King Country Chronicle SATURDAY, FEB. 8, 1913 RACES AND SHOW.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 540, 8 February 1913, Page 4

King Country Chronicle SATURDAY, FEB. 8, 1913 RACES AND SHOW.

The district is to be congratulated upon holding of a highly successful race meeting, and there' is every reason to hope that the sport will be carried on locally in the true sportingspirit, and up to the highest standard. There are some in the community who decry the sport of kings, and point to the evils attendant upon the over indulgence of the gambling instinct. It will be readily acknowledged that evils and abuses exist in connection with every sort of

work, or of human action of any description, but so long as the mothers of the nation beget sons in whose veins flows the red blood inherited from virile forebears, so long will the sporting instinct exist. We may safely leave it to environment, and the trend of public thought to temper the spirit to the exigencies of modern conditions. Of infinitely greater importance to the district, however, than any purely sporting institution is the Agricultural and Pastoral Association which holds its annual show at Te Kuiti on February 19th and 20th. Every single settler in the district is deeply and intimately interested in the success of the show. To the farmer, apart from the great advertisement a district receives through the medium of a successful show, the anuual exhibion of stock alone, coupled with the opportunity of acquiring good breeding stock, and the education received from the various exhibits, means a tremendous increase to the farmers capacity. In view of the benefits received personally it certainly behoves our settlers to support without stint the people who are doing the work in connection with the Assocoiation. When, further, it comes to be recognised tnat the whole district benefits immensely from the fact of representative people from other districts attending our shows, and seeing the resources of the district a further incentive to the settler to exert himself in connection with the show is disclosed. In fact there are innumerable reasons why our settlers should strain every nerve to make the A. and P. Association a credit to themselves and to the district, and it is to be hoped the result of the settlers' devoted efforts in this direction will be apparent when the flags are unfurled on show day. Last year the Association got considerable outside assistance from the fact that it was the inaugural show, and every settler also loyally played his part. Unfortunately, bad weather ruined the prospects of an exceedingly fine beginning. This year the executive of the Association decided to extend the function to two days, and the universal support of the district is necessary to.carry the show to a successful issue. As yet the support received in the shape of entries is not what might be expected from settlers who are anxious to promote the best interests of the district. There is still time to remedy the situation and we trust no effort will be spared to meet the occasion.