NEW ZEALAND RUGBY UNION.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10065, 5 February 1909, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND RUGBY UNION.

(Per Press Association.) Wellington, February 4. A special meeting of the Management Committee of the New Zealand Rugby Union was held to-day. A case had been reported by the Committee of a man named Christie, who had been disqualified while playing under the Nelson Union, having taken part in a game under the jurisdiction of the Wc6t Coa6t Union. It was decided to ask the Nelson Union whether Christie had been notified of his suspension. The Secretary and Treasurer reported that they had been unable to get from the Auckland Union any financial statement in connection with the visit of the British team to that town. It wa6 decided to point out to the Auckland Union the great delay which had been caused by the laxity in Auckland, and demanding a statement before the end of the month. The report of the sub-com-mittee appointed to revise the rules of the game was adopted, and sent on to a -enernl meeting of delegates. It was decided to inform delegates that before the same can be played next season under the new rules just drawn up the constitution of the New Zealand Union must be altered, this involving separation from the English Union, and that notice must be given of any motion to thus alter the constitution. ' In order to give time for such noice the date of the general meeting was altered from March 4th to March 18th. An interesting question as to professionalism in football was referred to last season. The Union was asked whether laid officials of unions were professionals in that they received salaries for their services. The Union's opinion was that the rules as to professionalism applied only to actual players, but this decision was vigorously attacked by many followers of the game, who held that the rules allowed money to be paid to nobody at all. A few days' ago the Chairman of the Union (Mr G. H. Dixon) discovered in the old records of the Union a letter written, in August,. 1896, by the Secretary of the English Union of the time (Mr Rowland Hiil), in which it was stated : "As regards , the payment of a salary, a man is not ' made a professional by accepting it unless |he playfc footbalj." This completely J disposes" of the arguments of the Union's critics, and formally establishes its interpretation of the rules as the correct one. So long as a man does not actually play the game, he can receive a salary from a Union without infringing the rules as to professionalism.