CLEAN SPORT.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 256, 16 October 1911, Page 3

CLEAN SPORT.

TOTE v. BOOKMAKER. SIT: JOHN FINDLAY'S VIEWS. Sir John Findlay had something to iay last week at Renmera upon the racing question. The matter came .ip in the form of a query from an -lector present, who wanted to know vh.-it the Minister thought of the iction of the Auckland Racing Club n ''refusing to allow respectable nen on the course at Ellerslie be•atise they had at one tune been icokmakers or bookmakers’ clerks ' Sir John said he was not sorry the pu-stion had been asked. When the Gaming Act was placed on the Statite Book it became his duty, as a Minister, to administer the law. He rifd to carry out that administra. ion as fairly as possible. Previous o the act of 1910 the existing legislation permitted the licensing of lockmakers. and hi- had taken the itand that it was the duty of the racing clubs to carry out tb.e spirit jf the law, since they had the lower to issue licenses to bookmakers upon payment of certain fees. >Vhen he spoke of the spirit of the 'aw lie referred particularly to that >ortion of it which stipulated that inch licenses should only lie issued o “fit and proper persons.” The •acing clubs, had deliberately tried to ■>ring' that legislation into discredit iy admitting anyone to the course ■.itbovt due regard to the character >f the person applying for a bcoknakers’ license. It was clearly a ight between those who wanted the ote and those who wanted the booknaker. When last year’s amending egislation was before Parliament he vas told that he was the champion md the protector of the bookmaker n New Zealand. He said lhen that ie thought they should end the vho’.e fight, between the bookmaker md tote. Now that the legislation vas on the Statute Book he was prepared to stand by it. If an ex. >ookmaker sought to exercise the ■ights of a decent citizen, and attend i race meeting, he thought that man ■ad a perfect right to do so. (Ap_ ilause). He was not against the ibolition of the tote, and never had >een. But he was opposed to the •vils which were to be found associaed with racing. There w-as no tronger advocate of clean sport han himself, and at the same time ■o stronger opponent of the evils vhich had grown up in the spheres if sport. (Applause).