Truth GAMBLING ON THE WHARF.

NZ Truth, Issue 120, 5 October 1907, Page 4

Truth

GAMBLING ON THE WHARF.

PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY MORNING AT LUKE'S LANE (OFF MANNERSSTREET), Wellington, N.Z. SUBSCRIPTION (IN ADVANCE), 13S. PER ANNUM.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1907,

That irrepressible priest, the Rev. J. J. North, has been making himself conspicuous again by his unutterably silly and totally unwarranted attack upon the members of the Wellington Harbor Board. At a meeting of the Council of Churches (some of the churches), the rev. gent, said that gambling was carried on on the wharf and that when the Harbor Board had been approached upon the subject, that august body had treated the deputation m a very cavalier fashion. It appears that the Board didn't do anything of the sort, but that is a mere detail, to a man like North. He thought they did, and what North thinks, is, m North's opinion, gospel truth. The Chairman of the Board, the Hon. T. K. McDonald, brought the matter up at Friday's meeting of the Board, when MiFerguson, the secretary, handed m the' following report:—

"I am not aware that the matter has ever been brought under the notice of the Harbor Board by deputation. I presume the shed referred to is the waiting-room, where under an agreement settled under an award of the Arbitration Court men for employment on or about the shipping and wharves are engaged. This room is situated on the upper floor of the X store, and is under the care of an employee of the Board, who has strict orders to prevent any gambling. Some time ago my attention was drawn to a rumor that notwithstanding these instructions gambling did take place m the waiting-room. • • ' . . "Under date July 30th, I wrote to the Inspector of Police drawing attention to the matter, and seeking to learn whether a police constable could be detached to be on duty m the room from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on six days m the week, the duties of such constable to be to prevent, gambling and keep order, and asking, if such arr rangements could be made, whether any charge would ne made to the Board for the services rendered.

"The Inspector of Police replied on the 2nd August, stating that •it was quite impossible to spare a man for such a service apart from the question as to whether the police should undertake such work ; that he had given instructions to the constables on day duty on the wharves to visit the waiting-room as often as their numerous other duties would permit, to keep a check on any unlawful games being' played or disorderly conduct taking place, and thereby assist the Board's officers. "I would point out to you that it is nearly impossible to prevent men gambling if they desire . to do so, as action was taken by the police m respect of a number of men whu were playing two-up m one of the public latrines situated on the Board's premises. I understand that they were unable to prove their case, and the men were not convicted.

"The Board's officers have constantly drawn the attention of the police to congregations of men on reclaimed lands, where it was believed that two-up and other gambling games were being indulged m. "I am of opinion tnat m respect to the waiting-room this matter has been greatly exaggerated. Even if it exists to the extent that has been alleged, lam unable to see how the Board can practically prevent it. So fitr as I myself and the officers of the Board are concerned, we have at all times- done our bestto prevent gambling ah the Board's premises." * * *

Now, what does the Rev. r J. J. think the men are going to do whilst waiting; read prayers and study their catechism ? Does he think they want that awful person Missioner Moore, with his smug smile and self-satis-fied countenance, to entertain them ? He always keeps a very discreet silence on this point. Never a solitary suggestion of how the men are to employ their spare time. So long as they don't play "two-up" it is all right. Someone has told North that "two-up" is a bad gambling game, and therefore he's out to make capital by its suppression. There are hundreds of ways of gambling, and they are all more or less indulged m by people of all classes, but "two-up" happens to be a popular form among the working-class, and because it is popular and almost, everybody knows what it is, North must raise his voice against it on every possible occasion I and gain much notoriety and cheap , advertisement thereby. It would be | no use his bucking at the other aiul ', lesser known forms of gambling, be jcause they would not lend themsHv- •■:•. io advertisement* It is not ,the sup-

pression of gambling J. J. wants or he would adopt very different tactics. It is self glorification and aggrandisement that he is after.

His accusation against the Harbor Board seems to have been as groundless as was his dirty slander upon the editor of this paper, whom he accused of being "adroitly absent" from Wellington what time an article appeared which J. J. and his push deemed to be indecent. The secretary of the Harbor Board certainly did not call North a liar m his report, but he told him pretty plainly that he wasn't telling the truth. The sum and substance of the secretary's report is, that the Board does its best to keep the idle employees from indulging m illegal games, but that it cannot set itself up as a censor of morals and dictate to each of its workers how, where and when he shall spend his wages, or what amusements he shall resort to to fill m his spare time. Spare time has to be filled m somehow ; North fills m his minding other people's business. Who appointed North guardian of the wharf-laborers' morals, or does the wharf-laborer want a guardian, anyhow ? From what "Truth" has seen of the wharf-laborer and of the parson, we would say that the latter is m greater need of a moral guardian than the former. The wharf-laborer is a man who grafts hard for a very small wage. He mostly supports a fair-sized family to the best of his ability. Being a hard worker he loves a pint of beer, and mostly has it 'when he wants it. His work being humdrum and monotonous he likes a little excitement. He can't get it out of prayer meetings, so he tries "two-up." A low, vulgar, sordid sort of life probably J. J. North would call it • but let it be distinctly understood that the world can do without its J. J. Norths very well, but it cannot do without its wharf-lab-orers. They are the machines that make commerce possible— the means whereby we can indulge m luxury and make tho civilized life possible. What does J. J. North do ? Does he create any wealth ? Does he produce the wherewithal that ose solitary citizen may live ? He does not. He lives upon the generosity of 'his fellow-men and then has the infernal impudence to tell them that they must take their pleasures according to his principles.

Of course North didn't like the one he got on the solar plexus from Mr McDonald, and m letters to the "Times" and "Post" he endeavors to explain his extraordinary statements, but he only succeeds m adding insult to injury, for' he absolutely fails to prove his charge against the Board, and then makes the dirty insinuation that the pilfering that takes place on the wharf is done by men who gamble and have to resort to this means to pay their "debts of honor." Now, this statement is on a par with the majority of North's other rash statements— made without the slightest evidence to back it up. Everyone knows that the pilfering that goes on on the wharf, although very annoying to shippers is p^ttv m tha extreme, and the article; taken arc seldom converted into cash by the pilferer. Bottles of spirits, tins of preserves, articles of clothing, etc, are usually the articles missed, and the men either take their booty home or devour it during lunch hour. The idea of a man stealing a bottle of pickles or a tin of jam to pay a gambling debt is absurd. But what does that matter to North ? He thinks to create a sensation by stating that the gamblers steal tp pay their debts, without any respect to the men whatever. The wharf-laborer has not the columns of the Daily Press wherein to express his opinion of North, but if he had it might take some of the conceit out of that gentleman to learn' what good, honest, hard-working men think of impudent meddlers like himself.

Gambling m any form or shape is bad. Land speculation, mining shares and hoise-racing are the great avenues of gambling m this country, and all the other forms sink into insignificance before them. But, as society is fashioned at present, it is. impossible to wipe them, or any one of them, but. Not only is it impossible, but it is undesirable, particularly m the case of horse-racing, because of the fact that it is popular, and it is always dangerous to destroy a popular institution until something has been provided to take its place. Can the Rev. J. J. North m his wisdom tell us what would happen if the Legislature was so severe and so strictly administered that every form of gambling was suppressed ? Would it not result m an outburst of drunkenness and immorality, possibly followed by crimes of violence ? History shows that this is much more likely to be the result than that the gamblers would turn saints and teach Sunday-school. It has been demonstrated so often that man cannot be made moral by Act of Parliament that it is truly wonderful how men of the North type can bob up so serenely every few months with a request to the powers to make it criminal for men to do things which they must know full well these men will go on doing m spite of law and law-maker. This paper is thoroughly of opinion that there is too much gambling m this country ; m fact, for its population, there is no country m the world that turns over the money m gambling that New Zealand does, cxceptiti of course, the purely gambling State of Monte Carlo. But the fault lies not with the Government, which controls the evil as besiv.it can, but with the people. They want educating to other pursuits. If J. J. North and his friends will devote their time to educating the gambler to better things, they will certainly gain the respect of all classes, but they will only earn contumely, and contempt by slandering honest men. If Mr North cares to contribute a column a week to this paper on the evils of gambling (and confines himself to his subject* he is welcome to the space, and we guarantee him over thirty thousand readers, stretching from Auckland to the Bluff.