AAA Coming of Age Dinner

12 and a sufficient number of athletes to require encouragement . And, gentlemen, I wish to refer to one thing : theA.A.A. was fortunate in securing as itfsirst President one whose name I have already mentioned, one of those who was also on that card to which I have referred, in the year 1866—I mean my noble friend. Lord JERSEY (cheers); and Lord JERSEYwould have been President of the Association to-day but for the fact tiiat he was called upon to fill high offibcye representing Her late Majesty the Queen inAustralia, which he didwith the greatest distinction, and, good sportsman as he always hbaesen and always willbe, he placed his position at the disposal of the management of the A.A.A. so that some­ one else might fill his place while he was away. I only hope some years hence Lord JERSEYwill resume his position as Presidenotf the Association. Well , now, gentlement,he A.A.A.—and I am not going touse the language ot exaggeration—has carried on the ideas which governed us when we started public athletics in the year 1866, with unmixed and increasing success. It has not only raised the standard of pure amateurism, buitt has adhered torules and has had the courage to put its feet down whenever there was theslightest fear of those rules being broken. 1 am not quite sure of the year, because I have some other things to think about (laughter), though Inever dothink of anything else (renewed laughter), but I believe in the year 1896, or thereabouts, a difficultyarose with some of the men who heldChampionships, and who had either been offeorerd had received their expenses, and the A.A.A. declined to allow them to compete. And I know, because I have had to deal with instances, I know that throughout the length and breadth of the countrj ' , ifat any local sports there is an idea thaat competitor is not an Amateur, the A.A.A. is always able to give wisejudgment on the matter. That is not all .The rules and regulations ofthe Association not only prevail at all athletic meetings in the United Kingdom, but they have been largely copied in all or in many of the British speaking countries of twhoerld, and are really thfeoundation of athletic rulesin all places where athleticsprosper. Nor is that allby any means. I won' t refer to the fact which is well known to those who have followed various sports, how enormously the standard has been raised by the competitions that have been promoted, how times h^ve improved almost without exception, and how the general standard has been constantly raisedin accordance withthe improvement ofthe times. But the Championship Sports have attracted men from all parts of the world to compete; there have beenmen from South Africa, and it is rather a melancholy fact , though h1ave no doubt hewill come out andbe a loyal subject of the King again, but one man who once competed in the Champion Sports was a Boer and is now in prison. We have also had competitors fromAmerica, from France, from India, several competitors from the Cape, onefrom Australia ; andI am satisfied that if there had not been in existence such paublicly recognised association as the A.A.A. , and if it did not really command the respect of what I may call the athletic world in alclivilized countries we never could have had the success which has attended the Championship Sports. Well , gentlemen, you see