The Ensign. GORE, FRIDAY, JANUARY 4th. 1884. NATIONAL SPORTS.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 6, Issue 310, 4 January 1884, Page 2

The Ensign. GORE, FRIDAY, JANUARY 4th. 1884. NATIONAL SPORTS.

]Sow that the year has passed its natal festivities and the public have settled down once more into the humdrum routine in which the world, for the most part, wags along, we feel inclined to ruminate upon the fun and the exercises which while in progress give no time for reflection. We do not suppose our readers are at all self-condemned and feeling the need of some argument to eatisfy their consciences ; but we think that even sport has its serious and useful side, and that its beneficial aspects shouldj'ie kept carefully in view. Games in which human endurance, strength, graceful action, and agility are brought into prominence are becoming increasing characteristics of the colonies — perhaps of New Zealand in particular. The name Caledonian Games or sports is by far the most popular, although strictly Scottish feats often play but a secondary part in the programme. The name, however, is good and harmonious, and has a suggestion of muscle and stamina, not to say of manliness, in it that is at once appropriate and attractive. In Otago and Southland, of course, where the tartan, the pipes, and the Gaber are familiar both in name and substance the term Caledonian is literally correct although every nationality from the Maori upwards is allowed to compete. The two great matph games of the colonies played with picked men and forming each in itself an exhibition,are cricket and football- Far in the rear of these come bowls, tennis, fives, archery and the like. A good test of the honor in which a game is held by the public is the space it is allowed to occupy in the press. Judged on this ground it is evident that the two first-named games are thoroughly established in the Southern Hemisphere. Indfaed, it is highly probable that in both these grand sports the South already divides the crown with the North. To many utilitarians it seems ridiculous that a team of cricketers should travel round the world like heroes, making money and filling huge spaces in cable messages and news columns. But surely it is of some importance to give a cheap day's pleasure to half-a-million of people, and to stimulate a whole million of youths to cultivate steadiness, suborbination, courage and muscular strength. All these are necessary to the game, and if a great team, only stimulates the youth of a country towards these in a small degree all its glory and gate money are very cheap to tho nation. In a lesser degree the same remarks are true of football. It is provocative of circulation, animal warmth, and hardiness in the season of the year when such things are most needed. If there were no football many thousands of clerks ans other indoor men would go about mufi^ed and shivering, with flabby arms and legs, whose limbs are now wrapped in iron sinews and whose naked breast is turned fearlessly to the south wind, True an accident, more or less serious, happens once in a while, and then good mothers cry out against the game. They forget the heaitE and pleasure that comes to thousands for eyery o,ne that receives an injury. It would be as wise to condemn the railway system, because of occasional accidents, as to condemn a national game that forms national character and national limbs because it breaks a collar bohe^oc : casionally. , ; , „. ''"'.<." The conglomeration of 03:erciS0.s t ;fea|s^ and games that- make up/the CalfifHoaiah; fipptts is toour mind still mpre ya^flbJe things 1 .:dal||^ftt a/far; ;^^ter,\^jflmb%fff of per* ~ .th^t|^iggl^^^^^^^^H fjgeiv so/ n?®?^^-^-f.^B^^ ''. itfne f rauie-TR9irfc%ri : the ' tes^ Highland 4f^ S3 *% 1$ v the4 thlt :"t"he Caledonian ' g|-m#iM^ "in;fcv^'- > 46Visiderable^^tre""*iiroug i i|-_ ii but the"cquntry nmsfr develop many; kmds of agility and strength which all add to the value pf men as instruments for gettingl through the world 'and for driving- dull ,care *way jfeHPhft Wt- ' ■ ' ■ s ■'■ '"'■■• i^v ' ■■■•

iraount of exerciae represented by the competitors is v e .ry far indeed from being the sum total called forth by the Dational pastimes. As a cricket Bloven often represents hundrtds of players, so every candidate for athletic honors represents many whose prize consists in improved health and deportment and nothing more. The benefits other than physical resulting from games are very numerous. They afford youth the mimic contests in which to prepare for the battle of life. No accomplishment is more necessary than being able to bear defeat, and none is nore persistently taught in these exercises. To be able to endure the public gaze, applause, or laughter, without flinching, is another quality that every true man needs and which every athlete must possess. Gk>od temper under trying circumstances, which is needed in every walk of life, especially the higher ones, may be learned in any game or sport from marbles up to the champion wrestling. The statesman may be indebted for the good temper that carries him through a crisis to his practice in three legged races. Above all, feats of strength and skill that must be above board and open to the gaze of the crowd cultivate the habit of giving fairplay to friends and foes, which habit will extend i's influence into business, morals, and leligion. In these new countr es, also, these annual contests develop 'he patriotism that our fathers cultivated by sterner methods. We venture to affirm that in Otago, for example, the love of " bonnie Scotland " is many degrees stronger in the breasts of the natives of that land than it would have been had these yearly reminders not been held. Nothing is of more importance to a nation than to keep alive the glorious memories of the past and to revere the aspirations of its fathers. In the case of the colonially born, friendly contests are the centres round which love of locality gathers itself. The ambition of young Victoria is not to cut the throat of young New South Wales, but to beat him at cricket. This may seem a trivial ambition, but we prefer it to the other. There can be little doubt that the first thoughts of Australasian national life were connected with victories in rowing aud cricket, just as the G-erman union sprang out of much more terrible and costly victories over the French. The I greatest nations of antiquity, the Greeks and Romans were devoted to athletic contests. Legend makes a series of games the very foundation of the B.oman people ; while games were certainly the chief bond that held the different tribes of Greeks together, What games, then, were to Greeks and Romans, and what chivalry and knighthood were to medieval nations, may the Caledonian sports long continue to be to Australasia !

His Excellency the Governor was tp leave Wellington for the south yesterday afternoon, at 3 o'clock, Messrs Maclean and Co., auctioneers, &c, Dunedin, have had to file their schedule in bankrnptcy. Fifteen years ago an Alabama man killed a peddler. Ever since that time his wife has held the crime over him as a whip, obliging him to split all the wood, build the fires and rock the baby. Bendered desperate by her treatment he has given himself up to be hung. The particulars of what appears to be a Case of murder came to light in Dunedin, on Monday, and resulted in the arrest of a fishhawker named William Pgaroe, residing in a right-of-way between Cumberland and Great King streets. The victim was a middle-aged woman of doubtful reputation named Matilda Hancock, who had been living with the prisoner for some time. She was stabbed in the abdomen on Saturday evening in the course of a drunken quarrel which occurred at the house in question, aad there seems strong reason to believe that Pearce struck the s biow, although those neighbors supposed to have been present are very reticent upon the subject. The unfortunate woman did not succumb to the injury till shortly after midnight on Sunday, and her death was reported by Pearce. An inquest, was formerly opened by J}r Hockeri on Monday, and adjourned until to-day f This, is a very large district (writes an Otaria correspondent), and has made rapid strides these last last two or three years in agricultural pursuits, The land iB getting better tilled by good agriculturists, .and the district wilL no doubt improve with the bet? fcer tfmes. that are coming.. The crops in' every quarter ape fooking splendid. The acreage ia small this segsan, but there is every prospect of a very heavy yield qi gvain r —Another slight shock of earthquake was felt here at about" 6 a.m. on Monday, the r 2*tii nit. — The weather has. been ver# changeable here Jately, * very cold /ancL stormy, but fortunately it'kept gritty fair dpi Christmas Day, and the day foUowfngv^Bo^-,-Jug Pay) was even brighter, until even&gj was drawingfnjgty V^sa it turned dullv%^ chilly, and during the njgfrt fMS-feft^'lK I _';; The father of the late Duke o| PpM|^^ I^sed to say that he was the wealtniea||^rin^; ■ ? ( for, though': His revenu^vmig^ I had '^ore : 'ay^4M^|?h; ; j- iij. def ajilt^s|ven?, labor ;iri ffsfi^fe'w'TreaT's I)ay wjs ns.f ar as we&ther the. JroyefeoFrtfe many bad fdafsWeThaTe exDMes<?ed lately. Early in , Hhe;;^drl^ng^^ra6us rain descended, and : tßrpughouVt^J^d^ heavy showers^pf^hail and tkin. -£$£'«£ frfiqu'tnt intervals,; .'these coupled f^ii^pii'e" high cibld wind blowing.' making ■tliings ; things Lyery unpleasant in the open air." The •■ munV*"cricket match at £orefell thfough', and; the Pukerau Sports ■Committee decided' upon ; pestponiHg their marts until. 'Monday neit, .when W.e hope they will have a.fiae day and numerous competitors and. spectators,

The now lighthouse at Waip.xpa Point, } where the Tararuawas lost, was successfully lighted last Tuesday niglit. Harvest laborers are very scarce in some parts of South Australia, L 3 per week being I offered, with no result. A very emphatic denial has been given to the statement that the young Princess . Louise of Wales has been betrothed to the , Duke of Portlaud, An Ohio breach- of -promise suit brought , out letters on which the postage was thirtytwo cents, and in which the word " darling '' was used 620 times. Mary Clark was charged at yesterday's sitting of the Invercargill Police Court with concealment of birth at Wyndham. The case was remanded for eight d.iys. A wonderful cricket match is proceeding at Melbourne. The Australian Eleven have made 619, with only nine wickets down, in a • match against a combiucd eleven. Murdoch, not out, has 270 to bis credit. News is to hand from the Soudan that Baker Pasha has captured one of the followers of El Mahdi, and seized letters written by the rebel leader, which contain a statemeni leading to the belief that an advance against Egypt proper is contemplated by El Mahdi. Messrs Alexander Brogden aud Henry Brogden, the well known railway contractors, of Wednesbury, have filed a petition of insolvency. Liabilities of each are set down at three quarters of a million sterling. At the Victoria J. C. races on New Year's Day the Midsummer Handicap was won by Magnet, Capri second, and Little Sister third. The Christchurch Midsummer Handicap was won by Cheviot, with Taiaroa second. Il is stated that the Hon. E .Richardson will again contest the seat for Selwyn, vacant by the death of Mr E. J. Les. The other expected candidates are Messrs E, Wakefield and W. McLaughlin. The 'Australasian's' agricultural reporter estimates the yield of wheat for the present season in Victoria at 15,000,000 bnshels. The area under crop is 1,010,000 acres, and the surplus available for export is estimated at 8,400,000 bushels. The correspondent at Wellington of the 'Otago Daily Times' statesithat the Cu'.tom's revenue for the Colony for the nine months ending December 31 is no less than L 100,000 below the estimate. The intercolonial cricket match between Victoria and New South Wales has terminated in favor of the former, who won by three wickets. Auckland has baaten Canierbmy and there is great rejoicing thereat in the northern capital. The following cricket team has been chosen to represent Wyndham at Pukerau on Saturday (to-morrow) :— J. W. Raymond (captain), J. Fitzmaurice, A. Mclntosh, J. G. Scoullar, S, Stock,'J. McLauchlan, A. Robertson, W. Hill, G. Davey, A. Jones and D. Nutsford. Emergencies— E. A. Dennehy, W. Currie, M. M'Carthy. Scorer — Mr J. Reid. Umpire —Mr H. Sherwell. Following are the names of the players who will represent the Pukerau Cricket Club in to-day's match at Gore :— T. E. Gazzard, (captain), J. Gazzard, J. Eadie, W. Eadie, J. M'Kenzie, A. M'Kcnzje, Webster, Johnston, Dawson, G. Trusler, and Bennett. Emer_ gencies — F, M. Dawson, C. Trusler, G. John, ston, J. Purvis, and E. Farnie. Those of our readers who desire an even" ing's amusement will do well to visit M'Kay's Hall, Gordon, tomorrow evening, when the Egyptian Variety £roupe appear. They 1 revel in song and joke, and' have just completed a tour of the Otage goldfields, their perfor. mances being in aid of the funds of the Roman Catholic Churches. Attached to the show is a panorama of the Egyptian war of 1882. We hope there will be a good attendance, ' In the early morning of the day fixed for the Waimea Plains picnic there were frequent and heavy showers of hail and sleet ; but nothing daunted a large number of families were on tie road to Waimea House. About ten o'clock, however, several were compelled to make for Riversdale for shelter. Here preparations were made to receive and entertain them till 11 a.m., by which time it was hoped that the weather would have taken up. Those families who lived near the place appointed had weathered the storm and reached Waimea, where they were hospitably regejyed by Mrs Robertson. Eleven o'clock came, and the weather if anything became rougher. It was then decided to picnic at Riversdale, Mr Ross placing his hall at the disposal of the committee, and vehicles w fi F e despatched to Waimea to bring those who had gone there 5 but Mrs Robertson insisted upon keeping them. So there were two picnics ; and a dance at both places in the evening wound up the day's proceedings. A meeting pf stewards of the Lumsden Jockey club was -held at the Royal Mail Ho. Tel on Saturday night, when it was decided to disqualify Ace of Clubs for second place in the Trot. The protest against Warwick was thrpswn but, and that against Real Roy in the district hack race was npt sustained. We believe stewards have taken into con. sideration fhe suspicious riding of Alexander $n jasper Jn ~the Consolation, but .1 we have •no^.yot lie#rdktheir^ decision. 'Alexander's riding caused'gr^srt;. indignation amongst the /Supplementary to our report 1 in .last issued /t may bo mentioned that' only ..ihree horsey started^lpr the hurry scurry — and Devonshire Lass, Alice Hvon^|*^Benio(i.o^^.cphd. There were over %26OPi; J pu^^4^fr'Mre totalisator during the

X -Jl : '£ ■ •'-/■'■>' Al*'^' T**f* " - ■^J^9rj)4u|li^n the* mri^^alking _. jr'ace at iing -. Bayne (i^^^t^^MmfOf^p^om^he scratch About the mnelapVto the mile) Marshall.^6o yds) tried p^^ttrlefJ^ls'H© pass hrniv afterwards :^?.-Tagamii'man the three L^WKa^pd^fe^^P^l^^li^i 11 ": John Marshall M^y^^^^^^S^plM^-^n- well and Illiirilyl^ „one? . For the Cumbex■}^p:^ i^^^j^^sM^ve were, seven entries, a^png^^^pi^^^^H. Harper, who '-was 'first las£,year. hej^vy |orvthe others, and^thre^^Kentalireasily. ' : ._ 4/logal-/P, e -f§^ an distinguished, himself j ;at^e*Natibn|V'Athletic.- Society's gathering at/|nvercargili ,dh "N^w Year's Day. AT ten guine.a*cup. was'-giyen. by Mr Thomas Surman, for 100, 2QP and 300 yards' races— the cup to be won twice— with LIO, LS,L 3. (FirsJ) to count three points, secqnd to count two .pointi,' : thir3><me point), — First h'&at ; Strack (scratch), 1 ;' E)sCh Macphersb'n^(scratch), 2; Irving (scratch), 3. 2nd heat; Eobert' Barr (8 yds),l; E. Gt\ Macpherson ;(3 yds), 2; ' Irying (6 yds), 3. y3rd heat : Irving (7 yds), l^kJz- Macphefson (4 yds), 2 ; Strack QL y(Js), 3, " B," Of, Slacpherson was therefore •

first with six points, Irving second with five points, and Strack third, with four points. Two horses were killed by lightning at Inchcluthaon Tuesday. Rust has made its appearance on the Tokomairiro plains, and the ' Bruce Herald ' says that some of the corn crops, especially in Waihola Gorge, are well nigh ruined by its ravages. The two first da3 r s o£ the Duncdui C !■•■• don inn Society's sports were singularly well at tended, notwithstanding the wretched weather. Ifc is eslimated that something like 22,000 people ruust have visited the grounds during the two days. Donald Dinnie was presortfc,und out-distanced all competitors in throwing the hammer, tossing the caber, and putting the 161 b stone, but he was beaten in dancing, Disappointment was felt at his retirement from other competitions for which he had entered. . The running and wrestling were both exceptionally good, and in the latter Hudson, a light-weight, succeeded in depriving Robertson, the half-caste, ol'the championship belt. F. Davys, Chatton, has a heifer for sale. Poison is laid for dogs on Arnvicar Farm, Otama. A respectable man is wanted at the Gore butchery. F. S. Canning advertises a sale of drapery for to-morrow. The Egyptian Variety troupe perform at Gordon to-morrow night. Green aud Sounes3 sell East Gore property on Jan. 12, and Otana farm on Jan. 19. Peter Johnston will apply to the Southland Land Board to transfer his Hokonui section to Honora McCarthy of Christchurch Discount oE 20 per cent is allowed to Matauea Ensign subscribers paying their subscriptions for 1884' dining the present mouth. If you want a fr»<*hvvin,b'e pair of boot ,ros shoes at a reasonable ]>rioe f.*r the holidays, inspect the stock at tliu (iore Boot Manufactory before purchasing elsewhere. — Advc And suppose there \v..s .mi earthquake every day in the week, whnt ot tliat ko long as the public can procure (Jhri-imas cards, New Year's gifts and plenty ot novelties from the undersigned ? A go->d stock of Bibles for those of a more seiiuus disposition. Keep the rabbits out of your garoeo witli our wire netting — cheap. Rock salt for your stock ; Akaroa and local cheese on hand. Tea we make a specialty of, and can thoroughly recommend a fine new and large stock of sugirs. Preserved fruit ; preserved gingers ifi variety and quantity. In drapery we cannot and wjll not be beaten by any firm in 'lore, Gordon or Mataura. — J. MacGibbojn and Sons. HoUumaifst Pills. — In general debility, mental depression, and nervous irri' ability fchex - e is no medicine which operates so like a charm as tht-s-3 famous Pills. A disordered stomach and a torpid liver are fertile sources of gloomy thou-rMs and dismal forebodings. These Piild vk-.v-i.te the spirits, aud, in fact, make the patient h ••lyible of a most leiightful revolution in hi- whole system. Thoy may be commended uv-pt unrc^.-rvedly as the very be^t family me lieiiain ex'stence. Tlioagh so powerful '.y e:lioacious, ib.oy are mild in their operation, and may be given with confidence to delicate women and young children. They contain n>. mercury, or any other noxious substance. :md cannot do harm. Delicate females an I all per-sons . f sedentary habit 3 will find tiiese Fills a blessing. Good red >luiiuns. — -At the commencement of every new year hundreds and thousands of our young men — and old as well — form resolutions for their guidance for the coming year. Ma iy keep them, while others break them. To such we wish to give a word of advice. In order to sustain your determination of lcadiDg a better life in the the future you should u«e Hop Bitters. The judicious use of Hop Bitters straightens. cleanses and purifies the stomach, bwwril-;. blood, liver, nerves, and kidneysf and is just what you want to build; up and invigorate yourself. — 'Greee&ush. Dam:' Kq-^l-. t , .......