PARLIAMENT. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Yesterday's Sitting.

Evening Post, Volume LVI, Issue 74, 24 September 1898, Page 2

PARLIAMENT. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Yesterday's Sitting.

LOCAL BILL. The Onohunga Cemetery Bill was passed through Committee without amendment aud read a third time. NATIVE LAND BILL. The Native Land Laws Amendment Bill, dealing with the fees on transfers and trusts, was passed through Committee with the amendments suggested by the Native Affairs Committee. GAMING AND LOTTERIES. In moving the second reading of the Gaming and Lotteries Act Amendment Bill the Minister for Education said that gambling seemed to be an almost universal vice in the colony, even churches indulging in it for raising funds. He was not prepared to defend the morality of the State iv legalising the totalisator, although that was a more iunoouou 1 ' form of gambling. The object of the Bill was to give increased powers for suppressing the worst forms of the vice, such as street betting. Greater facilities also were provided for detecting .and suppressing the abuses in existeuce. The Hon. Mr. Bonar agreed with giving the police increased powers, but doubted whether they were not being carried too far in the Bill ; as an instance, he quoted the clause where a police warniug was to constitute presumption of. knowledge by owners of gaming houses. The Hon. Mr. Bowen heartily approved the principle of the Bill, which struck at a grievous danger to the young. He protested against the Minister's reference to the churches. A mere harmless raffle was not really gambling. Gambling was risking what a man could not afford in order to make money out of it. Cant must be eliminated from all consideration of the question, and the Bill seemed to treat the evil in a sensible way. The Hon. Mr. Jones supported the Bill, but considered the police were remiss in suppressing gambling. He also thought it iucousisfceut for a Government that licensed the totalisator to introduce measures to suppress other forms of the same vice, and protested against the ohuroh raffles being called gambling. The lion. Mr. Lee Smith approved the Bill as a step in the right direction., and pointed out the evils of " tote-betting," which gave an advantage to the bookmaker, who watched the machine at the course, over the ignorant backer who had laid money with him. A system of licensed bookmakers like Tattersail's at Home would be much better. He would be sorry to see racing deprived of the revenue that came from those who lost and could afford to lose. The Hon. Mr. M'Lean strongly opposed the idea of re-introducing bookmakers instead of the totalisator. The street betting was a nuisauce, but the stringent regulations of the Bill would need consideration. The Hon. Mr. W. C. Smith' thought the Bill might deal with the billiard saloons, which were frequently places for betting and illicit drinking. They did a lot of harm to young people, especially in country towns. The police had no powers now to stop these saloons, and they were such a nuisance that they ought to be put down. The Hon. Mr. Jennings considered the totalisator was responsible for the increase of gambliug. He agreed that street betting should be suppressed, but feared that the Bill placed too much power in the hands of constables. The Hon. Mr. Jeukinson also protested against the powers of arrest given to the police, more especially as the clause in question practically precluded bail being taken. The Hon. Captain Morris considered the power given to constables monstrous, and thought there was a lot of hypocrisy about •this kind of legislation. The Hon. Mr. Walker explained that he had no desire to talk cant or pedantry about church gambling, but he did think the State had taken a very grave responsibility in adopting the totalisator, that had familiarised all sexes and sections with gambling. The churches were to blame for countenancing even innocent gambling. If they preached against the vice they should use every effort to break down the gambling habit of the country. v The Bill was then read a second time without dissent. TRAMWAYS ACT AMENDMENT. The Minister for Education explained the provisions of the Bill, which made a slight amendment in the existing law as to local bodies giving their consent to certain arrangements. The Bill was read a second time without division. SEPARATE INSTITUTIONS BILL. The Minister for Education, in moving the second reading, said he had no desire to press the Bill through Committee until the separate institutions of the colony had had an opportunity of expressing an opinion upon it. The existing machinery for the election of trustees was defective, and the measure before the Council proposed to amend it. The Minister then sketched the state of affairs before the Act of 1885, and the changes in the charitable institutions of the colony made by that measure, with a view to explaining the position of separate institutions. He thought those institutions should either maintain their voluntary contributions or revert to the District Boards. The real way to deal with the charitable institutions of the colony was by Local Government reform, but as there was no immediate prospect of a large measure being carried this Bill had been introduced to deal with an urgent reform. The proportion of representation on the body of Trustees was devised to keep up a live interest on the part of contributors. The Hon. Mr. W. C. Smith did not object to the Bill, but he protested against the attempts to patch up the Local Government of the colony when promises had been given repeatedly of a consolidated Local Government Bill. ggThe Hon. Mr. M'Cullough objected to the clause empowering the Charitable Aid Board to close up an institution whose subscriptions fell below £100. An institution's usefulness could not be judged by the amount of its subscriptions. Hawkes Bay, Nelson, Grey, South Canterbury, Thames, and Coromandel had each subscribed voluntarily less than £100 last year. The reason of the falling-off was that there was now a general rate, and private persons therefore did not see why they should pay twice over — to the rates and to the subscriptions". He also added his protest against piecemeal Local Government legislation, and disliked the Bill being brought in to meet a particular case like the Waimate dispute. The debate was adjourned to Tuesday next, The Council adjourned at 4.30 p.m.