THE TOTALISATOR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13782, 21 December 1906, Page 8

THE TOTALISATOR.

( W THE EDITOR, I Sin,—ln reply to Mr 11. H. Driver's letlo» [ which appears in your yosterday's issuo. in ; reference to his remarks at the recent mcet- ' in;; of the Council of Churelics, when ho . stated that probably no less a sum than | £10,000,(300 changed hands annually in tho . colony in. gambling transactions was based , on a stati'imtnt, recently made by thoj I'remior (Sir Joseph Ward), I assert, that , that .--tatement is a fallacious or mis- , leading one, which I shall endeavour h to show. It will ho remembered that shortly' , after his return to the colony Sir Joseph j was waited upon by an anti-gambling depu- , tatiou in Wellington, and in tho course of bis reply tho I'remier was reported' as follows :-"&nco liis return to tho colonv a [ gentleman, who was not with the deputat tjon, had brought under his not-ieo tho face' _ thai- no lets a- stun than £2,100,003 was sent' , out irom Wellington alono last year for t gambling purposes. Tiia-t was a larger sum , tnan either ho or anyone else had conI t'emplated as being possible. But that-stale-' , ment cam© from a. gentleman who was in i s. position to form a fairly aceurato ceti-' t mato of what was going on in this rospect." ( Compare this closely-guarded statement of Uid Irenuer's with the curiously distorted version given by Mr H. H. Driver in his letter: Sir Joseph Ward said lio had secured from tho most (ompetoit aut-ho-lu-y pctsib.c an estimate of tho amount of isethiiK in Wellington, and was told that { :t amounted to £2,000,000 a year." Con-me-nt ujjoil this specimen of "artistic mis- : quonfaon, would' hardly add to its bcautvif I may so ternvdt, As regards tho amount j °/ money litvestod on the totalisator—well, . tho Council of- Churches prolably knows , more about it than I do. I -havo not had a , wager for year.;; but that shculd be no' i 'r lso !' ; or m(> debarring othocs who can , atiord to put a modest pound now and . again on tho machine openly and abov«- . board. I would point out-, however, that it ( would require 50 race meetings per annum, . or, say, ono every woek, with an average , tocabsator investment of £40,000 per meet- . lug, to account for £2:000,000; and I take _ leave, as an individual clothed in his right mind, U. doubt the accuracy of Mr Driver'a , statement in this regard. Nor do I think ' P e ®P'° outado tile Council of , Churches (some of tho members of which , eccm to be able to swallow eamols with u c,v:c) Lolievo that such a vast sum us ! £10,000,000 is circ,dated yearly in New i Zealand for u-uy and all purposes, legitimalo , or otherwise; and I hope Mr Driver will' , ,bo able to sco his way to Btrike off a. few j ciphers from his laughablo estimate, if onlyi to save tho judicious from grieving. In i.m <"? septenco of his iott-oi- Jio says:— lo 'ijoeliicl' it seoms a harmlesspasiimc: to _ multitudes it is a cause of irretrievablo rmn. As to whelhur it is a harmless pastimo or not, it -has recognised as t-lid sport of kings, wlrilo othere again—tim geds and demcerats-assert it is the sport - of ' lnugß." Probably it is both. From a non-investor's point of view, I think it is • about ?.s safe—when building esstlcs in tlio air—to invest on a-horse or donkey race as it is to put it on a "wild-cat" dredging company, tho same as was done a few years ago. Tliousands have been ruined by backi uig or investing on the iraons drodge, Dittiiy of whom wouldn't, for oonscienco* Wike, put a tluecpe uny-bit on a. gco-gec— - would sconer gamble in pcripf and go on Sunday t-o the church and mako a montal calcitkt-ion on a g-iv<ja investment as to how tho premium will pan out on i Quango on tho Monday follomng.-I am. etc., December 7. Locnir.t.