirely New' Zealand's : | loss ; and tho New Zonlcnd Oiimmit'tee. i i having been returned to ffliTice, 'should j cpngratlilate. itself 011 its gflqfl fortnne. I We must t.'ilce it, howevev. that hockey 1 nlnvers are easy-goinc Vt'hilo tho New j Zealaivd Hockey Association bus so sirrnallv failed to got the Enirlislimeii ; cut." Mr. Nor)on cone.lnded, "the Nen- ; Zealand Ladirs' Assoftfatiftn (with iieadquarters at Wei'imdonl has coienle<n.l amuuswuentji for tiie visit of ajj Fjiif-lisii . iadier-' t-sa-ii this season, showing wiint ~' n little caitorprlfiß and i nfhnci.asm will. I do. Good hick to the Irtrlies!"