THE"TOTE" TAX.

NZ Truth, Issue 407, 12 April 1913, Page 1

THE " TOTE" TAX.

GOVERNMENT HUMBUG AND HYPOCRISY/ GAINS FROM THE PEOPLE'S GAMBLIN6. IS REW ZEAUP DIFFERENT FROM TASMANIA?

&w*a up ** h 9dßOag * Bag «" fcvo ago Ifcat Magistrate Poynton HtacMatttaHy rwnwte' a magistrate to Snvorieatly get him oat P*JJ he " lEreasoxy) mada one of those nmgis- . ferial titalemtfifr »htoh occasionally invoke deriaiv* laogfater and a loss W respect for magisterial wisdOTi. - reading's BeaatfiEying; Society held a. garden fete recently, and one of the attractions was a lottery, for such it was held, the prize of which was a free trip to Rotoroa, ■ Nobody made money out of the scheme, and the money raised was tor the benefit of the town of Feildjng and the fatal omission was that jthe permission of the Minister of Internal Affairs had not been obtained The joint secretaries were prose(Bnted, and Magistrate Poyntoi^ m convicting, imposed a certainly nominal fine, and remarked that "it , ,was astonishing when' one took into consideration that the Gaming Act had been m action for' forty years, how few people knew the Act." Just to make "Truth's" point plain, can Magistrate Poynton claim that even if tho Act has been m force for forty -years, fie knows it? He is a wonderful sort of magistrate if he does. ' H evw there was a legislative abortion on ottr statute books, this (self-same Gaming Act is one, and jwhen magistrates like the resuscitafcfed gentleman at Feilding, expresses astonishment at public ignorance of, the Act m question, it would be but- & gracious act on the part of ; the Minister of Justice to. give the gentleman m question a gentle hint to gnppress bis feelings .of astonishment, otherwise he win be made ;to look foolish, and a foolish magistrate is very undesirable, I even if he ' is placed on the bench because he is a sort of square peg In a round hole. However. "Truth" is not so njuch • concerned with Magistrate Poynton's astonishment as it is with other facts which this Gaming Act of forty years' standing' have created. The particular . intention of this Gaming Act was to suppress gambling, and i^oftas effected nothing of the sort. ■*"J7 ever proof was supplied of the m of sumptuary legislation Wis Gaming Act supplies it. For *" icrty years, on the word, of an "oldest- inhabitant" like Magistrate I»oynton, this Act has been m operation, and the result to-day is that gambling is carried on to a. greater extent than ever. Despite the fact that for forty years our legislators have endeavored to alter human nature by Act of Parliament, we find that the perhaps laudable intentions have ended m rank failure.. Tho most alarming of all the wretched results is that the present Government (and it can be at once saiid that this Government is not led by the nose by Wowsers) is deriving a huge amount per annum from the gambling instincts of the community. "Truth" has dealt with this question before ; it must deal with it again. In a return laid on the table of the House last year, it was shown that the totalisator revenue collected for twelve months ending October 3, 1912, amounted to £75,011 15s lOd. Auckland's Racing Club headed the amount with £0502 Gs lOd, the lowest m the list being the Wairau Trotting Club, which contributed £41 Is 7d. It must, however, be said that this vast amount of £75,000 odd is not solely derived from tho people's investments on the totalisator. "Truth" believes it is correct when it declares that the various racing clubs are forcod to yield "dividends" on all receipts, including the charges made for admission, In fact, on,- all " sources of ' profit. What, however, is the most painful aspect of the whole business is the fact that m connection with the leg-

islation -tffaich is aimed at the step-' pression or control of everything connected with gaming, is tie unholy hypocrisy of aJI concerned, 11 Tasmania is regarded with awesome horror, by the Wowser section because the Government of that 'Australian State openly derives a considerable amount of revenue from the operations of Tattersall's Sweeps. What the Tas^ manian Government (not to mention the Commonwealth Government) derived from the sweeps during the year just ended is not available at present;, but if what the Government m 'question gained is not much m excess of what the New Zealand Gov r eminent gained from this totalisator tax,- "Truth" will not be surprised. Was there ever a greater travesty of Government than. this.?' In New Zealand, the real home of Wowserism; the Government m twelve months derived over £75,000 from the punting proclivities of the- people ! Think of it and weepr-crocodile tears. * » * i If astonishment should be expressed it should be at the fact that, ' '■■ m thfia Wowser-ridden and driven country^ New Zealand is vicing with Tasmania iii deriving hard cash from the people's vice. ' It must be remembered that Tattersaii's- sweeps m Tasmania are speculated' m by people all over. Australasia, and New Zealand, despite its Gaining Apt, is a strong supporter, and, incidentally, largely contributes to revenue. Tasmania, therefore, countenances the speculative instincts of the people of Australasia, and'profits accordingly. New Zealand, however, with its. "tote," is ! purely ' a local concern, and the fact that for the twelve months . ending m October last £75,000 odd was derived as taxation, shows how utterly the Graining Act has failed. It has failed as it was expected it would. What the revenue, derived for the twelve months end ing next October can! only be 1 ,■ ; ' . ■'■.■■.'•.' - ■ ■ • ■ • Magisterial mouthings and astonishment at public ignorance of the Gaming Act's bperations would be justified if the astonishment was expressed at the gambling which, despite the operations of the Gaining Acti is/ going ■ on. Everything possible short, of tho total abolition of horse-racing has been attempted. The Bookmaker has been "legally" abolished '; the number of days of racing : and the 'number of totalisator permits have been reduced, yet what do we find? The bookmaker still prospers; he carries on his' business openly, and unashamed. He does not want for clients, he does not seek clients, rather do the clients seek him, and this despite the fact that the bookmaker was to be abolished. Affairs are worse to-day than they were before the passing of the 1907 Act, and'TrutJb." seriously contends that the Act might just as well be re-amended to permit the "book" to ply his calling on the race course. He will not be suppressed, or he cannot be suppressed. Apart altogether from the bookinaking phrase of the question, the facts which do speak, which do count, are those which assert themselves after every race meeting. Is it contended that the. "abolition" of the bookmaker, or the curtailment of the number of face days, or the number of tote permits, have had the effect of lessening the so-called evil of gaming? If it is, .then \"Truth" is sorry for the intelligence of those who so contend. Every race meeting for the last couple of years shows that the volume of betting on the tote has increased; •■' The increases do not amount to hundreds of pounds, but to thousands of pounds. Throughout the Dominion at Easter timo it is gathered that £234,956 was put through tho tote, and of this huge

sum Auckland contributed £Wt,Q53. The last meeting of the Wellington Racing Club showed an increase ol considerably over. £10^000 on the figures of last year. It is the same everywhere. The people are betting m larger volume than ever. Year after year the figures are increasing, and Governments of New Zealand ■which professed to lend an ear tc Wowser outbursts, and pretended to be m sympathy with the anti-gam-blers, are yearly deriving increased revenue from the people's gaming tendencies. Was there ever such hideous hypocrisy ? It is to be hoped that when Parliament assembles an .attempt, will be made to have an annual return .made.: of what the race-going public yields, tp the Government m the way of taxation. If. that return was made to cover the racing season, viz., from August ; 1 to 3i, we would .then be able to "see the sort of hypocrisy that permeates Government at the instigation of Wbwserism; Of course, it must not be Baid that '"Truth" is I ''souring" on the question. Tjet .us, however, be honest witti our--selveSi let us thoroughly where we . are and whither we are drifting. We do not want a magistrate mouthing about public '•■ ignorance, let us have something said about hypocrisy. If gambling" is am evil, if it is immoral v then a Government has no right to derive £75,000 or more per annum from an immoral traffic. If the bookmaker was a temptation to the dishonestly mV clined, why is' it not said that the fv'tote" ; is noi a similar temp/tation ? The; '..truth >. of the matter i?; that a pbsl^ioa has been created \, which nd Goviernindnt, ; or v'.n6-';%ii£ef&M}'*j&^^'-fend. . '"• .■^'■•' ! --'v'.-' ■ ..'.'. V:-: '■' ■' :.•■■' ; , -* ■ ■■-.. ■■'• : •■ - .v:;. " -:.- : . • Since the Ward Government tinkered with the gaming iqpiestion.,' things have . gone from bad to worse. : Injustices have been. done small ' and struggling country race clubs, and the Prime Minister, during the week, intimated that next .V: session Parliament would be given an opportunity of reviewing the position affecting small country dubs. 'Such an .opportunity will provide our Parliamentarians with further . opportuni- . ties. It will be interesting to note what will happen. What concerns "Truth," however, is the fact that the Government', is derMng a huge revenue from a large section of the community and at' the same time pretending to believe that gambling is an evil. Of course, it is an evil, a growing evil , and one which calls for control. The control, wanted, however, : is something difXcrent from what has been experienced 'm the past. We want the question dealt with^thoroughly. want ho humbug and no hypocrisy; It. is too much of a hideous , practical joke to find a section of the community yielding' over £75,000 per annum by indirect taxation, the while gambling is denounced and condemned. New Zealand cannot point a finger of scorn at Tasmania— •Tasmania can very well declare that New Zealand is a country of ■: 'hypocritical humbugs.