RACING AND THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3011, 23 February 1917, Page 4

RACING AND THE WAR

I HON. «. W.RuSSELL AND THET ■ PERMIT QUESTION. Speaking last evening -with, reference! • to a report that at Monday's meeting - of the Haniflfxm Chamber of Commerce - Mr. Smith had said he knew of a case* i where Hie "Government informed m s racing club that if it suspended its. i meetings for the duration of the wa£ b it would forfeit its permit." The Hon- &. W. Russell '(.Minister of Internal j Affairs) gave the statement an 'em-, j phatio denial. "Several'"racing , in New Zealand,"" aided the Minister,! I "one at Cheviot, another at Kaikoura,; j a third, I thinK, in Juentral Otago, andij . a Imnt club in Canterbury have noti-: 3 fied the Government that "they do not; I; propose to race While the war is <m,"> I and in each case they have asked whe* r ther they would by this course for-j . feit. their right to a permit for the use* f of the totalisator when the war is' [ over. In no case has any pledge or j promise been given b'y the Government/ except this, that the closing down oc ; the race during the war,; i which I, as Minister of-Internal Af-j . fairs, heartily appreciate and congratu-'. L lato them upon, will not prejudice' : their right to a totalisator permit after the war is over. (3? course, you mw i derstand that no Minister .can pledge L the Government as to the issue oE L totalisator permits for any future year.-. , The permits are given from, year to-' i year, and circumstances might render! [ it very desirable that a totalisatorper-i mit should_ be extinguished. There 1 . might be misconduct in connection with.* ; race meetings or other reasons, or' . Parliament might determine to alter 1 . the law and go in for severe regula-i \ tions. I would like to say that this! matter of racing is receiving the very. serious consideration of Cabinet. The' . racing season for this year will not end ; until July 31, and at the beginning of! , the year it was decided that during the present racing season the racing/ should go on as usual. I cannot Bay ' any_ more about it than that was the 1 I decision of Cabinet,- but before next j racing season, which begins on August 1, the whole question of the reduction '. of permits will receive the most .careful • consideration of Cabinet."