Cricket 1909

CR ICKET A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. O c t . 28, 1909. CRICKETERS AND THE BUDGET. In the House of Commons on September 30th the Chancellor of the Exchequer moved the second reading of the following new clause :— Increment value duty shall not be collcctcd on any periodical occasion in respect of the fee simple of or any interebt in any land which is held by any body, corporate or unincorporate, without any view to the payment of any dividend or profit out of the revenue thereof, bona fidt for the purpose of games or other recreation, if the Commissioners arc satisfied that the land is so used under some agreement with the owner which, as originally made, could not be determined for a period of at least five years, or under other circumstances which render it probable that the land will continue to be so used ; without prejudice, however, to the collection of the duty 011 any other occasion. Mr. P retyman understood that where an owner or private individual allowed his land to be used for the purposes of games and recreation, increment value duty would not be charged until he sold it. The clause did not indicate that. Mr. L loyd G eorge replied there never was any intention to exempt the private owner from paying either the undeveloped land duty or the corj oration duty in respect of land used for the purposes of games and recreation. The intention was that clubs and societies should be exempted. It might be worth a man’s while to let his fields for games and sports under an agreement for five years, at the end of which time it might be used for building. Mr. P retyman asked why corporation duty should be charged upon an individual who gave his land up to recreation. That man m ale no profit. He agreed that he should be charged increment duty when he sold it, but why should he have to pay a periodic corporation duty. Tbe lesult would pimply be that either the clubs would be deprived of the land or else they would have to pay the corporation duty themselves. Mr. L loyd G eorge declared this was the first time that demaud had ever been put forward. H is hon. friend (Mr. Masterman) had received deputations on his behalf on the subject, but not a single deput.tion urged the claim which the hon. and gallant member now submitted. The <epuiations had put forward the claim of the clubs, but now for the first lime they bad the claim of the landowner, who was already exunpte I from the halfpenny tax so long as his laud was in occupation. The right hon. gentle­ man thought the Government had gone very far to meet tbe landowner. (Ministerial cheers.) After further discussion tbe clause was read a second time and passed through committee without amendment. On the 20th inst., when the clause reached the Report Stage, Mr. E . C ecil (U.) moved an amendment with the object of placing the individual who granted a football or cricket ground not for profit in a privileged position w ith regard to increment duty equally with the corporate providers of such a ground. Mr. A. C hamberlain said this taxation would do a great injury to thousands of little cricket and football clubs throughout the country. It would put upon the owner of the land the strongest temptation, and, indeed, they made it his duty, to give notice to these clubs, and to build over the land. Sir W. R obson , the Attorney-General, thought the Government had dealt with sport extremely well in this B ill, first of all with regard to undeveloped land duty, which would undoubtedly have been a burden on the owners of land devoted to sport. From that burdeu the Government had relieved those clubs. It would bo absurd, however, to make an exception in respect of this particular form of death duties for sport or any other object. The amendment was rejected by 196 to 59. majority 137. M r. B u rdett -C o u its (U.) moved an amendment to get rid of the condition attaching t> tbe exemption of recreation grounds as regarded the five years’ agree­ ment. It could not be denied, he said, that the enjoyment of land for recreation purposes would I e greatly curtailed by this B ill, and the exemption would be of no use to the large class of unorganised clubs who had nothing to do with Lord’s Cricket Ground, and were not provided with ground by the Playing Fields’ Association. Mr. M asterman declared that the con­ cession of the Government was made in response to the demand, not of the rich clubs, but of the c’ ass of clubs referred to by the mover of the amendment. The Government did not insist on the land being under a lease of five years. They offered two alternatives. The first was the existence of a lease of five years, and the second was if it could be shown to the Commissioners that there were circum­ stances rendering it probable that the land would continue to be used for games or recreation. The amendment was negatived without a division. In the House of Commons on the 21st the Chancellor of the Exchequer moved an amendment to Clause 17 of the Finance B ill providing that land which was used for the purposes of games by poor boys’ or working men’s clubs should be exempted from un­ developed land tax by the Commissioners when, in their opinion, other circumstances rendered it probable that the land would continue to be so used. Tbe amendment further }rovided that, where any land had been kept free from buildings in pursuance of any definite scheme, and had been ex­ empted, such laud could not be bui't upon unless the Local Government Board gave their consent, and were satisfied that that course was desirable in the interests of the public. Mr. B u rd ett C outts (U.) protested that very many poor boys’ and working men’s clubs, which iepresented vast*numbers of the youth and growing manhood of the poor of London, would be seriously affected. Such clubs were not in a position to make five year agreements and all this land would only be let to those clubs which could make such arrangements. What, then, would become of the poorer clubs ? Mr. M asterman readily admitted the diffi­ culties in such cases, but the Government could not go further than they had already gone. It was true that a five year agreement wras out of the question in the case of many of the poor boys’ and working classes’ clubs. But there was undoubtedly a vast amount of land in the neighbourhood of London which would not be built upon for five or ten years to come. It was being held up, and he used the term in no offensive manner. He was thinking of the vast number of cricket and football fields to be seen, for instance, on the journey by the South-Western Railway from London to Portsmouth. They desired to recognise the services of those who let their land for these purposes. T i e Govern­ ment, however, could not go further in this matter, because there was the undoubted danger that men m ight let their land, which was ripe for building purposes, for a limited period in order to avoid payment of the duty. Mr. H. W. F orster (U ) moved to omit from the amendment that part dealing with the cases of land kept free from buildings in pursuance of any definite scheme, and which had received the benefit of the exemption from the'undeveloped land duty. He argued that the provision was intended to deal onlv with the matter of garden cities, and would not protect open spaces. Lord B alcarres (U.) strongly objected to the proposal that the Local Government Board should settle anything and everything connected with these estates. It was carrying the passion for bureaucracy too far. The amendment of Mr. Forster was negatived by 145 to 39—majority, 106; and the amendment of the Government was then agreed to. CRICKET IN AMERICA. M O N T P E L IE R v. P H IL A D E L P H IA N PILG R IM S . Played at Montpelier, Va., on October 0 and left drawn. Hordern hit four 6’s and fifteen 4’s in his 126and R. H. Hornidge four 6’s, a 5 and eleven 4’s in his 85. Score:— P h ila d e lph ia n P ilg r im s . G. L. Jamison, bWads­ worth ................... 6 G. M. Newhall,b Wads­ worth ................... 1 H. V. Hordern, c R. H. Hornidge, b Simms,126 J. R. Dornan, c Wads­ worth, b T in n ......... 5 R. L. Perot, c R. J. Hornidge, b Bald ... 59 C. J. B. Dixon, c R. H. Hornidge, b Simms 16 L. Landreth, b Wads­ worth .................. 2 T. Evans, b Tinn ... IS J. B. Colahan, b Tinn 29 G. Ashbridge. c Wads­ worth, b Hoberton 9 J. C. Lowrie, not out 0 Byes, &c............ 25 Total ..296 M o n tpelier . First innings. R. J. Hornidge, st Dornan, b L o w r ie .......................... 1 J. Higginson, b Lowrie ... 4 R, H. Hornidge, b Dixon... 1 W. H. Dawes, c Hordern, b D ix o n ................................. 2 G. Tinn, st Doman, b Lowrie .......................... 21 W. Hoberton, b Dixon ... 0 H. Wadsworth, b Lowrie... 0 J. Simms, b Dixon ........... 0 D. Heath, b Lowrie ........... 2 W. W. Parsons, b Dixon ... 1 F. Day, not out .................. 0 R. Bald, absent hurt........... 0 Byes, &c...................... 1 Total ...................33 Second innings. c and b Hordern 4 st Dornan,b Perot 27 b N ew hall.......... 85 b H ordern........... 5 st Dornan, b Evans ...........34 not out .......... 0 Byes, &c. ... 1“ Total (5 wkts)172 The school to be dealt with in the next issue of Ayres’ Cricket Companion is to be Westminster. The editor of the Companion will be glad if the Public School cricket captains will return the forms sent them as soon as convenient. “ O Y A L B A . ” R E I D ’ S O V A L . W H I T E . The celebrated preparation for cleaning Cricket and all Buff Leather Goode, W arranted not to rub off or cake. A s used at K©n- oington Oval, and highly recom m ended by K . 8 Ranjitsinhji, Dr. W . G. Grace, O. B. Fry, Lord Dalmeny, Australian X L , 1905, G. L. Jessop, Ac., Ac. P a c k e d in z in c b o x e s , 6 d . p e r box . J. J . R E ID , 878, K e n n in g to n R d., L ondon.