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Hokitika Guardian, 26 January 1920, Page 2

Uukkkimn.o ito -Fr«awh .politics, an exchange says .that at tills jifsiyt;Ure a ilumas in the French. Premiership is 3 matter *4 ivf>rld-\vide i,liter,esb. Alexandre Milleraml, flip new Render, is a ivorthy successor to Georges Cleniciiceau. He das many of Oloinyau'cau’s characteristics, find, tike hjm, has weathered many of fhe sfoyins of French politics. He entered politics as a Radical Socialist and for years led fhe most advanced section of the party. But he has never been a pacifist. Ifjs real work began when ho 'was made Minister of War in 1012, and during his two terms in that office lie proved as efficient a War Minister as France has possessed. A stocky, thick-set man, with regular, swarthy features, heavy white moustache, and thick, white hair, he is the personficatiou of strength. It has long been a saying in France that “ Millernnd never backs down.” Whatever course French policy may take under his leadership it is not likely to be a course of feebleness. It will be seen that lie is a very »vor thy successor of “Tiger” Clemenceau, uiii) resigned the post- to contest the Presidency, and was beaten unexpectedly, At the elections in November last, the newly elected Premier was one of those who had a sweeping majority.

The position in which the Westport Jockey Club finds itself regarding its totalisator permit for its annual March meeting, appears to be quite exception- | al. Previous to last Racing Conference Westport was allotted a one day permit, and Karamea, adjacent to Westport was also allotted one day. Ow'ing to war conditions and isolation, Karamea elected to drop out of the list of totalisator Clubs. Westport claimed the first preference for the day so abandoned. The rights of the case were investigated by the Dates’ Committee of the Racing Conference, and a second day was allotted Westport, contingent upon the Club entering upon an improvement scheme to satisfy the rac- . * All fiPOYYIP.fi t.O V>G

Lug uunwnwc®' v* - | plain sailing, and the Westport Club set about arranging its finance and on. I tering upon its building scheme. In due course its programme for a. twodays’ meeting was prepared, submitted to the District Racing Committee, approved, and notified for publication in the official calendar. It was at this stage that the news came that in November last, the Racing Conference had notified the Westport Club that its second day had been abrogated by the Minister of Internal Affairs, and used for the Jellicoe trotting meeting in Christchurch. This notification- does not appear to have reached the Westport Club, neither was the District Committee notified, and most remark-:, able of all, none of the sporting papers referred to the fact as to‘where the

from. Indeed, when the Minister was tackled through the press at the time by the Rev. North, the official explanation was that the Minister had certain permits in reserve, and one of these had been used, giving the impression that something had been done without inflicting a wrong on any other Club or sporting community. The Minister stands guilty of not explaining the situation clearly, also of doing a wrong to an isolated and non-influential Club which nevertheless has rights equal to any other Club. If tlie good people of .Canterbury were bent on honouring Lord Jellicoe with a trotting meeting, they have totalisator. permits enough in their own province to use, without purloining surreptitiously a legitimate permit awarded by the chief sporting authority in a, public way to a small Club in another district where the folk are as much entitled to the enjoyment of! their regulated plteasures as the more fortunately placed people oi Canterbury. A grievous wrong has been done the Westport district. The Minister responsible is out of office, ir fact out of Parliament. If the aCtior was to please the sporting public ii his own electorate it miscarried a' election time. But another Minister holdvs office, and he should see that

j * » i still has a number of permits to use before the racing year is past, and if the Minister exercises the wisdom of Solomon in this matter, he will not hestitate to take one day from Christchurch, so that the wrong apparent will not be dope to Wss|pprt. If all else fails, the Racing Conference jpust come to .the rescue of Westport and C/JPPCnsate the Club in a handsome way tor ih# p&cuinary loss the Club will suffer through the Joss of its second day.