RANDOM SHOTS.

may be all sight, but bis moral wnse appears to be just a tr|fle confused, as exemplified by the following rhyme:~ Though vice and virtue don't agree, They poth aliise begins with v Anatermeriatesalike withe. Though Mr Golder does not ask my advice, I am strongly tempted to give him g, bib of counsel; and he will surely not object to his own words being quoted against him. He says in his published " works ": — " Beware of imaginations. As a U free and independent' elector, 11 Remem ber Lot's wife, and pray that your end be nob as hers." To be more definite, I may remind him of the fate of " Lewis the Light"—a gentleman who might pass, for the twin brother of the King of Prpphets. The illuminating Lewis lately went to London from S^n Francisco, accompanied by a woman whom he called " The Queen of Ha,des ;" but as the result of their distribution of blasphemous leaflets *Mr Lewis is now' an inmate of Bedlam. Or

[By Zamiel.]

Borne write, a neighbour's name to lash: Some write—vain thought '.—for needful cash; Some write to please the country clash, Aud raise a din. jf or me, an aim I never fash— I write for fun.

feel the political excitement coming over me, with the approach of polling day ; but 'though I may go the length of expressing ,'xay views, in a general sort of way, on the of candidates, I shall not insult the .intelligence of electors by directing them ■"W whom to vote. Of course the thousands read these random jotting 3 would ivgladly accept of my services as "guide -philosopher, and friend," and I might thus 3noulct public opinion and influence legisla. "tion | but out of respect; to the Democratic instinct I resist the temptation to exer oisethe power which I possess. Is not every (Vman as good as his neighbour, politi cally, in this free comnrunity ? And is it not impertinence in any individual, no matter how intelligent or experienced he may be, to presume to instruct his To complete the blessings of ■manhood suffrage, we should have a law Hmaking it a felony to solicit votes ; and to !'secure the full benefit of the Ballot Act, it !>should be declared a punishable offence to Hadvise a voter how to exercise the fran .•chise. "If a. m,an may not take "ten :|bob " for his vote, w,hy should he be forced !to swallow a dose of nauseous advice on the 'subject ? But no one. can object to re 'ceiying voluntary information as to how ihis "neighbour intends to vote, and therefore it will not offend the mighty LDemos if I state ' plainly- how I mean to 'exercise the glorious privilege of the f&nch'ise on Monday next. Briefly, 1 will vote for the be^t man, quite apart ifrpm his political profession. ' The want of New Zealand is an honest and 'capable 'Government, and thjs pan only [he secured by electing honest and cap fable'' men who will chose the Ministers 'frptii . their own 'ranks. All attempted differentiation of candidates into political !parties is a delusion and a snare, and I thoi'oughly sympathise with the Radical JRefprm League in giving up the task in, tlespaii1, if not in disgust. That, then, is hpw'lam going to vote; if the reader wants more information I would simply say further that I mean to vote—as I have done 'on former occasions—by ballot!

u Aprophet hath honour, but not in his cm country." I sometimes wonder if that is the reason why Captain Edwin sends his jSbad weather prophecies broadcast over the colony, instead of keeping them for the ■■ delectation of Welling toniaris j and I wonder now if the neglect shown by tthe people of Waipawa has anything [to do with the action of the "King Prophets'! in sendingL his effusions to 'Auckland. I have just received a sheet six closely-printed columns of jvery peculiar material under the heading— ["■ln lilemoriam-r^ King and Queen of iPraphefcs-r-wjth the. author's compliments. -tvO,. oKyr ifi. ; Gqldee, watchmaker, dweller,,' etc." This wonderful sheet. [professes, to have been printed by the author :" in his incomplete own invented Amateur .Printing Apparatus ; perhaps the simplest 'Invented/and it further bears to be "in /continuation of tie author's life and works." ■Mr, GoMer. has hitherto had to pay the •Hawke's Bay newspapers for printing his ; he now takes his revenge by turning printer,.and I am bound to admit that the queer higgledy-piggledy typography •of hifi ■'" in meraoriam " sheet ia in exact; keeping- with the character'of its contents. ~ , r-' - , • . *j •# * * * * ; " *" * * 'MrGolder's methods may he truly pro :phetic, but he beats any of the ; old hands iuthe matter of incqherency. The " word of the Lord " comes to him very frequently, according to his own statement; he is often f l' in the Spirit" ; he was once " taken in th"c:. Spirit to Heaven;" at his decree ■*' Salvation Armies sprang forth ;*' e(j.c, ;*tc.: The unregenerate iridividuaLmay, how- j fever,, be pardoned for supposing that the, "King of Prophets" simply records all the '•absurdities that he sees in distorted dreams ■of the night, calling them inspired visions and "warnings dfthings to come. He takes especial i'delight in recording warnings of coming earthquakes ; but in addition to these big •events he says he has " had minor dreams of ;:thQiisq,nds " of lesser occurrences. . He has ■apparently a simple means of testing whether l>is recorded dreams are inspired or the; When he has " set up " the para graph' he leaves the type . loose, and if; 'Wn' Infant earthquake comes along and fJinocks.'it into "pi" he accepts that as an liintfina&on that the record was''riot inspired. SSuch, at any rate, I take to be the meaning \>'f the'follbwing clear-cut utteranpe in the *s&e&{j now ' before me i— . '" fixlrqct from wiy words to tjie Spirit :— iJlark me, 0 God, when the matter in type falls 'db'wii I Vill not reset it.". . * That may be a." pV'-ous remark, h>s{; it ■sounds uncommonly like the ejaculation of a profane printer when he chucks a hand ful of ''pi at the " devil."

The King of Prophets is no fool, although the editor of aNapier paper has characterised his effusions as "blasphemous, and beneath the- contempt of sane people." A few of i)is aphorisms may serve to show that his *t chump is in its proper place; Natural gifts of soothing are often mistaken f,Or inspired gifts of healing. ThVwisest men are often taken for fppls. Churches arid sermons you have always, but sAngels are few and far betwe.en. Let Sunday people he satisfied with weekday words during days of grace.. -If the righ eous cannot eat meat with sinners they must wait for their leavings. Inferiors open their mouths to advise their superiors but refuse to be advised to sjiut t*hem. • Silence is golden when Silence reigns supreme., These are picked out, however, from a mass of rubbish of which the following is a fear sample :— "^ln ; a dream I saw a horse guarding a cart and the cart guarding a drunken man. I was helpless,, the liorse speechless, the part blind and the man worthless. I'gavo a sign, and the horse aii4 cart ran for salvation, leaving the man to his own mercy. I . "June 15, 1887,1 saw a flash of light with the inscription: SON OF M^N THY JUYS ARE NUMBERED. Therefore I honour, whom I will j "and leave Ghurohes; Scribes «ad Jourha ljats in one bushel for reproof." [ j.-" In a lengthy effusion" in verse he describes tte adventures of a prophet in search of a mothers. (The poetry is execrable, butthere are some quaint touches of nature that raise a smile/ Thus, after he has found the nrother who was '' forced to flee from home " became she was a, prophet, she says :— ■ " m C9,Bt my burden in the ditch. For love of you,' and #6 | Unto thei old man's house again, I I ; . Tobe his sjaye, youkaow." And mother did come home again, ■ And moved them all along: I She bossed about and cleaned the house, And. made use of her tongue. Alter reading the whole of this leaflefc, and especially the portions referring to iM Queen of Prpphetef which hay« a distinct suggestiT«nss3 about them, I am left >in grave doabt whether Mr (bolder js a " very wise map " or a "fooL" Tj»« "aaointing of the Queen," as described, mueb either tjave been a blastobemons or rinjd,ecent per? lormance—probably both; and tap Cpyejrn •ment, who showed themselves co squeamish afcpnt Hife Anca&nt , MaorMs indecencies, ;• :§ossM ppk & this fi^^ pttaf&nsth& f "Wngoi Prophets, "' llr Goldeire " <3»uiap^

I might point him to the fate of a Mexican earthquake prophet, who has been im prisoned by the populace because a big disaster which he foretold did not come off. If Mr Golder values his personal liberty he will cease from "imaginations" and stick to the jewellery business.

I ha/c heard a great deal about Volun teer troubles, and I am somewhat anxious to have a little light thrown upon one or two points. An officer in one of the Volun teer companies, speaking at a political meeting the other evening, expressed him self thus :—" The capitation vote is £3 a head paid to the company for every man who attends a certain number of parades

arid does certain work for the Volunteers during the year. Returns have to be sent in certifying that this ■ has been done, and the disclosures that have been made in consequence of squabbles amongst the Vc^unteers recently show that what are called ' cooked returns' have been put in. I believe Auckland is no exception, and that throughout the colony a great many men have been returned as having earned capitation to who did not earn it. That means £3 wrongfully obtained for every one of those men. Ido not believe in having regulations and not having them carried out. The regulations, as a matter of fact, are too stringent, for they provide that if two-thirds of a company do not earn capitation, none of them earn it. This is a grosa injustice to the men who have earned capitation. I think a great saving could be effected in the .capitation vote." Thus spoke Mr Cooper, one of the candidates for parliament, and an officer of an Auckland volunteer company- Surely this matter deserves some attention at; the hands of our " only Major-General."' 1 * * * •* * ■ # * . *.

The glorious institution of trial by jury, while Conducing to the liberty of the subject, is certainly in some cases very prejudicial £o the liberty of the twelve subjects to whom is allotted the questionable honour of officiating as Her Majesty's Jurors. For instance, take the Maori perjury case, which has Occupied the Supreme Court for the last two weeks. Here we have had the pleasing spectacle of one of our leading lawyers engaged by the Crown to try and bind down a"' noble " aboriginal. Twelve Britishers are taken away frorft their homes and husiness, and compelled to sit and listen to the dreary details of a case in which none are interested saving the contesting liti gants, the gentlemen of the robe, and perhaps the Judge who ordered the com mittaf of ' the native for perjury. The native himself is a man of 116 stand: ing amongst his people, and therefore his conviction would not have much effect upon his companions. Already more money has been expended on the case than the prisoner \p and whether he is ac quifcted or convicted, few people in the colqny will care. "#**>, ' • * *

M^st people know that on'a ship of war one. gangway is set apart exclusively for the conimander and those whom he may choose to receive as his friends, but every body does not know that Some 9f the gal lant skippers of our commercial fleet are in clined to take pattern by their fellow "for tunates "in the navy. The other day I had occasion to pay a visit to one of the large steamers Which occasionally - visit our port t-quite an ff important" crafty I admit, \)xib rather more so than I expected. Ifavincj transacted my business I was abbut to leave the vessel by the cleanest looking gangway of three which were evi dently available, and the gangway of my choice was guarded by a neatly-dressed sailor in blue uniform. The deck for some considerable distance around that gangway was as clean as the deck of a first-class frigate, and I was mentally giving the officers and crew credit for their oare in this;reßpect, when the sailor in blue before peferred to, politely intimated that f'this gangway is only for the Cap tain. Xpu must take the other gang way." Well; I said "Thank you," and after one longing look at the spptless spot where the fefit ox the . qrdinary visitor must not tread I "took" the other gang way, and felt thankful tha« a great Jiberby was afforded, "fJLjiye and learn I is a good motto, and next time I. see? jbha,t great steamship 111 perfectly understand that the cleap gangway and the polished decks belong to the skipper, and that pther folks a^e supposed to enter and make their jßxit by another and less Select gangway.

WHEN OLD THINGS WERE NEW.

Facts About the Beglnnlnk of a Fow Things Familiar to Every One.

Thf first coining bf money ia attributed to Pheidon, King of Argps, 885 b.o. Coined money \?aS first used in this country twenty five years before the Christian er§, but gold was not coined here till the eleventh cen tury, and money was not given the round form to which we are accustomed until the lapse of another hundred years or so.

The first geographical map of England was made in the year 1520. Handerkerchiefs were first manufactured at Paisley in 1743. Post Offices were first known in England as early as 1681, and exactly one hundred yeaa?s later a penny poitwai introduced for London and its suburbs by an upholsterer named Murray Ptens were first used in the seventh cen tury. They were, of course, quills, and steel pens did npt come into use until 1820, when tbe first gross of them was sold wholftr sale for £7 4s. The quality of these pens was greatly inferior to that of those* for which wo pay 6d a gross. The first navigable canal in England was made in 1134, when Henry I. joined the Trent to the Witham.

Spectacles were 'first used in the latter part of the thirteenth century; There is no certainty as to who was the inventor of them, but the distinction is generally claimed for Alessandrb di Spini, who is said to have made some about 1285. . Woollen cloth was first made in England in 1331, though its making ig one of the most ancient arts. It was not dyed or dressed by Englishmen until 1667. . Cricket was first played about the year 1300. It was then, and for a long time afterwards,; known as " club bail," . The first dictionary Was cpinpiled by Pa out She, a Chinaman who lived about 1100, fe.O. -'... . ; ■ .; -,- -,: i ;

The first voyags aroß»4 th^ world was mads in the Vittoria, a ship which formed part of the expedition fchftb Bailed under Magellan in 1519, 1677, and contained isixfey-&>»!? pagae, with the names at 1759 persoiw or flnos.

SPORTING.

RACING FIXTURES.

September 24 -Otahuhu Racing Olub Spring IKfibeJ 29 and jiO.-Geraldlne $aoi S g oiut*<# SepWmoer29-Napier Park Racing Club Spring Octo^efsrind 4.-Hawke'? Bay Jockey §lub'B OctS^-Pakuranga Hunt Olub Races NoSer 8 9, and 10.-Ganterbu.y Jockey Noveir}ber P9 llWicl 12.-Auckland Racing Club's

N ovenuber 30 and December I.—Wellington R.C. Spring.

DATES OF PRINCIPAL AUSTRALIAN RACES.

Cauiflold Guineas.-Oct. g. Final payment, °Cau?fleld Cup—October 15. Final payment, ° Victorian Derby,-October2a Final payment, J4elbour'ne Cup.-November 1. Knal pay ment, October 23.

TURF GOSSIP.

[BY HIPPQNA.]

The wisdom of backers sticking to " form » was once more exemplified in the face for the Great Metropolitan Stakes on Tuesday, which was won by Cardigan. After his Ha,wkesbury Handicap running, he was voted by local turfites as being the most likely to turn up trumpd; in fact, until last Saturday scarcely anything ejse.but the name of Cardigan was in the mouths of backers. The rushing of Spade Guinea and Phaon into the market,however, was subse quently the means of the horse being almost lost sight of, and when the result of Cardi gan's success was flashed across the wires, it came as a sort of surprise to the greater majority. Cardigan's victory only makesthe second occasion on which the one horse has carried off the double of Hawkesbury Handi cap and Metrop., Dagworth accomplishing a similar featin 1872. Spade Guinea.certainly did not run up to her last season's form, and thereal cause of her defeat will not be known till we have the next Australian mail to hand. Mr Drake's mare was a very strong "tip" in Auckland, and I know of more than one who cabled over and backed her for a bit of money in Sydney.

The running of Abercorn,Cranbrook,Lava and Carlyon, at the A. J.C. Meeting, points to the fact that the Hon. J. White's stable will be very hard to beat in the Victorian t>erby next month. Abereorn is undoubt edly the beat of the quartette, but at the game time I don't think Cranbrook'a chance is fco be altogether despised. The Sydney touts have been in love with him for somo time past, and the way he shaped in the Spring Maiden Stakes on Tuesday, which was his first appearance in public with the silk up, stamps him as a good one. Cran brook must be on the «toiit side, and from what I have heard, he can be mades much better thanheis at present. Nothingcpuld be better bred than Cranbrook, seeing that La Princesse (his dam) is by Cathedral from Princess of Wales, the dam of the English Derby, winner. George Frederick. Abereorn is likewise a beautifully-bred colt, and a perusal of his extended pedigree, which I append below, shows that" he has ihe mps.t successfui running blood qf the day coursing through ljis veins.

A lot of good work hag been got through at Ellerslie pf late. Lady Nqrfth con tinues to improve, and rjothing is doing better; while British Lion is also lookjng and going well, jangle hag put in Some e,Kcellfent work, but fusillade is being restricted to ver^ mild tasks,, and it i 3 quite certain that all is not right with him. Peter Osbeck is agrain in wprlc, and all of the "two-year-olds are doing well. It is now proved beyond doubt that both of th,e Jtfew Zealand Stud Company's jnatronSj Sylvia and Qnyx, have missed tnis season. The first-named has already visited Jfprde^eldt, < apd oynx goes to Sword Dance. The Company intend putijing eleven of Musket's daughters to. Sword Dance, among them being Wopdnymjjh, a^d Elfin(tyar|bini-Henry'si full sigtera). Lochißl is a firm favourite in Chriatchucch for the New Zealand Cup at 100. to 12 (taken). KTelßon haf gone back to 10Q Uo 7. In Auckland Tattersall's this week 100 to 5 was offered agajnst- the son of King Cole, but there was no taker. ■ The following ate the acceptors for the two principal events of the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club Spring Meeting :— Guineas, 1 mile, run pn 3r^ p£ October. Maxim, by Musketr—Realisation Bangle, by Musketr—Locket Waterfall, by Musket—Cascade Lady Florin,: by Musket—Florin Orator, by the Premier—-Gossip Turibau, by Foul Flay—Renga Spbiikp Handicap, 11 miles*, run on October 4th' St. lb. b t. lb." Pearl .. .. 8 10 Ma*lm .. .. 7 13 The Shah ■ :. 8 10 Rivulet .. f. 1 ? Turquoise ..8 3 Salisbury ..7 S Administrator.. 8 2 L^dyFlprin .7 6 Laurel '.. .. 8 ,2 Orwell .. .. 6 10 Sfctenuous .. 8 1 Those racing men who believe in coinci dences T-aiid the^r ndme is legion—will find a curious example by glancing down the tabulated list or winners of tag Victorian Derby.and. th,e, Alel^ourne Cap sinpe I^B3. During the last fp^r years the Melbourne C, up. hjs been wpn e^cfiyear by a horse the name of which contained exactly the same number of leuters/as the winner of thjj Victorian Derby j.n tbe^same y ear. Thus.iii 1885 M^rbini-Henry won the doable ; in 1884 jftufus wpn the Derby and Maliia, the Cup, leach nazne containing fi^e letters : in 1886, whqn Jfordenfeldt wop the Derby ? Sheet Anchor carried off ts?§ Cup, the number of letters in^pne b^eing again identical with the dumber \pf letters in thejother. Last year Trident won the Defbyi and' to thoroughly authorise the, coincidence of the few pre ceding years, Arsenal was successful in the Cub. Now, what wiljt yrin the double qf . The 'Tajjapuaa -Jpf key Club hayo seleoted thejollpwing dates .-for fckeft" B§asoii Jr-opiag nageting,' j^qyember" 26;;] Suromsiv January. M 6 r Aa^mn;>bbufc April 7th ; Winter, May 84,"

I bay© to aokncfwl«d«l ft popy °' *j>f Racing Club protfra»mo« *f the coming season. The ttdde^ money to the three maetinga, Bpringi Summer, Ana Autumn, tots up to £2,400, being £m less than the amount given away laat season. The Wellington Gup w rfiduoed from 500 bovb to 400 aovs.

In Sydney recently 2,000 to JOO waslaid in one line about Enfilade for the, V.X.C. Derby. The respective victprie^ of Abercorn, Cranbrook; and Lava over U wi'e courses at the A..J.C Meeting 4o away with the cry co frequently heard that Chester is not capabls -Pf >?|°g stayers. He has now proved true Re yond doubt, and with a bit more age Chester will no doubt be the leading stallion of Australia ; in fact, be pan almost lay qlaim to that distinction already, for a» a sire of two-year-olds Ijis eucqes? has been phe nomenal.

Maid of Athol(dam of Krupp, $oudan and Cannon) has produced » filly foal to Leolinus.

During the week 1,000 to 35 was booked in one line against Jebusite for the Mel bourne Cup. The taker was one who seldom throws his money away. Jebusite is an in mate of T. Coffey's stable, and was got by the Melbourne Cup winner Darriwefl from Tyropean, the Newmarket Handicap winner of 1883.

Sextant js doing splendid work at Riccar ton. Previous to the A. J.C. Derby being run, there was some talk in Christchurch of the son of Robinson Crusoe being sent across to contest the Victorian Derby, but I should think after the form displayed by both Abercorn and Niagara on; Saturday last that Mr O'Brien will have reason to change his mind.

Lorraine, a three-year-old Bpn of Aprement and Maria Thereaa (dam of The D&uphin), i$ coming into a deal of favour for the New Zealand Cup in $%c South. The last issue of the " Canterbury Times " has the follow ing anent the colt; — Lorraine hasj received a considerable amount of. support for the New Zealand Cup during" the past week, and is" now firm'at 100 to 8. The colt did a capital gallop with Cruchfield on Tuesday morning, anq notwithstanding the fact that he was clothed and his companion stripped, he appeared able to draw clear whenever Ijis rider pleased. He is very fit, perhaps too forward for this season of the year, and should all go well between this and Novem ber he must, with qnly 6st on his back, fyave a great say in the big handicap.

Referring to the protest against Mr W. Lyqns's horse Tigfcree, the " Sydney Morn, ing Herald " says V—" The protest entered, against far colliding with 1* Yal l'etti in the September' Handicap,, ait Hawkesbury, wa3 considered op Saturday, and, after an investigation extending over an hour, was dism jssedi It wpuld be inter esting to know on. what grounds the de cision^ was arrived at. as it was Quite evi dent that Figtree did interfere with th.c. running of tlie mare, ancj. rule IQ7 of the A.J.C. ia sufficiently plear on the subject. Thii> }B only one of. the. many cases vhich gp to show that the press should bo admitted to all investigations in which a large section of the sporting public ia concerned."

The Australasian publishes the sums won in stakes by Australian hordes during the Reason of 15367 p. Tricjenti of course heads bhe list, the : Hor. jame* Whiffs crack having won eleven races, valued at £7,236. Ne.xt Cpm,e3 Hortense with£3,936, and then Aberflorn with'£3,4^6- Arsenal's Melbourne Cup victorybrought&'Jr Gannon in £?,865. Then there w a drop to £1,4.75, the, amount won by 'Frisco, and Matador, Lochiel, Bohetniati, Invader, All Gpld, Kohai, and Ben Bolt each annexed £1,000 or over. The Hon. J. White won £13,783 ■• during the- season and iMr C L. McDonald comes next with £4,644.

A Melbourne scribe thus refers to the Auckland-bred horses in training -at Flemingtqn: —Mr W. E. Dakin has bad Mana blistered, and the son of L'Orient ia now doing gentle exercise. Whakawai and Trenton have been doing excellent .work, and each of them ran an occasional mile like-the race horses that they, are., $ very well, but he had not grown'much', and is, I am afraid, too email to bo dangerous with 8»t 101b in the saddle, but in some of the handicaps in the spring he will be about. Belisaima has been spurting along vyibh Oxford, as have, Waterman, $eryl, r?Q cedonce, and Forest Queen, who are all en gaged in th,e Maribyrnong Plate. The latter four arej.rained by Mr F'.*F. Dakiu, but I am afraid pcine of t;hem will come soon enough to win that rich stake. Of the) iwo-year-qjds training at lor that event, the. tnoa.fi fpr^prxl are £hup}' lord, Inapetus, anfl

Mr Andrew Town; the N.S.W. stud master, has experienced another stroke of ill-luck, the imported thoroughbred stallion Moorethorpe, by Boncaster (son of Stock well) out of Alice by Buccaneer out of Go Ahead, by Melbourne fronx Mowerina, by Touchstone, having died suddenly while, feeding at Hobartville. Mr Bay. V.H., made a post-mortem examination, and dis covered that death was due to apoplexy. Those who are able to judge, estimate Mr Town's loss at 1000 guineas, many regard ing Maarethorpe as the coming sire of Australia. In his first season he got li'.;e foals, two of which were Moorehougp and Moorebauk, and he wa? pot used for two seasons after, Mr Town thQughfe bo highly of him that he intended sending his best mares to him next season. The broken-down racehorse Frying Pan goes to the stud at his owner's place; Kil many Park.

Anent Algerian, whd was the best favour it© for the Melbourne Cup wlieri the last steamer left, Vigilant "writes :--Whaii a wonderful difference a; coub^e pf races eflect in a handifiajiper's extirpate 'pf a hbrse'9 abilities. I think I referred to this some. 12 months back arid cited Cerise and Blue, St. Lawrence" and Honeydew as/ cases in point. When a horse js really well, weight does not stop him in his own company. We've see this illustrated over "and over again, and even little !uns like Cerise and Blue, Fryingpan and Ringmaster have'de monstrated the fact rnpve than once. Algerian is, I think, about the most recent example of the rapid manner in which a, horse goes up the scale asthe rjssultof a. win or two; his Spring Handicap andStewardß MUe : victories have combined to effect a wonderful metamprphosis in the minds of the handi cappers relative to the class "of this full brother td'a bod '«n—The Bey, who never earned his oats,. A fortnight or so back, when referring to Algerian I wrote very highly of his Melbourne Cup phance. He has, Ivithi'n the last few days, been backed so heavily for the big race of the year, that at the present inomenfj he is absolutely first favourite, thousands to seventy having been taken about; him. As Mr Scarr, through the medium of his most recent handicaps, has given us, what I Consider; ia-equivalent to his Melbourne Cup t|p, the estimation in. which thp Sydney hanaicapper' "Bbldai Al gerian is certainly worth/referring tp. Horses thrown into a big handicap -ttiore especially over twp miles—don't always win, fdr the simple reason that weight as 1 have already remarked, doseri't stop a r&l clinker. Trident, for example, would, in jny opinion, b^e certain to run into a place, if he didn't absolutely yin the coming Melbourne" Gupi if he were' as we)l asi when he defeated Nel son in the Australian Cup. But jf there be anything at all in theoretical handicapping, Mr Scjarr's prophecy, veiled' as it is; pretty clearly indicates that if. our "Vic torian handicapper has- taken anything like an accurate measure of the capabilities of the other horses engaged in the Melbourne Cup, Algerian must'win with a stone at least up Mb sleeve. The AgerjJs ? one s>i $| beel noffonae^ oyer lighc etioka jjie,en in ifvijßiiW)!^, '^stjaid' ing the season at Mr ". \'~. ! ; >. . '->ti, ; j

The nettling over tha H*wke«bury Bpriogf Meoting at Sydney Tatter»»ir« passed off eufciiifaatorily. The bookmakers had a good time of £t> on the tint day, when in every instance the favourites were pat down ; bat on the second day the state of afiaira was reversed, when four oub of six favour ites repaid the confidence of the public, among them being Cardigan, who carried a lot of public money. On the whole the ring lost considerably. .

The chestnut filly Consequence, who won the A.J.C. Richmond Stakes and Two-year old Plate at the Hawkeabury, was bred by Sir Thomas Elder at Morphettville, South Australia, and was bought by Mr W. A. Jiong at the sale of yearlings for 310 guineas. Consequence is engaged in several rich stakes to be decided this season.

In the betting at the post on the Hawkes bury Handicap, Cardigan was a pronounced first favourite at 3 to 1 The Victorian representative. Dividend, held his own at 6 to ], and then came Lancer arid Morok at 7to 1. The former was the subject of several heavy commissions in the pad dock, and was probably backed for much more money on the day than anything else in the race. He looked better, perhaps, than he has done for some time, but never showed prominently. Morok boasted of fche usual stable following, and' t"hose who pin their polpiirs to. the astute" Maitlander ? Mr J. Mayo, deserted the much- vaunted Tfie Queen and went fpr The Jewel. Sorella and Leichhardt were not without admirers at 12 to 1. the latter's' being very numerous, while others voted for the New Zealander, Pasha. Dividend "with Cardi gan at his girths made a strong bid for first run at the home tarn. Within 50yds of it the Victorian tired, and Cardigan shooting past him led into the straight, while Morok joined Dividend. The last-named was tteacen when landed fairly between the rails, and Fielder giving Cardigan his head, lost no time in the run home, arid despite a very determined and brilliant effort made by Mprok, won an exciting race by a length and a half. Beyond a slight demonstration bj a few friends^ the win was not well re ceived. - , ~

At Cooktown recently a jockey named Gy Snell was disqualified for two years for having attempted to bribe another member of the profession to pull the horse he, was ridiug.

ATHLETIC NOTES.

(By AoTjEOn.) FIXTURES.

CRICKET.

Cricket is fast coining on us. They have Btarted across the fish-po,rid, in Sydney. ,In fact, the of the willow never stopped there, but played right on through the winter. The following are the, averages for the season '86-87 batting for cup matches only:— , . - ;

Out of the 8 matches ordered to be,play«»d by the Association theParnell P.C. won 6 and" had 2 "walk, overs," thus going through the season without a reverse. The Club lost 80 wickets for a total pf 1,109 runs, an average of 15#562 runs, against their opponents' 96 wickets fpr 543, or r an average of 5*656. The trophies offered for competition were, won by h the following ; —Best batting average, Mr C. White; best bowling average, Mr T. Brown. Bat presented by F. Tomlinson, Esq., for the highest in dividual score during the season, Mr W. Ripley.with a total of 93 not out against the United Warehousemen. The following are the a^rages of the National Cricket Club for last season .i— Matches played, 8; won, 4; lost, 4.

AQUATICS.

September 27,29, snd October 3. -^Thistle faces!or November s.—Haninn v, Beach for £I^ooo and tho championship of the world, on the Nepean River.

ATHLETICS.

Octq^qv.—Amateur Atbletio GJub'e Spring l^qef

January 1888.- R Matthews v. Laing for cham ' pionehip of New Zealand. I •• :

FOOTBALL.

The. deciding match of this season for the Senior Cup took place on Saturday between Ponsonby and Gordon, and after a well fpught contest resulted in a victory for the blue and blacks., The,rground wa^ rather hard, and a strong wind was blowing aeros g t.he field. The Gordon team was/ the strongest they have put into the field this season, and included- B. McCausland, who lately represented Napier against Canter bury and Otagb. The Ponsonby team in-, eluded two juniors in the forwards and was thus reckoned to b,o rather weak» but these %ep prpved. them selyea to bg well worth their places |ix tjhe team. When playing" with the wind, the Gordon-.backs took full advantage of |t biy ; judicious kicking k^pt the py^l well in Pop^onby's territory. '^Thew pass ing, however, wa? »t tmjes' reckless, and owing to the of ths Oppos ing bapks, ieh.Q i\rere down, on then) at onpe they CQpl4 dp but Ijttfe" fun ning. Ponsonby played a loose jforv^ard game, and . although when sides were changed' they <iid i^pt take enpugh a4 v^ntfige of the, wind, th.ey continually menaced the Gordon goal. ljne. A^ part of the gan)p the Gordon's back^ shone splendidly, as time after time they repulsed trie onslaughts of the blue and blacks in their endeavpiirs tp cross the Hhe. tt. Meldrurn, Ansenne, and ' McCausland e^pepially did good work in |ackling. tusk s play, however, prove 4 t in 4* *s no^ a reliable back in a critical momebt. Among their forwards Binuey played well^ and also H. Poland, Gould, a»4 FTewman. Lindsay played a brilliant game in the open but often shirked ih^ scrum, and sometimes interfered w|th thg centre half back. All the Pon6pnby backs played gpod games, jjithough Pritcliard might have done more kicking with advantage. Stephens.Qn proved that' he. has not lost his bls fprin, ' Among the' forwards Stone, Stuart and Mjlls vyprked }jard and con sistently, and Keefe, althouah suffering frpni abrviised ear (a legacy of the repcesen tative matches), at tiuaes shp}Y'ed up brilliantly.

v The PqnsQnbyClub |»as achieved the prpud ppsitiqn of being winner of the Senior and Junior Rugby Cups fpr 1887- Since its startipg, which resulted; from conference held J^n^PJl' the eh»de of All Saints' Church in 1875, this Club has for over a decade of years had a peculiarly successful career in the football field. On only two occasions has jb failed to be ifcs top in the Cup matches^ and thjs year the players have ably upheld thp rgpufeiipn bequeathed, to tn^imijy'the old. waniors of the Cliib. The total record of matches now stands as fol lows :—(!)ut of 94 played, 76 have been won, 13 loafc, and 11 drawn. During tiiis ■ season, "ll matches have ; been played, but of which there were 9 wins, aloas and a draw. The number of points scored was 15^, and against the team 9 sqored. . The principal scorers were R. Whiteside (17 tries), 34 "points ; J. VVpoller (8 goalf, 3 tries), 30 ; J. Arheil (6 goals, 5 tries). 29; H. Stephenson (8 tries, 1 goal), 19"; A. livfbund (3 tries, 2 goals), 14. ■ Other score's were H. H. Davy (3 tries 1 9 • J, Biraund (2' goals), 8; 3. Ot way (1 goal,"I try), 5; A. fiewepn (1 goal, 1 try), 5 ; and tries by W. H. George, A. Pritchard, an?J B. Mills. We must not, however, forget suchmen as, Keef, and John son, who» Working in the cjsntre of the scrum, had no chance of scoring.

The Fonsonby second fifteen played alto gether 12 matches, winning 10, and having one loss and one draw, ' Th#y scored 67 points, and hact only two trips scored against them. The "eoorers were ; R. Her Coniiell (7'"'goals, 1 try), 24 points; T. Whiteside (5 tries), 10} M. it Laird (8 goals), 8. Tries Fwere also obtained- by W: bleaVer, (2); H. J'otilsen, (2); X Bruce, (2); H. Mayne, (2) ; ' and J. Conway, G. Beamish, J. Heffernan, L. Harris, and D. Gash, bnpeach/ ' What rajght have proved a very interest ing ipatch last Saturday, between the re pregentative fifteen of the Jynidns 4nd that 4t ,tß,e Second Jijniore, turned qiit a com parativjß failure. This Was owing to th<* jvant of interest shown by player? on both sides. Six p| thei Junior Cup'winnerb were picked, but only one showed up; while, o\v ing tp thjs Aupkland having a match on; th&r " rep " could not play. Kine men thus rolled up, and after an hour's search fivb mprie werf. obtained. The Second Juniors Fere also very much handicapped by fchejir 89loctipn§ not turning out, put tS&y iaajjft^e4 ito put' fourteen men 'in the fi«ld. Tlie game rejjultecl ip & draw, both

aides aooring a try. 3&6W wan no brilliant play shown on either side, if I except two or throo fina dribbles by Drummtmd for the Juniors and some emart runs by Jervis for the Seconds. The latter team showed better combination than the former, arid they had in their ranks some splendid heavy forwards. One, Brabant, deserves mention for the manner in which he took the ball on the touchline. Although not playing against a truly representative Albert fifteen the Helensville playere had a very enjoyable game last Saturday. The local men were too good for the visitors, and beat them to the tune of 26 points. I notice Dick Maynard has again donned Albert colours, and also among the Albert ranks f 6m Brown and W. Wynyard. That ill-fated but plucky club thes -Cleve don had a. smack at the Auckland last Saturday, but although the local club h^s had almost as bad a record this season they proved too good for the Clevedon, and the match soon resolved itself into a ques tion as to how many tries and goals ppuld be obtained, the scpre at the finish Standing Auckland, 50 odd j Clevedon, nil. At the dinner gi^n by the Canterbury Union to the Otago representatives, in proposing "Our Northern Football Friends and Entertainers," H? Beswick said he must not let the opportunity pass by with- J out mention of the wonderful hospitality in < the North Island. Qtago, would bear him I out in this!. Although the Northerners] play a different game, they treated you right loyally when you were amongst them. The display in Auckland was wonderfult the enthusiasm was most marvellous. Although they were treated so well in Auckland, and there were some 10,000 per sons, atj the match, it would be unfair to say they were not treated well in the other places.in the North Island. Mr Drabble responded, on behalf of the Northerners. He could endorse Mr Berwick's remarks as to the hospitality in the North Island, especially in Auckland, where the palm must be awarded. In Napier and Gisborne their treatment .was also splendid. They had learnt many wrinkles in the North Island, especially in back play. He be lieved the games between Canterbury',and Otagowere more kindly, but more on ac count of their personal acquaintance; but nothing could be more friendly than their North Island matches, and the remarks of the previpus speakers as to the style of play in the North he was sure were not meant as anything derogatory to the Northern footballers. (Applause.')

BATTING AVERAGES.

The Cricket Ground is rapidly being got ready for the summer campaign, and cricketers may rely on being able to use i|b within three weßks if the weather per mits, the ra}n this week has caused the grass to spring up wonderfully, so we may expect better wickets this year than there ever has been. The practice wickets have had particular attention paid to them, and the bank has been cut away at the Pavilion end, whereby the wickets around the edge are improved consfcterablyj and it also adds to the already attractive appearance of the ground. A. E. Stoddart, whp will visit the colonies during the coming season, scored 205 out of a total of 409, made by Hamp s.te.ad against the Ne'er-do-Wells on MXM W. H. Budney, the erstwhile Chnst charch cricketer,' playing for Brighton Brunswick, again?* Oakley Wanderers OQ July 18, played a fine innings of ll&WB out, but representing. Sussex against JSotts a week later he only spdred a single in eacn

The return match between Gloucester shire and Yorkshire, at Pevpsbury, resulted ma victory for the latter by 70 runs. Scores .•-tprkshire, 334 and 184; Glouces tershire, 363 and 85. Hall 119 (not out, going in first and carrying his bat through the innings) and Ulyett 98 did best for the winners, while W. G. Grace 97 -and 20, Brain' 74 anil 21, and PulLen 78 and 16, played well for Gloucestershire.' frfo™***6^ Shire had to put up with another defeat in their next match, Lancashire beating them by an innuigs and 98. ' Scores : _l^ea«hire 444 (Hornby 97, Biggs &\ and Y<iteßjs7, riot out); Gloucester^, 248 (E. M. Grace 84, W. G. Grace 41, and Townsend 66) and no In several places in England boys' cricket pitches ars twenty-one yards long. An og cricketer writing to" Cricket " WrJ™% viewing a boysp match played on onj « these pitcher v?"i*W^ l if 9JPSRB

rules of cr Q keb, butffiffWfe' Cricketers who wish selves with necesSieslWMl season greaHnterest waTtaE^ proof of this it may be sLKA* on a splendid wicket. tKKIS score at 248. Surrey did not mL^ good stand, and the ynbK c Stf oneiun wanted to save a Lr. but Food and Bowlev £ utft up to wjthin 36 of fotL gKi went inagain Shrewsbury'wasgl totalo 163:' Surre y had2ostoS a 4i&cult task for the fe day S i varied bowling. Abel wis c\a|ilf but;. Messrs Key and ShuterJ<! ; before the former was caught and 4 Read came on and 110 was up WfbreK bowed Shuterfors3, arid hetljql bowled Read and Henderson^ andi h*d *|l? bestof it. Surrey wanted %i a e? i ,^llmailll partnered Mairice] and-this was reduced to six 'when AT aa caught. Wood caniein and^if strokes Surrey gained the" vicforriw wickefe. Great enthusiasm wasshbwr Surrey's victory, and' Read affl,!^ received an ovation. , The following « highest scores :-Nofcts :-ShreV« Dixon (30 arid 46), Barnes! (43 auS Richardson (64 and 4), She'rwin (34 ai Surrey:—Shuter (44 and '53)' Kev'/i 38),' W. W. Read (25 and 181,4 ---(4Qand 38), Lohmarih (17 and 36not B6wtey(36). f ATHLETICS. ETC. , At Coventry, on July 19fch, A.'P.; 1 Ijearfc,. mounted on ■ a "Brooke's sj coverM five miles in the marvelloiS of 13min35 3 : sth sec, thus fjirly smofb the world's'[ records from "1| $|$1 Both these were ipade byHmvei (m* lanS)'and Rowe (in America)j'oji bW bicybles, being 20 2-sth secondi tys llowell's extraordinary five iuilds Ingle'heart had some of the fastesl'; rjd England to* make the pace for hfau ! The following,- taken" from "Cyc bears rppptitiflft, Mt. A. .broke Hi?,:l ' bar'and scut it to.'th^ makers for re On the charge being |n due CQ«p sen tea, it was repudiated by iff jo ground of the bar beiflg feujty. Hisj tioh being called to' the fact. j^iJ handle was deeply scored fiid' $1 evidence' of a severe fail, he replS follows : —With regard tq th^ horn | being spratchfid, this done'bj frj^erid. who was riding \yith m§ foi and was earned ly the coiioijt /iefcjij over thirty'milesayaind the ftom'Siii kiq.ijaachine, which shows similar |bi Great Scott!', The '" Sydney Mail" thus explains) styles of starting adopted by4n^ sprinters:—" The men do aottkowi selves forward and place. ihasu on:-t the ground when •in tibe . making a false stai.'4? luadefgHw they will thereby avoid for going oyer. Those who p)tiw s on all-iours' walk up to thqirßftli whj,en everything: is re^tdy tbjjy b^idfj?! at tfiekneesaiid'hips, untilie M bpjbh.'hands touch the gi^nnd, mail}, in that position uptjlt|iejpislfi}> having the starting foot on tfo mw tUe^ofltier leg uspally *tr^g}j|; mps give the starting propulsion. . fßsis mese attempt to oyade th^|a,w r W geiting over, but is now.an acpe^lM of starting and a perfectly 'frirjine^ stylp of starfcioff .was jntrodupw •■m original Australian, who astbnisp Sydney runners by his a.uicknwi parture—off his, mark. ; A correspondent of the VCtiM Times' f states his opiniou^ §ti&~>i& ■ tennis, playw ai Mw Zealaaid wo* to make a show againsj Messrs 3taflß G.-Renshaw, the English chafflpjouW in receipt of thirty pointe.:: He..-flgf ConVfirsant-witii; Hie.play of mm Zealand players, and.h^ aw«l others equally capabifi 0t« : Arrangements are now pending jb? Fred Wood,; 'thei weUiknUwn^prW cyclist, and the Committee of the» Bicycl* Club,-wiai reference 3to m ta</ement to visit Christchurcli st C %&: ime. Should the arrange^ completed, <*.ere is bound to tie*.i* provemebt in the attendance at fte &oxing, Day Sports. X is P^ Mr A Brown, an amateur of m tensions,- who won the 200 gW® recently in Melbourne, •f «g Wood on his visit, so.that the «» cracks will.have all towowj ithev wish• to show in the yon* acL Inoticeintbejoc a ipj^ the Club have engaged in their races. There must *wely » great mistake-about to^ ;A*£J riding the Pioneers wish for. _ H>is announced in the last_«J fchS second-class Saturday^f y on''the'• New Zealand raiwag » for first-class carriages, will w> iootballers, cricket Lams, of not less than 1 , m«*g^ : tickets will be la^j|; c ; m week ffroni the date de^ single journey only is to bjajj^. class single tickets wiU be.»g*, able for first-cliiss <*^&® f " Ses Ln takes effect on and after i=ep 12 W; Snook and J. Courtney^ and was looked upon a^ being second and Lunbtten lhr. smin. 37see.

Literal UNKNOWN.

MisTOFS9.^Bridgets I «*'* an* ye F onb' ■ ' Bddget.-Then y^ ti Mistress.—GP6^;, « What do. you mean- 01 niture." So * J^'^ibO'

THE AUCKLAND EVENIN© STiUt, MTTOPA¥, BBPTEMBBB 94, 188?,

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GaR-a-pie (imp.)

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The Cplonel Sister to Cactus Sir Herpnles Paradigm

Cawandra

Tros (imp.)

Priam Emigrant (inip.) Gulnare (imp.)

S 6

Alice Grey

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The Boron

Birdcatchor Echidna

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Stookwell

Pocahont's

Glonooe Marpcssa

Harkaway

Economist Nab'cklish m'ro

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JAnstrey

Zeila

Kelpie (imp.) Gaslight (imp.)

Emiliua ApoUonia iWefttherbit IChilddftheMist

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Firqworks

[Sir Hercules Factory Girl

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Silvia

Fisherman (imp.)

Juliot (imp,)

Heron Mainbrace 'touchstone Lan'shireWtch Solpio iCantaloupo

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Spooulati'n

Wh'lebone

Paraguay (imp.)

Sir Hercules Paradigm

Clove (imp)

Sweetmeat

Gladiator' ' Lollypbp . The Provost Otisina

Hybla



i If if II Ig C. White 7 82 0 194 R. Crowe 9 61 2 170 M. Angus .7 ; 59* 2 • 94 T.Browo 8 40 1 130 .). Jordan 9 65* 2 99 D. Testro £1 37 1 : 83 W. Gardiner 8 26* , 1 .67 A. Ci-qniweU 8 27 0 73 W. Ripley 8 37 0 61 J. Younk 6 19 1 38 H. Donald 8 3 0 3 i-.HU 2 0 0 Q . * Signifies not ptik

1 ?5 27-714 24-283 18'8: 18:871 14*142 10*375 9'57l 9 ■ 7-625 7-5 •375

Bowling for cup notches only:— a 5 © 8 . ,1- ■.« at I I M M. 4neus 38 7"3 2 11 6 W.GardlniBj- 19 3'4 0 7 2 A. Hill .. 70 14 6 18 5: T; Brown 654 150 4 §6 171 35 H. Donald 554 106-4 47 161 27 Z Jordan 20 * 4 1 7 1 WVRipiey 85 17 3 42 5 R. Crowe 78 15-3 3 29 3 C. White 70 14 1. 45 .4 J. Young 20 4 Id A, Cromw^Jl 10 2 2 T. Brown bowled 2 no balls. R, Crowfe bowled 1 wide.

v1 1-853 3-5 3'6 4-885 5-963 7 8-4 9-666 11-25



W. Drummond 9 97 35 121 iSf :: 11 i-1 | 1 |lfe ::if: it I || W, Wiikinson ., 12 1 77 18 rO O.H.Dixon:. .. 3 .0 48 13 g|?5| F.fc^ence. -. ..11 0 40 11 3'7 * Not out; BPWLING AVERAGES. G. Giinjpur 458 155 32 33 4;23 ] . 'A. Nicholson 227 133 14 18 p i Q. H, Dixon 165 108 ■? S 12"6