NEW SOUTH WALES TOTALISATOR COMMISSION.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 14292, 1 March 1912, Page 9

NEW SOUTH WALES TOTALISATOR COMMISSION.

, (FROM OVR OWS CORRSarONDEyT.) SYDNEY. Fc'r.ruarv 24. / The Totalisator Coromiesion has returned 1 fo Sydney, snd its members eoem to have been greatly impressed with what they saw in New _en/and. Ono of thorn, Mr Wilson, MLL.C, told an interviewer that tho racecourses at Auckland and Christchureh worn "not far behind Flemington," but averred that considerably more betting took p!o_o proportionately to population at any ordinary race meeting in Now Zealand than at the Melbourne Cup. Another member, Mr Levies, told a story which, whether true or not, has been- made tho most of by the humorous 1 writers and cartoonists hero, of Sunday school - and- Church meetings being regularly hold in ■ the jockeys* room of tho Dunedin raeoeonrse. That tho report of tho commission will bo in favour of the. totalisator ia regarded as a foregone conclusion. But thero may bo a minority 1 report. It is doubtful, .however, if either of tho recommendation ß of the_ commission, or tho evidence on which their conclusions will bo founded, will hove much effect one way or the other. The majority of the members of tho State Parliament are, it is said, firmly opposed to tho machine. They opposo it on tho eamplo ground that, whilo tho bookmsking system, with all its faults, tends rather •to restrict turf speculation, tho totalisator both facm* . t«U» and encoujages betting, and that it draws to raccoorirses and promotes tho gambling spirit among many, women and youths ircluded, who otherwise would profer' to follow- the slow but sure path to success In a life of industry and thrift. Others take the ' view that tho totnlisaor would' further enrich already wealthy racing clubs, nnd that 1 here would he no real reform in anolishing the bookmaker unless the Legislature wont still further and made betting by any method illegal.