THE SALE OF WEAPONS JOCKEY’S ADVENTURES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2117, 27 June 1907, Page 3

THE SALE OF WEAPONS

JOCKEY’S ADVENTURES.

VO RESTRICTIONS ON MAORIS. Our Port Awnnui correspondent in iiis notes asks: “Can you give any information as to the sale of guns and •ammunition to Natives? Can storekeepers sell them over the counter the same as tea, sugar, etc? Please co quote the Act on this subject.” Through the courtesy of Mr. Barton, S. fit., wo are able to assure our correspondent, and at tlio same time to afford information to others who may he doubtful on tlio point, that there is no embargo placed upon the -jute of arms and ammunition to Maoris. Whatever qeed for caution existed during the Native trouble was obviated when the Maori was placated and placed on an equality with the pakeha, as regards the general laws governing the colony. The Arms Act, 1880, which has not 1 been amended in any vital featuro, does not differentiate in the slightest degree between the Maori and the patella; all are treated alike as free lieges of His Majesty. .. At the same time the Act imposes very stringent regulations as to tlio Cocking and disposal of arms and ammunition generally, and enacts that a proper record shall be kept by each dealer, suoh record to he ject to inspection and comparison, flio stocking of an excessive quantity if “arms, ammunition and • warlike stores” is prohibited. • In wading through the “wherefores,” “whereases” and “thereofs” if the Act it. is curious to come across the following section: “Every person who shall sell or dispose of, with or without price or reward, any arms, gunpowder or warlike stores to any person knowing such 'person to he in arms or in rebellion against Her (His) Majesty in New Zealand or, against, the Government of the colony, or knowing such person to be the agent) or accomplice of any person so in arms or rebellion, or know-

ing that such arms, gunpowder or warlike stores are intended to , be

use'll in levying* against Her (His) Majesty in New Zealand or against the Government, of the colony, shall be guilty of a capital felony and if convicted thereof shall suffer death is a felon.”

TOD SLOAN’S CONFESSIONS. Tod Sloan appears to be in a, somewhat despondent mood (writes the New York correspondent of the London Telegraph). When the authorities barred him from racecourses 1 in Europe, and the American Turf treated him. similarly, he ran a billiard room in conjunction with McGraw, the famous baseball manager. Then he drifted to the vaudeville stage, in immaculate silk hat and evening dress, telling stories, the most popular of which was his description of how he was supposed to be one day walking along the Strand with an illustrious personage. Someborj/ stopped them with, “Hullo, Tod! Delighted to see you. Who’s your friend ?’•’ This never failed to bring the house down. Later oh, •When the vaudeville houses grew tired of him, Mr. Hearst’s newspapers made him. racing editor. All last year he gave tips to the evening paper reputed to enjoy three-quarters of a million circulation. Somehow the horses persisted in running regardless of his predictions. A fortnight ago ho was said to be galloping horses at/ Bennings, the famous Washington’race-track, while to-day he publishedMn one of the newspapers a page of “confessions,” the burden of which is that one of the world’s most-t a|l kod-o'f .jockeys owes hip downfall to “swelled head” and high living. . “I had £IOO,OOO five years ago,” he says, “I have lost it through unfortunate speculations and false friends. When I was .in England I was invited to hunting- parties and week-ends. I met lords and ladies, apparently on equal terms. Indeed, they would remain two days and I for a week. I forgot that I was only a jockey; that is how I developed big head.” -

He tells characteristic anecdotes of his halycon days, when he electrified England ten years ago. “Most jockeys,” he declares, “have a poor knowledge of pace. It was paco alone that won for me on Caimen at Newmarket in 1899. Morny Cannon, on Flying Fox, was considered invincible. He let me steal five lengths at tho start. . I gradually slowed down and so did the others. They waited for mo to run my horse off his feet, and come back to them. Nearing th finish I let Caimen down with plenty of speed in reserve, and they did not discover my trick m time. Flying Fox could havo beaten Caiman .by a street if Cannon had sent him on about his business.” Again ho says: “The English public gave me lots of credit, and quite turned my head. At Kempton Park the same year when Lather oft Wheel reared and fell on me, a lord and lady fainted ,and titled people showed the greatest concern for my welfare.” Then ho gives his version of the lawsuit with the French Jockey Club, when Maitre Labori defended him, and he lost. Ho is seeking opportunities to establish himself anew in the hearts of racing patrons, and would like, as a last) resort, to found and conduct a riding school for jockeys. “I am exorcising horses now, but the muscles which formerly served me in good stead have disappeared. I could ride to-morrow at less than Bst 41b. My hope in life is in a large measure based on reinstatement.”