THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Issue 22, 22 October 1898, Page 4

THE WAIMATE ADVERTISER.

A junior, jsricket club has been formed in Waimate, and an arrangement has been ,come to with the Waimate -Cricket Culb to supervise the juniors, and allow them ' the use of cricketing materials for practice in the evenings at the 'close of the men's practice. - Nothing has been .done in $he_ interests of cricket and the youth '. oi "Waimate for many a day. It only

t .requires that three or four enthusiastic members form themselves into a committee, to see that a senior is present to coach the juniors when practising. Boys 4o not object to being " bossed " by those •whom they respect and who know better than themselves, in fact they rather likeit. The presence of even one member of the Cricket Club taking an interest in the play and pointing out mistakes will go a. long way in making the juniors earnest ' and careful cricketers. A great need in ' Waimate is an organised effort to direct into proper channels the surplus energy of our boys during the period of life which lies between school and full manhood. ■ The action of the Cricket Club in taking the boys under their care is one which ' -will do much to supply that need, and for which parents and all interested in the lads will be very grateful. If followed up In the way indicated, nothing but good can come of it. The Lyttelton Times in a leader the other day dealt with the necessity of the proper supervision of our .young people. In concluding his article" the editor says : — The exuberant activity of youth nmst find an outlet somewhere, ' - and, if left to itself, it is very prone to take -an 'evil course. But how many parents, 3iow many teachers, how many school «ommitteemen, give a second thought to the way in which boys spend their leisure hours ? Few, indeed, we are sorry to say. Many boys leave school without any taste for the athletic exercises that are so necessary for their bodily develop-, jnent, and in later years their spare time is spent in idle talk, vigorously punctuated ■with expectoration and bad language, by "which descent to actual vice is made more easy. The boy who has a hobby of any kind, or becomes interested in any pursuit that necessitates vigorous physical ■ training, is in much less danger of falling into evil habits than the lad who only seeks to " kill time." We do not say that all athletes are saints — some of them are 1 quite the reverse — but a'healthy bpdy is * one of jfche greatest helps towards a whole1 ' some mind. " Nine-tenths of our juvenile depravity is born of idleness and opportunity ; and the encouragem'eW of iealthy • • outdoor pursuits, the promotion of domesi l tic intercourse, the Cultivation of hobbies, ' ' anything, in fact, that would keep the 'body' and mind busy and interested, " would do a great deal to save our bpya ,- ifpm, 'that deadly Vacuity that awaits' them beWeen teatime and bedtime/" A healthy

boisterous boy cannot be, expected to be quietly guided by moralising. In his ease a cricket bat is a more eloquent teacher, than a tract, and a football than a volume of sermons. " The most fruitful causes of youthful depravity are abundance of time and dearth of occupation, and if a boy's high spirits- can iind no other outlet, 1 hey will flow into dangerous channels. The very energy that -makes the so-called larrikin -an epitome of wickedness is the force that should convert him into a useful citizen.

SATUEDAY, OCT. 22, 1898.