THE WAIKATO HOUNDS.

Waikato Argus, Volume IV, Issue 304, 21 June 1898, Page 3

THE WAIKATO HOUNDS.

On Saturday the meet of the above hounds was at the National Hotel, Cambridge, the home of the lion, secretary of the clul), who ia, unfortunately, about to sever his connection with Cambridge. Those who know Mr and Mrs Bach will know that a meet at the National Hotel always means a good lunch before the business of the day is undertaken, and so it was on Saturday, but those who partook of the repast could not help but feel somewhat mournful when they thought that it was the last time they should have the pleasure of being the guests of Mr and Mrs Bach, at all events, as a hunt club. After full justice had been done to the good things provided, Mr W. M. Douglas, the master, proposed the health of their host and hostess iu most felicitous terms. He referred to the excellent manner in which Mr Bach had managed the affairs of the Club, and he doubted if they would be able to till his place with a secretary who had the grasp of the business and the tact to keep things going that Mr Bach had displayed. Mr Bach's departure would not only be a loss to the Hunt Club, but also to the district at large, for. although he was a good sportsman, he did not confine his energies to that alone. As Mayor of the Borough he had been an • undoubted success, and, from what he could learn, the ratepayers would be iu just as big a fix as the Hunt Club to find a successor who would take as much interest in matters generally as Mr Bach had done. In referring to Mrs Bach, Mr Douglas said he could not say enough on behalf of the Club for the manner in which they had always been treated by their hostess, for she not only took care to see that they were well provided for, but did so in such a cheerful and pleasing manner that everyoue felt at home. He was sure they would all feel that they were losing friends by the departure of Mr and Mrs Bach, and, on behalf of the Club, he wished them every success in their future undertakings. The health of Mr and Mrs Bach was then drunk with musical honours. In replying, Mr Bach thanked Mr Douglas for the complimentary terms in which he had spoken'of himself and his wife, and the members for the manner, in which they had endorsed Mr Douglas' remarks. He could assure them that it had afforded him and Mrs Bach much pleasure to occasionally have the members of the Hunt Club as guests. He admitted that on that occasion he felt somewhat mournful, as it was the last time he should have an opportunity of meeting them at the National. It was just 20 years since he first came to Cambridge, and in that time he had seen many changes. No one was more sorry to leave the place than he was, but in these go-ahead times it did not do to stand still, and if trade would not come to yon, you must go to the trade, or at anyrate to where there was more doing than there was in Cambridge. He should greatly miss the hunting, and he trusted that wherever he went he should be able to read of good sport being had with the Waikato hounds ; but he warned them that unless the members took more interest in matters than they had done of late, the Club would go to the wall. It was not fair to let one man, nor half adozen, do the whole of the work. If the Club was to prosper the individual members must take.interest in it, and do a fair share of the labour. They had plenty of members ; but that was not all that was required, and he warned them that unless an effort was made to get all the members to interest themselves in the affairs of the Club, it would languish and die. After lunch a move was made for Clement Park, and as the cavalcade departed we noticed : —The Master (Mr Douglas) on Sunbeam ; the Huntsman (Mr Brown) on Joker ; Mrs Brown on Muscatelle ; and Miss Walker on Kereone ; Messr3 Hine on Happy Jack ; G. Walker on Domino ; C. Craig on Dandy ; R. Hannon on a Mountaineer colt ; Armer on Paddy ; S. Banks on Thelma ; N. Banks on . Neck-or-Nothing ; J. Rae on Kingswood ; C. Shaw on Glenloch ; Hicks on a bay colt ; Hewitt and Bach in a buggy, and several others. Several excellent runs were had during the afternoon, mostly over the farms of Messrs Watts, Forrest and Banks ; but the field was small, doubtless owing to the wet.