GAMBLING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6521, 26 June 1899, Page 4

GAMBLING.

♦ i sermon; by drerwiN; jft-'the Norti.Belt Presbyterian;^ Cliuwh last night the RSv> Dr E'mvm took gambling as tbe subject of Iris evening sermon. He fviid that the raid of the police against, the plilnamen hadd awakened! tike' symDathjf of th& iivbliQ, f o'crif . thei'maMac bad bjeem aorr, ■.jrectly reported the Chinese had been treated inhumanely.- It was, true that the; Chinese (pacLpn former: occasions beca prosecutetl for jjplajing fan-tan,, buti since then thej police 3offibers had watched, them, at their^ gjwnes, . |and. at the tisao- 6f; \&am airest thogrr naturlilty felt se.curis.. Did. they, apply tl|e. gamb|simg laws- to- I?urj3p,eans ): ..,as,, thejf ... did,; JboI'jC^ariien.?; .IS.^hftcy^J^Kii^.^cjß^pi^^in-.,, gaiiiliing^ ; : ii^t;Biade I :in..jiU : rt??iEr'sreliy i:la3^^tJßd;' :^l»b^.-«fi' T 'tilie? TPorld; alidi if: tlii.s i i 4M,.'iiot pcc.W lid} N"ew..'Zeaiaiid;"- thißD/"Neiw- :- ;Z«"aland.w;as^x>von^arSus ex^ptj^.j It. AV»s, . iijjtwever^ a. &tct that; gambling wasjiiommon. iin Ghristclairch, and tMt ' the tdttialisator.shops corrupted the y-otjng. ; Sfaisibjfe peoples Jacked whyvfchecgQ^cS'rffiEic th&Qhiilies^theip-' j game, and jbhe aniw.er' was- thohf thai financial! I aid which wasbehinji the Eurj&p k ea4 gamblai 1 jwas abseiufe in. toe «ase of the Chinaman. Those' who hadioartfutly watcli^ { the iufe minis tratapn: of the eolpiiaes for the-, past "ten qiv tw.eLTO yeais would oome to tlifi; conclusioaithattrb, was beingjadlniriisteredUn the inteupstS) d& -nrcaltJi anjifilqDit m! those of' ; righteousuessjua:- Justin. Tlie oalylone gpod thing atjiput the. totalisatorWa* that it was v ready money Hiachine, a^itllfutS the iny,<tsfcqr . must h*y>e;hiS3. money in. his .hand.' So. tremendoualy' liad tlae totaiisator ;inciaased gambliftg oin horse racing; tfeii-oughquij the colony.- tba>fe. some of th^clarger 'racing clubs ■had Wcomss concerned jj^pufc it, and had restricted: its operations^, .. Mt Cr. JGu Stead had lauruflbed tr«jniendous indictment againet tlwt totalisatovVwhrai he sal&i that in -i .place.-' 0f..-; providing jS5>/ai4 it h4^created , a cjass: which liviftd.' l^jr raci%.. The i tofcalisafccr had npt. • . only olncfluragecl, m«iu.-to_ gamble, but now -^Qineii in all. classes of lifel]a^ttliesr.ih.vestflaents upoa» ; it,, and he (Dr Erw.itj) eJnimed th^ti the totis.- --: lisitoi- had lowereda tba standard* q{ morality tJa-Qughout the cginny, and hadi^establisbieX tote-shops which, fed to the deaioralisatjiqn of the young. Xo siiow- the; enormous, increase in this class of betting in ! 1892 per/mita -for jthieej Uundied day? racing had. 'baeri issued; as. a. result of £5^,078 bad' been' put; through bh,e • tdtaUsator," while in 1899. no smaller a 'sum than. £886,567, shewing, an inexsase of. mwe than' £300,000, harit been put* through, in 299* days., In nine days' raising th& Qanter». bury Jockcv Club had Ji^t year' jessed: iia, smaller a sum than £81,000 through' tne totalisator.-; .Of the, annual iflcpme,. qf* £20,000, v&ich • the ujtbb enjoyed, £sgpo" ciime frQta subscriptions, ent^nces,. fpr,feits, anjl such-like sources, and fil&QOO] from the general: pubjic; '. Thus' nine days' racing transferred £13,000 froai.the pockets. of the j»tWic to thore of a few liqrse-ftwners. While it was true that consultations, were illegal in New Zealand, tho "Sydney Bulletin,"' which had, perhaps, jhs geeatewt eivcutation of any. newspaper jn New- Zealand, gave the. ftillesfc , particulars on these subjects. Tho subscriptions were small, arid the prizes few, but of large amrnmt, and this induced a large number of subscribers. Shoxild a 'New Zealander win a prize, the fact was published in ol^e -d&iiE papers, and thus the promoter|g'gdfi' the fullest" 'advertisehiont possible. ' "ilS) Dealing with the prevalence of sweeps in horserpcinjr, cricket,, football, boating; and all branchesvrf athletic sports,: Dr, Jrpr,wiii said' il' it. if took ■liydnnir man of ' KisrH niortil citai'Rcter to resist, these teinptutions; '•• and ' tli«t tlw bank clorlc. and tho factory girl, v-ov-, '.Hljo subjects ' ; oP odhnn if 'they y«f used *■>> : oi-> p. s\vf.f'i' ffft tin hiihis or. her estab(•■►•li.iPA'ut. Til nvray:-. r caßCs;iu.;V'i\a"\\^ fhat

the evillay^ not so much inafclie tJiing itself,as in cacuying it to excess: t Biit gambling in itseS" stood condemned: > Mr-' Lyttelton; chaplain of Haileybury Gaol;, found something . good among all ; prisoners with the sole exception of the gamblei's. This conclusion was based on experience, and they might be asanred that, whatever -worked such havoc in the hearts of men: must be morally wrong in itself. ' , if 'they fudged fronr the standpoint of mere" utilitarianism, gambling had been shown to produce such bad TMults , fiow must it ' appear when S'» 1 w S a ?ok ' " The E^s of mate taish* ,„»„" „? b ß ' '^f his best to eliminate .the element of cfin.C' from his. calculations. - Three es^iffnT points, pleasure obtained nt the cost ofraf to others, Property, transferred on B - ir Pr p chnnce and undire excitement marked' "tW difference between a gambling and' a- mef cant.le transact on. Havine" quoted ' Iffnf. Bert Spencer syiews on the subject, Uf Xv/ win said that if these tiring were -true I>allowing gamb m X r eople violated flieerenilaw of love which. accorrlin ff to the" t^ch-' .ins^of Christ and liis disciples, was tl^' em-, .bodnnent of , the. wholp. moral b.w^ Tl',p" gabbler, Idee , tlie dninkardv had hi S im^---cation, and durins these periods he mc&--ficed e^rytlnnsr fnV tl, e sake of exciteineTK; It was not nvtlpj case of this " vice" tTw amount <?ambled. Btft the deterioration- per se which wrought" the damage. Writes" painters, poets, and dramatists of "allaKeK had vividly portrayed the downward comse of the gambler. AH present " knew tfiat every evil hahit gradually tightened ffcrde--' mands, but this evil sucked men [rapidly under its dark waters. It had a m^sterrous power of confusing- "thine" and f'mirnj"" in men's minds, and was probably ' responsible for more suicides than any other single vice, not excepting;, that of drunkenness. The gambler having subjected- his! intelligence to chance, tliat intelligence des'erfed' him at the critical moment, and he was Hurried towards a suicide's 'grave." If "gam 1 Whig was as prevalent as it was saiqTtVßej it surely threatened tfie" national prosperity of the country. Were they going; to ''si'f quietly' by while a few turfites, an|d dlfeir accompanying crowd^ of blo6d-sucke'r,s, comtpting the counfry. They could ' make llic totalisator, .and' also the publication- of any betting' odds, illegal. ; Would •■tfeey" notput down' this devil^s;''ma«hine,andi let: the' voice of the community be heard? jintK H they did this no Government could ,I'egaiise . ay vice, or draw from ft £13,000 "a year.;r ■■ At the conclusion of the service a meeting- was held in order to pass a resolution in itccordance- with D'r Erwin's ' - addt^BßS^ Very fe%y people left> tite church, handi. dm fc-Jlowing motion, niaved by Mr Shaw v and' seconded by Mr W. Ghrystall, was put'; and curried unanimously: — '"That in the Dpinion of this meeting the totalisator i^reSi'onsible for .an - increase of gamßLing •jnvoii'/hout the coldnv, and the Goyernrp<Jrtt-, : by/givinga lc^af SHHcti6h>to | ih'is':vTcey if le«y^ringvth&,.m6i'idlsentiment of t^e' corns. nramiy,, andL anduciHg^maiEiy ■ to .gambbbarito! -hot^ : -under orilin%y/. ciTCU3»st.inces!» do..so;..aud it is. tliei^efora in 'the .ihtacests ..aijnjp.ralityY B ,ndof our colamal prpspierity^ tif-tt ifeiliould be abullsiied ? ,and, that -.Jtioopj. >i this^re'sohition hs 'sent"to the Hointha t're'iuiei' and tlie Minister &i Justide:" 1 "