RANDOM SHOTS.

[BY ZA.MIEL.] dome write, a neighbour's name to Uah. Some write-vain thouglits-for noodtui casn, Some write to please the country clasjv & For me an aim I never fash - i {m Our professional law-makers in the 'big wooden talking-shop have already been revelling in a bit of legislative fun which suits their mmtal calibre and political perception to aT. They have managed to get up a tremendous " how-d'y'-do " over tfee Representation Bill ; to array the town mfce against the country mice; and to keep the whole lot nibbling at the fringe of a big question which they are afraid or incompetent to tackle in earnest. They never seem to dream that people realise the littleness of their aims and strivings, and see through their clownish attempts to arouse interest -over matters of no moment, while questions of the deepest importance arc neglected, What does it matter to the colony at large whether the country districts or the town districts gain or lose :i fraction by the proposed re distribution ? Give us honest, capable, and earnest representatives, and the in terests of rural and urban populations alike Will bo safe. What mockery for Parliament to divide on the question of whether the House shall consist of seventy or ot ninety elected members; when nearly every body in convinced that twenty men are quite sufficient for the task of eg.slatmg for half a million of people! In the multi tude of counsellors there is great unwisdom, especially when each costs £300 a year, and when the aim of nine-tenths of them is to feather their own nests at the public ex pense ! ■ »» * * It is the purest humbug to affect to be lieve that the lights of the people would be endangered were the number of representa tives limited to a dozen or two and their salaries abolished; Our boasted demo cratic system now in vogue has proved absolutely of no avail to save us from legislation in the interests of the squato craey and wealthy classes, and if has debased polities, by creating a class of pro fessional politicians, often as unscrupulous as they are needy, and ready to sell their votes to the highest bidder. There are honest men in the House, both rich and poor ; but they are in a hopeless minority, and their influence is not measurably telt on the legislation of tlio country. 1 have sufficient faith in the good sense of the people'to believe that the great majority of the members of the House of Representa tives are not the deliberate choice of the people, but have in most cases scrambled into position by their gifts of valiant lying and powerful promising, in the hear of an election contest. Tho good men and true have for the most part got in because the tribe of political mountobanka hud, thanks t'» some good angel, run short, or becauso the electors of some district had at election time hapjxsncd to preserve their sanity.

These may seem hard words, but I write them in all soberness, as my earnest con victions, and in no spirit of bitterness. The colony is over-governed, it is over burdened with Governmental expenses, and thu whole body politic is sick. And one of the prime causes of this state of affairs is the multitude of representatives of little rival electoral districts and the pettifoggmp-

politics of roads and bridges springing From that system. lam fiilly convinced our affairs would be much better managed if'legislative .salaries were abolished, and the number of representatives reduced to 21, elected on the Hare system by seven large electoral districts, each returning tinted members ; the Upper House to be abolished altogether, and a power of veto vested in the Governor and Executive Council. If .our repre sentatives were to make some sweeping proposals like these, and seriously dis cuss them, they might gain the respect ful attention of their constituents ; but ap parently it suits them better to play with trifling" questions and split hairs and wrangle over petty differences, while they stick to office and draw their salaries " with that air of satisfaction which good men wear who've done a virtuous action."

* * * 1 w-M of course present at the enthusiastic public reception given in the Art Gallery on Wednesday last to the Earl and Coun tess of Aberdeen. The affair was conceived in'excellent taste and was admirably carried out. In the colonies one is naturally pre disposed by reason of the currency given to aristocratic scandals and immoralities to form a very contemptuous opinion of the British peerage, and it is men of Lord Aberdeen's stamp who are most likely to qualify or remove that impression. He adorns his high patrician station, and con fornin to the proud old chivalrous motto iioblessc oblige. But then he may bo a striking exception to the rule which obtains among the upper cruat of society. At any rate, he is an intellectual man of lofty aspirations, tolerant mind and gracious bearing. While listening to his weH-rounded periods and choice diction, I was not a little amused to find him perpetrating a substantial and unmistak able bull. As it is the habit of the fabri cators of funnyisms to ascribe all such efforts to Paddy or Sambo, I think it is only fair that on this occasion at least Sandy should receive his full share of credit. In acknowledging the address of the Sunday - school Union, His Lordship naively said, " I could not help wish ing that Lady Aberdeen had been spokesman in reply." But as Bishop Luck would say— trameat —let that pass. It is my disposition, like Gobo in the comic opera, to be frivolous.

Another point that impressed itself on my whimsical mind was the very delicate reminder which the Radical Reform League gave the distinguished visitors of the radical fact, resting upon Scriptural authority, that the personal identity of a married pair becomes merged, in short that matrimony seals and enforces the declaration that " they twain shall be one flesh." Consequently.the League was perfectly justifiedinsaying, "We rejoice that the opportunity is thus afforded us of offer ing our sincere respects, and to express our warmest thanks to one like yourself and your amiable Countess," etc. But was it meant to have that sense ? I charitably yield the point and give the League the benefit cjf the doubt.

"A man's a man for r that." This ox cellent sentiment has boon adopted as the motto of the Auckland I urns Club ;' yet, strangely enough, we fin I the members of that club becking and Ixhving before the 3Earl of Aberdeen, as though they had for f£otten that "Princes and Lords are1 but the breath of Kings " and that they should. like1 their popular bard,' pay no homage to

__. — ~ I 2f ß » a^fd from these circumstances some ik ™ni £, ready to accuse the degene " You see yon birkie cad a Lord, w hastruts and stares, and a that TISh BK.-o^ .«o«hip.at Ins word, He's but a coof for a that! And the smart fellow finished^Sly triumphant sneer, as if he ha<l effee ally snuffed out Lord Aberdeen and Ins country men at one stroke. * * *** *** Now such carping critics as this friend of mine quite overshoot the mark in tlieu abtempte to be satirical. They ought o know that courtly phrases employed in formal letters and addresses signuy nothing, and that the case might easily have been reversed, and with equal pro priety Lord Aberdeen might have written to the Secretary of the Bums Club sub scribing himself "your obedient humble sen-ant?' Then, everybody who knows anything knows that a man may belong to Nature's nobility, although he, may have the misfortune to be born a Lord, buch a conjunction is happily found in the per sn of Lord of Aberdeen, and he neither struts nor stares nor shows other symptoms of being- a " coof _or fool. I might also remind my.smart ifriencl that while Burns was scathing in his con demnation of lordly arrogance or fawning servility, he could recognise true worth even hi a Lord, and pay homage to it with natural grace. Thus in his " Lines on an Interview with Lord Daer " he writes : - " Except good sense ami social glee, And (what, suprisod me) modesty, I mark6d nought uncommon. 1 watched the symptoms o' the great - The gentle pride, the lordly state, The arrogant assuming; The flent a pride nan pride bad ho, Nor aauce, nor stale, that [ could see Mair tlian-un honest ploughman! IT * # ■* * * * * * Nothing could bo more wimple, toucliing and unaffected than Burns's " Lament for Jitmes, Earl of Glencaim ;" and there are many other references in his work to prove that the proudly independent bard did not disdain to pay homage to real worth, no matter where he found it. In like manner the Auckland Scots have shown discrimina tion in giving honour where it was due, and have not blindly worshipped rank or title. "Great men were living before Agamem non," and there have boon Scotch lords in Auckland before Lord Aberdeen including Elphinstone and Macdonald of the Isles, of whom not the slightest notice was taken by the public. In paying honour to Lord Aberdeen, therefore, the Auckland Scots.as represented by the Burns Club, havereally acted in the spirit of those grand lines of their national bard — •' The rank is but the auinea stamp— The man the gowd for a' that! ♦* ' * *** * * * Some of the Ponsonby boys are early r ; sers —very—especially when there is a northerly gale blowing. On such occasions the small boats of the local fleet are for the most part swamped, and their gear is driven up on the beach. Somehow or another there always dppear to be a number of exceedingly obliging individuals ready to take care of what comes ashore, from a boat to a broken oar, but unfortunately for the owners they are only too well cared for, and require a wonderful amount of hunting up. This sort of thing usually occurs in the early morning, and it is consequently all the more difficult to pre vent, I somehow fancy that a.policeman's services would be of some value in giving these gentle enthusiasts a lesson in the law of meum and tuum. The Em-1 of Aberdeen is a humorist of the first water. In his speech at the Art Gallery on Wednesday he advised the Chris tian young men of Auckland to put more manliness into their Christianity. That seems a quiet way of saying that the average young man's Christianity has a good deal too much "old womanliness" about it. Perhaps the Eail didn't mean it that way ; perhaps ho is only an unconscious humorist ; but you can't got to the bottom of those pawky Aberdeen awa' bodies ! The Y.M.Q.A, are not exactly in raptures over the Earl. * * ♦ ♦ » ♦ ♦ »■;♦ A short but amusing tale comes from Queen-street. A well-known tonsorial artist having occasion to run across the road on business, asked his neighbour to just give an eye to his shop while he was away. His good-natured friend complied with the request. Shortly afterwards a customer entered the hair dressing saloon : closely followed by the quondam attendant. " Want a shave," said the visitor. " Yes, sir. Certainly, sir," was the brisk reply, the customer was speedily accommodated with a chair, and then the amateur set to work and carofully lathered his face in the most approved style. Having gone so far with the opera tion lie quietly wiped his hands and re marked to the gentleman that tho artist would arrive in a moment. He then coolly walked out of the shop, and jdien, five minutes later, the real artist arrived, was , heard to say " Hurry up ; I've secured you ; one customer, at any rate !" That man is a regular " jewel" of a neighbour ! ♦ * * I clip the following choice little epigram, addendum and all, from the Onehunga newspaper:— '.' Whon Eve upon the first of men Tho apple pressed with specious cant,~ Oh! what a thousand pities then, • That Adam was not adamant. i J. Laking, Tailor.—Advt." Now,'l. don't know anything about Laking, or whether he professes to be the author, of the above lines; but I simply wish to re mark upon the hideous absurdity of a tailor thinking that such a sentiment is a good advertisement of his wares. Why, if Adam had been adamant, we should all have been dwelling in naked simplicity, and—what a thousand pities ! —we should not have had a single tailor in the world. It was only after the apple episode that clothes became' fashionable, and it is only in comparatively Vecent times, I may add, that' tailors have, by their foolishness, justified their constant association with a " goose !"

Badly Sold.

There was a sale of beautiful old silver at Chrstie's the other day, at which an inci dent occurred. A well-known gentleman, who is not, however, acquainted with the rules of plate sales, bid a trifle under two sovereigns for a couple of charming little goblets. They were knocked down to him and he was evidently delighted at securing them fit so cheap a rate ; but presently, on proceeding to the office to pay for his pur chases, he was amazed and horrified beyond expression to find, that the bidding' had been at iC por ounce " and that his bill was nearly £50 :

SPORTING.

RACING FIXTURES.

May iO-Egmont Autumn. -Acceptances ana and general entries May 17. Vrifriifil May 21,25 Dunedin Winter.-Entnes ApriLl6, weights, May 10 ; acceptances and general ances, July IS

DATES OF AUSTRALIAN ENTRIES.

Entries for OauHleld Cup, June 6th; wowWs. July 4th; second payment, due, August 30tn , linal payment October Htn. Both.

TURF GOSSIP.

[By Hii-poXa.]

NiK weights fortheGroatXorthern Steeple •hase will make their appearance on Wed nesday or Thursday next. Since the nom ination, were posted one or two small lines kavc been transacted on the double of Steeplechase and Hurdles, bub backers are Holding off till they see the weights. The following arc the weights for the Wanganui Steeplechase, run on the 24th

I take Denbigh and Omata to be the best treated of the lot, and if fche pair see the post one of them should be returned the winner. Acceptances are due on the 1/th instant. , . - * Our trainers are now busy with their yearlings. E. Kelly has Man Friday, the colt by Robinson Crusoe-Charity in hand teaching him the rudiments of his educa tion, and George Wright has a couple. At Kohimarama J. Kean has Mitrailleuses s full brother, the half-sister to Pearly and two others belonging to Mr E. Mitchelson. ~~ Macaroni was shipped to the Thames on Thursday, where Mr Bobbett intends wintering him. The old steeplechase hero struck one of his Jegs and when put in work he showed symptoms of lameness, which necessitated his being thrown out of work during the whole of the present season^ Mr J. Gallagher left for Melbourne on Tuesday last. It is quite on the cards that he may take up his residence permanently in Australia. Peter Osbeck has passed into fche hands of Mr M. Gallagher. The grey son of Peter Warbeck arrives from Christchurch by Monday's steamer and goes into George Hope's stoble.CHiMiffll mJc^ , All sportsmen throughout Australia will regret to learn that one of the colts which the Hon. James White proposed being re presented by in the English Derby has died, the youngster by Chester out of Moonstone having jjone the way of all flesh. Some months ago I mentioned the fact of the Squire of Kirkham having had five of hiH marcs served by Chester so as to foal to English time, and although Moonstone, Princess Maud and La Princesse threw a colt foal each, Episode had twins which died and the fifth one missed. Two youngsters only arc now left—viz., those out of Prin oes.« Maud (dam of Acme) and La Princesse (Cranbrook's dam), and it is hoped that the tide of ill luck will not continue and pre vent the praiseworthy undertaking from being carried out. I hear that the Christchurch 'chaser Victor arrives here shortly, and goes into J. Rae's hands to be trained. Rae is gradually getting his boxes tenanted, and I shall be glad to hear of his success.for it can honestly be said that no one is more steady or painstaking than he is. From a brief telegram in the American papers to hand by the mail, I learn that E. Jay's Gamecock won the Liverpool Grand National Steeplechase by three lengths from Savoyard, Johnny Longtail being a bad third. ' The distance, about four miles and a thousand yards, was covered in lOmin. Ifisec. Sixteen horses started. I learn from Sydney that E. Weekes, the Indian" trader, was in treaty for Nelson before he was shipped to Christchurch, but even an offer of £1,200 failed to tempt Major George to part with the son of King Cole. As soon as the decision of Resident Magistrate at Dunedin on the case of Stuart y. Roberts became known,Hobbs and Good win, the Christchurch totalisator proprietors, took legal advice, with the result that they decided to go on with the working of the machine at the South Canterbury Jockey Club races. They had, however, certain rules printed on each ticket issued from the machine. While at Randwick (writes "Augur") I searched for a dark Derby horse, and found a couple in Carlyon and Cranbrook. Of course, turf speculators will prefer the performer Abercorn to either, but it is quite within the bounds of probability that one of these may prove next season's hero, so far as Mr White's stable is concerned. Craubrook is a magnificent fellow,standing, I should say, quite 16 hands, with wonder ful length, and perfect freedom in his action. Carlyon is smaller, but still big enough for anything, but his family on the dam's side is not celebrated for the produc tion of stayers, while Cranbrook's dam, La Princess, comes from the celebrated Lady Sarah line,from which have sprung so many 1 great performers in England. The Bloomer, granddam of La Princess, was the dam of Fairwater,one of the best mares in England. She was also the dam of Ely, who, as a two year-old, won the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, beating Count Lagrange's won derful Fille de I , Air and others. Later in the year he won the Triennial Stakes, at Newmarket, Tomato and others being behind him, As a three-year-old, Ely won eight times, beating Fille de lAir again, in the Prince of Wales Stakes, at Ascot; and he put down Cambuscan and others in the Biennial, at Stockbridge. He also defeated Miner over two miles, at York, but, at the same meeting, Miner beat both Blair Afchol and Ely in the Great Yorkshire l> lakes. Ely afterwards won the Doncaster Stakes, Grand Duke Michael Stakes, and Triennial Produce Stakes It was, how ever, as a four-year-old that Ely shone to most advantage. He started the season by being beaten by Cambuscan in the New market Biennial Stakes, but after that he won eight races in succession, the first being the; Beaufort Cup, in which he. defeated

K-^huscto Syambnton,"* and others; and, CTheSance.was two miles and a half, Spre S be no doubt rejecting his ,m-! Yn qtav At Ascot be won the WSSssM AC'nr, in which Cambuscan, General Seland'other great horses wem engaged. T« the Brighton Cup he was again vic ious and had behind him such per o mS atcaller Ou, Union Jack, Cambus «n and Sydmonton. At. Stockton he StheCla7et Stakes Albert Victor, a brUHant racehorse in his tune, was a son of Princess of Wales, and so was George Frederick, who won the English Derby. liSbe seen, then, that Cranbrook de cends from a splendid family on the dam s side and when it is examined in the bade £es; one discovers that Lady Sarah was by Velocipede from Lady Moore Care«r,.by Tramp from Kite, the graddam of Juliet, the mother of a line of Australian equine Sncsand queens. Cranbrook;* breeding, then is just what a Derby colts should be ahdshouldall go well with him, he will prove another instance of the soundness of Mr Whiteis judgment in the selection of broodmares. "Vigilant" thinks that Mitrailleuse will bo heard of in the Royal Stakes, run at Randwick on Queen'? -Birthday. This event is Over a Six furlong course, and from all accounts a lot of money can be won over it The same writer says that he seen no colt at Randwick within seven pounds of /Ibercora, unless it be Matador, who, unfor tunately, is not engaged in the Derby. After FLoneydew and Tom Brown, ' Vigi lant " certainly considers Abner the best handicap horse in New South Wales over his own distance, and he certainly iails to see why that should be a yard less than a mile and a half. The Apremont—-Watersprite colt re cently purchased from the Christchurch Middle Park Stud Company by Mr A. lv. Blackwood, of Victoria, will be handed over to Mr F. F. Dakin.'who will prepare him for his Australian engagements. Enterprise, the winner of the Two Thou sand Guineas, was bred by the Messrs Graham at the Yardley Stud F rm and at their yearling sale was bought for 2,000 Guineas. The dam of Enterprise is sister to iinc Alfred, who ran second to Blue Gown for the Derby in 1868. She has not had a foal since she produced Enterprise, but was served this year b Sterling. Speaking of Mr Carew's decision in the totalisator°case a Dunedin writer_ says : "The totalisator is not yet killed; it is doubt ful whether it is even scotched. One way for the Clubs to maintain their position in the matterwouldbetohayea.board hun| up on each of the machines, and write down thereon the names of those who desire a return of their money: This would, 1 should imagine, be an effectual check on the totalisator's enemies. Machine invest ments are now debts of honour, and nothing more, and no man with an atom of respect for himself would care to be publicly posted as a defaulter, for that is what the exposure of his name would amount to. Whether this course will be adopted by the Clubs is, of course, beyond my power fco say, but I have reason to believe that the immediate outcome of the action is to suggest the charging of a license fee to the book makers, and it will not surprise me to see this carried out in a short time." A peculiar error has come to light with reference to the Australian Jockey Club Sires' Produce Stakes for next year, and for which no less than 13 entries have been received and published in the official books, the progeny of sires that were never nomi nated. Included in the number are three of the Hon. James White's, six of Mr John Lee's, and four of Mr Andrew Town's, and it seems strange that, the informal entries were not discovered. long since. Those mentioned are by one or the other of the following sires, viz. : -John Bull, Martini- Henry, Musket, Grandmaster, Sardonyx and Kingsborough, none of which sub scribed to the stake. Says the Sydney "Telegraph" of the 28th inst. :— Niagara's name was mentioned yesterday in connection with the Mel bourne Derby, but no business resulted. Several prominent ringmen have expressed their intention of withholding operations till the day of racing; in fact, signs of the times justify the belief that betting will shortly be principally confined to the post. The Hon. G. McLean's yearling colt by Leolinus — Pungawerewere, purchased by him in January last, has been named St. James. : The Duke of Beaufort, who won the One Thousand Guineas last week with Reve dOr, has given notice~that he will move the English Jockey Club to adopt a rule that the Messrs Weatherly shall not publish the names of horses entered for handicaps until the weights are. declared. The idea is to prevent people; backing horses before the weights appear. It is thought thatl this system of betting before the handicaps are out prejudices the chances :of the horses which are backed. . General Thornton, the Apremont—Nelly Moore' colt (half-brother to Lochiel), for whom Mr'C.H Lushingtonpaid 310 guineas when a yearling, has been purchased by Mr Allan McLean, of Napier. If lam not mistaken the colt has never yet won a race. Mr Joseph Thompson's suggestion of adopting the English, idea. of haying a "Birdcage" at Flemingion has been aG | cepted by the Victoria Racing Club. The i birdcage is simply an extra enclosure. In this the horses will be saddled, and mem bers and others will be admitted on paying an extra charge. i; V - The "Victorian Racing Calendar" for April contains, inter alia, a list of the names of 291 bookmakers registered by the Victora Racing Club, 162 of whom pay £25 per annum for the privilege of betting: in the paddock, whilst 129 pay an annual license fee of 10 guineas to beallowed to bet on the hill, the total income derived by the club frombookmakei«'licensesbeing £5,404. This being the amount paid to one club only for the privilege of laying the odds, some faint idea may be formed of the extensive opera tions of the" Victorian ring. • > Silver King, the A. J C. St. Leger winner of 1885, and who has since proved a bitter disappointment, succeeded in winning a race the other week at the Liverpool (Sydney) Meeting. "This was the Ladies' Welter Handicap, in which lie carried lOst 71b. There were nine other starters.: Among the entries for-the A.J.C. Sires' Produce Stakes of 1891,1 notice the nanies of Martini-Herny, Cheviot, and Italian. The two last-named are full brothers to' Sir Modred. • Mr J. B. Haggin.the Californian bleeder, who has been buying Australian thorough breds, has made no less than thirty entries for the English Derby oi! 1888. Mr H. Oxenham's brilliant little mare, Cerise and Blue, who recently visited Grand. r Flaneur at Hobartville, was galloping in the paddock one day when she fell heavily, and in juried herself so badly that at one time it was thought she would not come round. The mare is heavily in foal. Don Silva, who won his share of hurdle races in Victoria in his clay, broke his neck while galloping a few days ago. For some time past he has done, duty in the shafts of a buggy. "

5- The famous Hungaiian mar, 7^ dead. Her career on the tmt tl& *r the mwt brilliant in M?**K f celebrtiewv as on retiring i n >7>.<? five-year-old, she had inaU^ 9'Aj. J contests, and this without 01J ill I i bitters of defeat. She wag •' : well-bred,, being by Uamlm^M ' Water Nymph, and her ownoT^ir I once refused 20,000 guineas for ,' 'N " and unbeaten chestnut mare. :"' Welching has become so bad*.« racecourses that at the recent! ■ : Meeting the memln is of the ti n , , *H ' - own protection, paid a«.peual L Si « watchforthe.se gentry. Tl iec U7 t*:: r any kno\m man to bet onhial 3e i! l 7Nf' : mended by a member of TatfS^l ':fffi men thus passed wore a pi £c , \\,§ £ and the move was voted a good on™ " The feature of the foalhi^ - , i • .it r m . o oc*woDihi? Mid land is that of bhotover prodnrin h ll> foal to Bend Or at Eaton. AfoM IV aire arid dam are both Derby'yjv^ W *i unprecedented in the annals of fL6ls' |.^ Eleanor and Blink Bonny, tht &• other mares besides Shotovei \ihof^ it| *'■ the Derby, were, in fai b, never"«Z! lfe' a hero at Epsom. Eleanor had U?} " she therefore had more chance §Jft* ' Bonny, whose three foals neverllXf^i' by St. Leger winners, Xewminst»i?S the sire of Borealis, and ip father of Blair Athol and .',_"' Blair Athol himself tuim') •• <.\^ St. Leger winner, but still t!i b Gn '** so close as that of Shotover >nd Bcr/a*-VV' pair that embrace that gr,»i<] iiw?'. minster and Sbockwell—a strain {k - could not improve upon. '' The value of the stakes diskita'' the various racing clubs in AmeruaS - - 1886 is represented at £246,730, wW^J : advance of t'40,000 on the previoL Nineteen of the associations dis»- t ' £200,000, and the remaining .eighta \ paid away the odd £40,000 among'tl,'

THE AUSTRALIAN TWO OLDS.

Iv the last "Australasian" to taj. pears an interesting article on) '- two-year-olds that.have been ru»t, , Australia this season, and in viwtj, > great amount of interest taken 'n- ; A.J.C. andV.R.C. Derbies byjViekWi^'l j I condense a portion of the r m ii*. ii. no doubt will be real with inter By general consent the juvenile., figured upon our racecour o os tJnriu*J | past season have been pronounced •. what better, as a whole, than i'w 'it, preceded them last season. Tfesj •] out the Victorian season JUI v out as the bright particular i i >i | , omenal performances in lli< \lu,i,r- Plate, Normanby Stakes, aud U . Stakes eclipsing anything <i, -, , accomplished by Australia, two-yea-i In each of these events■ Mi. mud« extra, and won the three events with a. '. and upon all aides relief ■. rai hear the absence of her nanu i■ . Ust of nominations for . the'YK p Derby, which is regarded as the faro'lell I merit for a three year oM FW daughter of Gang Forward aud Jouji, been engaged in the chief tnrt^ys; j race of the V.R.0., she would nndouW j have been a prime favourite with the jii lie, who invariably follow tiu form&plsfl upon a racecourse in preference to k which is shown upon the tainins graa J Since Mr James Wilson's iilly Brveuji the blue riband of the Victorian turf have not seen one of the weaker $■*. triumphant in this pMUui'ai Kice.t even had Hortens-e been one of the ;.■.'. nominated for next season1- I 1 raj, r should have been quite prepare ■ i" - defeated, because we are dubious a to fe staying capabilities. In , rafei^ i allow Abercorn to meet florWsul Ascotvale Stakes the Xir1, sun into* \ may have exercised j £*••' which is sometimes regaiilA;!* better part of valour, but ttkds quent running of Abercorn was ®m& a chai-acter that we feel certain b« owner of the colt allowed him tomelu South Australian phenomenon,'lie *» have had no cause to regret his W Abercorn is one of the best*" Chester has yet given us-acr«» old Sir Hercules family in *heßa?2 both as a performer and as a>Bpi»» specimen of the thorough-bred,* horse; and whenever he meets the m filly next season we shall pin «ur W to the colt whose doings have so -mm helped to keep up the reputation «« family to which he belong. Nor shall" feel any qualms when either !»«« Moorhouse meet her, always prodding» the latter is in the racing-humo«r. « toria can lay claim to one of the b»"J of the year in Perfume, a; daughter_«• whilom two-year-old celebrity ",« heyday of his racing renown, mf lt treble triumph which has madejto^ of Hortense so famous in tjitl|«» She has not achieved such- W» triumphs as the daughter of Gang i!«^ but we dare venture, the prophecy will improve more than the heroine«! past season, and we cherish a f®W that she will be best among the fcto«w season. Sumatra, another filly of «W"j excellence, we may notunreasonwW as a future performer of merit, as though a distinct failure ab Kandwi* » done so well upon his own ground tw ; cannot help anticipating repetition w form which so astonished even his inw» Nor do we despair of the youngsters m Zetland-lodge stable, presided over n T. Lamond. Surely the hand of »»«■ who sent forth King?boro"?nLtV Habena, Narina, and other bngc year-old performers has not los iti^^ The star of Zetland-lodge hw n» , a in the ascendant, but the come, and probably next s&m^ the names of Hnntingtower ana W M ( may be in the mouths of thorn, "i, religiously followed the fortunes o W and Abercorn. New Zealand wU» j strongly represented t"an TSUjmi Niagara, Tranter Escutcheon, w» # and others that will figure in »%* wUI have champions whi6h may em-^ deeds of Martini-Henry "».^^» Even should the Hon. W. Bo^rf 4 G. G. Stead assist in fcff^ shores with Enfilade and Ma»". not be dismayed, feelingcon* # , Abercorn, Moorhouse, Mataao - Hortense, Cranbrook, CarlyOTiW" possesses the best team w^Xrlior^ has had for many years. and., tn? r ..Ijiif. will be well maintained in thar*

The Crystal Palace.

The difficulties of the Pf*'^ scheme seem to be overwho» ne ,# of an attractive jubilee P^^tate "' would largely help to be/ fallen fortunes, there "HP^rfJ likelihood of the df^we^j agreeing, and thus matters ' 1 at a deadlock. It will pities if one of the early gj t a l# Majesty's reign is **£$«5 when such enormous effortß^ to lio-hten the nation's put* of tlie Imperial Institute.

■m*. ATTOKLASB EVENING STAB. SATUBDAY, 7, 1887.



May :— Omati 10 7 Reform .. Kangaroo '. 1" 8 Lancleeer .. Sell .. JO 0 Pathfinder,,. The Jilt .. 10 0

stlb 9 12 .. 9 10 ..9 8 ..9 8 ..9 7 ..9 7 . i) 7