The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1885. A FOOLISH MEASURE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2136, 3 November 1885, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1885. A FOOLISH MEASURE.

The Gaming and Lotteries Act passed last session, and which came into force i on the first of this month, must be put down as a very foolish measure. It is the outcome of an attempt at legislation by persons who did not know even the bare outlines of the subject they were handling, They knew there was a disease, and on that knowledge they undertook to cure the patient, They differed from the quack only in so far that they could not kill their subject, although they could make him a great deal worse. That tliey have done more harm than good is an undeniable fact. It is not our object at present to discuss the sweep question from its moral aspect. Sweeps may do a great deal of harm, or they may not. What we wish to do is to point out that the new Act does not prevent people from going into sweeps at all. It is true that persons getting up sweeps in New Zea-

land are liable to prosecution, and that they cannot now be advertised in the newspapers published in the colony. If that were the full position of the matter, the object of the measure would be gained. But it is just there where the weak point lies, and we shall be able to show that tho colony will be a loser by the new law. It is stated that several hundreds of thousands ot pounds were invested in sweeps last year, and it is perfectly fair to assume that the very great bulk of this sum remained in the colony, While there are means to gamble people will always be found to indulge in it, Being unable to buy tickets openly in the colony, they will send their money to New South Wales, where sweeps are not forbidden, Perhaps the amount invested will not be so large as formerly, but the percentage that is deducted by the promoter will remain in New South Wales, and never come back to New Zealand. While a neighboring colony permits this form of speculating on horse-racing, it is bound to draw a considerable sum of money anunally, and the cure is therefore worse than the disease, because a portion of the money drawn is absolutely lost, Various cures haue been suggested, but while the law is New South ,Wales remains as at present, none of them would prove effective. It would have been far better if Parliament hud decided to license promoters, or to charge stamp duty on all tickets sold, as by that means the money would be kept in the colony. It may be argued that the bulk of the people will not know the addresses of promoters in Sydney. This is a great mistake, There is nothing in the Act to prevent any person from advertising his address. We may mention that" Robin Hood," one of the best known promoters in New Zealand, lias already intimated that it is his intention to take up his residence in Sydney, and that he calculates on the continued patronage of his friends in New Zealand. Others will undoubtedly follow the example. We shall thus find the business almost as flourishing as ever, the only difference being that the centre of operations will not be in this colpny,