THE GAMBLING EVIL.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 272, 16 November 1910, Page 5

THE GAMBLING EVIL.

.. . Airo.ITSXHIBP : CAUSB;v-i'-HON: EINOLAY WOUIiD GO.'PAtt. . " . " ■ / ' ' <By. Telegraph.—Press , l A:teodntKin.) -. WELLINGTON, Tuesday,. The debate on the second reading-;ttf the Gaming Bill was resumed in tlie Legislative Council this evening. .... .""„:::% ■•;'!£' ' Sir George McLean said he thought the totalizator permits should be left as ar present. The reduction of racing days would probably mean thait 100 clubs" would'gp wit of existence; He condemned the clause inserted in the Lower House, instructing .the commissioners ito.-fiive 'preference to' clubs tioldin-g one day's racing'only 41 year; in xJie matter of the Issue-of itotalliator"' permits. He ventured to say rthat in ap'country ia .the world <was racing so clean as in Sew. Zealand. J . : • , The Hon. C. SI. I/uke, .the Hon. O. Samuel, and the Hon. W. C. 1\ Carncross also spoke on tie bill. The Attorney-General,. .In reply, said it ■would- be something savouring of, cant to attempt to deny that the two outstanding evils .threatening the demoraUaartion: of Sew. Zealand to-day were drink and gambling, and that the chief cause of gambling .was horseracing. "If I had-my way," said Dr. Findlay, "I-would go a . long I way., in .the direction: of abolishing it altogether." It was bin. belief that the time, would'"come when the peoMe at lai-ge would make their voices heard in 'this maifcter in nouncertain Tvay. :The t>lll was the first • step: towards that goal. One day the evil would surely, tic eradicated, root and branch. He had only one term to apply to tlie arguments 'brought forward by ithe apologists for racing clufes. The section of the. law dealing <w*th racing clubs. 'had been administered by the clubs most abominably. They had ended, as they had begun, in hypocrisy. The' Intent of the law .was expressed in words so plain that any ma-n could-see what was meant, and it was merely playing with. ■words to use It as the clubs tod done. The clubs said it forced them .to license.bookmakers, tout he held tfhat in.Bo, per cent of the cases they could have refused licenses ihad they wished to do so.. :At the very first (the clubs' attitude was one of deliberate obstruction. Tie nest scene in this miserable business was that any 'blackguard; who liked to offer a. club £20, even if lie ,had only come out of gaol the night before, could get a license with ease. Was that ithe way to deal with the thing? No; it was a. deliberate attempt from start to finish to thiw-art the intent of the section, and If the clubs had managed ito bring discredit upon it ther had also brought discredit u-pon themselves. Before the dubs vow asked for further consideration for their so-called sport ttrey sliouM Jiare seen *t> It dJi-at they, carried out the law dealing -with it. As for -the proposed commission,' the Government was not going to give it or any body the Tight to increase an evil <wMch they were seeking to reduce. He ; did not thins : amendments made 'by the House in the Mil were in ail respects wise, and. he intended to ask the Council to change some of the provisions inserted there. j mie second reading .wafl agreed to.