"A BOOKIE IN THE HOUSE"

NZ Truth, Issue 985, 11 October 1924, Page 6

"A BOOKIE IN THE HOUSE"

Gaming Bill Debate

Parliament Delving m the Turf.

(From "Truth's" Parliamentary Rep.) In the debate m the House of Representatives, on the Gaming Amendment Bill, Minister Bollard, who 'never h*is much to say, contented himself with a few trifling- remarks, and, m the words of I.ir. Wilford, if brevity was the soul of wit, he was a^ perfect scream! A bookie m our. midst! The members showed amazing presence of mind when Vivian Potter, the Reform member for Roskill (Auckland) gave the show away and announced that a bookmaker was to be found inside Parliament building itself. Hitherto, the fact has never been officially noted, even although it is not uncommon for those whose 'business takes them inside the big building to hear of Avhispered bets, and "Truth's" rep. lis^s encountered certain individuals hurrying" along the corridors with wads of bank notes "to put on." The presence of the bookie m Parliament .Buildings is surely an indica-. tion of public opinion on the. matter of. licensing bookmakers. - It is common knowledge, according to Mr. Potter (and most of us knew it before), that members of Parliament are' not always satisfied with the; totalisator as the sole 'medium for making a bet, and but for the tremendous domination exercised by the Racing Conference ever the Government, we Avould long ago have reverted to the licensed bookie. The prohibiton of bookmaking has given a new and unsatisfactory lease of life to the profession, which is now being carried on underground, and, as was stated m Parliament,' bookies are to be found m every class of the F community. Some . amusing suggestions were made m regard to the whack that the Government gets out of the tote receipts. One member wanted- it devoted to the encouragement of tlie growing of oats (apparently for the benefit of race horses), while another urged thi-t it ' be spent on cricket and football grounds, so that we might breed a race of strong men as well as strong race horses. Nobody thought of expending it on consolation prizes to unlucky backers; Such a 'proposal' would surely be carried on a referendum.

There was' one" sensible view m which quite a number of members concurred, and that was the minimum weight for the jockeys is too low, arid should be raised to at least 7st. But one evident opponent to this humane proposal, Mr. G. Witty, pointed out that all athletes have to train m order to keep fit, and he declared that some even go £he length of sweating m manure. Apparently he was quite satisfied that the jockey boys should enjoy this form of Turkish bath, one virtue of which might possibly be its cheapness., The anti-gamblers had a great time. Mr. R. A. Wright, Wellington Suburbs, was quite sure that- if it was admitted that the totalisator required to be under control then there must surely be something- evil about it. Mr. Lys-nar,-the comical Gisborne repiesentetiye, professed to see a difference between betting and gambling, whi;.a tickled the self-confessed wov/por. Mr. Li. .M, Isitt, of Christchurch North. A dull spell m the debate was banished by a series of reflections, the allegation beings made that the opposition of the Labor Party to the Bill was prompted solely by the bookmaker. 'This was stoutly denied by Mr. Holland. Then' Minister McLeod -discovered the bookies had an ally m the churches, his argument being that all who opposed the tote were playing into the hands of the bookies. The reply of ' Mr. M. J. Savage, one of th<Auckland Laborites, was that one might as well suggest that the sly frog sellers ■■were behind the 7 Prohiitionist movement as assert that the "bookies were behind the opponents of the v tote.

An interesting sidelight Ayas throAvn upon the . conditions under AA'hich apprentice, jockeys haA'e to work, Avhen the terms of a secret agreement betAveen an employer and an apprentice Avere read out m the House. This document shoAved that the boy was (■o receive^ no payment for his serAnces ■ until\he"had ridden'five Avinners! Quito a Kathleen MaA'Ourneen ■ stunt.! Anosher;;clause laid it down that the youngsfei' must on no account betray any of his employer's secrets. What ji pitjf! One can well imagine some of the boys hiw.e' amazing experiences Avith their bosses, but the .seal of silence is on their lips, and the tales may never be told. There were numerous other matters raised during the debate, and charges of A'arious sorts Avere made agains-t tho Racing Conference — and the GoA^ernment. The net result Avas that Minister Bollard declared he Avould 'consult the Prime Minister during- the recess Avith a «vieAV to setting up another Royal Commission. Members very naturally described such a\move as a waste of money, but. Mr. Massey surprised them .'all by declaring that he could not haA'e a lot of . charges brought Avithout having an investigation. The second reading 1 of the measure was then agreed to on the voices.