GAMBLING IN PUBLIC HOUSES.

Dunstan Times, Issue 690, 9 July 1875, Page 4

GAMBLING IN PUBLIC HOUSES.

—o — The authorities in Victoria and Otago as well as those of Nelson, are paying attention to the abovenamed great evil- The Melbourne correspondent of the New Zealand Times writes on May 20th:— “ The next sensation is jn regard to the police raids that have recently been made on a variety of houses in Melbourne and Geelong, where a mild sort of gambling has been tolerated. In one case the police found the owner of the shop and his wife comfortably discussing an oyster supper, and considerable was their terror at being invaded by twenty constables in so unceremonious a style at two o’clock in the morning. In the other case, which occurred at Geelong about twenty policemen headed by a sub-inspector, burst in the Crio Hotel and there found four men playing the game knowing as ‘ Yankee.-rrab,’ —‘a shilling in and the winner shout.’ Fifteen in all were captured, some were onlookers, others visitors and custom ers of the hotel. They were then handcuffed and marched to the lock-up where they were detained all night. As they all belong to the respecta ble classes, and were known to be steady, quiet, unoffending citizens the commotion on the town when the affair got wind was considerable. On being brought up on the following morning the landlord was fined L 250 or in default, six months’ imprisonment, for being the keeper of a common gaming house. Nine of shose present at the game were fined L 5 each, and five were discharged with a caution. People will talk of these raids, and contrast the conduct of the police in visiting mercilessly small and paltry offenders, whilst the wellknown hells and haunts of professional gamblers are left to flourish and extend their destructive influence unchecked,”