A RECORD OF SPORT.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 799, 31 July 1877, Page 2

A RECORD OF SPORT.

(Compiled expressly for the Waikato Times.)

Auckland, 25 tn July. The announcement that a Dunedin football team is to visit Auckland the encLof next month, has imparted a lively impetus to the game, described by Dv Philaon as only fit for savages. It was sadly wanted, .if football is to maintain its, position as the popular pastime, as the recent accidents have damped the ardour of our;. players very much, and more than one match has fallen through because of some of the clubs not being able to get togother a team. The first proposition made by the D .nediu Club, that an Auckland team should meet them in Wellington, not being favourably received by our players, the Southerners have pluckily determined to return our visit ot 1875, though the secretary writes that he caii hold out no hopes of getting their best team to come. As their programme now stands, they are to play Christchurch fi'rst and then come straight on to Auckland. The exact fete of their departure cannot be fixed at present, but.they promise to wire it up as soon as possible. On Friday night a meeting.of our players was held, aad two committees appointed, one .to choose the Auckland team and the other Co make arrangements in connection with the reception of pur visitors. Measra T Ho.iderson, A King, Culaou, J? C Sharlijud, and W W* R ibia.-sou compose the selectors, and i*3 CJiey are all old and experienced players* they will not be likely to inake much mistake about their pick. Tne reoeption is in ©fjuaTly good, Ijands, so tha{i we

" ought to have -'the thipg' .carried; through-in firstclass style. after the general meeting tlje'selec- 1 tion committee made, out a .list of about thirty uames of.playord, who have been invited to keep themselves; in practice with a view* to being chosen in the team. They have not! - forgotteu that ourr> success in the Canterbury match last year was in! a great measure due .to tho brilliant! play of the Waikiit'd ' qohtlngeril.; more especially Messrs, ; Cjx and L Wood. The committee will, lam sure, feel very much disapp inted if the services of these gentlemen are not agaift a vailabie. Mr. Henderson* communicated with Dunedin -on Saturday as - to rules, and had a rjply on Monday that it was desirable that the Rugby Union code should be - adopted, for the match,' with scoring points as in the Canterbury match. lam not surprised; at the match Waikato.v. Auckland falling through ; it was hardly pru, deut to try to force it on after the Hamilton Club's decision, but I suppose a few of the prime movers wanted a trip. Had it come off, it could not in any way have been a. test of the football strength of jthe respective districts. ~ Racing matters are of course exr ooodingljr. dull at prooeut._^_The-Jtlol|:_->s§Huroe Cup quotations remain much the same as directly after the weights had been declared. The Savanaka commission seems to be the only one which has been executed as yeV. Ido not expect any fresh' movement will take place uutil after the acceptances are declared on the Bch of next month. Much of Hie interest generally felt in the race in Auckland has been abstracted by an edict of the police strictly prohibiting the sweeps which two or three of our most respectable hotel-keepers are in the habit of getting, up on the event. The next excitement in this department of sport will be the Canterbury nominations on the Ist August. Hippocampus is wintering well ; he will begin to do gentle work for the coming campaign soon after the beginning of next month. Mr Fergusson is to receive 700 guineas for Feve's services in Australia for two seasons. The report that Lord Roseberry offered a handsome profit on the original purchase money to get him back in England, is perfectly true, and from What I hear it would have been, accepted had the present arrangement not been entered, into. ■ It" is not surprising that his owner sent him away from Auckland, for' after sending circulars to all the .local breeders of racing stock asking if they intended to subscribe to the horse this season, he was only assured of nine mares, and seven of these were to come from one owner, sojihat he could really only count on three subscribers. This is poor encouragement for importers of first class blood stock. I hear that several gentlemen .have now- expressed to Captain Walmsley their regret that they did not, patronise the horse, but they have only themselves to blame tor losing an opportunity which is not likely to occur again for many years. Talking of .this, you haVe, no doubt, heard that the Stock Importation Society have squared up their accounts, and.returned to the shareholders the sum of £± 5s a\ share, or, within 15s of the original value. The reason of the break up of the Society was, that the directors- found it impossible to effect any real good with the small . ' capital at their disposal. Mr Gwyoue, who bought their trotting stallion, 'Young Performer, is doing very well with the animal. The sum he obtained him for, .£154, will pretty well be returned in his first j'eatf's subscriptions. >''**"' The Rush and Trickett rowing V**- ma t cu caused tremendous excitement in Australia, and the Sydney papers , give Trickett credit for great im- ' provement since his visit to England. A friend who knows Trickett, tells me that one of the main causes of this is, his extreme docility under tuition. He believes that if his , trainer told him to row fifty miles a day, he would do it religiously.' He is also very apt at learning any fresh wrinkles. For instance, he got used to the sliding seat in a very few days. Harry Kelly is, admittedly, the best " coach " in England, and, with such a pupil as Trickett, he would work wonders in a very short Jime. I am glad to see that the Sydney papers give • KeH his due in this respect. Rush is a much stronger man to look at than Trickett, but he is as obstinate as Trickett is tractable under discipline, and as he firmly believed he Iconld beat his old opponent as easily as in their former struggle, he disdained to adopt any of the new ideas. The ' Sydney, Morning Herald ' says, the result, was, that the race resolved itself into a contest of brute force against, science, with the inevitable conclusion. I ' should imagine there is little doubt that the challenge sent to England, will be taken up. The Sydney sportsmen guarantee either Boyd or any other man holding the title of Champiort of' England, «£doo for his expenses, to come to Australia and row Trickett for ,£IOOO., If the ' English representative does come out, it would be more satisfactory, and, at .the same time, more conclusive its to the merits of the men, if three races are rowed, instead Of one, at intervals say of a week or ten days, the wiuner of two out of the three to take the- money. The . . which iuU|t inevitably be ' ta;kei};into the best man ''. K ■: tefflf£mrv indisposj.

tjoni would then- be reduced to a 'minimum. We have had a little aquatic sport lately over the sailing race between the Pet, a new sailing boat, built by Mr Bailey, of the North Shore, afid the.Brothers, for the "lust three years our champion smatl-crafr. They have had throe trials, buOhe two first were little better than drifting niatohes. In botli ."of tliese^-Uve.Pet.came in first, but,.tho-Brothers was cldse behind her. Oh the third occasion, a Btvong, easterly wind gave the boats a firstclass opportunity for trying both their running and beating* capabilities. The Brothers now came out in. her true colours, and bore out the opinion I expressed in my last l letter. The Pet had to take in a reef,'but the other stood up to the. breeze manfully, and her sailing powers being aided by first-class generalship on the part of those who. Sailed her, she landed herself a winner by 3 min. .10 sees., irrespective of any time allowance to which she was justly entitled, on account of her inferior size. The result, was watched with great excitement, and when the Brothers passed the winning post, there were at least five hundred spectators congregated on the wharf. The Eot's-pautisans-Wanted-anothoi' trial - but* Hunt, the owner .of , the Brothers, expressed himself perfectly satined, and refused to sail any more matches. Bailey does not like giving in, and he is still trying to get another race on. I hope he will succeed, but Hunt says he can't afford to give the' public any more sport without they pay for it. •** The first coursing match ever held in the Auckland district comes off to-morrow, at the East Tatnaki. There are a dozen entries, and some good sport is expected. On Friday, a meeting of the Auckland Cricket Club is to take place, to consider what steps should be taken with a view to the proposed visit of an Australian cricket team. I consider a great mistake has been made in making the meet- j ing an Auckland Cricket Club affair, instead of a general cricketers' meetiug. The letter from Australia was certainly addressed to the j Secretary of the A.C.C., but it was j as certainly not intended to apply to the Auckland Cricket Club only. I am afraid that the United Club — quite as powerful a club as the Auckland■— and the half-a-dozen other clubs which now exist in Auckland, will take the huff now, and decline to have anything to do with the affair.

Vates.