RANDOM SHOTS.

[By Zamiel.]

Some write, a neighbour's name to lash : iSome write—vain thought!—tor needful cash ; ifiome write to please the country clash, And raise a din. Tor me, an aim I never fash— I write for fun.

Amazement sits upon the features of the Premier. He has been weak enough to ;prophesy his own political death, and he is iiiow struck dumb with astonishment at shearing the echo of his utterance sound' ing over the breadth of a hemisphere like the ■Trump of Doom. The situation is strangely Suggestive of tragedy, and I have in fancy : pictured our Stout knight, in the charac ter of the dying Hamlet, addressing Horatio 'as follows—only the names and a word or Jtwo being altered from the Shakespearian 'text:— " O. I die. Sir Julius ! The Opposition quite o'ercrows my spirit; .I cannot live to hear the news from Kngland; ißut I do prophesy, the election lights (On AtkinVon; ho has my dying voice; j-So tell him, with the occurrcnts, more or less, i Which have solicited,-the rest is Silence."

■ With these words fche Prince of Denmark

; passed into the eternal silence ; but Our idoughty Premier is nob quite so far >jgone — only struck temporarily silent "with astonishment at the discovery i that his weak utterances should be echoed :;back as " news from England " with a re ■ verberation beside which which the roar for iaretrenchment appears but a whisper. "* It is jprematuro to discuss the presumed breach >of confidence committed by the Agent- General in making the contents of a private | letter public property. When the facts are jiully know_ it wil 1 probably be found that | Sir F. D. Bell is in no way to blame. Ex iplanations will be given, bat meanwhile ithe mischief is done. All the Opposition j papers are crowing over the victory which jjfchey now feel to be assured, and sitting in [ the scorner's chair, are asking—" Is Stout ■also among the proph ?"

| " I told you so !" The tactics of the ■ Government, in announcing that they had fa lai'ge edition of a very udecent publica tion to sell cheap are proviug most success ful. An enterprising bookseller has offered \fio take the whole issue of the "History of [the Ancient Maori" off the hands of the Government, but Ministers know when they have got hold of a good thing, and of course will not listen to any such overtures. They have managed to squeeze into the papers another free "ad." to the effect that the second volume is now in the hands of the bookbinder, and will be issued for sale ;in the course of a few days. This an nouncement has doubtles_3 been accelerated by the " slating " given by the Wellington !" Post" to those who authorised the writing of this obscene book. It alleged that Mr White had been paid over £2,000 for his seven years' labour with the muck-rake, and asked if one volume of indecency was : all that was to show for the money. The ' Government have hastened to assure people that it is a very decent sort of indecency ; that is contained in the Maori history, and that a second volume of it is actually Sprinted. So, to quote from a parody on Tennyson's "Victim"—the victim in the ;.presenb case being the New Zealand tax .payer—

" The people are happy, And so they ought, For to them doth Wong— If not the sincerpsb Outburst of song That ever was thought, At least the dearest That ever mi bought!"

£5 was all that Milton got for " Paradise !-Ldßfc;" our impecunious colony gives £2,000 ;for a compilation of spicy stories ; and yet ipeoplfc say that literature is neglected in ;-ifchese degenerate days, and especially in new countries ! If old Boccaccio were only alive he would toon become rich beyond the dreams of avarice by writing & Maori " Decameron !"

" Lost, on the night of the fire, a feather ted.—.Reward on returning it, &c." Such is the tenor of a notice stuck in a shop win dow at Eden Terrace, and it suggests queer i-reflections as to how little nick-nacks go ; amissing on the occasion of fires. No doubt j that feather bed had been carefully carried : downstairs by the ownor, while some self constituted member of the salvage corps I pitched the mirror and china ware out of the window; it was probably deposited in a sup posed safeplace; butwhen searehedforitwas not; the feathers had taken unto them aelves wings and flown away. It is very sad to have to confess it; but a fire brings together many " birds of a feather " ready 4,0 prey on other people's misfortunes. Yet, .behold how the wicked prosper ! The thief reposes on a feather bed, while the wronged individual rolls uneasily on the boards and ; dreams of fiery flames causing ruthless ! havoc among his household gods ! If people want to get on the track of lost goods they ; should advertise in the papers ; but I fear ;the Star would require to be again en :larged to make room for notices of goods '*' lost on the night of the fire."

( Broad, burly, and genial John Lamb would not " make up " well as Cassandra, yet he appears in the character of that dole ful female and prognosticates all sorts of «vil things regarding our beautiful harbour —the best in Australasia, bar none. Ac cording to Mr Lamb, the refuse deposited in the harbour by the city sewers is rapidly Silting up the bottom of the Waitemata, and he rather prides himself upon the fact that he foretold this many years ago. In Sydney harbour it seems the silt deposited in a similar way has reached in some places a depth of 50 feet, and I understand our Jolly Miller is afraid that something of the same Borfrwill happen here. lamno " croaker," and looking, as I always do, on the bright side of this subject, I have come to the con clusion that ifc would not be a bad thing for our harbour to silt up, so that the whole might be reclaimed and Queen-street con tinued right across the harbour and up Shoal Bay to Lake Takapuna. " There's money in it," and "Jeremiah" would vote for the project right away.

Mr Lamb fears that even our grand new -dredger will not keep pace with the sewer deposits. Apropos, I hear that the captain of that wondrous piece of mechanism is about to return to Scotland because the Harbour Board begrudge him a slight ad vance of salary. The Government, wishing to desiroy our beautiful harbour, have driven the Board mad, for there is no other .man in the colony as competent as Captain Scott to work the dredger. But for a paltry " ten bob " a week he is to be allowed to depart, just as he was on the point of getting his wife and family to join him. Well, "what is to be will be;" but I earnestly pray that some means may be de vised to save our harbour until it is made th.B leading naval station of the south Pacific. If Mr J. A. Connell's dictum be true, that New Zealand's great want is a supply of hard-headed Scots, it is folly to let even one little one depart. What, then, hto save our har bour ? Echo answers—" More Spots, and less porridge meal!" Have not my readers seen in the daily papers occasional notices of fabulous quantities of Lamb' 6 porridge meal being shipped to Sydney ? They have doubtless wondered what became of it all, bufc now that they hare learned how the solid sewerage has silted up 60 feet of Sydney Harbour, they $m wonder no tlooger!

Harking back to the suggestion that the Waiternata ought to be silted up so as to allow of an extension of Queen-street northwards to Lake Takapuna, I am re minded that the vigorous Chinese are per forming a somewhat similar feat at Canton. The United States Consul at that city re ports to his Government that the Chinese are deliberately destroying the harbour by throwing hundreds of jiinkloads of stones into it and holding them there by means of piles. The only pain in that case is that foreign vessels cannot come any nearer than 12 miles, when they will be obliged to employ Chinese junks. But there would be greater profit in the silting up of Auckland harbour on account of the creation of new territory which would be far more ylauable than the whole of our lately acquired '-dependencies" the Kermadec Islands.

Bub, talking of Chinese tactics, reminds me of the ever-recurring agitation in the Australian colonies against the Mongol in vasion which threatens to swamp white labour and reduce colonial Britons to the level of the squint-eyed Celestials. Tas mania, I see, has caught the "yellow agony " at last, and the Hobart papers are discussing the poll-tax question. One journal expresses the naive hope that colonists will render the presence of Chinese unnecessary by imitating their economy and industry. That is very sound advice, no doubt ; but when the Chinaman pushes his " economy " the length of living on rats and offal, and his " industry " constrains him to work 140 hours in the week, it is about time for the played-out Caucasians to retire from the contest. Bather than that let us have a good thumping poll-tax that will keep the Chinaman at a re spectable distance.

To show how the " depression " has affec ted even our new aristocracy, a lady corres pondent at Remuera makes some startling revelations to me regarding the practices of some of the best families in our select suburb*. At Remuera there is one " jam tart" family who raise vegetables and sell them a}\ee samee Chinamanee, while several others sell their cast-off clothes and hats, haggling over the price like any hucksterer. Another Epsom economist is reported to have sold her cast-off hat for 2s 3d, and the purchaser, after taking it to town, only got 2s 6d for it at the second-hand clothes shop. My cor respondent, who signs herself "Anti-Mean ness, " gives further examples of the fantas tic tricks " of those who compose the upper crust of Auckland society, but I reserve these for a future occasion, and until I have got fuller information as to those mansions which are haunted by a " man in possession " and those others where the hard times or innate hardness of heart leads to "low down" dealings which are almost incredible. Our Auckland '' loafers " always have a square meal, and a good long sleever, while even the luxury of a feather bed is not denied them ; our work ing men still demand " eight hours work and eight bob a day ;" but our nobility and gentry are quite prepared to compete on even terms with the economic and in dustrious Celestials.

Wellington dependence on the Govern ment for aid in almost everything is well illustrated by a true anecdote related to me recently by a friend who is rather an en thusiast in art matters. My friend, during one stay in the Empire city, visited, at the request of a Wellingtonian, an exhibition of pictures by local artists. My friend found that the exhibition was worse than poor. The pictures were few in numbei-, crude in conception and treatment, and altogether the exhibition was a decidedly one-norse show. No doubt the Welling tonian read my friend's opinion in the ex pression of his face,as he said apologetically, " I know that it is not much of an exhibi tion, but then you see the Government would not give us any help."

Many a time have I heard thankfulness ex pressed that the days of the Spanish Inquis ition were ended, and thab we were now privileged to each worship in the manner which bestaccorded with our peculiar views. Well, no doubt we have something to be grateful for, but after all were those much malinged Inquisitors worse than many of the ofheious religious fanatics would be to day if they dared, or rather if it were not that the advanced state of public opinion prevented them from acting in the tyran nical way in which those old fathers of the church loved to do in days gone by. "Zamiel" thinks not; and his reason for doing so may be learned by the following true relation of circumstances which re cently took place in this city. There is in Auckland a pastor of a dissenting church who has made himself somewhat noted for his views on religious matters. Like many others who have taken up the good work the reverend gentleman has been blessed with several daughters, and owing to the good man's liberality of thought, they are not devoted entirely to the work of the church. As they are good company and fond of games, they are at times invited out to parties by the livelier portion of the congregation. Naturally one would have supposed that even the goody-goody mem bers of the church would have been glad to have seen the girls fraternizing with the congregation, but such is not the case in the present instance. A few weeks ago the young girls were at a private party, where, horrible to relate, the company engaged in a social dance as well as the insipid games which it is usual to play at such gatherings. Perhaps all would have been well had it not been for the fact that one of the mothers in Israel suddenly became aware that the sal vation of those girls depended upon her timely interference to save them from the terrible abyss towards which in her opinion they were tending. * # *

Of course, you say, she went to the pastor and remonstrated with him. No such thing. Evidently, although she thought that the pastor was fitted to point the way ■ heavenward, he was not capable of directing his own daughters thither. v So it is not to him that she went. Feeling the responsibility of the matter she pro ceeded to a worthy deacon who had already proved his special fitness for his position by exhibiting considerable capacity for in terfering in matters which to a sensitive nature would be thought too private to be meddled with by an outsider. Of course that wag just the man for this occasion. The worthy couple, actuated by a consum ing desire to save the girls from future con demnation, resolved that the matter must be brought before the elders of the church. And so it happened that after due con sideration the godly ones felt it to be their duty to remonstrate gently but firmly with their Beloved shepherd. What ensued at the secret tribunal deponent saveth not, bufc ifc is generally understood " that the pastor acted with becoming dignity and re fused to be guided in the management of his own children by a few officious per sonages. Surely these people must have been reading a passage of Scripture wrongly and converted " doubt" into " dance," thus mnking it read, "he thab danceth is damned." If Zamiel would not be thought presumptuous he would advise that pastor and all others similarly situated to keep the whip hand on such persons, and like a popular political minister, if needs be, appeal from his Parlia ment to the people to have a fresh election of deacons. He need have no fear but that there will be enough Liberals amongst his people to send him up a strong following to assist in the good work of re taining some semblance of liberty of action for the head of the church. .

SPORTING.

RACING FIXTURES.

September 24 Oiahuliu Racing Club Spring September 21) and tO.-Gcraldme Racing Cubs Sejrtem-'er 29—Napier Park Kacing Club Spring October 3nfnd 4.-Hawke's Bay Jockey Club's

ij r)T_ll_T October 22-Pakuronga Hunt Club Races November 8 9, and 10.-Canteroury Jockey

November s'•Tand 12.-Auokland Racing Club _ Spring.

DATES OF PRINCIPAL AUSTRALIAN RACES.

Hawlcesbury Guineas.-Sept. 8. Final pay- m Hawkesbury Handicap.-Sept. 10. Final pay ml°J J.°Derby.-Sept. 17. Final payment, Sept.

16Great Metropolitan Stakes.-Sept. 20. Final PaJauUie cf eGuineas.-Oct. 8. Final payment, °Cau°flcld Cup.-October 15. Final payment, ° Victorian Derby.-October29. Final payment, Melbourne Cup.-November 1. Final pay ment, October 23.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

g p —flio placed horses in the Mclbourno Cup 'of 1881 were Zulu, The Czar, and Sweetmeat. In 1878, Hi- p aces were filled by Culaima, Bst. 21b.. Tom Kirk, 7st. 81b., and Waxy, 6st. 111b., in 3.353.

"W F —Grand Flaneur won one race as a two" year-old, and Darebin won two when no was ihesainaage. Robin Hood failed to secure ll winning bracket during his two-year-old career. _____

TURF GOSSIP.

[By HirpoiffA.]

The coming week will see the advent of the Hawkesbury Meeting, and the results of the racing there will be looked forward to with interest. The Guineas is run on Thursday, and among the entries appear the names of the Hon. J. White's trio, Abercorn, Aber deen, and Carlyon, but the much talked of Granbrook is not engaged. The Hon. W. A. Long will probably send Moorhouse to the post, and Mr Cooper's Bowmont may be looked on as a certain starter. Enfilade is also among the entries, but it is open to question whether he will see the post. The Hawkesbury Handicap is to be decided on Saturday next, for which the following horses have accepted :—

Work on the new tan gallop at Ellerslie commenced on Monday last, and trainers are loud in praise of it. I drove round the track along witli Mr Percival and a couple of other friends during the week, and found the tan hard and springy the whole dis tance round. The gallop is exactly 85 chains in circumference, and if it is properly looked after, the long growl among Auckland trainers about naving no suitable ground to work on should be numbered with things of the past. The delightful weather we have been treated to this week, and the attraction of the tan gallop, have been the means of some good useful work being got through. Banglo is striding along in excellent style, and Turquoise is progressing satisfactorily. E. Kelly has Lady Norah and British Lion well forward, and J. B. Williamson has the 'chaser Guy Fawkes in w.'rk again. Fusillade has done all that has been asked him up to the present time.

Frailty (dam of Trenton and Niagara) dropped a filly foal to Nordenfeldt on Sun day night last. The New Zealand Stud Company are having the best of luck with their foalings so far. Duriug the present week Raupo (the dam of Mata), dropped a colb to St. Leger ; My Idea (dam of Nelson) a bay filly to King Cole ; and Petroleuse a colt to Nordenfeldt.

Correspondence is now in progress be tween the Auckland Racing Club and Mr Evett over the handicapping trouble. From what I hear I think it can be put down as pretty certain that when the result has been made public, it will be found that Mr Evett has been re-appointed under the old conditions.

The Hawke's Bay Jockey Club have re ceived 25 nominations for their Spring Handicap. Bangle and Turquoise are the only Auckland horses entered, bub the names of Lochiel and Maxim appearing in the list will be the cause of some surprise.

In consequence of Silence being reported lame, he has receded in the New Zealand Cup betting. Lochiel has been backed in Christchurch for small amounts at 100 to 12, and Artillery is firm at that figure. Matters have been very dull in the local market during the past fortnight, and so far as the Melbourne Cup and Derby is concerned, no improvement may be looked for till after the Hawkesbury and A.J.C. meetings.

The programmes of the Dunedin Jockey Club for the coming year show a total saving of £755 in the stakes offered, and the following table will show roughly how the difference is distributed : 1886-7 1887-8 Spring meeting .. .. £1.530 £1,365 Autumn meeting .. .. 3,775 3,330 Anniversavynieeting.. .. 458 450 May meeting .. .. 1,117 980 Total .. .. £6,880 £6,125 The following are the detailed alterations effected in the Autumn Meeting : —Dunedin Cup, reduced from l,ooosovs. to 700sovs. ; Publicans' Handicap, increased from lOOsovs. to 200sovs. ; Maiden Plate, re duced from lOOsovs. to 30sovs. ; Selling Two-year-old Race of lOOsovs. substituted for Hack Race ; Stewards' Purse Welter Handicap, reduced from 120sovs •to lOOsovs. ; Tally-ho Handicap, reduced from 120sove. to lOOsovs.; City Stakes, from 200sova; to 150'sovs. ; D.J.O. Handicap, from 400sovs.. to 350sovs. ; Novel Race, from lOOsovs. to 80sovs. ; Suburban Welter Handicap, from 150sovs. to 120sovs. ; Han dicap Hurdle Race, from 150sovs. to 120sovs. ; Hopeful Stakes, from 130sovs. to' 120sovs. ; Forbury Handicap, from 300sovs. to 250sovs.

In connection with the programme, " Beacon " writes :—I must reiterate my feeling of regret that the Dunedin Cup money has been cut down by £300. More especially is it annoying to find that the committee have tried to make onr big race a third-rate affair, inasmuch as for the sake of £50 they have made it rank below the Auckland Cup, which was last week cut down from £1,000 to £750. Our people might just as well have followed suit; there was certainly no need for them to go a paltry £50 below Auckland.

The Christchurch Middle Park Stud Com pany have had a bit cf bad luck, having lost a hlly foal by Apremont out of Rupee, the dam of Spade Guinea, Apropos, and Silver mark. The foal died 24 hours after its birth, and is a serious lcs» to the Company, seeing that Bupee has taftwn s«qh good ones as those above mentiosfld, '""

Algerian, the winner of the Tramway Handicap at the Sydney Tattersali s Meet ing on Saturday last, would seem to be a coming horse. The other week he had a very easy victory in the Stewards Mile at Canterbury Park, carrying the big impost of 9-12, but his two, three and four-yeai-old record was a very bad one, for he only suc ceeded in winning a Maiden Hate. Al gerian is handicapped at 6sb 71b in the Mel bourne Cup, bub has now incurred a 51b penalty by his win on Saturday. Me is well-bred enough to win any race, being eot by Sylvia's son Ooldsbrough from Algeria, by Blinkhoolie from Adrasta, by St.°Albans. I notice by a recent Sydney 'paper that Algerian is about the biggest barrelled horse in training at Kandwick, none of the ordinary girths being long enough to go round him.

" Mazeppa" has compiled a list of all the totalisator dividends over £20 paid in the colony during the season just expired. Last year was not a season of sensational dividends, only forty-nine winners paying more than £20 to their backers. Liberty, who won the Hawke's Bay Hurdles in October, heads the list with £153 9s and £103 10s, and then we have Malvina (Pen insula, March 4), £114 6s ; Finance (Timaru, Oct. 26), £93 2s; Halswell (Peninsula, Marcli 4), £88 4s ; and Cardinal (Christ church Hunt Club, August 11), £78 18s and £47 ss. There were fourteen other dividends above £40, nine between £40 and £30, and twenty-one between £30 and £20. Liberty s dividend of £153 9s has only been exceeded six times in New Zealand since the machine was introduced. Our record of dividends over a century now stands thus:—£3o6, Crummy; -£259 (£2), Louie; £251 Us, Kalo; £223 4s (£2), Mavis; £174 12a, Lavender; £159 6s, Polly ; £153 9s, Liberty; £139 10s, Tristan ; £12017s (£2), Adamant; £114 6s, Malvina ; £113 Bs, Sly Sam ; £103 10s Liberty.

A record of the winning stallions for last season, compiled by the same writer, shows that Musket again heads the list, his total being £6,806. Anteros occnpi.es second position, his stock having won £3,660, against £1,958 the previous season. The next in order are King of Clubs, £3,426; Apremont, £3,366; The Muto, £2,883 ; Cadogan, £2,751; Albany, £2,664 ; King Cole, £2,535; Juv'lin, £2,510; St. George, £2,210 ; Puriri, £1,836 ; Leolinus, £1,826. Last season, Lady Norah is credited with having won in stakes £1,366 ; Victory, £660 ; Cinderella, £592 ; Falcon, £565 ; Bangle, £547 : Mitrailleuse, £542 ; Silvio, £497 ; Wapiti, £456.

At the last census taken there were 1,103 grooms, jockeys and horse breakers in New Zealand.

From last week's " Referee " I glean that the New Zealand Cup acceptors that are in work at Riccarton, to the number of 20, have all been progressing in their training satis factorily. Artillery in particular has been pleasing the touts. Nelson has improved a lot, and now moves a great deal more freely than has lately been his wont—in fact, he now only limps slightly on pulling up after a gallop. Mr H. Horsford has placed Leon under the charge of J. H. Lunn.

Speaking of the inmates ofFoulsham's stable at Caulfield, the Australasian says : — " Niagara is another that has progressed in a satisfactory manner. He has filled out everywhere, and though there were rumours respecting his soundness, he has up to the present done all that his trainer has asked him, and no Derby colt is doing better. He grows more like his half-brother every day, and ere the season closes there will probably be a big crowd round him after some race at Randwick or Flemington. It will take Foulsham all his time to get Tren ton ready for the spring meetings. His off hock still bears strong evidence of the blister applied, but he seems to be sound enough now, and it is to be hoped that we shall see him at his best at our spring meeting, so that he and Trident can fight their batLle over again."

At the sale of the late Mr T. Chirnside's horses in Melbourne, the principal lots disposed of were as follows:—Precedence filly, by Musket — Maid of Honour, J. Crozier, purchaser, 260gs. ; Firelock colt, brother to Matchlock, by Musket — Yabterina, A. Wynne, 290g5.; Churchill colt, full brother to Perfume and New market, by Newminster — Primrose, S. Davfes, 340gs. ; Sylvester colt, by Somnus —-Astarte, M. Loughlin, 205gs. ; a filly, sister to Matador, by Newminster—Con stellation, A. Chirnside, 140gs.

Referring to the acceptances for the Mel bourne Cup, " Augur" writes : —At present the stake is worth 3,665 sovereigns, and as about 40 will remain in after the second forfeit, it will then be worth over 4,250 sovereigns. Deduct 750 sovereigns for second and third horses, and the winner will receive £3,600, and a golden trophy value 100 sovereigns. Such a sum as £3,500 is in itself a stake well worth winning, and whoever the lucky man may be, he is almost certain to land a few thousands extra by the victory.

The sales of English blood stock during the July week at Newmarket were enor mous, but prices were hardly as sensational as at similar sales of late years. Mr Chap lin's lot of yearlings were disposed of at a much smaller average price than has been usually the case, only two of them running into four figures; the;e were a sister to Shotover, who was bought by Captain Machell for 1,150g5., and a colt by Galopin —Hazledean, purchased by Benzon for l,loogs. Of the young Sterlings, Mr Douglas Baird bought a brother to Energy for 2,000g5., the highest price obtained during the week, and the same buyer bought the Sterling-Brunette colt for 1,050g5. Mr R. Peck became the possessor of two colts by Barcaldine from Lady of the Lea and Geheimniss for l,Boogs. and 1,900g5. respectively, while Benzon was again to the fore with 1,500g5. for a Foxhall —Myra colt, and Peck obtained the Galopin— Moorhen youngster at l,ooogs. The follow ing are the averages for the different studs disposed of: — Gs Bonehill yearlings (4) 170 Blankney yearlings (13) 300 Botteriirs,'Mr (4) ... 308£ Bradford's, Lord (4) 42^ Combe's Mr (4) 52j Cornish Stud (6) 205 Glasgow Stud (3) 203^ Hamilton's,. Duke of (5) 77' Leyboume Grange (8) ... ... 145 Mardon Park (4) 333? Mentmore Stud (9) 302J Rosslyn's, Lord of (10) 321£ Whimple Stud (7) 227 Wolverton's, Lord (8) 241* Yardley Stud (21) 368 Maid of Trent, the pony on which the late Fred Archer had his first winning mount—a steeplechase at Bangor—died at Hammersmith early in July, at the ad vanced age of thirty-one years.

At a meeting of the English Jockey Club General Owen Williams carried his motion to add to Rule 31 Oxiii.) this important para graph : —" But should a horse at the post be so kicked, or injured, as (in' the opinion of the starter) to be incapacitated from tak ing part in the race, he shall be considered a non-starter, and only liable to the same extent." The stewards opposed the motion, but on a division the figures were 5 to 4 in favour of the addition to the rule.

C. H. Todd, by Joe Hooker—Rosa, won the last American Derby, run at Chicago, and the time is returned 2min 36isec, which sets up another great record. Speaking of fast times in America, " Augur" says that Mr Stratford Strettle, who has been doing the American tour and knows how to time a race, is very sceptical about many of the American timeists : for in some of the races lie witnessed they made them three or four seconds faster th&n. be did,

Ormonde continued his career of un broken success at Newmarket, where he easily defeated Whitefriar and Lovegold, who opposed him for the Imperial Gold Cup. The value of the race wns L 590, &<ad the course (six furlongs) was covered, ac cording to Benson's chronograph, in lmin ISsec. The Duke of Westminster's colt has now won sixteen races of the total value of L28,4G5 10s.

The death of the famous American horse Ten Broeck is announced. Ho was by Phaeton, and was 15 years old at the time of his death. Among Ten Broeck's re cords are: I mile, lmin 39? sec (against time); 2 miles, 3min 27Asec ; 2§ miles, 4min 58£ sec ; 4 miles, 7min lSJsee.

Of late the valuo of races has been steadily advancing, but we ("Sporting Life") hear on good authority that the directors of the Leicester Company^ have resolved to leave all their rivals far in the rear. For the Spring Meeting of next year the Portland Stakes, for two-year-olds, for which 10,000 soys. will be guaranteed, will be the great feature ; and we hear, if the conditions as to entry are complied with, 8000 soys. will go to the winner, and the re mainder divided between second and third. For the Spring Meeting of 1889 another great three-year-old stakes is threatened, though the not very original title of Prince of Wales Stakes has been taken. This, if all goes well, will leave the record far be hind, £20,000 being guaranteed, sorted thus — £16,000 to the winner, £2,000 to the second, £1,000 to the third, and £500 each to the nominator and trainer of the winner.

Does racing pay ? is rather a difficult question to answer, says an English writer. The big sum of money which certain owners of racehorses are credited with having won at the end of a racing season looks very well on paper. But there is another side of the picture. All these big sums of money do not represent profit. Far from it. Trainers' bills, presents, forfeits, travelling expenses, jockeys' fees, and other items which may see-ii insignificant, take a good deal of the gilb off the gingerbread when totted up. As a rule few men make racing pay. Those who do, look ab the business side of the question, and bet more or less heavily. Those who race for the pure love' of the slort might be counted on one's fingers. Lord Falmouth headed the list of winning owners in England year after year; but it is very doubtful whether the income he derived from the racecourse covered the expenses of keeping a stud ; and Count Lagrange, the French sports man, although he tasted the sweets of victory as often as most n.en, was in debt to his trainer, Tom Jennings, to an in credible extent when he died. It was said of Lord George Bentinck that he "counted his thousands after a great race as a victorious general counts his cannon and his prisoners :" but we are also told that he cared nothing about money for its o*vn sake, and only '' counted his thousands " with satisfaction because the amount was indicative of success, after which he strove. And he wa3 successful. Through the medium of his famous mare Crucitix he won about £12,000 in stakes and close upon £60,000 in bets. Augustus Henry, Duke of Graf ton, met with as much good fortune as falls to the lot of men, yet it is recorded that he was all the poorer by his connection with the "sport of kings." The mare Prunella was a good friend to the Grafton family, for in one way and another at the stud sho is credited with having enriched her owner to the extent of nearly £100,000. The Duke of Grafton's victories were little less than wonderful. In nine years he won the Derby once, the Two Thousand Guineas five times, the Oake six times, and the One Thousand eight times. It could hardly be said, there fore, that he had cause to complain of ill luck. Yet all this success could not show a winning balance at the close of the Duke's career on the turf. Mr James Merry, too, lost by racing, though the Scottish ironmaster netted £40,000 in bets when Thormanby secured the blue riband in 1860, while "the lucky baronet," as Sir Joseph Hawley was called, did no more than pay his way. The Derby victory of Beadsman in 1858 put £80,000 worth of wagere ink) Sir v Joseph's pocket, and enabled him to say that he won £100,000 in one year; but, notwithstanding, the Kentish baronet was often heard to say that he was out of pocket in pursuing the fascinating pastime. And this is the experience of most owners of racehorses.

ATHLETIC NOTES.

(By ActjEON.)

FIXTURES.

FOOTBALL. Septs.mber 3.—Otago v. Wellington. September 10.—Oiago v. Can erbury.

SENIOR CUP.

September 3.—Gordon v. Noith Shore: Graf ton v. Albert; Ponsonby v Auckland. September 10.—Gordon v. Auckland; Ponsonby v. A'bert; Grafton v. North Shore. September 17.—Ponsonby v. Gordon.

FOOTBALL.

I am sorry my remarks on football should have brought down on my devoted headtb© Avrath of an " Old Player," but he has argued his case so badly that I trust all my troubles may rest as light on me. His reasoning must be very weak if from my proposition " Otago could teach us nothing" he deduces the conclusion " that the Otago players are duffers," as he seems to do. My remarks were in reference to the play generally of the two "Eep" matches, and after stating that Canterbury showed us round in drop kick ing I said, and still say, '* Otago could teach us nothing," meaning thereby that I considered we knew as much about the game as our Southern friends do, and not that they know nothing in com parison to us. The Otago players would not feel flattered by " 6id Player's" re marks as to the youths, as their ages range from 20 to 25, and then their weight averaged more than that of the local team. I may state for " Old Player's " benefit that in spite of a few veterans, we boasted players quite as young, if not younger than Otago, though I never before heard such a thing mentioned in the spirit he intends. As to Auckland playing "handball," that is a matter of opinion, and I consider that mine, backed up as it is by the footballers of Auckland, is superior to " Old Player'e." The Southern papers all lament the absence of scoring talent in their teams, and the Rev. Mr Hoatson, perhaps the best authority on the game in New Zealand, last week publicly expressed his opinion that the running game ought to be more practised. "Old Player" may rest assured that he will find plenty of impartial critics who will dare to differ from him when he eavs " the Otagoites showed a superior know ledge of football proper," whatever he means by that; they will agree with him that Otago was sadly deficient in " speeling," and maybe allow that it was the want of this latter qualification that lost them the game. When he states that Otago invariably took the ball through, '' Old Player." states what is not true. I found no fault with their kicking or drib bling, though I did with the collaring, and the fact of Whiteside not scoring does not prove efficient collaring, as any footballer who saw the game would have told "Old Player." I would never say that our visi tors were duffers, nor even hint it, for they were very far from ifc. They certainly felt the want of "running men like \Vhite3ide and Elliott," and if they had had them the result might have been different. If " Old

Player " had read my notes as they were intended he would not have been in such a hurry to rush into print. The question of wing forwards was brought up afc the last meeting of the Canterbury Union, and was thoroughly dis cussed, but though opinion seemed to be pretty evenly divided no action was taken. The Rev. Mr Hoatson, the selector of the team, gave the meeting to understand that if he was instructed to pick wing forwards he would resign, and this acted as a damper on the " wing" men. "Three-Quarter Back" writes as follows in the " Canterbury Weekly Press " : — " In my idea, from the accounts 1 have received, HawWs Bay is the strongest team that our men have met. They balance well, play in a combined fashion, and have not got the ' star' system, which is the blot on the Aucklanders' style. I regret that we were so unlucky as to meet them under such disadvantageous conditions." It is always interesting to " see ourselves as others see us," and by doing so we often receive lessons we need badly. Viewed thus, the following notes by the special correspondent of the " Weekly Press" (one of the team) on the Auckland v. Canterbury match deserve attention :—

" In this game an onlooker would be im mediately struck by the difference in the style of play exhibited by the two sides. It was quite apparent that* the Ancklanders on the one hand rely almost entirely upon their backs to do the scoring, and that by obtaining tries. Their backs are certainly very good indeed, and the manner in which they ran and fond is something we don't often see in Canterbury. Whiteside and Madigan are by far the best of them, and the whole objefcb of the remaining backs and forwards seems to be to feed these two men. Both men are heavy, and at the same time very fast and good at fending. It should be mentioned, though, that these andmany more of the Auckland men wear running shoes, which gives them 4 decided advan tage in pace, but debars them from making use of their kicking powers if they have any, which I rather doubt, as they seldom at tempted any kicking. This is, I think, where they are deficient; they should learn to kick, and I know they were greatly sur prised and somewhat disheartened at the ground gained by our backs, by what they considered splendid kicking, and certainly our men ab times showed up well in this respect. The Canterbury backs all played well, with the exception that their collaring was defective. Richards was perhaps not quite up to his usual form, but a full back's lot is not a happy me, especially on a strange ground, with some 10,000 strangers look ing on. Francis, as usual, came to the rescue with a splendid pot, and it was a piece of good luck for Auckland that a second goal was not scored against them in the same way. Wilson on one occasion might have got in had he dodged instead of trying to run round his man. More could upon the whole have been expected from the Auckland forwards. Their average weight was considerably above ours, and they had several fast men to boot. O'Connor is perhaps their most brilliant man in this department of the game; but he appeare to lack condition. Drib bling rushes are not by any means un known in Auckland, and one or two fine rushes were made by their forwards, the men passing the ball very well with their feet. They appear,, considering their weight and height, to be weak on the line out; and I think they would do well to consider this point more than they do. Although they played wing men, they did not have the same effect upon our half backs as in Wellington; and altogether they did not play so rough a game. Our forwards certainly played much better than in WelUngton.and showed that although much lighter than their opponents they were quicker and more scientific. Although dribbling was freely practised by them they never brought down the house, as it were, by any particu lar rush as they did in Wellington. This may, however, perhaps be attributed to the fact that we Auckland men have a very objectionable habit of falling on the ball; and they also think it necessary, when a man is collared, to wait until a scrummage is formed before getting up or letting go of the ball. This practice should be at Once stopped, and 1 shall be surprised if our Otago friends don't have something to say to the Aucklanders upon the point. ... What we evidently want in Canterbury is some back who can Bcore ; as, although the forwards time after time worked the ball out behind the scrum, it invariably resulted in their losing ground rather than gaining any, to say nothing of not scoring. This is what strikes one more particularly after seeing men like Whiteside, Madigan, War brick, and Taiaroa, all of whom take full advantage of all opportunities offered them."

I may remark in connection with the above, and in hope that it may meet the eyes of our Southern friend, that Madigan is one of the best kicks in Auckland. Whiteside is a sure and strong kick, while Conway, though not brilliant in the drop kicking line, punts well, and A. Braund shines in both. The remarks of the critic are, however, very just, for our backs do not use their kicking powers nearly enough. I would like to know where the objection able habit comes in in falling on the ball to stop a rush. I certainly object to lying on the oval, but give us credit for something that shows pluck, and which I believe Canterbury taught us in 1883. The match last Saturday between the Ponsonby 11. and the North Shore 11. was very uninteresting to the onlookers, being lalmost one long succession of scrums. Now and then one side or the other would show up with a good bit of play, but the scrum maging marred it all. It is not football to try a perpetual pushing with a couple of men lying down half the time and the backs neglected. The following verses are extracted from a "pome" that appeared in the "Sydne Referee :"— Say, who is he, so much to blame, Devoid of sense, devoid of shame, A nuisance at the football game ? The barracker. *'Tis sad to think the maii'y sport, Whbre youth and ladies fair resort, Should be polluted bjf that sort—' The barracker. But let us hope, howe'er we doubt, That time will wipe the creature out, And none will miss the ribald's shout— The barracker. It is a pity that nothing can be done to those " barrackers "—too mean-spirited to deserve any other name—who disgraced the province with their hooting last Wednes day. lam sure that it is not the foot ballers that do it, and ib is time public opinion " wiped the creatures out."

ATHLETICS, &c.

It is reported in America thata Pitts burger has invented a unicycle in which the rider sits in the centre and propels it with levers. It is said to be impossible to take a header from it, and a speed of 30 miles an hour can be easily attained. The committee of the N.S.W. Cricket Association have carried a resolution in favour of having six balls in an over in in tercolonial matches. They declined to offer any suggestion with respect to the existing law regulating leg-before-wicket decisions.

The much-vexed question of an amateur has been, 90 far, settled by the newly formed N.Z. Athletic Association, which has adopted the following,:—"Any person who shall after the first day of August, 1887, compote for public money, or ad mission money, or with any professional for a prize or money, shall no longer be considered an amateur." Two of our local cyclists, Messrs Buch anan and Walker, intend to proceed over land to' Wellington, on their machines this summer, and if time permits thejjrraay con tinue on to the City of the flmh °t course not oq their machines.-

STAGE AND STUDIO.

[B* Edtebbj.]

minme Palmer fixes . I within which she wiUt ri nt MtlllH i Zealand. ' P&OftsstoJ;l Mrs Wilson Barrett died bu, I July 27, after a l ong name was Heath. **■ The Plaisted-Harding Com,, been playing at the A^feSl Ballarat. f ot Jlusj^ m

tte«WiopSteMdw&W| to prao her pianoforte rtfi?"? H» I modest fifties. U<Wed »itk |" Brief as the Majeronisl st*» »•» i A,ckksitMllb?£ SA^l edm. They open thete to October^ II a season of eight nighfe. The pm^Y* § Zealand touA lim& n ]2S^| Mr James A. Mead, Who ode jL,,, I this colony with Mr George SnoMi who is now in London, has written» \ • 1 identical with Darrell's " feoggar-th!'l ' M ThS 1 MS,°.! Omon ' l^^oftheAlexand,. , Theatre, Melbourne, is one of the O I men m Australia at the present tunaT l: was brought before the bench theotherfi I and fined half a sovereign for havin? i! I house overcrowded. : m™ p: ItisrelatedthatwhenMonsieiirPoassafi I the violinist, was asked what he thoStf ! a certain rather clever amateur violinik k i replied:—" Ah ! veil c eez at 'o-onw, eej II eez o-owa 'ouz, 'cc eez ve-ra pice, ve-tii m nice; butonze'pub-leek plat-foruH^i veil, !ee eez not atr 'owe!" 7-T? B Society in Melbourne is aoatw with H curiosity for the disclosures of°a pending i divorce case, wherein a well-known colonial 1 actor will figure as plaintiff, and his wife i who is equally well known on the colonial ; stage, as respondent. The eo-respdenli It is a member of an operatic coinpahy. !

Martin SimonsenV Royal Italian Coo. pany have finished their Adelaide season and were to re-open in Melbourne oh Satttr* day last in " BeMrio." This time iliej«. appear at the Theatre Royal, and tl» season is to extend over, twelve weeks. W« cannot hope to see them, therefore, thij year. " The Golden Band," a drama by McH* Herman (author Of ".The Silver King")and the Rev. Freeman Wills, was recently pro. duced in the London Olympic. It is de scribed as a piece in contributing to which Mr Herman asserted his proprietorship d "The Silver King" by using most of its chief characters over again. At an exhibition ,6f Sello Brothers'; Circus, at Davenport, lowa, on July M, and during the " Wild West•" act, U cowboys pursuing the Indians were droij,; and fired fixed 'ammunition from their' pistols right and ' left), four spectators were wounded, two mortally, andoneof^ circus Indians killed. Messrs Hayden, Dictoon, and Rpberfc» theatrical firm of Newifork, welaancig out very boldly. Their late&t move ki lease of the Madison Square Garden, ite they intend producing ". Pinafore1 on i gigantic scale, with a full-riggßd stop, s chorus of 120 people, and an Orphestoffi sixty. . ■ , The people know tohati nobility town, perhaps better than the nobles themselves. and the people blush to hear titles gained, on battle-fieWs tossed from one to mow in the "ring" of ft circus. Last year is men who are supposed to be the onlysup-, port of the monarchy were; ptttUtf* parallel bars while their chief was exile 4 from France because conspiracy fftt KM6* from his followers. This year M. Molier will receive N 20th and 25th, and instead «fa tertaining his invites with musicig dancing lie amuses with fine «JP exercises, superior horsemanship,- ..# J» guests, who would be indifferenj ft » ordinary circus, here are interested law slightest movements of men and Mg Itleemsaglory for these RrftaJ g some of their number are capable.« P ning laurels on the frapeze. Mr Bland Holt follows &*&*% Dunedin opening there.on TO* £■? principal novelties to be presentedl art lon olLuck," a sporting *J«j*js had unprecedented success tN!" 1,? Old Country, andmore. recentlj-» J» bourne and Syd^y 5 aod 'W n JJ don." The etaee ftPPliatiCeß,£coS weighupwardsoffortytoius^dtheCgWj number over thirty firet-dass artoto dramatic fame. They have some uHrft-saniitlfflonioJ peoplfinSarl MissA m ySher,mg a farewell concert in the presence ofg ber of high clerical dignitane,incW^ Bishop Slndford. The.proceeds^«« be devoted to charitable ,objects^ going to Herr Schott, and the other iw Miss Sly, of the Females-Refuge- lady, however, was too puw » money earned by the c"K tl i;> cal person," and, instead of 'gjgfo. note and saying so, she pabhsheg g]y lowing card in the P»P«- acknowledges with gratitude'g? g"^ generous ahhouncement of*jW^ g win in yesterday's pa^r^it^i, timate that she will pot bo at v ; accept the donation raised «* *^ y8 posed for the Lord'^ work. > tears!" . , , ; n tW The song yM •^SS.Ij American market m point ?^ ted d sone "Sweet Genevievc,^,,^ less than one-tenth as mww^ the & issue of 300,000 copies. Hetf^ of a few well-known songs in A»^ -FlowerFromMotber'sGravo;-;; gg The following are the appro of some later successes:- Co gji* ..WaitTaitheCloudsKollßy:.;; I|s Sentimental so^eem^p^ taste in the f£ inormOUS^.^rV Wellings, had the enorm y GloalJl ,ng J pectively<

THE AUCKLAND EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1887.

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Spade Guinea Dunlop Fhe Jewel ... fCohai Pasha Mozart Folly Dagobert Merlin Frolic Leichhardt ... Burrilcla Here's Luck .. Plutarch Lancer Dividend

9 0 8 3 8 8 8 4 8 2 7 12 7 8 7 8 7 6 7 5 7 4 7 4 7 4 7 3 7 3 7 0

Sorella Morok Victory Peeress The Queen ... Cardigan Rosebud langwool Soldier's Wind The Felon ... Lord Allen ... Sentence Upper Cut ... Tilda Home Rule ..

7 0 6 12 6 12 6 12 6 10 6 10 6 8 6 8 G 8 6 8 6 6 6 5 6 5 6 2 6 2 6 0