SPORT & WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2337, 19 December 1914, Page 6

SPORT & WAR

MR. CHAS. STODDAET INTERVIEWED. Mr. Charles Stoddart, of Liverpool, an English sportsman, who is very faithful to New Zealand, has just arrived ; in Wellington from the Old Country, and after a brief tour of the South Island, is to fish at Taupo in company with Colonel E. B. Blennerhassett, who has already departed for the north. Mr..Stoddart says that it is extremely unlikely that many English _sportsuien : will visit New Zealand this season owing to tho general dislocation of commercial and domestic arrangements'at Home. Almost every family had representatives either at the' front or doing' some kind of duty in the United Kingdom, and naturally they could not think of venturing so far from home at such a crucial' time. Then, again, most of the commercial houses had lost largo proportions of their staffs, which entailed more work upon, the heads and those too old to volunteer. At present the Army authorities were only accepting volunteers up to 35 years of age, but , other than that, battalions wore being formed of men of kindred thought and station, in which men up to 45 yearß of age. were accepted. That idea was promoted by Lord Derby, who formed the I Pals' Battalion. Then there is a Sportsmen's Battalion, a Footballers' Battalion, an Artists' Battalion, and so on. .Naturally, a man would prefer to volunteer in a company where ho would bo associated with men of his own class, and Lord Derby's idea had been the means of obtaining many thousands of volunteers among those who might have hold off longer.' Tho spirit prevailing at Home was really splendid. Everyone was endeavouring to do something to help tho nationmen and women. Not long before he left he dined in London with two or three friends. One of the party was an Earl's son, who being above the age, was content to do the work of a nightwatchman. They called them special' constables, but really they were only, guarding important buildings as a nightwatchman would do. Sport had not altogether been neglected. There was still a good.deal of racing, shooting, and hunting being done in England, but naturally there was not the usual enthusiasm for such recreations at a time like the present. Mr. Stoddart said that the Overseas Dominions had done splendidly in the offers of service and money they had made, and the result would be an enormous advertisement for the colonies when England won through. The war had come in tho nick of time to bind the Empire together closer than ever it had been before, and the power England would wield in the future would be enormous.