“HOUSEY HOUSEY.”

Hokitika Guardian, 18 May 1925, Page 1

“HOUSEY HOUSEY.”

CLASSED A LEGAL GAME. SYDNEY. May 7. Half of .Melbourne is gnashing its teeth and the other half i- chuckling over the decision ol a .Melbourne County Court Judge that “hoiiscvhousc.v" is a legal game. I’robublv everv member ol the Australian and New Zealand Expeditionary Lorres came into contact with ” hoimoy. h„„sev" at some time ol his soldiering earner. It was popular on transports and railway trains, in camp and dugnut. 1 1 was the one game of chance Hint could be openly played betore the greater number ot commanding otlicers who frowned upon two-up and mailt kinds of card-games; In ■lioii.-ov-housey” the “banker” .sells a certain number of cards, with an c<|ual number of blank and numbered squares. Each oar,| contains about fifteen numbers The “banker" has numbered marbles, ranging from otic to lltll. and "hen he has sold bis cards, proceeds to withdraw the marbles otic by otic itottt a bag and call them out. the patron? marking the numbers on the cards when they are called hv the "banbe T When a card bolder ha.-, marked all the numbers of his card, lie calls House and takes a percentage ol the pool represented by tho -ale ol cards, the .■■banker” retaining the remainder lot' lit- expenditure ot von-c-power. The game bad been revived more or I---S unobtrusively hv enterprising side show proprietors who operated at charitv carnival-. I lie \iclorian legal ain lioril ics decided to test in the lo"d Courts whether the game was legal,

as the gnnult of “ hott'ey-hotisey ” proprietors warranted some check, in 1 licit* opinion. But they jumped f'-om the Irving-paii into the lire. Judge Mottle Itcld that the game "a- legal, as an ea I erpr t-1 tig iellow had eli no nut ed the purely gambling element by making the choice ot numbers depend m l it] on ~ jug ~f a culled 111 - lit b- -r , bill upon the throwing of a hall into numbered boxes Tin- last innovation, it "ahold, was -tt[iieietit Io introduce a tie'essarv measure ol skill. Immediately upon the dcei-mn.

‘ 1 hoiisey-hotise v" proprietors descried the sideshows and set themselves up in regular Imsiuosscs in the city suburbs, [■'or a return of hotween (is and He jraiae. th-:.e proprietors give a hoy ill' (.po,Plates costing ahoui As whole .• .. I

tin* pH 7.0. I I'll Of twelve gallic, played in tlm linin', ami play lasts tlii'ca nr four limns "i-t 1 11 1 >'• ( qiicully it is i'si i 111atoil that ‘ liouso hinisi'y" is returning sumo ol its eiitcrprising organisers as limcli as bln !„.,* night. The declaration ol' the game ;| , | : 11 | in a whoop oi i". v if" 111 u,e people who like to hazard money, nl „l snarl of rage I rota a greater H, miher oi persons, such as clergymen, workmen's wives, shopkeepers, and ..1 Iter hramltes Melbourne's eoinnii,nity. The shopkeepers are partieuhtrlv i.iiter. r.Mikvti.itH'is ’■••mo «- peeially a (let t-e, I bv the loss ol sales when • Ineky winners pass their shops I, with iite spoils ol a good night s winnings at "hoitsey-hoiisey” under their arms. So serious lias the craze heroine that representative organisations and citizens have protested to the State Attor-liev-Ceneral, who is now taking step 1 * i,, lest tile legality ~‘i the game in the Higher Courts. lint the "liousey-hou.-ev" proprietors have also cttiremlied themselves. They have form-; an Amalgamated Caines Association. width is trying to gain wider popular support lor the game, and is preparing to engage the host legal .talent to oppose the State's ease.