MANAWATU RACING CLUB.

Manawatu Times, Volume IV, Issue 83, 27 October 1880, Page 2

MANAWATU RACING CLUB.

A meeting of settles m the County favorable to toe e»t iblisb'neufc of a Tap'ng Cliib, was held on Satu -day even : ng m the Towa Hall, Mr Ferguson i-i tliecbvT. Although theJtUendance was not nume-ous, sLUI iiioso who toot oart m to proceed l ags we<'e rap "agent a Mve mea, amongst when we'« Mr. Will'am Ake -s, of Riverdale j M". Thomf: K-.vg'it, of itangtt'kei Line; Mr. Malcol'it Stewa-b, of Fitzbepbarfc • Mr. Jo'?n Young, of Fosion ; while apologies, and p.'om'9«3of support were received from Me."-. 31-3. D. Kn ; g!H, of F'tzherbert ; and Ti)oma» Fraw, of Awahu."!; Palmerston beiij repißie )itd by Messi'i. Balchelav, J. -E.!.>_T,-C-j.v..xoi!i.i. TJonrrla^. Pun^an, Hiaiovui,_ Jensien, Nan .its! anxi $ number of OLie r- 3. I.j taking the e'aa'n, Mi\ FsiairsoN said thai perinp' be knew least about the matter of an? one p esent ; sii!', be p "e3umed that deic'e.icv could be suypl'ed by the conven«rj of t'je ineet'ng, who, no doubt were m a position, lo stale wLafc step*, if any, had been al.eaclj ii\->en, and what was conteinplaied ji the future, Mt 1 . James KiSG- sa ; d that for some considerable time psit a number of settlers m the county, wtio were t're o«vners of stock , and b.redai'3 of ppuuee, bod been ainiom to see an Annu:il Bice ilejii ig held m the Manavtalu. Wita tnat object m view, be (M p. King) bad teited the fetling both m low a and counlr.e, aad the aaiount of support which li« received had warr.mted him ia ca]l'i)g a pa'ol'c meetuig m order to put the project upon a more ptiogrciiive footing, m no ca?e whe.-e be h»u made appi'cation bad be beai unsdcce3gful, aad he i jad now a list of beuweea ta n r and fortj pei'3ons who bad put down their iiaqei as iubici-ib-en, Qf cou.-se be nprer iateided to dici,v c <o t>e meeting what course saould be pu sued ; it a»d be-^a coareued for the purpose of discus3 : ng the nia.tei 1 , recs'ring sug^ejtioni aad talc'pj whatever course m'g'it be deemed the moit advisable. He mi^bt say tbat outside of the towj, he had received numerqas promises of support, Mesi.s. Daviu Kuijht and Thomas iVaze;pledging themselves to use their best eadearora to forwad t':e piojeot. Toe CfIAiSMA.^ suggested thai; » comcqitltee of gen'cle.nen poked out of taose j p esent, supplomealei by others to be mentioned, shoala be nominated, to test the j public feeliug ia tje vaijous parts of the Couai>T. Mr, DoJiGAif agreed w^th the suggestion and would therefore move — " That tne following geutiemea be nominated for tbat pu:pose: — Messrs. Joba Young, Andrew VVnvie, and John Liddell for Foiton ; Mtssrs. Macarthur, Sbe.-will, and Sooth, for Feilding ; Mestvs. 4^ ers an d i^ayid Knight, for l>'itzhcrbt?t j Messra, i'boaia* IVaser and Tliomas Knight, for Awaiuri ; and Messrs. Hayns, James King, »nd Crawford for Palmerslon and vicinity." Mr. Joflji Yooug »iid he did not th'nk it adriijble to iaclude the names of those nominated for Fo^.'^ a - •&* wa3 we^ mown the Foiton people had a wee course and a Jockey Club', and it was just possible they would not care to fall m with the views of the meeting, but prefer to have theic own i:.c«s. He did Dot »aj t bat they would do ao, nor that they oujlit'o.' qught jqot to do bo, lie merely po.nled out that there was such a 'possibility. Mr. Bungan sa,id that as he understood the object of nom : .nai>in^ the. various gentlemen, it was that they oliould ascertain the fcelinj of c BeLilef3 m their diat. ic.t-3, and report to a fSeci'etaryj to be elected. The fact of Mr. Young's n^nje, or th,it of any ge ltletnm not coiniuuniyaLed with orng meu. tioaed, did not ia the least pledge them iv any \x*y. Tiier were merely asked to give th«ir owii, and secure the support of others, favorable to the Racing Club, wjich, of cour3«, they were quite at liberty to, withhold if they so desired, jff the Fi-es| we.re the indei of public feeliaj, then he might say tbat both Fo^toa and Feilding were most favorably inclined towards the movement, aT both t; lie vepreseatative papers warmly advocated the pjrpooe for whic'li tb,ey had assembled. Hitherto Foxton had an Annual J^e.;atta, and Palmerston and Feilding had bad Athlfttic Sports, y«t iroua a want of unit/.and the spirit of rivalry which, existed, none of the three had been the succ«S3 which othervrise they could have beep made. It was suggeitad by the coutemplaUd »tcp that all local diSfci-ences tbould be. aban 1 -' doped, and th'a^ \r liile the up-country s,f ttlti'i should heartily support the Foxto^ Regatta, both by patronage and presence, the southerners on their side should reciprocate with regard to the. Feilding Sporti and Palmeraton Races. By tlii« means the county would become possessed of three good •renti to com^ off (fwallj.

;vga.-d to what Mr. Young stated as to Foi« ton having a Jockey Club, the conveners of the meeting vert aware of the fact, but It should also be borne m mind that fchefe were no race* last year. In conclusion, he might lay that the Falmersion people were not only most anxious to make the Race Meeting one for the whole county, but to avoid m the slightest giving qffence. A« * proof of that be might state that it had been originally intended to call the proposed club the Manawatu Jockey Club, but m deference to the Foxton people — to whom it might appear a« if it ware intended to jump their claim — it had been altered to the Manawatu Racing Club. Mr. Batch bias, had much, pleasure m seconding the resolution, aad from the various conversations which he had had from settlors throughout the county, he felt quite convinced that a hearty support would be accorded from all quarters. The motion was then put, and parried j unanimously. The Chairman- intimated that the next business should be t'ae appointment of a Secretary pro tern. '"'.'•' Mr. Dtjnoan said he had much pleasure m proposing that Me. Jamas Eing should act m that capacity, until the movement wan sufficiently advanced for the election pf, the permanent office-bearers. Mr. King had taken % deal of interest m bringing the project to its then stage, and he felt sure be would be the right man m the right j place. , Mr. Batohei,AU seconded the resolution, stating that an active and sealous Secretary wa* tue very back-bone of success to any club, and he frit assured, that Mr. King would spare no trouble to bring the movement to a successful issue. Mr. King's appointmfht was then unanimously agreed upon, and it was decided that be should at once correspond with the several gentleman of the cqmmittee not present, asking their support and co-operation, upon which he should convene another meeting, and report prqgress. The CHATttMA.Tr said thought it would be weil if the representatives of the various districts, present were furnjshed with some information, as no doubt m their canvass many queitions would be ask«d. wtyah they should be prepared to answer Mr. Thomas Km^ai : Whape was jt in t tended to hold tbe Racing Meeting 8 The Chairman replied upon what wss known as the Palmar* ton Race Course. My. "Knight: There is an excellent ground at Awahuii. Why not hold it tkeve? Mr, Jenssest : Mr. Chairman, I certainly .: never dreamt that there wss any question qf holding tbe races, anywhere than on the Paltnerston Course; else why give up the Annual Athletic Sports ? Th,e Chats^a* agiseed with, the views held by My. Jensen. Tbe neit question to be considered was wita regard to the rate of subscription. Although it had been incidentally mentioned that a number of guineas had been subscribed, yet as fae as he was aware no definite sum had been fixed upon. Hethp.ugb.fc it fpuld be well that that matter should be settled. , ; . ; Mr. Ki^o- said he was quite aware that . t~o gu?nea3 was the proper amount, yet he did not tlrink it would be politic to ask for more than one at the start. Mr. Yocng replied that the subscription to the Foxton Jockey Club kad been two gu*neas. ' - Mr. DpN&Alf said that as one who had taken an active pact m obtaining swbscn'p~tTons"rem3»~lfliUh:i9lmas Mports, KTs experience would lead him to the conclusion that £2 2s should be the figure. Between £80 and £90 had been collected last year within the town boundaries, and it should be ecoJlected thai; subscribers to the Racing Club would be entitled to admittance to the grounds and stand. In the one case the donors had freely given their guinea and had to pay fctp admission | while, 'in the | other, subscriber were not only' admitted themselves, but obtained cerla'n concessions for any horses they might eatac To test the feeling of the meeting, therefore, he wou'd move — "That the su.bscriptio4 be £2 2s per year. Mr. Batcme ,ab would second tbe resolution. He recollected that the MartonRanx'.tikei Club s. aried wifc'i a subscription of £1 Is, but aftec a little while if was found totallr inadequate, and it had to. be raised to £2 2s. " Mr. Jbnssbjt said before the resolution was pat to the meei'ng, he wou]d lil^e to make a few remark* and move an amendment. He felt quite convinced that if the subscription were fixed at the lower rat* of £1 Is, the club wqu.ld get three' times the amount, and become far more popular and wide-spread. There were numbers of. persons who would give a guiaea, but would refuse to. giye two. He would.,, therefore, move aa an amendment — "that the subscription be fixed at £1 Is." Mr. Deakds was of a similar opinion, and would second the amendment, l^e would point out to the meeting, however, that there was a.lr.e.ndj a. Jockey Club m Manaw»tu. It was explained to Mr. Deards that it was proposed to call the projected dub " The Manawatu R,acin£ CluV' Mr. .A kerb was inclined to think that the club would be more popular,- and secure more members if the lower rate were fixed,, and consequently would sqppoi'tt the J§l Is subsaription. Me. Kitfq reiterated the statement that he considered £2 2a the pcopersubicr.ip.tion ; still ; he had interviewed a number of persons and had obtained their signatures for a guinea subscription and he could not well see how he could go to tb,em for a larger amount, as it would, m his opinion be breaking fajth with them. Mr. DtJNGA* said he was by no means wedded to the imposition of the £2 2s. Ail he wished was to adopt whatever would be for the best interests of the club; Evident 1 ? the feeling of the meeting was m favor of the lower sum, and, with the consent of the seconder, he would withdraw hji motion,. Mr. Batchelab had no objection, and the motion having heen withdrawn, the amendment was carried unanimously. The Chairman intimated that, as far as he knew, that was all the business which couM be transacted at that meeting. But if tliero was any matter which suggested itself to any one present, he would b,e pleased if they would bnng it forward, Mr.ptTNGAiT sa,id fhejpe one matter which 'cams within the province of the meeting, and he thought ought not to b* omitted. He advised that a sub-committee should be appointed to interview the Borough Council with regard to tut mi of the Racecourse. Of course he was not speaking with any authority, but bis own private opinion was that there would bo Jttle difficulty m obtaining tho Racecourse upon very liberal Uivns from the CoumciL He did not fear that the use of the ground, could be obtained free for at least the first year, and after that the club would be. no worse off than the Rangitikei Club, which had to pay a handsome rental for its course. He would move-r-:" That a sub-committee, consisting of' Mejurs,. J.ames King, Deards, David Knight, and Crawford., bo appointed to interview the Council at its' next ordinary meeting, and ascertain upon what conditions the use of the Ractcourse could be ohtained, the sub-committee to report at next meeting. Tho motion was seconded by Mr. JJabtKB3TAD, and carried unanimously . t ~4m |tr, $g^,S&ftgr !& MM

b,eard that tho Palmeraton RacecQurse would »ot be ready for use for the next two years. It was proposed by Mr. Jbkssbx, and seconded by Mr. Dsards^t" That M». Hayns be requested to report upon tl)«' c*p«b.ilities of our racecourse." I|This was carried, and a vqte of thamks to tbe Chairman terminated tbo proceedings,