Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1895. BIG SWEEPS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5181, 14 November 1895, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1895. BIG SWEEPS.

The N.Z. Times laments that big sweeps and gigantic lotteries are subjected in New Zealand to heavy , penalties and driven out as a tiling accursed. They are themselves very much in the nature of a thing accursed as they offer to the public temptations to gamble, and we do not : seo how even our Wellington contemporary can prove gambling to be . other than a vice, It is true that it , often presents comparatively harm- ] I less features, but many a man alluied ' . by such innocent aspects has cventu- ' ■ ally found his career blasted by ' over indulgence in its deceptive ' ■ chances. In matters like these it is ! not for the State to be the tempter I . by licensiug big consultations and \ '. giant lotteries. If, as many believe, "righteousness exalteth a nation," tho State must keep its hands abso- : lutely puro in matters of this kind. \ • We are well aware that thousands of • ! men who claim to bo on the side of 1 morality do invest in chances of this < kind, and as far as they are concerned ■ the matter rests between them aud ' their consciences. It is exceedingly : prohablo that in very many instances j they do somo slight wrong to their , , better selves when they embark in , , such ventures. But it is undeniable I . that the number of investors is in i : proportion to the facilities given for i i such investments, and under these ' circumstances the State which says ' , we will give no such facilities is ' morally right, and tho State which \ , says wo will license aud tax such ] ' speculations ismorally wrong, This ' ; moral right is stigmatised by our < Wellington contemporary as "owlish ; stupidity" and is arraigned as being ' not up to date. It is true that in 1 New Zealand a still more evil form ' i of investment is tolerated, viz., the totalisator, but two wrongs do not make one right and because the d State sins on the turf there is no ' reason why it should extend the ] scope of its legalised gambling. < Twenty years ago a niodost half- ' crown was the common venture of ' the ordinary speculator on a ■ racecourse, but the totalisator j ; has increased this half-crown to ( 1 a pound and multiplied l'aoq- ] ! courso gambling ten-fold in the j community. The time is not far i i distant when this form of investment i i will be swopt away by the legislature, ; 1 Women's voles will influence the '. , Colony for good in matters of this p r kind. Of course it is idle to expect : t that gambling will become obsolete j ' in a colony like this, but we do antici- , pate that the broad of i whether the State is for or against i all forms of gambling will sooner or '' 1 later be decided in the negative,