RACING AND BETTING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 376, 5 March 1863, Page 6

RACING AND BETTING.

(From the Saturday Rcuicw, 13th December.)

It is very satisfactory to hear that, the " babble bets,'" which for some time past.have reflected an equivocal lustre upon the names of several gallant officers, have been made the subject of military inquiry. The mass of the civilian public will be of opinion that the investigation has not come at all too soon, and that °it cannot be too rigorous. It is clear, from many recent cases, that, among the showier and idler portion of our military heroes, the standard of honor has become a little rusty, and would be none the worse for cleaning. We only trust that the investiga-. tion has been full and searching, and that there will be no shrinking from publicity. It is possible that we may have some startling revelations, as instructive a» those which shed immortal honor, over the 4th Dragoon Guards last spring. But if the military authorities really desire to recover for their profession the esteem that many recent scandals have rudely shaken, they must, of all things, beware of the damning suspicion that there is something worse than meets the eye, which they are sedulously suppressing. Their only chance of dispelling the idea that these scandals are the result, not of individual depravity, but of a generally lowered tone, is a hearty resolution to expose them.unsparingly. In the meantime, it seems rather hard that the disci-edit of all betting transactions should invariably accrue to the special disadvantage of the Turf. Tlwre is no doubt that they are surrounding it with associations, and importing into it a toiu\ whhh the very universality of°its popularity renders mist powerful for eviK Nothing shows so strikingly the nature of the feeling that is gaining ground as the difference in character between the older and the younger generation of racing celebrities. There are many men closely connected with the Turf who are famous in other spheres, and whose racing tastes have not hindered either their activity or their success. The two political leaders of our rival parties are instances that immediately suggest themselves. But such men belong mainly to the older generation. Too many of the younger notabilities of the Turf are better known to rumour than to fame. Their laurels have been won in fields into which the historian declines to follow them. A certain number of creditable exceptions may be quoted, but they are exceptions of the kind that prove the rule. There is no question that the Turf is gradually becoming the monopoly of the mauoais sujets of the community, and that in common repute it is held to have sunk even lower than it really has, It is not very easy to understand why it should be so. There is no natural congeniality between the sport itself and the vices that gather round it. In essence, the amusement of ascertaining the experiment which of the two quadrupeds can move its legs the fastest seems' as rational a pastime as any, other. Racing is, in fact, only an agricultural show on a rather costly scale. That the breeders of animals should be encouraged to' pit the merits of their respective productions against each other, is a recognised principle of rural economics. Just as the pi|-breeder exhibits the fat-acquiring powers of his pig, so the horse-breeder naturally wishes to exhibit the running powers of his horse; and each equally desires to prove that in tho~e excellencies his beast distances all other beasts. But how different are the moral accompaniments of the two operations! The owner of the pig prepares his animal for the contest in all thejquietude of bucolic simplicity. No expensive staff' of stud-grooms is required to guard his animal against his rival's arts. The neighboring hills do not bristle with telescopes, spying out the rate at which his

pig grows in fatness. He is not obliged to keep a-guard, day ami nijht, in the pigstye to prevent the animal from being poisonetl or put off his feed, or, in some way or other, illegitimately checked in his progress towards perfect obesity. He is allowed to continue his interesting labors without, on the one side, being harmssed by the tender interest of all the bettinghouses, high and low, in London, or, on the other hand, being warned by preach ts and moralists that his pig is helping to demoralise and ruin thousands. His happy exemption from all the evils to which the breeder and trainer of horses is subject arises wholly from the fortunate fact that ihe scampish portjon of society have not yet taken to betting about pigs; and that, consequently^, neither he ncr his farm-boys are brought into those, direct relations with scampdom which too often give such a marked and peculiar character of-ras-cality to the atmosphere of a training-stable. That fast men should bet is natural and intelligible enough; It is of, a piece with the general practice of sacrificing everything for present excitement, which is the plan of. their whole lives. But it is not so easy to explain why betting and racing should be so closely identified that a "racing man" means a betting man, and that a bet about tlie spellins of a word in a dictionary is called a '' Turf scandal," and is supposed to bej as a matter of course, a fair subject for the jurisdiction of the Jockey Club. Why is it that all the dissipated men in every class take to the Turf as naturally as "a duck takes to dirty water ? There will always be a large number of men whose principal occupation in life is to consume alcohol and tobacco in the small hours of the night, and to conduct diplomatic relations with St. John's Wood. But why should these ornaments of society honour the Turf with their especial preference, to that extent that they are in a fair way to dislodge all the more respectable portions of society? The mysterious connexion which appears to exist between horses and dogs on one side, and the sins of the fles.h on the other, is onr of the most curious moral phenomena of our age. What is it that reserves thesa special quadrupeds ior this peculiar honour ? ■'. Nobody ia ever made immoral by a taste for cows and cats. The donkey has flourished in civilized society forcenturies without ever inflicting the slightest moral injury upon tliose who take an interest in his welfare. But the horse, the noblest of animals, seems to exhale an aroma of vice that clings *o all around him. A racecourse is a centre of demoralization to a neighbourhood for miles round. The betting houses are averred, on good authority, to be the main source of the enormous dishonesty which characterizes the race of domestic servants in London. To 'be a hqrsedealer is,, in vulgar repute, almost synonymous with, being a rogue. The taint of the trade is apt to catch even those who only engage in it for the occasion. Just as the test of a clergyman's morality, is * said to be his power of keeping his hands off a stray umbrella—juat as you never know a woman's true 6haracter till her daughters come out-»so" the touchstone of a layman's honor is his behaviour in selling a horse to a dear friend. If he can resist the temptation of playing his : .friend a dirty trick, he may be trusted with untold gold. Yet there seeim no particular reason in the nature of.things why the traffickers in horses should not be just as • respectable as land agent 3or jewellers. In the»,s,ame way, there is no obvious reason why a strong taste for horseflesh should be looked upon as an outward sign- ot dissipated habit!)'. But yet, if a j'oung gentleman of large expectations betrays a vehement inclination for the Turf, the world concludes that he will certainly injure bis fortune, probably his prospects of usefulness and distinction, and possibly even his good name. And the world .is generally right. . Going to the horses is too apt to be a preliminary to going to the dogs. This is a subject well worthy of the consideration of the powerful personages connected with the Turf. We press it on them in a . spirit friendly- to ; this great national sport.. The occasions on which all classes can meet upon common ground are not so numerous that we .wish, to see one of them destroj'ed ; and the incidental benefits which flow from the national !love of horses give a special value to the sport which has done so much to bring tile breed to its present perfection. But, unless something can be done to abate this plague of betting,the days of racing are numbered. ' It'has powerful friends now, and the taste for it is widely diffused; but these will, not avail it if the moral sense of the country, is strongly moved against it. In course of time, its -present distinguished patrons will pass away, and there are no signs that their place will "be filled by others of equal influence. In the meantime, the scandals connected with .it multiply, and the aversion of the more thoughtful part of the community grows more decided every year. There are few neighborhoods in which some cases cannot be pointed out in'-which fo - tunes have been crippled or prospects s utterly ruined by a mania for betting. The evils which the same taste, reflected downwards, produces among a lower class, are greater than those for which- the hells in London were suppressed. Foreigners make themselves very merry at our righteous indignation a/ainst the gaming houses.of tlie Rhine, when we maintain a vast gaming-house, more fruitful in ruin, in connection with every race-course ia the kingdom. It is a sport peculiarly under the domination of fashion, and, therefore, the leaders of fashion upon the ttirf might do much to amend the present state of things. For the protection of their own,; reputation, believed by them to be in danger,;the Jockey Club have lately taken a step of •;unquestionable vigor. If they can check With so firm a hand the great offence of newspaper criticism, they could probably deal with the minor siri of gambling if they tried. It was under the distinguished leadership of Lord Winchelsea tdat they advanced with so much courage against a newspaper correspondent. Could they not, under the same experienced guidance, take into their consideration the wide spread ruin and disgrace of which, year after year, the passion for betting is the cause ? '.■