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and since then has helped to foster the sport of trotting racing in Invercargill and surrounding districts. The club is registered with the New Zealand Trotting Association. The last meeting was held in April, 1914, when £255 was given in stakes. A list of the present members of the club and a copy of the club's balance-sheet have been forwarded. The circumference of the course is 8 T B jj furlongs. There is also a specially constructed clay track for trotters, 7 furlongs in circumference. This club has the use of the Southland Racing Club's finely appointed racecourse, and the arrangement is that in the event of this club receiving a totalizator permit the course and all its appointments will be leased al a nominal rent. The buildings and appointments on this property have recently been erected at tin expenditure of over £8,500, and are most complete. The nearest clubs using the totalizator are the Core Trotfing Club, thirty-nine miles distant, and Forbury Park Trotting Club, 139 miles distant. The particulars which this club consider give it a special claim for consideration of its application have already been recited in the application forwarded through the New Zealand Trotting Conference, therefore it is not necessary to repeat them here. By the Deputation. —Our club has already forwarded a petition from till the racing clubs in Southland, recommending the granting of a permit to us, and, as you are aware, the rules of trotting provide that when a trotting club applies for registration il must be recommended by the two nearest trotting clubs holding permits. We have this recommendation from the Forbury Park anil Core Trotting Clubs. The previous Gaming Commission fixed a twenty-five-mile radius for computing population basis, and we have shown that on that basis Invercargill is entitled to three more racing-days. Invercargill, with a population of 17,000 has four days' racing and no trotting permit, while Dunedin, with a population of 52,1)00, has nine days' racing and six trotting-days ; Cere, with a population of 3,000, has one trotting-day; Oamaru, with a population of 5,000, has one trotting-day ; Ashburton, with a population of 3.500. has three trotting-days; New Brighton, with a population of 1,200, has four trotting-days, besides which (here are two other trotting clubs in Christchurch. We give these figures merely to emphasize the justness of our claim on a population basis. We also hand in a declaration from the Southland Racing Club showing the number of nominations, acceptances, and starters for trotting races on that club's programme for the last ten years and statistics in connection with trotting in Southland.

Number of Horses nominated, accepted, and started at Southland Racing Club Meetings, from January, 1906, to March, 1915.

Meeting. Race. Nominations. Acceptances. ' Started. Summer, 1906 . . Summer, 1907 . . Autumn, 1907 . . Summer. 1908 . . Autumn, 1908 . . Makarewa Trot Oreti Trot Roslyn Trot .. Electric, Trot . . Makarewa Trot Oreti Trot Roslyn Trot . . Electric Trot . . Southland Trot Invercargill Trot New River Trot Dash Trot Makarewa Trot Oreti Trot .. Roslyn Trot . . Electric Trot . . Southland Trot Invercargill Trot New River Trot Dash Trot .. Makarewa Trot Oreti Trot Roslyn Trot .. Electric Trot .. Southland Trot Invercargill Trot New River Trot Dash Trot Makarewa Trot Oreti Trot .. Roslyn Trot .. Electric Trot . . Southland Trot Invercargill Trot New River Trot Dash Trot .. 13 22 24 30 21 24 28 30 15 31 27 31 17 19 I! 21 22 36 29 37 17 17 22 19 19 30 29 29 14 32 21 27 17 39 26 33 13 18 12 21 12 19 15 17 11 19 1-1 17 13 16 9 16 20 23 21 23 II bl 12 17 15 24 21 20 13 26 15 19 II 29 14 23 10 16 12 18 7 7 II 14 13 14 12 13 10 II 9 16 18 19 20 19 10 II Summer, 1909 . , Autumn. 1909 . . Summer, 1910 . 6 16 15 21 18 17 13 18 14 18 12 27 14 16 Autumn, 1910