BY REFEREE.

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 230, 7 February 1885, Page 6

BY REFEREE.

NOTICES.

Secretaries of alt kinds of Clubs for the promo--thn. of ovt-door/sports t will confeiieCifdvdUr 'by'';eonwiU7ii-i ■eating 'miy itenis of interest co'mieete<l'~wit)i' ilieir sport, game, or pastime; more especially with respect to coming events, si 1 ; ,\ j'' i/; •_.'. <:-i ■..>■:■■ :i ij! •- ' '■l\\': '': ■■■- Short sketches of sporting. or.-pleasur€ excursions will be.welaome, and questions en all matters \connected wifh'spoHswill be gladly answered. .. \ ■„ . All communications must be addressed , to "Referee." . , ■ •'■ i ■■> ■■.

Thomas accepts Hudson's 'challenge for Cumberland wrestling. ■.v ,t W. Murphy, the light-weight boxer, proceeded to >the;Tharues ■on 'Wednesday -to plug the yo.uiig_iriah 'down there who , accepted his', challenge/... Murphy is very fit this time\- anddoesn't intend'to let want pi condition" "/do.", hina. again, „', '. ,".;.',; ,'■'-_ 'I,"! '.. '•.!.!,' th .-■'.'<>''•;' ;-...! ".'.' . SteverisQii's' challenge, issued' "in *Star the other night,-, .was one/ of -the most blatant pieces of gas'i have' ever read. Fancy a crpck^like W:E;S. Challenging Swan, Hancock and . Co. , - ' \or any : other man in Australia or N.Z." 1 am glad to see -that D. MeKunV : readily took him-; tip,-; and .named a good sum too (£100).- , I; hope it won'tscare Stevenson. The Bulietin^vikis a, rhpst. telling, satire ' on the M last Australiaii; Eleven. It is a,,grave, with a headstone .dedicated to them. A bat leans against the stone, ;a caricature fape. weepS lp'iig tear' 6 from the front of the bat! . In the background a wicket is depicted'beingshattered.by a ball);. while the, laurel wreath is taking wing and flying away. The Farrian aiid Foley-' glove fight seems likely to become au fait accompli. Says the Australasian: ""The principal backer of : W. Fariian has ; deposited- with us' a cheque for £100 for the purpose' of making a* match with L. Foley ,_under the Marquis of Queens-' berry's rules. .; He 'proposes/that it shall' be for £250 aside, and must take place in Alb'ury. >'- i This "looks -like 1 business, and it will be hard lines if t.hgf, pair, cannot now come to terms: '•' • j - ■ ' - Thc.JEight, -Hours, Demonstration Sports,, which were to haye- conie-'off on Regatta. day, were; in consequence^ of,, "the ; incessant, .fain, postponed until .the-17th of March. •; Oh that day there 'should be:an ! immense s crowd at the Dpmahvas the St. <Patriek?s Day- parade will; tend to swell the numbers. I can't really compliment the 'handicappers on ithe job they made of a their- work; ! I certainly think that,' •on form, J. Cummins is in yery light, w,hile R. Whiteside is harshly treated: after, the. poor form : .he . showed- when honestly trying at the Committee's last annual, and at the Temperance Societies sports more recently. On Thanksgiving Day, 27th Nov., W. Edwards^, champion long- distance walker of Australia, Harry Vaughan, and John Meagher started fora 48-hour walk in the City Hall, Lawrence, Mass. ..Eaph put up a- sweep of 500d015., and after a great race Meagher retired 'after doing .148 miles 9 laps (24 laps to .the; mile), Vaughan and Edwards walked . up to within an hour of time, and Vaughan won, doing 181, miles 8 laps to Edwards' I*7o miles 1 lap. The American correspondent of the Melbourne 'Sportsman says Vaughan would not have been in it if it had been for six days! • Edwards has signified 'his intention of retiring from the athletic world and going into commercial pursuits. J He left for London, Eng., m few days after the race. The Auckland Amateur Athletic ~" Club's jSports don't seem any nearer coming to a ihead than they did before the late abortive attempt at revival; The miserable truth -that; we have no ground on which to hold such gatherings except the Doinain— and that is occupied by cricket matches, for the = next month-^c'oupled with the equally miserable truth that unless . the old' slaves •carry things on they'll be dropped, seems to •damn all hopes of a healtKy revival of this .useful-institution.. In Dunedin the " big men " ( take a.lively interest in thesuccess of •these sort, of things : subscribe freely, and .help to. run the show themselves. But here ;our = take ;no interest in the athletic •development 'of. our youngsters, and, ; f or the most part, 'refuse even- to subscribe.