The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY TUESDAY, MAY 23, 1911. ALL ABOUT FOOTBALL.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 23 May 1911, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY TUESDAY, MAY 23, 1911. ALL ABOUT FOOTBALL.

An unwritten law nonfines most editorial articles to politics and 1 local govern input, but there is no good reason why these limitations should bo scrupulously observed. TTnder certain conditions the state of even a street channel may justify editorial comment; or the needs or anomalies of a mere game or pastime may call for editorial reference. Tn any ease, there are. enough metropolitan journals which make adaily care of the wiles of Ward and' tlie mortlings of Masscy to permit , of The Chronicle, taking a spell from politics now and then. Therefore we are observing a sort of optional •half-holiday to-day, and confining our comments to Rugby football, though throughout New Zealand, just now. tbe Herries are. hairrying. and the Masseys are massing, and the Herdmans are herding. and ; tlie CaiTols are caroling, and the Buddos are b'rTdin<i. and tlie Millars are milling, and the whole political process of "yen're another' going along I c'oii'.lily as usual. And, to view the matter of football from another st-.mlpoinl it maybe remarked without hyperbole that Xew Zealand football Rugby especially—is a very "erifi'iis sort of pleasure ns iv-pII "s a mo-t popular one. Tt is played bv Tommv and Algernon as soon as thev can handle their lints, and by Rill and .Tim as long as tiliey can ivr-nade the selection committee to }■-'-'.) th"tn in their club's team. Hornwlieinia County is no exception to the rule, for the stressful play mi- 1 hard knocks that are inseparable from "Rugby football materially hfln (o build up a type of man wlto-p after years are characterised. ■by dosracd energy and resonrcefnlness, and a determination to over'•o'ne obstacles which forms in the b'i'l.- nn ovcellcnt lever for raising and helpinit forM.ard his town and. district. Rut there is one rogrettali'" tVect in our local football: we sjvvilv mI" tli" initinnctuality wbinh m-vrks tl , " "fHiiniencement of tbe o::i;"<. T:i tlie case of a team \-:i";li goes from Shannon to Otaki, or from Levin to Otaki. there is rn excuse for this, seeing that the train does not reach -Otaki station until after 3 o'clock. Rut Otaki is ir.it the onlv place where games are li?gnn late in the afternoon and continued into the dn.sk. 'Many 111--■t-v'r-< hnvc been known at Levin of the !vi-k-off being delayed until 3.30 p.in., a.iul only last Saturday, at .\rana'\iiii. ibere was an instance of the. start of a game being delayed ■iitil lTvirly a quarter to four, (-.'i:):!!! 1 ! the visitintr team landed at .A'.Tiaka , .! shortly after 3 p.m. It is time the referees applied the suf-fi-i'oiit remedy whidh the rules of the Tlorowhenua • Rugby Football Union provide. Rule 12 of the Club Contest provisions amply meets the case. Tt provides rthat "all. matches shall commence not later than 2.45 p.m.." and goes on to .say that "Tf for any reason play does not commence within fifteen minutes of the time appointed, the club unable or unwilling tk> proceed with tflie ma/toh may loose by defa-ult, at ijhe cretion of the management committee." Tliat proviso is fair-reaching enough. Tt only requires, now, that some conscientious referee shall award a match, by dtefaTilt, to the side which has been kept waiting, and then the onus of dealing with the matter will Ik> transferred to the management committee of the union. Tf a. firm stand wei-e taken against the evil of late beginnings at football matches, there would he a better chance of increasing public patronage of the matches. Tt is useless to expect patronage from dairy farmers, for instance, while matches are being continued' into the dusk or the moonlight, and Strawberry and! fifteen others are waiting to be milked at the farm.