SWIMMING.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 330, 2 January 1889, Page 6

SWIMMING.

Young Nufcfcall, the ex-champion swimmer of England at almost every distance, made a most successful debut in London as a professional swimmer. In tho 1,000 yards Championship he paddled away from Collier and Finney. and won easily in the best time on record— l4min. 17i t ec, On tho evening of tho 10th October al the Lambeth Baths, Westminster Bridjjeroad, the Ilex Swimming Club held their twenty-ninth annual entertainment. Tho feature of <-ho proceedings was fch© splendid

performance of Mr G. A. Blake, amateur plunging champion, who, in the plunging handicap, beat his own previous record of 73 feet 10£ ! inches, with the remarkable plunge of 75 feet 7 inches. In the competition for the honour on the previous Monday, ! Blake covered 7L feel 3 inches. The handicap under notico was under the A^fcj.A. rule?* I take the following from a late 'Frisco paper: — "A swimming match which has hung lire for the past three months 'has been definitely arranged, and to->day articles will be signed. 1 The contestants ore Peter Jackson, the Australian champion pugilist, and E. C Pinkham, champion swimmer of California. Jackson wcar3 a medal emblematic of the swimming championship of New South Wales, but until the present match was mooted he had no intention of competing for natatorial honours during his American tour. He does not claim to be a long-distance swimmer, and, in fact, his .superiority lies more in diving than in surface swimming;. Ho was at the outlet willing to s>whn Pinkham fifty yards, but* the coast champion held out for a race of 300 yards. Ha now, hoAvever, agrees to the Australian's terms and the match will take place on a date within three weeks to be tixed to-day. The match will be for >>2GO aside, .Jackson having the privilege of increasing the stakes, should he desire it. to S5OO a side. His backer i& George Hurling, a young Aus-.-tialian sporting man, at pre&ent in this, city. A.b both the men arc known to be good .-it this branch of aquatic pastime, an inteiooting match may be looked for. Choice of the locality will ateo be made to-day, and in this respect also Jackson has been granted the privilege of selection. Jle states that he will endeavour to have the content come o/F in some establishment where the water is tempered, as he thinks that it would bs injudicious to breast the winter waves and take chances of incurring cold while training for his December glove contest with Joe McAulifie."

The following extract is culled from a Tinnier daily : — The following, from the redoubtable " Sniilcr" (o his grandfather. To Alucra Kangitaumaha, Ins beeji kindly placed at our disposal Tho gentleman who has been cood enough to transl.ito the letter into Engli&h remarks that "in Maori it reads very well indeed ; "— " Glendow er Hotel, '•Enelnnd, October 16. 1888. " I o Te IMuera, also to Haniera, — Great is nij* alleolion towards >on all. IMy inmost heart is lull of love, mill f cannot help keeping you con■sUlllU3- m remembrance "O, sirs ! Salutations to you all. May God be gracious and keep yon all m hcaltli who are livin f c at that pace. Here end the greetings to each of the people. And now about our travels. Alter Melbourne, wo sailed across the gicat wat'M- to England, which we reached in a month and two wcokb. J suttercd most troin sea - <4ckness. as aho did Nehua. We 1 could cat no lootl for over a week, but 7e- | covered when crossing the lino, which divides ! that world (horn isphcre) from this. It was terribly I hot. and we felt the sun in all its strength for \ days, so that wo could not go below at night, but lay on tlio steamer deck at night without bankets. We then entered the Red Pea aud lauded at several towns on the coast. "VVea'so the place where iMoscb erossedover "with the ehiklien of Israel when they were pursued by Phaiwh and his hosis, Who were overwhelmed and drownod in the returning Maters. Then we reached the narrowest, parts oC the 11 d Sea. and ouv ship steamed mto Uie canal dug by human hands. It is 90 milrs in length and cost fifty millions. Tho woik w«<s all done by the Arabs. Alter leavingAlexandria we crossed over to the coast of JUalynear against Homo, and beheld many ot tho places visited by the Apostles. Eventually wo arrived safely 111 England, and on the Wednesday, four days afterwards, we met a representative team picked from ten clubs and beat ihem by four points to one in the presence of a vast multitude of people. About 60 matcbesin all havo been arranged for- Us Friends, we are all in • good health and spirits. I like the travelling about greatly. I have been presented with a valuable ring by a lady ol great rank. It cost at least six pounds, and contains diamonds set in crold. " \\ r o play our next match on the 17th October "This is all the greeting to you. May God pi osen c you and the tribe. " From your loving grandchild, Says Uie "Athletic News":— ♦'On Thursday next the somewhat imposing and impoi tan t now rules framed bytheComnrittee of the "Rugby Football Union, come into torcc, and it is 110 c too much to anticipate that under the revised code of laws the Rue; by Union game will become an infinitely moro interesting game for spectators, if nob for tho players themselves. The game will become almost as fast a^ain as ib is now, and an additional amount of science will be imported into the play in a corresponding degree. To play the Rugby rules, under their amended conditions -nill require both skill and stamina. There will be precious little breathing time, and mi view of the first of the month we should! advise all players to go into strict training,, or they w ill be left far behind. The new rules look a foimidablo lot, but they will leadily be learned, and we venture to think that they will be generally approved of. In our opinion, the only unduly harsh penalty is that which, allows of a tree kickbeing claimed for a knock on from touch. Certainly a goal cannot be obtainable from a fiee kick awarded under such circumstances, bub we cannob help thinking that it would have been well in this instance to havo let the old law stand unaltered. Players should at all times remember that the refereo has power to award a free kick for :—l.: — 1. Intentionally handling the ball in the scrummage. 2. Intentionally falling down in the scrummage. 3. For not immediately putting the ball down on its being fairly tackled, or, if on the ground, for not getting up at once and playing the ball. 4. For wilfully touching the ball -n hen off-side. 5. For off-side tackling. From a fair catch allowed under any of the foregoing five heads a goal can be obtained* We should also like to impress upon players the important fact that the referee, without being appealed to, and without any caution^ being necessary, may order a man oft' the field for rough or foul play, and the offending player will, in addition, stand a. very good chance of being suspended by the Rugby Union Committee, who will also deal very severely with anyone reported to them for disputing the decision of the referee. This important and necessary official under tho new rules will have a vast amount of power, and we hop© that we shall never' have occasion to refer to any referee being unnecessarily barsh, or, on the other hand, of being unduly lenient. "We feel ceitain that the new rules will work beneficially for a particularly fascinating nnd thoroughly manly pastime, and firmly believe that the Rugby Union Committee- will never regret tho latest and most important departure." Two remarkable feats of place-kicking arc reported from England as having occurred on the last Saturday in October. For Mill Hill School against Bedford School, W. J. Pearson, besides gaining seven tries, placed 17 goals out of 18 tries. The other was by W. Ash ford, a brother of the Somerset three-quarter, who, for Mount Bradford School, Exeter, against Tei^nmouth Grammar School, secured six tries, and placed 14 goals without a mistake. Says an English paper :— Several of the> Maori football players are excellent tricyclists — at least I should say they appear to bo so from tho manner in which they propel tho wretched crocks they hire.. If, however, they only use the tricycle for tho purpose of reducing weight perhaps it is just as well to go in for some which want a lot of shoving.

Keep;Ahetd. — One of the grand secrets, of success in life is to keep ahead in all ways possible. If you once fall behind it may be very difficult to make up the headway which is lost. One who begins with . putting* aside some part of his earnings, however small, and keeps it up for a number of years, is likely to become rich before he dies . One who inherits property, and goes on year by year spending a little more than his income, will become poor if he lives long enough. Living beyond their means has brought multitudes of persons to ruin in our generation. It is tha cause of nine-tenths of all the defalcations which have disgraced the age. Bankers and business men do not often help themselves to other people's money until their own fund begins to fall off, and their expenditure exceeds their receipts. A man who is in debt walks in the midst of perils. It cannot but impair a man's" self respect to know that he is living at the expense of others. It is also very desirable that we should keep somewhat ahead in our work. This may not be possible in all cases ; as, for instance, when a man's work is assigned to certain fixed hours, like that of the operatives in a mill. But there are certain classes of people who can choose their time for the work which they are called to do, and amongst them there are some who invariably put off the task assigned them as long as possible, and then come to its performance hurried, perplexed, anxious, confused,— in such a state of mind as certainly unfits them for doing- their best work. Get ahead and keep ahead, and your success is tolerably sure. " None but the brave deserve the fair," and none but the brave oan live with some of them. The following item occurs in a lawyer's bill; "To waking up in the night and thinking of your case, six and eightpence."