POSTING BETTING CARDS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 224, 10 February 1913, Page 5

POSTING BETTING CARDS.

Per Press Association. i-~i Christehurch, Last Night. The Hon. R. Heaton Rhodes, Post-master-General, arrived from Wellington to-day. and leaves by the first express to-morrow for Dunedin, via Queenstown and Mount Cook. In an interview, the Minister referred to an article in a local newspaper alleging that the Postmaster is aiding and abetting bookmakers in offering incitements to young men to gamble on horse races by delivering betting cards posted by bookmakers. Mr. Rhodes said that undoubtedly, by section 28 of the Post and Telegraph Act, 19,08, the Postmaster-General has the right to prevent the delivery of correspondence to any person, either in New Zealand or abroad, who, lie lias reasonable grounds to suppose, is engaged in receiving any. money as consideration for assurance, expressed or implied, to pay money on any event relating to a horse race. That is to say, shortly, who is engaged in betting. That betting cards are sent ■ through the post is a matter of common knowledge to the postmaster and his officers. If these betting cards are sent in open envelopes they are open to the scrutiny of a postmaster, who then may reasonably be supposed to' be at liberty to take action in regard to them, allowed and prsoribed by section 30 of the Act. When the cards are enclosed in envelopes, then the Post Office is in a different position. Apart from the fact that presumably postal officers have. FlO means of ascertaining the contents of closed postal packets, the PostmasterGeneral deprecates in his officers any system of prying or espionage in respect even of open packets, and officers are expected to,' and are accustomed, only to challenge such breaches of the law as their usual duty, discharged in the usual way, makes them cognisant of. The fact of an infraction of the provisions of the law and of coming under the animadversion of section 28 of the Act becomes a matter of legal proof, generally on the part of the persons outside the Post Office. When such proof is offered-to the. Postmaster-General he is under the, necessity of taking notice of it. In any case.the matter has again to be referred « to- the Solicitor-General with a view of ascertaining what, if any, responsibility the Postmaster-General has to take further action.