AAA Coming of Age Dinner

our young men didnot put in the front rank supremacy with regartdo all forms of athletics—cricket , football , oarnything else you like to mention— that we should not be the governing race that we are to-day throughout the world. Now, gentlemen, with these few words let me wind up by saying again what great pleasure it is to me after the many years which have elapsed since my dear friendin the Chair came to see me run one of the most important racesevI er ran, thaitt should be myprivilege to-night , after something like thirty-five or thirty-six years, to get up amongst younger men, amongst the representatives of the athletic societies of to-day, to get up andpropose this Toast whichI know you will drink with all your hearts. Gentlemen, 1 have great pleasure pirnoposing the Toast of the President of the AmateurAthletic Association." (Loud cheers.) RESPONSE. The PRESIDENT: "Gentlemen, I am more than grateful to you for the generous way in whicyhou have received the I oast , and to my old friend GUY PVM for his kindness inproposing it . I here is one meetingto which I go not unfrequently, though not , I am sorry to say, every year, but whenever I can, at which Iam also honoured by being asked to give away the prizes,a verygreat meeting,—it is the meeting of the CSiveirlvice Sports. Probably not as many know as ought to know that for years GUY PYM was the mainstay of thosesports, that he wonthe high jumpI do not know how many years, andhe was one of the finest quarter-mile runners I ever saw in mylife. Gentlemen, it hasbeen a very great privilege to me to be here and to hear so many interesting speechesupon the subject of athletics, bearing out whaIt have endeavoured to put before you to-night , and what 1 have heard on many previous occasions. 1 also thank Mr. JESSE COLLINGS for his kind reference to me in the House of Commons. I wish indeed I was back with him, and 1 will tell you why: because the Attorney-General is rather a hard-worked individual , and he is always supposed to guide the Government withthe Law Bills, and they usually come on about 12 o'clock at night , or thereabouts, and about half-past eleven as a ruleMr. JESSE COLLINGS used to come into my room and he used to say: 'Do you know such andsuch a Bill is coming on to-night ?' 'Oh no, I have not the least idea about it . ' ' Oh, ' he said, n' ever mind, I ' ll look after it , ' and Ifound that JESSE COLLINGS knew a great deal more about the laws of England than 1 did ; and whenever I got into a legal difficulty I used to say, 'Send for Jesse. 1 Now, gentlemen, there area great many thingsthat 1 meant to have talked to you about , but 1 have not time enough. I was asked to describe to you some of the mottos ot this A.A.A. Oh, by the way, there oinse matter 1 should like to mention. I can assure my oldfriend MONTAGUE SHEARMAN that there is no jealousy at all between oldmembers of the Amateur Athletic Club and the Amateur Athletic Association (hear, hear),—or everhas been ; all I meant was not to claim for the Amateur Athletic Club any share in Athsesociation in the sense of not recognizing everything thawt as done by those who foundeidt in the year 1880, but simply in pointing out as a matter ot history that it