THE TOTALISATOR. ATTEMPTS AT REGULATION.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 366, 8 May 1889, Page 6

THE TOTALISATOR. ATTEMPTS AT REGULATION.

Auckland, May 31 Dr. Giles, R. M. , has received the following circular from the Colonial Secretary with regard to the totalisator :—: — The attention of the Government has been drawn to the evils which attend the excensive use of the totalisator ab race-meet-ings all over the colony. It would almost seem as if no amount of added money could be too small, the population of no district could be too sparse, no meeting could be too insignificant, to obtain a license to use the instrument. As by section 46 of the Gaming and Lotteries Act, 3881, the question of whether a license should be granted or not is made to depend upon the recommendation ot the Senior Resident Magistrate of the principal town of the provincial district in which the racing club is established, lam inettucted to suggest for your consideration that, in all cases of reference to you, it would be advisable that you should, in making your reporb and recommendation, take into consideration the following points :—: — 1. The applications .should in all cases be endorsed by the recommendation of the stewards of the Metropolitan Racing Club. 3. The races should be held under the rules of the Metropolitan Club. 2. The amount of public money added to stakes should never be les3 than £100 ab any meeting. 4. L censes should never be given to use the tobalisalor at a pony race, a a trotting race, or hack race meeting ; nor at a meeting proposed to be held in an isolated place, where the sin rounding population is not sufficiently large to furnish a tolerably numerous attendance at the meeting. 5. License to use totalisator should not be given to any club, other than the Metropolitan Club, for more than three meetings in a year. 6. Each recommendation should be for a specific occasion, and not in general terms, for meetings to be held under the auspices of any club. The Colonial Secretary quite recognises that in such a case as this, where the responsibility of making a recommendation is thrown by law upon a specified officer, it is not within the right of a Minister to fetter that officer with particular instructions as to how his statutory duty should be performed ; but the Government are of opinion that it is desirable that uniformity of action should characteriee the practice in reference to these licenses, and that the existing state of the morals of the turf will probably be improved by an observance, on the part of oflicers charged with the duty of recommending the issuoof licenses, of the principles ombodied in thcjrules above indicatod.