I—H. 17.

H.—l7

1911. NEW ZEAL A N D ,

GAMING ACT COMMISSION. REPORT OF COMMISSION APPOINTED UNDER SECTION 6 OF THE GAMING AMENDMENT ACT, 1910.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly ln> Command of His Excellency.

BEPOBT.

To His Excellency the Right Hon. John Poynder Dickson-Poynder, Baron Islington, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over His Majesty's Dominion of New Zealand and its Dependencies. May it please Your Excellency,— We respectfully submit to Your Excellency the report of the Commission appointed under section 6 of the Gaming Amendment Act, 1910, with its schedules, adjusted to meet objections raised by the Law Officers of the Crown to the report as originally presented. We do not, however, concur in the validity of such objections, but it is unnecessary to discuss this point, as the decisions of your Commission on the matters submitted to it are not affected thereby. In amending the report for the purpose of avoiding the inconvenience of further delay, we have altered the " conditions " imposed upon some clubs to simple ,: recommendations." We lay stress upon the fact that most of these conditions or recommendations are intended to secure the safety and comfort of the spectators or of the riders, and the observance of the decencies of life in the management of a sport conducted under the license of the State for the entertainment and recreation of the public. The conditions or recommendations are the outcome of an exhaustive inspection of the racecourses of the Dominion, and we strongly and unanimously urge their enforcement in all important points within a reasonable period. We make the additional recommendation that where a club desires to alter the number of its totalizator licenses for the utilization of the allotted days of racing or trotting it should, as a rule, be permitted to do so. In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seal, this nineteenth dav of June, in the year one thousand nine hundred and eleven. George Clifford, Chairman. " Albert E. Cohen. John McVay. R. H. Nolan. J. Rowe. [COPY OF ORIGINAL REPORT.] To His Excellency the Right Hon. John Poynder Dickson-Poynder, Baron Islington, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over His Majesty's Dominion of New Zealand and its Dependencies. May it please Your Excellency,— We, the Commissioners appointed by Your Excellency on the Bth day of February, 1911, have the honour to report that after careful consideration and a personal inspection of nearly all the racecourses we have, in accordance with the