Clean Sport.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVI, Issue 16, 18 October 1911, Page 5

Clean Sport.

Sir John Findlay had something interesting to say last week at Remuera upon the racing question. The matter came up in the form of a query from an elector present, who wanted to know what the Minister thought of the action of the Auckland Racing Club in “refusing to allow respeetable men on tlie course at Ellerslie, liecause they had at one time been bookmakers or bookmakers’ clerks?” Sir John said he was not sorry the question had been asked. When the Gaming Act was placed on the Statute Book .it became his duty, as a Minister, to administer the law. He tried to carry out that administration as fairly as possible. Previous to the Act of 1910 the existing legislation permitted the licensing of bookmakers, and he had taken the Stand that it was the duty of the racing clubs to carry out the spirit of the law, since they had the power to issue licenses to bookmakers upon payment of certain fees. When he spoke of the spirit of the law he referred particularly to that portion of it which stipulated that such licenses should only be issued to “fit and proper persons.” The racing clubs had deliberately tried to bring that legislation into discredit by admitting anyone to the course, without due regard to the character of the person applying for a bookmaker's license. It was clearly a fight between those who wanted the tote and those who wanted the bookmaker. When last year’s amending legislation was before Parliament he was told that he was the champion and the protector of the bookmaker in New Zealand. He said then that he thought they should end the whole fight between the bookmaker and the tote. Now that the legislation was on the Statute Book he was prepared to stand by it. If an ex-book-maker sought to exercise the rights of a decent citizen, and attend a race meeting, he thought that that man had a perfect right to do so. (Applause.) He was not against the abolition of the tote, and never had been. But he was opposed to the evils which were to be found associated with racing. There was no stronger advocate of clean sport than himself, and at the same time no stronger opponent of the evils which had grown up in the spheres of sport. (Applause.)