THE NEW GAMING ACT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 984, 26 November 1910, Page 6

THE NEW GAMING ACT.

... .' . -~. —'"■■■■» ~-■■ — "'. " ' . It will be with a feeling of pro-, found relief' that. the country will read to-day that the Gaming Bill has been passed into law. When, the Prime Minister began to back and fill over the production of the Bill there developed, from one end of the country to.the other, if the Press as a whole reflects public opinion, a growing uneasiness and suspicion that the notorious disagreement between the.Prime.Minister and .Mr. Millar would end with a tricking of the_ people. The passage of the Bill, which the Attorney-General's amendments threatened to- render 'ineffective at the last moment, is a great victory for public opinion over a Government accustomed to make its own necessities take precedence over the popular will and the public .g00d... The credit to which the Government is entitled is the credit of having reluctantly given way under the pressure of public indignation at, the Act of 1907, and few people will.,be . unwilling to'give' it that credit. '■' • There is no occasion to discuss the new. Act in any detail, further than to say that in order to close every loophole Parliament should have declared illegal the profession of bookmaker, which-is satisfactorily enough defined in the principal Act of 1908. There are two aspects of yesterday's debate, however, which call for comment. Several. members objected very strongly to the suggestion that the Houso should acquiesce in the destruction of its work on. some points by the. Legislative Council, Most people will. agree that the majority took up a. reasonable attitude, in deciding that the great thing was to avoid imperilling,; the Bill. As we have said on other occasions, we have little sympathy with those members of tho Houscwho say, "We shall' not tolerate alteration of our work by the Legislative Council." The' Council's best function is to amend; if it is not to amend whore it thinks fit, it. has no raison d'etre.. It is quite another thinga proper thing—to object to the utilisation by the Government of its majority of "dummies" in the Council to regain any point which it has lost in the House. This, no doubt, was what was in tho minds of those who opposed the Council's amendments; and if it had occurred to.them, most.of them would have made it clear that what they object to is, not free and honest amendment by a free . revising Chamber,. but amendment, under ■ orders from the Ministry, by a revising Chamber that is not free.. The most notable feature of the .debate, however, was the collision between ' Mji. Millar and Sir Joseph Ward: " There can be little doubt that the public will bo very curious to know what is to bo the result of a far greater and sharper disagreement than that which led'to the resignation of Mr. Hogg. , With some people, perhaps, Mr. Millar's obstinate defence of the bookmakers will count for courage, but even his admirers will not be able to read without regret and surprise tho shallow, and foolish sophistry with which ho defended a._ really immoral and anti-social doctrine. It is difficult to see how, after the direct and severe slap in the face given to Mb. Millak by. the Prime Minister, who had --to,, repudiate his colleague's viewa ia' afcrong" tdrms,' thero' can bo

any delay about Me. Millar's resignation. We cannot think -of any parallel to this public breach between a Prime Minister and his chief colleague, and the public, which knows that resignations have followed lesser and private breaches within a Ministry, will not be'surprised if Mr. Millar takes what seems to be the natural and necessary course of action.