LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1347, 26 January 1912, Page 6

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

RAILWAY MANAGEMENT. Sir,—Kindly allow us a little space to ventilate a distinct grievance under which tho people of Levin are labouring at the present time. The Levin Chamber of Commerce has been urging upon the Minister for Railways for some time tho desirability of stopping tho inward and outward Auckland express at Levin for the conveyance of passengers, but without success. In support of this request, it has been pointed out the anomaly of this train stopping at either Ohau or Koputaroa (each lour miles south and north of Levin respectively) for water, but still the Minister will not make Levin the stopping-place for' this train. Evidently the convenience of tho travelling' public is of very little importance, further, on reference to the railway time-table, we hnd that the Auckland express stops twice between Palmerston and Wellington, and the ?\cw Plymouth mail thirteen times. J. he Auckland express occupies 3 hours 27 minutes and the New Plymouth mail 3 hours IG minutes to cover this distance, and allowing five minutes for each stop we find that the Auckland express should do the journey from Palmerston to Wellington 55 minutes faster than the New I lymouth, but the actual running time is only 19 minutes faster. In the lace of this fact, we are unable to discover any reasonable consideration that precludes the Minister from authorising the stoppage of the Auckland express at J.evm lor the picking up and setting down qt passengers. Thanking you in anticipation,—We are, etc., • ERNEST S. LANCASTER, m.™-, r. „ ■ President. THO.S. G. VINCENT, t * ■ ™ 011, Secretary, ■Levin Chamber of Commerce.

THE FATE OF THE TOTAUSATOR. Mio ir m f r 1: -° a n on ? e that mo.. - si ' n !-, t , bo '""ids of honest S r»u ~ and affords the onh reliable method, of ascertaining odds based upon public opinion. 'Did underlying. question, however, is whether horseracing and betting so inseparably connected that if horse-racing is to lie maintained as a sport betting in some form must be made legal. Horse-racing not mauy years ago was the sport of the horseowners, who themselves subscribed the stakes, which, less a commission to cover tliu expenses ot ihe racecourso owner were paid to the winner. Railways and the establishment oi racecourses within easy reach irom the largo centres of population have given a huge value to gato mouey; gate money has called for a full prograniniGj'-the filling of the programme is accomplished only by purchasing competitions; and so instead of owners meetmg to race for and divide their own subscriptions they are asked to enter horses tor various races 011 a nominal subscription and run lor money provided- out of gato moneys and other income of the racccourso owner.

The big attendance of the public at ratio meetings and tho publicity given by all newspapers to every detail'connected with racehorses from the time of their birth onwards assisted in spreading the practice of betting on.horse races to such an ■extent that the public called for some means to abolish or at any rate to minimise the opportunities of the wclsher-henco tho totahsator. Is the practice of betting when carried on. by a largo proportion of men, women, and children harmful to the morals of tho community? If so, it should be confined within reasonable limits. Horse-racing as at present carried on is carried on mainly for the public, who want to bet. Not very many people care to look at n horse raco unless they have "something on," be it only half n crown. There is no other sport which lends itself so freely to' universal betting. If. then, horse-racing could be so conducted as to be carried on for the sport and not for the satisfaction of a public gambling craze, tho practice of betting would be curtailed. That this can l>c done is obvious. Stop the totalisator and banish the bookmaker and tho sources' from which the racecourse owner is able, to add money prizes is gone; owners would then race their horses in a trial of strength when it suited them, and not to provide amusement for a heterogeneous crowd, tho majority of whom scarcely look at a race, their eyes being fixed on the colours of the horse which some friend or the toss of a coin has led them to back. . Horse races would then become less freouent, and public interest would be without continuous stimulant, and betting would certainly diminish in quantity. Breeders of horses would pay just attention to the wants of the legitimate market and the breeding of racehorses would be the amusement of the rich, wM'e the poorer men would not find their market for u:»ful horses spoilt by the cheap rejects of the racing stables.—l ain, etc.,

At. a joint, meeting of the Council and rSoarrf of Education of Mansfield College, the Kev. James MofTatt, D.D.. of Broughtv Ferrv. was unanimouslv elected to (ho Yates Chair of Greek Testament and Kxegasis just vacated, by Dr. Alexander Souter on his apnoiutment by the Crown to the Professorship of Humanity in the University of Aberdeen. \ssuming the acceptance of the appoint- 1 ment bv Dr. .Tames Moffatt. the Free Church'ranks in Oxford will Ik> greatly strengthened, atid Mansfield will have the twofold joy of welcoming not only, a scholar but a nreacher of no mean renown. Tn the front, rank of New Testament scholarship Dr. MofTatt has shown a singularly wide interest in literature and ha.-; himself-written far more than most authors of his age. His "Golden Rook of .lohn Owen" clearly indicates his intense sympathy with the early Puritan 5 :, and as Owen was TVnn of Christ Church and Yiep-Ch.iiicclli'r in Cromwoll's time. Oxford will no doubt prove.a very interesting plnra to the cW—apart from innwrahlo other pospMe reasons. V>r. .Molfatl's volume on "Gptp'' Meredith" proves on the oilier hand, his np-f/i-dat;! .svmnathy with modern literature, and. of course, as a eons'mt contributor to. the current, periodicals, his name is very well known.