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Wairarapa Hunt Club. The headquarters of the club are at Masterton. The club was formed in 1890, and is not registered. The last meeting was held in August, 1911. A list of the present members of the club and a copy of the last balance-sheet have been forwarded. Meetings are held on the Taratahi-Carterton Racecourse. The circumference of the course is 8 furlongs. Good accommodation is provided, new stands having recently been built. The steeplechase course inside is not fenced. The nearest club using the totalizator is the Masterton Racing Club, which club holds its meetings on the Opaki Racecourse, twelve miles distant from the Taratahi course. The Taratahi Club has only a one-day permit. We were able to hold successful meetings from a financial point of view when we were allowed to license bookmakers, but when this was stopped, although we endeavoured to carry on our annual meeting, reference to the balance-sheet will show that we lost money, and as we depended on our steeplechase meeting for the bulk of our revenue we decided to discontinue holding same. We now hold on fixed deposit with accumulated interest the sum of £95. Should we be successful in obtaining a permit our membership would be greatly increased by the addition of several Wellington huntsmen, who now hunt at the Hutt, and of which our president, Mr. C. E. Vallance, is master. By the Deputation. —We wish to amend our application in regard to the course where our meetings are to be held. We propose to race on the Opaki course. The Masterton Club hold their one-day meeting in October, and if we get a permit we propose to coalesce with them and race on the second day. We can make a good steeplechase course there. That is not too late for holding a hunt meeting in this district. We used to hold a very successful meeting when the bookmakers were licensed. We held one meeting without the bookmakers, and lost £20, so we decided we- could not go on. The area of the Opaki course is 127 acres of freehold, and it is nearer to a populous centre than the Taratahi course. We have a population of twelve thousand, and there is only one meeting in the whole of the North Wairarapa at present. North Taranaki Hunt Club. The headquarters of the club are at New Plymouth, and it was formed on the 19th May, 1906. It is registered. The first race meeting was held on the Taranaki Jockey Club's course in September, 1909, and the meetings have been held annually since then, the last meeting having been held on the 3rd September, 1914. A list of the present members of the club and a copy of the latest balance-sheet have been forwarded. We race on the course of the Taranaki Jockey Club. It is situated in New Plymouth, and is 8 furlongs in circumference. The Taranaki Jockey Club has granted our hunt the use of its course for our race meetings. It is one of the most up to date in the Dominion, and is fitted with every convenience, and is fenced on both sides. The nearest places at which race meetings are held by (a) clubs using the totalizator are —Stratford (two days), thirty miles; Egmont (four days), fifty miles; Opunake (one day), forty miles; Taranaki Jockey Club (four days), at Neyv Plymouth; (b) by clubs not using the totalizator—Uruti Sports Picnic Club, thirty-live miles, but as far as we can ascertain this club has not held a meeting for some years; Manaia Racing Club, fifty miles, has not held a meeting for some years; Patea Racing Club, seventy miles, has not held a meeting for some years; Ohura Sports Club, 140 miles (we have no record of any meetings of, this club); Waitara Racing Club, ten miles, has never held a meeting. We consider the North Taranaki Hunt is entitled to special consideration on the following grounds : (a.) 'there is no winter meeting held in the Taranaki District, and no race meeting is held in it from the 7th May to the 26th December, and on the 7th May the meeting is held by the Egmont Club at Hawera, which is fifty miles from New Plymouth, leaving north Taranaki without a race meeting, except the hunt, from Feb ruary to December. (6.) The sporting public of Taranaki are mostly dairy-farmers, and consequently find it a very difficult matter to attend summer meetings, (c.) There is not a steeplechase on the programme of any club in the Taranaki District, (d.) We receive less assistance from racing clubs than hunts in any other district, as is shown by the following extract from the last statement prepared by the Racing Conference, viz,— Metropolitan District. Grantato Hunt Clubs. Huuters-Kaoes. Auckland District ... ... ... 200 0 0 390 6 0 Canterbury District ... ... ... 456 10 0 715 0 0 Hawke's Bay District ... ... ... 104 0 0 158 0 0 Dunedin District ... ... ... 172 5 0 375 0 0 Taranaki District ... ... ... 55 5 0 Nil. Wanganui District ... ... ... 120 0 0 85 10 0 Wellington District . . ... ... 21 0 0 120 0 0 (c.) Each year the club is finding it more difficult to carry on, and the grant of a totalizator permit would undoubtedly provide funds to enable the club to put itself on a sound financial basis. (/.) The only donations Aye have received are from the 'Taranaki and Stratford Racing Clubs, and without these we would have found it still more difficult to carry on; and this year we do not anticipate such a large sum as £50 from the Taranaki Jockey Club owing to that club having gone in for a large expenditure in purchasing more land and improving its course. (</.) Our club hunts over a radius of fully fifty miles, which makes hunting more expensive for the club and its members, (h.) We have continued to hold our race meetings each year notwithstanding all obstacles, (i.) Our pack comprises the best hounds in the Dominion holding an unbeaten record at the Taranaki, Stratford, Hawera, Wanganui, and Hawke's Bay shows, and having won outright the Hawke's Bay Society's Challenge Cup. (j.) Should our hunt club become defunct it would be a great loss to the Taranaki District, as its existence has been the

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