12 THE ARAB THE HORSE OF THE FUTURE 



threw up their situations in my State to help the 

 Empire, and joined Australian contingents to fight 

 the Boers, so I claim to have something rather more 

 than mere book-learning. Vivd voce information 

 giving the practical experience of practical soldiers 

 who have fought hard is, I take it, somewhat more 

 than book-learning. 



Some of the writers of the Australian papers 

 whom I quote may be occasional writers only, but 

 many of them I understand to be regular contri- 

 butors, and some of them on the regular staffs of the 

 newspapers, and who therefore carry the authority 

 of the papers with them. I may particularly refer 

 to ' Bruni,' a writer on the Atcsti^alasian, the lead- 

 ing weekly paper in Australia, who is a well-known 

 and highly respected gentleman of the highest 

 authority on horses and farm stock, and is so 

 recognised throughout all Australia. 



I wish most earnestly to say that I make no 

 complaint of racing authorities ; many I admire and 

 respect. I make no complaint of gambling — I have 

 nothing to do with that here ; I only maintain that 

 the gambling which has undoubtedly and notoriously 

 sprung up around racing has led to a sad deteriora- 

 tion in the breed of English thoroughbred horses, 

 and will lead to much greater deterioration if it be 

 not checked. 



