GREYMOUTH ANNUAL RACES.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1444, 18 March 1873, Page 2

GREYMOUTH ANNUAL RACES.

: Fikst Day. ' More auspicious circumstances than those . which attended the commencement of tha ! Greymouth Races yesterday could not 1 have been desired by the most critical on the subjects of weather and horseflesh. The weather which has prevailed for the past few months bid certainly not promoted an incroasa in the amount or numbers of diners' deposit receipts, improved their credit with the storekeeper, or encouraged a disposition to lay odds ami nobblerise at a race-meeting, but the elements, having so far behaved themselves badly, discreetly desisted from aggravating the agony by. the infliction of wet weather at the time it was least wanted. It was not only not wet, or winly, or raw, or cold, or hot, or any other thing to which an evil expletive could be applied, but f.hem was genial sunshine tempered by a light breeze, and one of the brightest of those bright skies under wliich.the bush country of the West Coast looks so beautiful. At a shilling a head, or even hve, it was worth while being driven out to the clearing which constitutes at once an oasis in the uncultivated desert and the Greymouth racu-course, even if there were no horses to be seen, or veils to peer through, or claret punch ■to sip and subsequently swear at, or sinful sweepstakes and silly swindles. There was sufficient to enjoy in the contemplation of the/natural surroundings, in swallowing a few'pounds' weight of ozone, and in lying stretched lazily at one's length on the sward, chewing the cud of contentment and white clover The circumstances xvere highly favorable to the production of poetry, to the increase of appetite, and to the general benefit of one's health, moral and physical. The racing was m keeping with the weathei'. Ie was highly respectable. It was not after the fashion of the circus, where the plot is all pre-arranged, but was, as far as these virtues usually go on the race-course, earnest and honest on the pnrt both of horses and men. The " field " — we believe that's the word representing a number of horses — was not in all cases very large. In fact in some cases it was decidedly small, and in. connection with none of the events was the excitement absolutely maddening. It was, if anything, subdued, but this was from no suspicion on the part of the public that, they wera in any particular being what vulgar people call "sold." The sensation was rather a .species of quiet enjoyment at- witnessing a few good horses racing aud being ridden meritoriously, and there was only one i incident calculated to substitute for enjoyment a touch of excitement or alarm. That was the incident of the steeplechaser Septimus colliding with Commodore in jumping a hurdle, through the fanlb or misfortune of the latter— a description of "canon" which, however worthy of imitation on the. billiard-table, would not bear frequent repetition on die turf without somebody's bones being rattled over the stones^ Fortunately the favor on the part of Providence which is extended to jockeys and to drunken men was maintained in this instance, and the two riders, though probably as much shaken as the celebrated patient of the' Newcastle apothecary, were not bo tho- t

roughly so a3 to be put beyond the power j of medicine. j The attendance yesterday seemed to be * superior — Mi at is to say, in'poiut of numbers — to what it was :»n the first .clay list 'year, when the circumstances associated with the question of weather were precisely similar, and when the circumstances associated wiih horseflesh were very different. Tiiis superiority, however, was not exhibited in more than mere numbers and in the possession of white hats, of which a large. consignment 3e.ems to have lateiy been received in Hokitika. The Grand Stand was not nearly so crowded. Rather, it was not at all crowded ; still it, was not by any means naked, and ninny of those who occupied it were either wonderfully.or gracefully gannmti'd. The niiij >rity of the male »ender aifecte 1 the around in front of the Stan! or -the Saddling Paddock, and, notwithstanding the Urn it protracted drought, there seemed to be possessed by the in 'jorir.y of nil classes sufficient, means to, purchase the elements of assuaging a hirgH amount oE personal "drouth."' The booth-holders, or the youths and bean ties wlio attended to rh^ir bars, were as busy as bees, imitating die proverbial action of the hee in the matter of gathering honey from the flowers, by gathering money all the day from the many nobble'risers who are invariably to be found on a colonial race-course. . The prices paid for the booths were in every instance of extraordinary amount and point an extraordinary moral, which, plainly stated^ is that publicans.must make extraordinary profits, but, notwithstanding the heavy rents paid; there seemed to be, from the extreme prevalence i.f thirst, and the absenceof impecuniosity, every probability of the bopthholdera coming aafely out of their speculation. The stewards' room and adjoining portion of the Grand Stand were held by Mr Hanney, and in supplying the stewards' luncheon he was successi fol in giving every satisfaction. The magniloquent Mr Johnston, of die Melbourne Hotel, in conjunction with Mr Carroll, held the other portion of the area covered by the Grand Stand, and. also. in a calico supplement to the Stand, supplied a luncheon which was largely and approvingly consumed. " Hector's Booth " was the signboard of a building erected by Mr Sutherland,. of the Canadian, and in letters which he who runs might read, the adjoining booth annouueed' itself as belonging to- Sam Rich. A fruit store, quite on a wholesale scale, was kept by Mr Collins, and a refreshment stall was provided' by Mr W. Jones. Around these, in the open, or in quiet corners apart from the common crowd, there were facilities afforded, on highly scientific principles, for gentlemen ascertaining ih;ir height, weight, and physical strength, and the simple-minded had facilities afforded them, on principles quite as scientific of discovering how many more blanks than prizes there are in the playing of field pool, and kindred sources of amusement. One gentleman, whose roof was a piece of leather affixed to his hat, with the word "Book- maker" painted thereon, and who, perched prominently on- a gin-case, pioclaimed himself,. with lungs of brass, ready to risk anything in the way of " odds," had for most of the day au audience attracted by his noise, but there was no apparent anxiety to extravagantly invest, and there seemed to be a suspicion that on the big event, the Jockey Club Handicap, there had been a mistake in the calculations aojnejyhi'.ret»y some "of the characters who were proprietors of inventions partaking of the nature of " games of skill " there was 'a good deal of the comic element displayed, and a fund of amusement was obtainable by any quiet observer during the intervals between the races, but, common features as they are of every race-course, descriptions of these side-pictures htive long ago been written to rags, and need not now be repeated. For the preservation of good order the crowd was remarkable; even the proverbial dog was conspicuous by his absence ; and the Clerk of t,he Course, Mr Carroll, and the police had alike light duties in consequence. Of the e!even or twelve hundred people who assembled on the ground, the majority reached it by the new road from town and on foot, th iu^h pedestriantsm over that valuable but very defective work was a hi^h form of penance to persons suffering from Josh Billiugs's enemy, "tiie butes." A considerable number, however, availed themselves of the numerous and various vehicles which the Jehus of Greymouth and Hokitika had provide! for the occasion. By some of the proprietors of these conveyances a charge was made according to their customers or the temporary demand, but one firm, Messrs Cassidy and Ashton, provided well-horsed, well-driven, and commodious coaches at the rather ridiculously low figure of one shilling for a return ticket. It happened that it was more easy to obtain an outward passage than to make a vehicular voyage home, vehicles beiug then conspicuously absent, and intending passengers conspicuously ' numerous. Considering the abundance of the traffic along the road during the day, and its extreme narrowness, as well as its proximity to precipices of rather imposing aspect, the wonder was that some serious accident di-i not occur. There is fortunately only one to record, though there were not a few hair- oreadth 'scapes. By the one accident which occurred Mr George Hayward, of Hokitika, had his leg broken, the injury being caused by his falling when jumping from a coach in which he wa3 a passenger. He was immediately removed to the Hospital by his friends, and is now under Dr Morice's care. Having brought a horse with him to Greymouth, his accident makes the animal of little personal service to him, and it is the intention to raffle it. One- or two collisions between cabs, riders,- and pedestrians happened more through the difficulties of the situation than personal carelessness, but they were unattended by injuries, ana the designers of the Omoturuotu road have to be congratulated upon the fortunate fact that their achievement in road-making did not on this ocq'asiou result in a larger number of casualties, great or small. The traffic by boat was contemptible by comparison with what it had been in the primitive days of horseracing at Greymouth, but there were some of an aquatic tnru who took advantage of ■ that means of conveyance. The influx of visitors to Greymouth from " fnrrin parts " was provided for by the Wallace, Kennedy, ad Waipara making special trips, and a ;nong the visitors there was an observably larger number from Hokitika; Westport, and Nelson than has been usual in fouier years. The town is, in fact, full of welcome strangers, and the ingenuity of. hotel-keepers in providing bedrooms is being largely exercised, ns is the skill of their cooka in supplying the

r table with ilie delicacies of the seaß..n. v One of the hotel-keepers who shares as " nnich as anyone in the advantages of the " luirvestis Mr Bradley, of the Race-course Hotel— a big new building which now ornaments the neighborhood of the course and which is one of several observable local improvements already resulting from ■Hie_ci instruction of the binotumotu* road. With regard to the racing events of the day, it may be said that, beginning badly by the circumstance of the first race being a walk-over, the events as a whole were excedingly satisfactory. " The principal race of the day, the Greymoutß Jockey Club Handicap, was especially well contested, resulting . in - Gossip being the winner, with Yatterina a good second, and the concluding race, the District Plate, though confined to two — Septimus and Lacenfeed — was so close \hronghout that those who remained to see it were well rewarded. The Hijrdle Handicap introduced, to the Greymonth course a p-iwerful horse and hun lie- taker, Dick Turpin, but it is questionable if he would also have taken tue money nad Septimus not "collided" with Commodore through the balking of the latter. ' The Trotting ' Race - brought out a big field, and there w s anmited h.terest takea in the result by many acquainted with the animals and the riders, but to the uninformed observer it was a little confusing, and the confusion was worse confounded by a misunderstanding at the end, on the part of some of the riders, as to whether they had done their distance. Mr. O'Maliey's Dolly was declared first, with Ranger and Tommy as Ihe two next. In the Hack Race, Mr Cochrane's Sandy had the tirst heat, with Mr Barton's Piper close to him, and seemed to be given the second heat, with Piper in the same position. The two and a quarter miles in the Jockey Club Handicap were gone over in 4min. 193ec, and the mile and half in the District Plate in 2min. 54^sec; the distances in all instances having - been accurately chained preliminary to thisyear's meet* ing. The following are some of the details of the different events of the dajr :— Telegraph .Stakes, of 30 soys ; ; 1| miles^ weight for age ; entrance, 3 soys. There wera four acceptances for this race, Mr O'M'Gee's Creeping Jenny, Mr Webb's Prima Donna, and "Mr Walter's yatterina and ' Slander. The non arrival of Creeping Jenny, in consequence of an accident;, and the scratching of Prima Donna left die race to one stable. There was accordingly a walk over, Mr Walter's declaring to win with Yatterina. This was .an unavoidable disappointment to the public, and damped the enthusiasm of those who came to see racing, but the damper was not so thorough as that with which last year's meeting was inaugurated, and interest was soon excited by the incidents of the next race. -.'■"• ' : Westiand Hurdle Handicap, of 75 govs second horse to receive 15 soys from the stakes ; 2£ miles. Mr . O M 'Gee's b g Dick Turpin, aged, 9it 81b ; . _ m i Mr A, Skelton's gr g Septimus, 6 yrs, Iflst ■ . . \ % 2 MrS. Garforth's br g Commodore, aged, 9sfc4lb . .=. , ... o For this race, as well as for his other engagements, Mr Jerome's Mozzel had been scratched in consequence of an, accident, and the subsequent scratching of another n.ocepfc'»r. Harlequin, reduced the tield to three. Four times past the post, and over three flights in each round, Constituted the distance and duties of the race. Srptimus was a strong favorite, but Dick Turpin looked dangtroua, and, favored by circumstances, proved to be so. Septimus led, and took, his leaps easily, closely accompanied by Dick Tur(.in. At the first hurdle from the Grand Sfand Commodore baulked, and Septimus doing the same, Dick Tur- . pin got well ahead, bnt was soon followed by Septimus at a swimming speed. Un" fortunately, as Septimus approached the hurdle which Conmodore had declined, his rider put him do it while Septimus was close upon him, and without managing to lift him over. Tiiere was a decided and dangerous " foul," both horses and riders rolling over, and Krafft, the rider o? Septimus, was somewhat hurt, but he picked himself and his horse together quickly. ir lot sufficiently so, however, to reduce Ne advantage which Dick had thus twice, gained, and the latter came in first, but with the distance between the m considerably reduced before the.winner passed the post. Distance Handicap Trotting "Race, of 20 soys ; 3 miles ; minimum weight, list ; entrance, 2 soys. Mr O'Maliey's gm Dolly, aged ... 1 Mr J. Marshall's b.g. Rauger ... 2 Mr W. Norris's b.g. Tommy .3 Mr Wilcken's Creeping Jenny Mr Stewart's Fireworks .-■-■■- Mr Lo veil's Super l Mr Harris's Pumpkins Mr Warforth's Dolly Yatden : ■' v - •■ The horses were thus handicapped :— Creeping Jenny, scratch ; Fireworks, 100 yards start ; Ranger, 150 yards ; Dolly Varden, 150 yards ; Tommy, 200 yards; Super, 250 yards ; Dolly, 275 yarcs; Pi. inpkiiis, 300 yards. The persons who would pretend to know, or at any rate to remember, the relative positions of, the horses in this race at the different stages must be cleverer than the majority on "the; Grand Stand. The uninitiated in name 3or colors probably derived most information from the-ex-pressions of those whose fancy or friendship was excited as each horse came to the front, of which expressions here is an example :— " What about D.-lly now?,*" " What about the brown horse now ?" (i Holloa— broke ! Got a show now." " Ranger's won it." "No ; twice more round." "The grey mare has warmed them. That grey mare 's going to win it; ' "I'll take odds that the butter's horse wins— the one with the white shirt." ''They 're all ou,t of it now. The grey iss coming up." "Dolly— Dolly wius it. J> « The white sh irt secon dj" An d this, being a: 1 exceedingly comprehensible, was rendered more so by the circumstance of several of the riders insisting in going once more round the course,' with Ranger at their head, but the accepted and correct result is understood to be as stated above. Dolly, ridden by Joyce, 1 ; Ranger, by Marshall, 2; Tommy, by Mackay, 3. An .American gentleman remarked "Guess this race wants some understanding," and we guess it rather did. Greymouth Jockey Club Handicap, of 1 75 soys, with a sweep of 7 soys acceptances added ; second horse to receive 25 soys from the stake. Distance, 2£ miles. Mr W. C. Webb's Ch m Gossip. 4 vrs. ' ■■■■•. -6* 101b ■ F „.' -I Mr Waltera'a b m Yatterina, aged, 9at... <j

let him remember he gave me the keynote, for I could only see in his first effusion a spiteful tirade against the hardtailing creek-workers, whom he stigmatised as loafers and loaded with epithets quite as splenetic, if not so original, as those which the misanthropic Timon hurled at the hated Athenians, I could see nothing tending to the public interest save that the Grey District owned in Sir Oracle who set up his temple in the back gully. Let me tell "The Man in the Back Gully " that he must try some other method of rescuing the West Coast from "its deplorably wretched state" than by taking away the last 20in of water from the creek; let me remind him, in the matter of his suggestion "that the holders of claims on terraces bordering the creek could cooperate and bring the water to their tunnels," that this ignores the creek worker altogether ; but now he Bays there are no creeks or gullies to be worked, and this in the face of his former letter, which tells us of months having been spent by the monopolising gentry felling tirrber and mullocking up creek ground. The man who is capable of entangling himself in such a mesh of contradictions and inconsistencies by hi 3 own writing, is hardly a fit subject to expect a reasonable argument from. In his first letter he states that the creeks are small — generally containing one or two heads of water. So much the worse for his argument say I, tor the one or two heads in its natural course would supply miles of claims, whereas, by raising it, only one or two men can benefit. But I would ask him, where in all the workings of the Grey district can he point out 20in of water running to waste, how far it would go, and how many it woul I employ in terrace workings when raised out of its natural course, and how many who are now contributing their quota to the revenue of the province would thereby be left like the man from Manchester, singing " I got no work to do." Let "The Man in the Back Gully" visit the other districts and have the hallucinations which are undoing him dispelled ; had he been present at a case tried at Reef ton last week, in which a disciple of his own school put forward the modest, application to have- a creek diverted for his own use and benefit to the detriment of many others, ami had he marked the intelligent expression on the features of Mr Warden Broad aa he declined to favor the applicant's suit, " Back Gully Man's" ardour might have been cooled sufficiently to admit of his setting about the hatching of some surer project for the preservation of the West Coast. " The Man in the Back Gully" tells me that ignorance and presumption go hand in hand, and proceeds to illustrate the fact in his own person by presuming to criticise my letter. lam surprised that, in the possession of such aspiring impudence, he stoops to nibble at such small bait as depriving the gully raker of his means of subsistence ; he who can grapple with powerful intellects and weave jargon by the square yard, can surely plan some more comprehensive method of water supply for the gold fields. It iB well-known, without Back Gully man's showing, that large tracts of auriferous country exist not only in the Grey Valley, but all over the Nelson Southwest Gold Fields, capable of giving remunerative employment to a much larger population, and that large water-races, constructed by co-operative bodies of miners and subsidised by Government, are required to develop the mineral resources of these is a fact patent to all, and such races must head from permanent and extensive sources. But that cutting off the insignificant 20in of water, which always serve a good end in the creek and none at all on the terraces, would be the means whereby the population could be counted by thousands instead of tens is an absurdity that could only have been generated in the silly brain of Back Gully man. " The Man in the Back Gully" must be verdant as the bungey leaves which shades the gullies from which he derives his inspiration and his norn, de plume, or he could have seen that the parallel cases which I drow in confutation of his statements were simply meant as ridicule. To say nothing of his reputation as an oracle amongst the. Back Gullyites, it is a sad thing for a man of his tine sensibilities to gaze upon the ruins of his air-built castles and to witness his pet projects falling like autumu leaves around him, yet such "is the state of man " when impudence beguiles him into foisting his oondities on an intelligent public. He tells me very sagely that a writer should be careful, but at the same time, with his usual inconsistency, thrusts himselE up a chimney from which he may emerge considerably soot-stained. He must have read in the tender days of youth of the little boy who tried to amuse himself by sticking pens into the elephant, and the tragical results thereof. However, in consideration of the advice he has kindly bestowed on me, I will give him a little in return ; advice is very cheap just now, but this is extremely valuable nevertheless :— Let him leave literary criticism to literary men ; secondly (in the absence of the schoolmaster), let me tell him that, although he is deprived of regal or editorial privileges (which is a pity), he needs not to discard that very useful pronorn, we or our, from the English language, but can freely use it in connection with the community of which he is a distinguished member, or at the beginning of a certain prayer which he must have learned in. infancy, without committing any breach of literary etiquette • thirdly, before he attempts to abolish any mining law, let him pause and examine whether he is about to leave a door open for hosts of minor evils to enter ; and lastly, let him never allow the clouds of prejudice (even against gully-rakers) to obscure the brighter side of judgment; and thus moving on, time and experience may make him a wiser man, but a critic— never. And so let me take my leave of " The Man in the Back Gully." Again apologising for this intrusion, I am, &c., J.-O. Reefton, March 13, 1873.

The Otago riflemen have lost the belt this year. It is time some of the other Provinces had it for a season. Hoskins (Ihames) deserves it, for his score is a splendid one. Most of our Otago cracks are nowhere, and seem to have lost their good character altogether. Very meagre telegrams have yet been published of the shooting.