GAMBLING.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 871, 18 July 1910, Page 8

GAMBLING.

■■; BOMBARDING-THE BOOKMAKER. :■ MANY RESOLUTIONS. : > COUNTER-MOVE BEGINNING. ■■•■lt is the opinion of the- Hott.. E.. Mit- . chelsoir (president of the Auckland Raping. -Club) that •; the bookmaker .must go for a certainty, and that' tho' .number, of race-meetings will probably ". bo reduced, but he does not think that .tho .totalisator will-be abolished yet a while. Interviewed further on tho subject he said that the Auckland Club was tho first to 'take a stand' against bookmakers doing business oii the course, and it was only, the Act of a few. sessions ago that, readmitted, them. The passing of that- measure had no doubt .. been, responsible for bringing from Australia ■ a -largo number-of spielers who exploited the racecourses, especially ill the country districts. . Though racing clubs derived a certain amount of rey- -.-,' enuo by bookmakers' licenses; he did not think one- club : in tho Dominion :. : w6uld seek .the retention of the.book- ' maker.. With the legalising of.the ha- .- ternity, too; there'had been, a large in-. ; crease of ■ racing clubs, particularly of the unregistered variety, run chiefly by ■the bookmakers, and without tho latter 'these mushroom clubs would cease to •" exist. So far '. as tie abolition, of tho totalise tor. was , concerned, Mr. Mitchel- ; son .said .ho had very little to .say. '.'People, will have some interest in . horso racing," he pointed out, "and "if they.cannot do it openly, as afforded by. the machine, they will do it surrep-. -, titipusly. 1 do not. think that at the present juncture it..would bo wise, to do aw&y with the. totalisator.' It is. tho most harmless form of all betting, espo- . daily since clubs have ceSsed to ' give "credit to patrons of the machine." •The proposal to reduce the number of totaEsat<jr w.rmit-s wn«,. in his. opinion, a'step.in the right direction, ajid ho thought, also, that the number: of ■ days oil which race :rheotings are held should be' lessened.' "If racing were confined to the ractropolrtan centres it would' bo quite, •■sufficient," he.-• declared. ■ Mr. • Miitcheteon was of opinion that racing clubs would -be strongly against . tho doing : away with the totalisatay'.while- ' ■ ho. did not think- the. Government would be prepared to sacrifice the: revenue involved, -a' sum. wliich he roughly estimated: at £100,000 per annum. '■• ' OPINION.OF MR. F. M..8. FISHER. According to-Mr. -F. M. B. Fisher, M.P., • the ' question is;' "Should the people have tlie : legal', right to gamble ?.'•.' It is his opinion/that the stolen five shillings paid over to the bookmaker is not. more dirty i than the stolen-sover-eign put on tho totalisator.' Who-can distinguish the moral difference-,'be- '.- tween.bridgo played for.high stakes.in ■ a private house' and : fan-tan played in a'Chinese'den. If : the < existence,of : the bookmaker leads to ; mes A committing theft ; : then every person who ■ favoursthe abolition of the bookmaker on, : that , ground- should be; in. l favour of. prohibi- . tion, -for'the abuse of liquor creates ; inbre-criminals thsn the bookmaker.,':! . should like,.(says- : Mr.' Fisher) to.isee both the totalisator, and the bookmaker dealt, 'similarly. They are.to my. mind on- an equal "footing from a moral j)oint of view,, but the totalisator has increased and made* gambling respectable,, and is therefore the more popular l«fo.rm:of betting. If we are not to have 'both, then we should blot both out. - . fiX TAKANAKI STREET CHURCH; • ' Yesterday. morning at the Taranaki ;■ Street Methodist Church the Row S.-' J. Serpell submitted the following resolution to the ■ congregation, which. • w&s' unanimously agreed to by a starid"ing vote:- —"That this congregation, recognising the danger to the community ; Df aiiy form of legalised, gambling, ;. earnestly requests the Government to so legislate this, session that repression of the bookmaker on racecourses and in the .-towns may .be effective, and thatthe. abolition of the totalisator may be .'■submitted* to'-.the;.will of the people at the.nest '■ i ■SERMON BY REV.- B. HUTSON; In his sermon at the Brooklyn-Pres-byterian Church last evening, the 'Rev'.- •'■ B.'Hutson dealt with what liecharae- ■ tensed as the twin .'evils,- : drink and gambling.' ;He said .that it was. the duty of. the - Church to combat'.these, ■evils,-, by moral suasion, while'.the duty of- the State was. to adopt measures that would restrain those who carried on the evil, arid more especially to protect their dupos.' The great end of the State, as-he .understood it, was'to make "rt easy.to do good, and more, difficult to do/ovil. ! The average, man. thought there was some connection , between, Jbing good and pleasure, and some,connection also between doing wrong and pain, but the consequences were so far away, that it. became duty of tho State to make the penalty.a more real thing to the ■.average.'-manj.land : thus to .help people . to -realise '.the consequences of wrong-doing. The preacher urged upon his congregation,.and more Especially the young people, to leave both gambling and drinking severely slone. "' ■ V . ' ■■' ■ ■■'■■ ■ ■ " " ; . : ■'■•' '..' ■"' ' \ " .. "■' '' ' .GAINING BY OTHERS' LOSS.--Preaching at St. James's Presbyterian Church last night, tho Rev; W. Bhircr; preaching.-'from Esiekiel 33, spoke of, the. duty of'■the Church on tho gambling question, which had already been-, taken- Up by tho law courts, , the Legislature, and tlio publin. Ho quoted tho statement of the Bishop of Durham, that tho aggregate Bimual gains of 'the bookmakers in England amounted to £5,000,000, thus 'exceeding by'£2,ooo,ooo the' sum spent annually in spreading the Gospel among the heathen. Gambling meant gain without effort, by toil of body, or brain. It tended to destroy , industry and thrift, end to encourage indolence. . It meant gaining by another's loss, as had been shown by the late Herbert Spencer, in his "Study of Sociology." It was our duty,to make such laws that vice would become increasingly difficult, and we should all, in. social intercourse, avoid everything that would encourage the gaming habit. "Christianity should recognise that them was a legitimate place for brightness in life, and thus eounte'ract tho gambling evil. "REMOVE THE BRAKE." . The following resolution was passed at the Central Mission. service. held . in bho' King's Theatre last night :—' 'That this- meeting, having the deepest conriction that 'in the. reproof of chance lies the true proof of man,' respectfully arge's those who drive the affairs o'f tho State to remove the brake that is clogging the ■ wheels of progress, and expresses the strong belief that New Zealand, having no intention of taking the Jownliill grade, may dispense with the bookmaker for ever." RESOLUTION AT NEWTOWN. At the Trinity Methodist Church, fjewtown, last.night, the. Rev.. J. Ward Bpoko on the gambling evil. TL.e'ro was a large congregation. The following resolution was moved by Mr. C. E. Luxford, seconded by Mr. Shand,. and carried,'almost unanimously:— "That, we,' as a Church, pray the Government to'do-all in their power to repeal the Acts, that -make legal the

calling of the bookmaker and the operation of the totalisator, believing that the legalised ■ bookmaker and-totalisator are holping much to increaso gambling in tho Dominion." AN M.P. IN THE PULPIT. At the Primitive Methodist Church, Webb Street, yesterday evening the sbrvico was conducted by Mr. C. H. Poolo, M.P., who preached on tho subject of gambling. After the. sermon the following , resolution- was carried unanimously:—"Being fully persuaded that the legalising of bookmakers arid of the totalisator have greatly increased • the extent and cost of gambling, this congregation of the ,Webb Street Primitivo Methodist Church calls upon tho Government and Parliament to at onco pass ■legislation which will abolish both the bookmakers and tho totalisafor.". (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) . Dunsdih, July 17. .A meeting was'held in "the Garrison Hall last night' to protest against the bookmaker and. totalisator, and ■ also against the importation of pictures of the Jeffries-Johnston fight. There was, a very large attendance, and the Mayor of Dunedin (Mr. T. Cole) presided. Amongst the speakers-was Dr. Henry, at present conducting "a mission here. The following motions were carried:--"(1) That thisvinass meeting of citizens of Dunedin, believing that the vice of gambling : has-b'een: greatly . ; increased by tho licensing of; bookmakers, calls upon the New Zealand Government to take steps to immediately repear the law under whieli they are so licensed, and to prohibit all forms of betting by bookmakers throughout the Dominion." , k ' "(2) That this meeting calls/upon the Government to introduce legislation this session either to suppress tho totalisator or to ascertain public opinion thereon by submitting the' question to the electors of the Dominion by way of a referendum." , - "(3) That this meeting, while recognising that exhibitions «f moving pictures of an innocent and healthy nature are a sourc6;';of information-, and amusement, desires to enter its emphatic protest against exhibitions in the Dominion of films of the recent John-son-Jeffries fight, the display of which must inevitably -lower, the moral tone of, the-community, and calls upon: the Government, to. take,.the measures necessary to prevent'such exhibitions." ' BOOKMAKERS ASTIR.. (By Telegraph—Press' Association.) ■ ' Christohurch, July 17. A- public petition to Parliament was in circulation yesterday protesting against any repeal of Section 34 of the Gaming Act, ISJOB (which.directs racing clubs to issue licenses to bookmakers), whilst Section 50 of the same Act (authorising the Minister for Internal Affairs to grant licenses to clubs to use the totalisator for betting on races) re-mains.-in force, and prayingjustice to all, the questions of licensing bookmakers' and granting of permits to u'so -the totalisatpr be embodied in one issue to bg placed before Parliament as, ! if the abolition of one is considered necessary,, then, as a,natural sequence, the. other should be abolished also. As the result of Saturday's canvas several thousand names wero attached to the petition. .' '■ . : .: • fin connection with, the . foregoing message, it may bo' mentioned-that it is the intention of,' the Bookmakers' Association at Christchurch to circulate the petition throughput tho Dominion. Mr. T. E. Taylor, M.P., it is stated,- is to be asked: to present it. Eighteen, canvassers, in addition to a large number of volunteers," have been appointed to take the; petition round. Tlie petition will .be in • circulation for threo''or four; weeks.] -: ■ .-.'■. •• '