FINDING REVENUE

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 July 1920, Page 6

FINDING REVENUE

SUGGESTED STATE LOTTERY,

WHAT SYDNEY THINKS

CHURCHES’ VIGOROUS VIEWS

SYDNEY, JULY 13

Among the expedients that have been suggested for raising the money which Mr. Storey’s hard pressed Government needs so badly just now comes one which is quite new to this country. This expedient is the establishment of a State lottery.

Inquiries made by a “Telegraph” reporter show that representatives of the churches are nearly all against it, and against it with every ounce of their weight. There is, however, an outstanding exception in the Roman Catholic Church, which, since it allows lotteries among its adherents for charitable purposes, cannot very well object to them elsewhere. This, at any rate, was the point of view expressed by Father Moynagh, Administrator of St. Mary’s Cathedral. “Provided a State lottery were conducted properly, we should not be against it,” said Father Moynagh.

“AN ABOMINABLE SCHEME.’

The opinions on the other side are full of vigour. “An abominable scheme!” says, for instance, that prominent Presbyterian, Rev. John Ferguson. “I am utterly opposed to :t on principle. It would be playing down to the baser instincts of the people. Additional taxation the* alternative ? Let them tax our bodies, and leave our souls alone!”

The Church of England, in the person of Archdeacon D’Arcy Irvine, commisssary for the Archbishop of Sydney, is not less definite. “The gambling spirit,” says lie, “attacks and weakens the spirit of industry. It is the Government’s business to encourage the spirit of industry. ■ It is not its business to exploit gambling for the sake of supposed gain.” While another Presbyterian, Professor R. G. Maclntyre, declares that State lotteries have been in the main the refuge of fifthrate countries and discredited Governments, and that the’r introduction "H land Australia in moral bank-

ruptcy. The business men of the city are not cvfite so unanimous or quite so outspoken. It is true that those ap preached yesterday, did object to the idea of a State lottery, and some very strongly. For instance, the president of the Employers’ Federation, Mr. William Brooks. M.L.C. said: “We had better leave such schemes alone until we are so hard up that we cannot get money in any other way. “I am not prepared to say anything about increased taxation. But Ido say that we have not yet arrived at a stage at which it is necessary to hold a lottery to provide the Government with money for administration.” «r ECONOMY THE REAL NEED. Mr. Brooks’ objection is not so much on moral grounds. It is rather that he considers it “almost degrading for a community such as ours to admit that it is necessary to take such a means of raising money.”

Still, one or Gtn leading "business men, though personally opposed to the idea, did not care yesterday to bind themselves publicly without further ■consideration, and it is known that there is an element which "sees no harm whatever in the proposal, and another, though no doubt a small one, which would prefer anything, if it became necessary to choose, to increased taxation.

The general opinion among those spoken to, however, appeared to be to this effect':. —

“Stiite lotteries are bad. They are affairs of last resort. We do not need them, nor do we need additional taxation either. What we need is economy, economy in which the State and Federal Governments must lead the way, but in which we all must follow. Given that, and there will be no difficulty about paying our bills. But if, on the other hand, we go on as we have been doing, the taxpayer carrying on his back undertakings that don t pay, costly machinery introduced with the object of performing impossibilities, commissions whose reports are pigeon-holed, and departments swelled to an unnatural size—then it will take more than a lottery to get us ort of our difficulties.”

STATEMENT BY PREMIER. The Premier, referring to the views of clergymen and others, concerning the suggested State lottery, said: > “When the old Labour Government some*years ago proposed to introduce the totalisator practically every clergyman in New South Wales held up his hands in horror that a Government would descend to the depths of the medium of gambling to raise revenue, and this fact probably weakened the attitude of the Government concerned ; but it seems remarkable that when the Nationalist Government, almost as soon as it got into office, legalised the totalisator, what was immoral if done by a Labour Government became perfectly moral when done by a National ist Government. “Now, when someone suggests a State lottery, the people who originally raised a protest against the totalisator are again to the fore. “So far the- Government has not in any way officially discussed a State lottery, but if the occasion the adoption of such a means of rais ing revenue we ore not likely to be influenced by gentlemen who see virtue in one and immorality in another.”