THE BOOKMAKER AND THE LAW.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18324, 14 February 1923, Page 3

THE BOOKMAKER AND THE LAW.

Sir,— fully appreciate ,i>nd admit the truth of the line of reasoning adopted by Mr. Urquh?rt in the (natter of_; the development of the public , and individual conscience, tut a fact which I think seems 1 to have been overlooked is this, that within certain limiti the public conscience, which in thes J democratic days is the State conscience, naturally keeps pace more or less with the individual conscience. Therefore, as the general terms of "the or?ith of allegiance merely bind a man down to loyalty to the State which he is serving, it is obvious that he will not' be expected to perform any duties which are against the public conscience, because after all the State and the public are one and the same thing. As the object of the oath is to protect the State .from the underhand machinations of its enemies, it is patent that it is not considered that the services of its loyal servants are any the more sincere by reason of their having taken the* oath, but as secret enemies of the State naturally do not disclose their hand, it is obvious that the oath must be administered to every one without discrimination, the re?l value of. it being that it gives the State a legal claim to proceed against those of its servants who may be discovered working against it. The sincerity of Mr. Burton and_ other gentlemen homing the same point of view in desiring a conscience clause to be inserted in the oath of allegiance ; is not don I ted for one moment, but at the same , time their attitude does not appear to be logical. As previously stated, it must be presumed that the public conscience is really a summation of. the individual consciences but it is also realised that particular individual con sciences may differ fundamentally from the public conscience. Who is to say whether this difference is .for the better or worse? It seems _ to be purely ; a matter of personal opinion and therefore the insertion of a conscience clause would appear to defeat the whole object of the oath of allegiance. Therefore, let Mr. Burton or any other gentleman take the oath of allegiance and then if called upon to perform some duty which conflicts with their conscience, take the only .logical course, that of resigning their positions. It is not only illogical but absurd to imagine that because a man s conscience has advanced or differs from the public conscience, the public should still pay him a salary and grant him liberty to inculcate ideas in their children s mine's which are considered to be against the best interests of the State, for, as we have said tefore, the correctness of one's conscientious : opinions? is sy estimated against the consensus of public : opinion. ■ .;•:■ • ... . ..GUM7.T4

Sir;—A man" 'has been put into prison for . two months "for making i book; It is a pity that , the person, or , that section of the community responsible; for this i most outrageous law, is .iot also imprisoned.' The;' tyranny of racing clubs, ; their presidents, and the presidents of racing • conferences, >; should be stamped out. . The entire com- ? munity, from members of Parliament : wards, or upwards, insist on having a bet if they want to, and yet in New Zealand the person the bet is made with is made a prison criminal. All England has a bet on the Derby. All; Australia has a bet on the Melbourne Cup. The bookmakers of both , countries . are there, and are respected sportsmen, good citizens, ' good husbands, and men who give largely to various institutions. Their word is their bond. A law thai will put a mar into prison for making a bet, reflects no credit upon the statesmen of this country, and is a very - big offence to the freedom of people living under the British flag. C.B.