CHARLER KINGSLEY ON BETTING AND GAMBLING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2429, 3 October 1900, Page 43

CHARLER KINGSLEY ON BETTING AND GAMBLING.

[Contributed.] To the young men of Chester, Chare.3" Kingsle3 r once wrote : My Dear Young Men, — The human race may, for practical purposes,, be divided. into three parts: (1) Honest men, who meaen to do right, and do it ; (2) knaves, .who mean to do right, and do it; (2) knaves, fools, who mean to do whichever of the two is pleasanter. And these last may be divided again into BLACK FOOLS AND WHITE FOOLS the black fools being those who would rather do wrong, but dare not, unless it is tho fashion; the white fools those that would rather do right, but dare not, unless it is the fashion. Now, the honest men do not need my advice ; and the knaves will not take it; neithei, I fear, will the black fools. But of the white fools I have hope. .Now, let me ask them. "W hy do you bet and gamble at the races? Consider well what your, answer will be. While you are pieparmg your reasons I will give you two, at least, of mine for leaving the matter alone. The first reason (which seems to me the strongest reason which can be given agoinst any matter whatsoever) is this — that betting and gam-, bling of every kind is in itself TTEOXG AXD lIIIIOKAL. I do not say that e^ery' man who bets is an immoral mail. Far from it; many leally, honest men bet, but that is because they have not considered what they are doing. Betting is wrong, because it is wrong to take your neighbour's money without giving him pnj-thii'g in return. Earn from him as much as you will, and as much as you can. All "abour. even the lowest drudgery, is hono-ir-able ; but betting is not labouring nor ear-- • ing : it is getting money without earning it, and more, it is getting money, or trying to get it, out of your neighbour's ignorance. . If you ond fie bet on any event, you think that your horse will win; he thinks ._thab r his 1 wili win; in plain English, you think you know more about- the matter thaa he. You try to take advantage of his ignorance,, and so to conjure money out of his pocket into yours — a very noble and friendly attitude in which to stand to your neighbour, truly. But, says soiro one, "'That is all fair; he is trying to do as much by me. Just &o, and that, again, is a very noble and friendly sttitude for two men who have no spite against each other : a state of mutual distrust and unmercifulness, lookina each other pelfishly to his own gain, regardless of the interest of the other. Thus betting is 3?OUXDED O> SELFISHNESS, and the consequence is that mea who live by belting are, and cannot help being, ihe j most selfish of men, and (I fehould thinl:) among the mest unhappy and pitiable. But some will say : "It is not the money I care for, but tlie amusement." Excuse me , | but il to, why do you bet for money? That question I have asked again and again, and have never got an answer. Why do you bet for money, and not counters, or pins, or pebbles? Why but because you want the money to buy with it moneys worth. HARMLESS BETS. Of course, I know well enough that plenty of bets pass on every racf which are practically quite- harmless. A dozen of kid gloves; to a lady — v/hen you know that she will expect yoii to p^y her, while you are bound not to ask her to pay you — he would be a veiy strait-laced person who could see any grea-t harm, in that, any more than in a rubber of sixpenny whist. And yet it would be better for man 3" a young man, for some of* the finesc fellows of all, men of eager temper, high spirit, delicate honour, if they would make up their mind never to bet, even a shilling ; never 'to CP- a y 'cards, exce_p>t for love. For 'gambling, like drinking, grows upon some men, and upon tl:e very finest natures too. And remember, that in betting and gambling THE MOEE HONOURABLE MAN you are, the wors-e chance you have. Gambling is almost the only thing in the world in which the bad man is stronger by very virtue of his badness, the good man this weaker by very virtue of his goodness. The man who will not cheat is no match for the man who will. 1 liolr *ioo, that betting, in three eases out of four, is ALTOGETHER FOOLISH; so foolish, that I cannot understand why the •very young men who are fondest of it should. be> the very man who are j>roudest of being considered shrewd, knowing men of the v ir orld, and what' not. They slake their money on this hoi-re and on that. Now judging of a horse's capabilities is an art, and a very delicate" and difficult -art, depending first on natural talent, and next on experience, such as not one man in a thousand has. But how many betting young men Iknow anything about a horse, save that he lias four leers? How many df them know at sight whether a hor^e is sound or not? Whether he is going" in good form or not? Whether he is doing j his best or not ? Probably five out of &ix of them could not sit on a racehorse without falling off. But they know what the horse has done already. Yes;" but not what the horse might have done. They do not know, no one can, who is not in THE SECBETS OF THE TTJET — what the horse's engagements really are. whether he lias not been kept back in view of those engagements ; whether he will not be kept back again; whether he has not been used to make play foi another horpe ; and — in one word — -whether ho is meant to win. But they have special information. They hav.e heard sporting men on whom they can ' rely report to them this and the other won-

derail secret. Of all the various follies into which -vanity and the wish to seem knowing, and to keep sporting company, lead young men — and mere boys often — this, I think, is about the most absurd. If sporting men have any special infoimation they will keap it to themselves, because it is their stock-in-trade whereby they live, ar.d they are not going to be foolish enough to give it away -to him. They hold that in betting, as in love and war, all is fair ; they want to make their booka, not to make his.