TOTALISATOR AGENTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2356, 20 April 1899, Page 36

TOTALISATOR AGENTS.

Five years agp v when the Legislature, in a virtuous mood, undertook, to once more amend the Gaming and Lotteries Act, they deemed it wise to .stuff .up a hole which a decision of Mr Justice Denniston had made in the law.' The appeal of Selig and Bird againsfr the magisterial decision declaring it an offence to open a totalisator investment department in. connection with the Referee led to a decision by the judge that the act of the appellants was not an offence. In other words,, a totalisator agency might under certain conditions be lawful. So it was declared in 1891. When, in 1894-, the Statute was being amended, this 1 was brought under notice, and a section was introduced into the new Act by 'which the Legislature declared that such agencies were not to exist. An exception was however mado in favour of the duly authorised agent cf a racing club licensed to use the jfcotalisator. This exception caused very little comment .at the time, and, though we have been worting under that law since 1894, very few wera probably aware of its exact working. Last week's prosecution before the Stipendiary Magistrate at Dunedin raises for the first time the question as to how far the exception authorises jockey clubs to , goi Mr J. F. M. Fraßer, the Crown Solicitor, submits that in the absence of any definition of tho term_ " Authorised agent ' one is driven to inquire as to the terms upon which a club is licensed to use "the totalieator, and that, since the authority is only for the course, a club cannot invest an agent with, the, right to operate outside the course. He contends- that if. the opposite view be upheld there is nothing to prevent a club from . establishing totalisator agencies all over the colony — a state *of affairs which he submits would be an evil that the Legislature would' not countenance. This was -the line of argument adopted for the prosecution. Mr Solomon, in conducting the defence, assumed that the prosecution wan abortive and tluvt he need not say, very much ; but he made a few remarks as to its being late in the day to raise tho point, and he -asserted that the proviso referred to was framed expressly to permit a jockey club to do what the D.J.C. waa charged with doinff. ' What else could be the ireaning of the exception? It would, he urged, be nonsensical to contend that an authorised agent could act only on the course, since tho course was served by the machine itself, and did not want an agent. The end oE the proceedings at the Court on Thursday was that three other informations against the defendant were withdrawn, and the magistrate said he would give his decision as to the first case to-day.