THE DAY OF REST. GAMBLING. Rev. G B. Monro on the Totalisator, Church Lotteries, etc.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 196, 26 March 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE DAY OF REST. G A M B L I N G. Rev. G B. Monro on the Totalisator, Church Lotteries, etc.

Auckland, March 14. At the recent tneetiug of the Presbyterian Assembly at Wellington it was resolved that it was desirable for all ministers, oncea yeai* at least, to preach a sermon especially directed againßt the vice of gambling In accordance with this lecommendation Rev G. B. Monro, Moderator of the Assembly, preached a eermon on "Gambling " iv St. Luke's Church, Bemuera, on Sunday evening last. In the course of his remarks he said : — It haa to be acknowledged that hitherto, as a church, we have been somewhat indifferent as to the evil of gambling, which has been eating, like a caoker, into the very heart of Eociety. Here and there a voice haa been lifted up against it, but the sin has been spreading on every hand, carrying commercial and moral rain to hundreds The Church has been aeleop, or at least unwatchful in regard to this matter, and with regret, it must frankly be confessed, in some wajs we have been countenancing and foe tor ing the evil. Gambling has assumed euch gigantic proportions, especially in the colonies, that it must be faced and grappled with, as men do with the venomous adder. The General Assembly of tho Presbyterian Church of New Zealand hasr not hesitated to deal with the subject in a way which must commend itself to tLoee who are interested in the social and moral welfare of this land. The future of New Zealand will depend very much upon the character and practices of the preeent inhabitants. We are driving the piles on which the commercial, social and moral itructure must rest, and if wo are .not careful as to the foundation, what will be the consequences ? Anyone who has travelled over thia beautiful country, and observed its physical aspect?, and noted its untold resources, can see an application to New Zealand in the ancient description of Palestine—" A land of brooks of water, of fountain?, and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates, a land o! oil, olive and hooey ; a land wheiein thou shalt eat bread without ecarcenesp, thou shalt not lack anything in it ; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose bills thou mayept dig brags.' 1 But if we weaken our foundations and allow ovils to creep into our moral and social life, which may easily be crushed at present, we will find it true of nation?, as of individuals, " that tho way of tr»n°»ressorB is hard.' It was this which influenced the Assembly in its discussion and decision upon the terrible vice of gambling. If we examine one or two points we shall see how necessary was the finding of the Assembly :— " They recognised the enormity of the evils which in this new land stand in the way of the Chuich of Christ and the true welfare of the people, especially that they deplore the extent to which gambling. Sabbath desecration, and the lack of home religion prevail ; . . . . and further, in the honest belief that the sanction which has been given to gambling through the legalising of the totalisator has developed the spirit of gambling, and the actual practice of it, that they resolve to address to the Government a respectful remonstrance againßt the continuance of such sanction " That gambling h?s spread throughout the length and breadth of this laud, you can see wherever you go. As you pass through the country in the railway, you can see, in the neighbourhood of almost every town, however small, a race-couree ; while you can ecarcely open a newspaper without finding column upon column devoted to a description of this and that race. You can hardly travel any distance in a steamboat without seeing racehorses on board, and you certainly cannot close your ears to the animated conversation regarding thia race and that horae. Surely there are none so ignorant as to say that gambling and racing do not go hand in hand. I grant that horse-racing could exist without such, and certainly I am free to acknowledge that there is no eight more beautiful than the movements of a graceful and thoroughly well bred horse ; but how do matters stand at preeent? Do we find horse-racing without thegambling,ordo we find horse racing made attractive by the favourable opportunities given for gambling under the sheltering wing of legislation ? It is, to me, appalling to find the widespread nature of this curse. It is the besetting sin of thia new land. I noticed in one of our evening papers (the Star) a thoughtful and outspoken reference to this subject, and as it quotes the remarks ol a clergyman in the South ot New Zealand representing a sister denomination, let me read what was said : Preaching uponturf morality, he said that at the last Dunedin Cup meeting over £29,000 passed through the legalised gambling machine. No doubt this amount included sums staked many times over, bub if they took account of betting in other forms, the total would probably run up to Bcorea of thousands of pounde. Add together the money gambled on all the racecourses of the colony, and we geo a result truly appalling, probably not far short of a million exchanged in betting transactions on New Zealand races in a single year. Surely this is a fact which challenges everyone concerned for the thrift, prosperity, and moral health of the people. But the vice of gambling is not confined to thia colony. A religious periodical published in Melbourne stated som* time ago : —" Gambling is now an evil of appalling proportions. It is eating its way into the very core of society, working havoc and ruin. It culminates once a year, of course, in the week of the Cup Carnival. According to one paper the bets, in connection with various raceß at that season, must have reached the frightful total of £1,650,000." But the evil exists in the Homo country to such an extent that Christian ministers of all denominations havo been compelled to lift up a warning voice against it. Here is a quotation from the address of one

minister : - There are hundreds of young men here, I believe, who would not lay a bet of sixpence, because they know it to be wrong ; but the general conscience , of the community is grievoutly loose in this matter. Gambling enters into every department of life ; it permeates every branch of but-inef-s ; it poisons the secular Press ; it dcfilee the talk of the street. Ido not wonder that a person said to me lately: " When you have the ear of young men do warn them against this vice that is becoming so prevalent " What I have said will surely convince • the most sceptical that the evil of gambling is widespread. You find it wherever you travel. It is thrust upon you, do what you pleaEe to avoid it, lam inclined to think that gambling haa oftentimes its origin at the billiard-table. Go where you will, you find that the best roorae in hotels, as to eize, light, picturefl, and furniture, are tet apart for billiards, and when you glance ab the players >you find tbat the majority of them are young men, who are possibly apprentices, to their business and earning but email wages. This naturally makes one anxious and thoughtful. Bow many of our professional thieves and forgers began their downward course in the billiard rcom 2 Playing for small sums, it may be, and possibly losing, they have to steal or forge to maintain their passion for gambling. If you could write the history of many crimes, and many bankruptcies, you would possibly find their beginning in the small and fancied innocent stakes at the billiardtable. I have heard of young men, who were only in their teens, and earning only small wages, entering hotels in this city and suburbs, and staking large sums of money in billiards ! It is not uncharitable to ask : how did they get the money ? But the practice of gambling, probably, in many cases, originated and fostered in the billiard-room, naturally gravitates to the turf, v here it assumes a more exciting form and more gigantic proportions. Try and calculate, it you can, the evils that flow from gambling. Drinking, business disaster, embezzlement, be^gaiy, ruined home*, blasted careers, black deppair, self destruction—these form the dark catalogue of evils which, in numerous inbtances, flow direct from this source. Fnm the north to the south of ]Nesv Zealand, you hear business men complaining of hard times. You aru told of hundreds out of employment But does this commercial depression affect the attendance and expenditure on the racecourse? It appeaie to mo that, in proportion to decreaee of lawful tiade, is the increase of such practices Just as crime and vice grew in intensity in France as the Revolution developed, so do you find the spirit of pleasure and gambling grow in proportion to the growth of hard tirnee in business. Now, what mufct be the outcome of all thib unnece&sary excitement and extravagance 2 VVill it bo the moral and social elevation of thepeoj.k-? Surely not. Ap gambling springs out of the loweat passions in human nature, ana blunts all the tiner feelings of humanity, it will lead, unless crushed and suppressed, to indolence and dishonesty. Ifc will poison all the avenues of commerce. It will make us a weak and indolent people. I solemnly believe that the legalising of tho totalisator, instead of decreaeing, haa been increasing the vice of gambling. It has led the thoughtless to suppose that the sanction of law must mean that the practico is right. It further leads many to risk their money, under the impression that it will be protected. The former customs of gambling were so uncertain that the more cautious were wary and careful in ttaking their money ; bujj the totalisator seems to give justice and security, and under this delusion they are tempted to risk more. But tho frightful ecenea and scandals so frequently described by the Press connected with the totalieator, show that it haa proved the means of increasing the evils of gambling. It was eaid the other day by a writer in the Evening Star that nine-touths of all the horse-racing swindles are rendered possible by the totaliaator. If thi.-a bo the caae, there is urgept need for an immediate remonstrance being forwarded to the Government against its continuance. But I cannot close without a reference to some of the practices which receive encouragement from the Church. \ Theie was a time when I could not gee any evil in rallies and bazaars. The end in view — tho liquidation of church debt — blinded as to the principle involved. But since I have studied the subject more carefully, I have come to see that the principle of lotterios and bazaars is the fame as that manifested on the racecourse, and that, if we are to be in a position to protest and condemn tbo evils of gambling, we must keep our hands clean in the matter. The argument that poisons receive sn equivalent in church lottories is a mere quibble, for the same spirit of speculation is developed as when men place their money in the totalisator. If bazaars were conducted on ordinary business- principles, i.c. t an equivalent given for the money spent, they would be freo from all censure, and might do good, nut only in securing money, but in bringing members of a church together in a social capacity. In the interests, then,of the rising generation, ia the interests of commercial and social purity, in the interests of our common Christianity, let us personally and collectively do what wo can to suppress the fascinating and grovying vice of gambling. Let us speak out plainly against it, Let us demand the suppression of the totalisator. Let us by example and precept warn the young against the practice. That it is destructive to public morals and highly detrimental to the spiritual and eternal interests ot those who give way to it, the histories of the " gambling hells " iv Europe, such as Monaco and Monto Carlo, sufficiently prove. In our vmious spheres as citizens, and members oi! the Church, let us emphatically expose, condemn, and shun the demoralising practice of gambling, and let us use our utmost elforts to encourage and develop 11 that righteousness which ever exalts a nation,"

In tha present day how can youeay.a thing «rf of more importance than what you say? For while most people have bodoo sort ol an ear for harmony, very few have sufficient brains to judge of the quality of your speech.