BETTING AND ECONOMICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18730, 9 June 1924, Page 8

BETTING AND ECONOMICS.

VtEW OF THE CHURCHES.

EXTRA FACILITIES OPPOSED. i ["BY TELEGBAPH. —OWN' CORRESPONDENT.] CHKISTCHURCH. Saturday. Believing that the legislation promised for tho coming session of Parliament will considerably enlarge gambling facilities, the Council of Christian Congregations has circulated among 300 business men -a petition to Parliament urging that no further gambling facilities should be granted to racing or trotting clubs.. The council intends to follow the petition up with a. protest to Parliament. The copies of the petition are accompanied by the following letter, signed by Archbishop Julius, president, and the Rev. J. J. North, secretary, of the council: —

"The Prime Minister has intimated his intention to introduce legislation in the coming session which ■will very considerably enlarge gambling facilities. The restrictions at present imposed will be removed, and the number of race days considerably increased. We beliove that this country is-gambling a great deal too much already. The Government's intention is in the teeth of the finding of its own commission of experts set up a few years since. It is also a threat to the well-being' of the Dominion. We have already 455 more races per year titan Great Britain with its population of 50,000,000; our total is 2269. Our gamb-. ling figures have risen from. £2,000,000 to £8,000,000 in fourteen years. "We believe it is inimical to the prosperity and well-being of our country that any 'farther facilities should be granted. Restriction rather than extension seems to be demanded. We submit for your careful perusal a memo on the economic aspect of the question prepared by Professor Condlice, professor of economics, and signed by all the professors of that science in the University of New Zealand. We add an exact account of the gambling legislation to date, together -with the new proposals. We have secured from the Government Statistician information showing that during 1923, a total of 475 cases were dealt with in the Magistrate's Courts in respect of. offences relating to gambling, resulting in 262 summary convictions and four committals to the Supreme Court. As a business man you will appreciate the significance of these figures." Accompanying the letter is a memorandum on the economic aspects of racecourse gambling signed by Professors Condliffe, Murphy, Grossman and Woodthorpe.