BY WHOSE AUTHORITY?

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2752, 22 April 1916, Page 2

BY WHOSE AUTHORITY?

»Sir,—While travelling from Wanganui to-day by the New Plymouth to Wellington express,'l and two companions wore approached: by the gudrd, and asked to'buy tickets , for an art union lottery. ' On bur refusal and'our telling him we did not gamble, he'-.excused himself, by laying "it was for tho wounded soldiers. ' We do not object assisting wouridbd soldiers who are in need, but we strongly object to resort being had to tho demoralising practice of gambling for such a purpose. I may say'one of ray cbmpaniohsl was a soldier now recovering from an illness, and, as a Christian, he, of course, ig opposedto gambling. , The question I desire to ask is, By whoso authority, is a railway guard allowed to ask passengers to engage in a lottery F It bjj authority of the > Government, then this/ ie an instance of the failure on the part of the • Government to do their duty. It is also an instance of a broken-pro* , mise ou their part. As long- ago .aa September 14, tho Minister of Internal Affairs wrote to tho convener of ,tha •' Lifo and Work Committee of the Presbyterian Church ."that while raffles \fon patriotic ..purposes then under action may be completed, no further raffle/ will be allowed, aud the Police Departs ment has been instructed accordingly.'* Will the Government be true to thir solemn promise, and instruct the policy to take action against railway selling raffling tickots, or is their pro* mise of no more value than a promise of the Gorman Government—"a scrap, of paper," and nothing more?—l am. etc.. JAMES WILSON. Turakina, April 15, 191(3.