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Hokitika Guardian, 21 August 1928, Page 2

The Minister of Justice lias reached a quandary as to action regarding legalising euchre tournaments conducted not for private profit. It is a strange and unusual position to find a Very important Department of the State confessing its inability to deal with what tho layman would consider a simple matter of legislation. Tho Minister’s sympathies are with the tournaments, and lie expressed himself plainly as indicating lie did not want the police to take action in these innocent evenings devoted to euchre parties lor pliilsuitropliic purposes. Yet the .Minister nor life advisers can find a legal way out of the impasse. The police for their part appear bent on ‘enforcing the law” against these innocent social evenings though it is being remarked the police are inactive in regard to larger fish to be caught in tho meshes of the Gaming Act, if they eared to exert themselves with half tho energy devoted to the euchre pastime. The Magistrates are no less loath to dismiss these actions as trivial as they have tho power to do in law, and so t'/o Minister is left on the horns of a dilemma till some one in authority devises a way out. Some amendment to the Act is necessary before those evening gatherings can Ixj within the law. A short section might surely lie drafted to permit euchre tournaments ill approved places and under approved management and control. Any license necessary in that respect might bo granted publicly by a Magistrate, on such conditions as were; deemed necessary to exclude private profit or personal gain. Unce> brought within the law the public would he safe from inquisitorial interference, and profit would accrue to public institutions as heretofore. The whole procedure appears to lie so simple that it is indeed remarkable to find the question assuming the importance it has. Parliament lias wasted some time discussing the situation—wasted because the discussion got nowhere, and matters arc as they were. The Minister and his Department must be writing no end of letters endeavouring to explain that they remain impotent in the matter. What would happen in a larger question it is fearful to contemplate, and meantime we can only marvel that the people endure this form of lack of administrative ability so quietly.