FRENCH LOTTERIES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9954, 16 September 1910, Page 2

FRENCH LOTTERIES.

ANCIENT GAMBLING TO CEASE. Within a few months., writes a Paris correspondent, the lottery will be a tiling of the past in Franco. Modern progress looks with a- severe eye on institutions which onco were considered entirely innocent, and the lottery now is condemned as pernicious gambling. With its going tho hope of ultimate fortune will fade out of many gray lives, but at the same time many a wageearner will bo saved from the temptation to deprive his family of comforts and necessaries in order to woo fortune.

The lottery at least lias the' dignity of antiquity. History tolls us that it was instituted in Rome during the reign of Augustus, and that Nero distributed free lottery tickets in an effort to regain his lost popularity after his persecution of the Christians. After the dark ages we find the lottery flourishing again and in groat favour at Genoa in tho fifteenth century Venice also had a game at this period which was practically the same as tho lottery.

Tho first knowledge we have of the lottery taking root in France is during the reign of Francis L, at the same time it was introduced into Holland and Switzerland. Francis 11. realised the power of a lottery to fill a depleted exchequer, and issued an edict authorising, Jean Laurant to get one under way. Parliament opposed this way of raising funds, but the King's will prevailed, and after the game the treasury was nchor by 10,000 dollars in gold, a sum that was considered large in those days.

A few years later, however, all scruples against the lottery disappeared. The extravagance at the courts and the intermittent wars kept the treasury constantly drained of funds, and the lottery was called upon to replenish it. Au instance of this kind was in 1656, when Louis XIV. was to be married. In honour of the event Paris was turned over to the beautifiers. New boulevards were laid out, monuments erected, and it was demanded that tho Pout Royal should be reconstructed. No people in the world love their city as the Parisians, so when the order was given to a man named Tonti to organise a lottery for this purpose, the coffers soon wore filled.

In the eighteenth century tiro lotteries were specialised, and* under tho guidance of the State were catalogued as the Lottery of Paris Works, the Loan Lottery, tho Abandoned Children Lottery, etc., the titles explaining tho purpose of each.

In June, 1909, some Socialist Deputies put before the Chamber a Bill to abolish the lottery. The assembled members were told that an institution that had been in existence since before the Christian era was immoral and a swindle. These assertions raised a storm of opposition and indignation, as every lottery must bo authorised by the Government.

The Socialists, however, had a strong ally in Clemenceau, who was then Prime Minister, and ho declared that lie, also, was against the lottery, and now that the question had been raised he would authorise no more, and furthermore would do all in his power to liquidate those that were then in operation. Briand. the present Prime Minister, decreed the liquidation of all the lotteries—forty-one in number.

The lottories are run on a grand scale, and millions of dollars are put into them. Official placards are placed all over Paris and the other cities, while small handbills are ■ scattered broadcast.

Practically all of the working people invest regularly in lottery tickets, but their outlay is generally on the "20 cent ticket, and on the days that the winning numbers are to be announced lines of bare-headed women and men in working dress stand eagerly waiting on the pavement for the lucky number that is to mako them rich.

No one can get up a lottery of his own in Paris. If he. is in" distressed circumstances ho cannot even put up a watch to be raffled among friends unless he has obtained permission through the proper Government officials. First, the Prefect of the Seine has to he seen to get his permission to have it held in Paris. If instead of a watch one wanted to put up a money prize the formalities would be regulated by the sum to be played for. If the sum did not exceed ■AOOdoI the Sub-Prefect could grant permission, but if the amount reached lOOOdol it would only bo by the word of the Prefect himself that the privilege could be obtained. When the sum exceeds IfJ.OOOdol' a commission of fifteen members must also be named so that witnesses may bo present at the drawing. Since the adoption of this law no tickets for foreign lotteries may he sold in Paris. The sudden acquisition of wealth in French lotteries by people of the lower class often causes strange developments. Last year Mme. Hofer, who occupied the humble position of canteen woman in the 28th Dragoons at Sedan, made her monthly contribution to the lottery—a habit of years. She was rewarded by the big prize, £40,000: Mme. ilofer was not dazzled by her change of fortune to such an extent that her business instincts were smothered. On the contrary, she made a favourable deal with another woman, who bought out her rights as a canteen woman. A persistent and ardent lieutenant of the '2Bth Dragoons won her affections, and thev were married in June, 1909. Army life suddenly becoming distasteful to the bridegroom, he retired from the service, and thoy started housekeeping at St Maude, a suburb of Paris. This wonderful transformation in the life of a canteen woman inspired a Frenchman's pen, and a novel has been the outcome. If is called the " Cantiniero's Millions." A short while ago three brothers in the city of Lille put together a part of their week's wages and bought a number for the lottery. Luck came to them, for their ticket won the prize. The brothers were all tanners named Dabrou. Content with their way of living in a tiny house and simple surroundings, they made no attempt for more luxurious quarters. The only extravagance they permitted themselves was a little theatre of marionettes which was installed in their garden. A case of French fidelity was shown when Mathildo Caviles won a prize of £20,000. She was pretty and extremely poor. AVhen it was known that she had won a large .stake at the lottery the most flattering offers of marriage' were received by her. Mathilde's young head was not turned by these offers, all ol which were refused. She married the workman to whom she was engaged, bought a line piece of property', and gathered around her under the same ro-of the families on both sides.