INDIAN LOTTERIES

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 3615, 25 November 1924, Page 7

INDIAN LOTTERIES

ORIGIN OF CALCUTTA SWEEP

Up to 1844 lotteries were legal m India, and those who participated in them were not liable to penalties, or deemed worthy of being classed as “ rogues and vagabonds.” It is interesting to note that when the British Parliament decided to suppress every kind of lottery in which there was “ a distribution of prizes by lot or by chance,” they made a notable exception. This exception (states the ‘ Englishman ) was made in the case of art unions which were permitted to be conducted by certain recognised societies with the express object of distributing works of art. A close study of the records of the British East India Company, the files of newspapers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and books describing the social life of the British traders, would reveal a wonderful variety of objects for which lotteries used to be run. The range of objects covered by the lottery system of the past includes both public and private benefactions, religious and secular, and articles of little as well as great value. A few instances may be quoted. Several public lotteries are recorded as having been held with the object of raising funds which would now ordinarily be regarded as having a just claim on Government or local authorities. In 1805 the Calcutta Town Hall lotterv was advertised under the patronage of His Excellency the Governor-General in Council. It was stated in the advertisement that “ as the profits arising from the present lottery will be inadequate for completing the public edifice proposed to be constructed, a lottery will be offered annually to the public, under the same sanction and superintendence, until the requisite funds shall have been provided.” This lottery appears to have continued for at least four years, and the proportion of money given "to the public scheme was about onetenth of the total paid in. In the last year the sum amounted to 75,000 rupees. Another public object which would naturally appear to come within the province of the municipal authorities was realised in Calcutta by this method. In order that certain improvements might be carried out in the city of Calcutta a huge lottery, at least, so it would seem in those days, was organised, and the sum of one lakh was to be given as the first prize and 50,000 rupees as second prize. It would be interesting to know' whether there is any detailed account in the. archives of the Calcutta Corporation of the use to which the surplus thus raised was put. It w r as stated in the advertisement that it would be devoted to the repair of roads, the formation of public squares, the conservancy of the town, and the erection of public buildings. Were these projects carried out, and do any remain as a memorial of the great lottery P Not so straightforward, or shall we say generous, was the action of the authorities in Madras in connection with the public lotteries raised by a private enterprise for the support of several important charitable institutions in that city. With the object of assisting the charities in connection with St. Mary’s Church, Madras, a small committee launched a lottery scheme in 1795. The local Government of that time, while readily giving its consent, thought it was not an opportunity to be lost, and added a condition that a certain proportion of the profits should be ear-marked for the repair of the roads and the bridges in the city. It is difficult to see the connection between the charities and the repairs to roads and bridges. Naturally in a country where lotteries w’ere legal and popular, and supported by Government, large numbers of private lotteries were arranged. A study of the files of old newspapers w r ould bring to light some very interesting cases. It could scarcely be considered in the light of “ art interests ” that the famous European painter Daniell, whose work on Indian subjects is well known, arranged for a sale of a largo number of paintings made in the chief cities of North India. The scheme was 150 chances, and the price of each ticket was 250 rupees. A prize was to be given to each purchaser, but the first prize was valued at 1,200 rupees. Daniell was in financial difficulties, and knowing that there was a demand for his pictures by many who could not afford to pay the market prices, be followed the custom frequently adopted for the disposal of expensive goods. Lotteries also were held for the disposal of diamonds of great value, estates in England owned by residents in India who wft lied to dispose of them, coaches, expensive books, specimens of British arts, and certain businesses. A system so popular as the lottery was sure to be used by private individuals with unlawful aims, and cases are recorded of prosecution of people attempting to obtain money on false pretences. An enterprising ■mntleman advertised a lottery “ for the relief of a distressed family.” One is always suspicious of attempts to obtain money for necessitous cases when they are prefaced by a short sermon on the duties of the public toward these distressed ones. , lu this case, we should not be far out if we concluded that the “ distressed family ” consisted principally of himself. The benevolent, charitable, and generous public were frequently appealed to on these humane grounds, but if such appeals did not prove successful, it was largely due to the fact that the contributors were keen to gain a prize of value at little cost.