Cricket 1889

476 CRICKET: A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. DEC. 27, 1889. leading position among American cricketers. The increasing requirements of a responsible position in connection withone of the greatest of American rail­ way systems have in reality forced upon him this withdrawal from active cricket. His place of course will not easily be filled, but at the same time he has per­ haps done wisely to retire while still in his prime, and with his reputation as an all-round cricketer undimmed. T h e opportunity of the reception just mentioned was taken to present Mr. Newhall with a farewell testimonial on his retirement from active cricket of two handsome etchings, the “ Piquet Players,” by Meissonier, and “ The Canterbury Pilgrimage,” by Holl, together with a complete set of the books composing the Badminton Library. In making the presentation, Mr. P. M. Bissell, the hon. sec. of the International Committee, said:— To-day the name of Daniel S. Newhall is known and respected wherever the game of cricket is played as that of a thorough American sportsman, always modest in victory, yet never beaten until the last ball is bowled; always striving, both by precept and example, to maintain the dignity and high standard of the game 1 o which he has given the best years of his life. It was my good fortune to see a good deal of Mr. Newhall during the tour of the Gentlemen of Philadelphia here last summer, and I can bear testimony to the accuracy of Mr. Bissell’s portrayal of his character as a sportsman. He will carrywithhimintohis retirement thebest wishes of every English cricketer who had the goodforlunetomakehis acquaint­ ance this year. THE COUNTY CRICKET COUNCIL. The third annual meeting of the Council was held on December 9 in the Dining Boom at Lord’s Ground. Lord Harris (Kent), the President, was in the chair, and the following counties were represented. Delegates—Surrey (Messrs. J. Shuter and C. W. Alcock), Lancashire (Messrs. S. H. Swire and A. Appleby), Yorkshire (Mr. M. J. Ellison), Middlesex (Mr. A. J. Webbe), Gloucestershire (Mr. W. G. Grace), Notts (Messrs. W. H. C. Oates and E. Browne), Sussex (Mr. M. Turner), Warwickshire (Messrs.W.Ansell and H. W. Bambridge), Essex (Mr. C. D. Buxton), Cheshire (Messrs. J.Horner and H.Thornber),Hampshire (DriBussell Ben- craft), Staffordshire (Mr. A. H. Heath), Somersetshire (Mr. H. Murray-Ander- ton), Derbyshire (Mr. J. Smith), Dur­ ham (Mr. B.H. Mallctt), Norfolk (Mr. A. W. Jarvis), Leicestershire (Messrs. J. Bonner and T. Burdett), Northumberland (Mr. J. Thompson), and Hon. Ivo Bligh (Kent). The accounts, showing a balance in hind of .£30 13s., were passed. A letter was read from Mr. H. F. Boyle, manager of the coming Australian team,and after a short discussion the fol­ lowingresolution was carried That the County Cricket Council will be glad to welcome the Australian Cricketers, and will do their best to give them a good list of matches. Mr. A. J. Webbe’s proposal, “ That all three day matches shall begin at twelve o’clock the first day and 11.30 on follow­ ingdays,” was carried with the addition of the words “ not later than” before 11.30. Mr. Oates’ proposition, “ That no alter­ ation shall be made in the laws of county qualification, unless the motion is carried byamajorityoftwo-thirds,”was carriedon the understanding that the alteration did not apply to the current meeting. Lord Harris then proposed : “ That it will be convenient if in future cricket teams, proposing to arrange a tour in England, first obtain the consent of the county cricket clubs.” The President remarked that a discussion had already takenplace on this subject, andhe thought it would be courteous on the part of visitors to this country to consult the convenience of those associations upon whose assistance they entirely depended for the success of their tour. He (Lord Harris) took that opportunity of saying that some misapprehension existed as to his views on .{he question of the number of years that should intervene between the visit* of Australian cricketers. He remembered quite well that at a dinner given by an Australian gentleman living in this country to the last Australian team at the end of the tour, he took occasion to remark that cricketers in Australia need not trouble themselves very much as to what the opinions might be as to this or that individual, as to whether their trips should be triennial or otherwise, but that it would very much depend uponpublic opinion whether their teams shouldcome over every two or five ears. His remarks onthat occasion had een misconstrued both in England and Australia into an expression of opinion on his part that Australians should come every two years. Nothing, however, could be farther fromhis opinions. He thought that the Australians should first take care to consult the county cricket clubs, and should only come when they could put a thoroughly representative eleven into the field. Mr. Swire seconded the motion, which was carried nem con. The following three proposals relating to the question of imported players, and standing in Derbyshire’s name, were next discussed:— “ (1.) So long as any county which affiliated to the County Cricket Council requires the services of any of its duly qualified players, such players shall not be allowed to play for any other county.” “ (2.) In the event of any dispute arising between any county and any of its players as to the construction or en­ forcement of the above rule, such dispute must be referred to the committee of the County Cricket Council, and their de­ cision shall be final.” “ (3.) These rules shall take effect as fromthe 1st dayof March, 1890, and shall not be retrospective.” Mr. Smith, in moving the first of these motions, remarked that it was essential that matches between counties should be genuinecountycontests, andshouldnotde­ generateintomere'clubandground'games. Many old leading cricketers thought that birthshouldbe the onlyqualification, but as this rule could only cause a lot of hardship a residential qualification was instituted. But it could never have been intended that it should be possible for a professional brought up by a county, and playing regularly with that county up to the close of last season, to be bought by another county, and induced by money to enter into awrittenagreementpledging himself not to play for the county of his birth. This had really occurred, and the Council should, if possible, put a stop to it. What would they think of any gentle­ man who tried to bribe their private ser­ vants from their employment? As such a thing was possible he asked the Council to pass his resolution. The motionwas seconded byMr. W. G. Grace. Lord Harris, in opposition, remarked that a countymight, at the beginning of the season, claim the services of their professionals, and prevent themplaying for any other county, but there was no guarantee that they should be allowed to earn their livelihood or obtain something in lieu of their fees, if they were not played. This was a most dangerous pro­ position, one that wouldbringthe greatest discredit upon that assembly, and one which they should view with the utmost disfavour. He entirely agreed with everything that could be said against the deliberate buying of professionals from one county to another. But he would not give his vote to anything that had any suspicion of interferingwith a work­ ing man from selling that which was his property—his labour, and to his mind this resolution, which did not guarantee that a professional who was prevented fromplaying for another county should have a retaining fee in lieu of employ­ ment, was tantamount to preventing him selling his labour. He most earnestly warned the Council against a resolution of this kind. Mr. Webbe condemned the buying by one county of a professional who was at the time playing for any other county. Such a course of action was ungenerous, unsportsmanlike, and altogether wrong. Mr. Smith remarked that his second resolution coveredthe objection raised by Lord Harris. It stood to common sense that if a county retained a professional, and did not play they would pay him. His resolution was to prevent the free­ dom of buying players. On being put the resolution was lost by 7 to 5, and the other two motions by Derbyshire consequently fell to the ground. The Council then proceeded to the con­ sideration of the following motion, pro­ posed by Durham:— That a committee of the County Cricket Council be appointed (1) to arrange the counties in clasees; ( 2 ) to formulate and recommend a system of promotion by merit, under which a county not in the first-class can rise to a higher class than the one in which it is originally placed. NEXT ISSUE, JANUARY 27.