REPORTS OF DEPARTMENTS.

White Ribbon, Volume 12, Issue 142, 15 March 1907, Page 9

REPORTS OF DEPARTMENTS.

ANTI GAMBLING REPORT The principal work done in this depart meat during the past year has been the promoting and presenting of a petition to Parliament, praying that the Totali sat or iiihv be abolished. Tin* work ot obtaining signatures was taken up very heartily by the branches of the I nion all over New Zealand. In many places the W.P.T.r. arranged for public meetings to arouse interest and sympathy with tin* movement. These did •» great amount of good, and prepared the way for the can vassers for signatures. Most of the ITiiotis have reported that the ministers of tin* different Protestant denominations kindly acceded to the request to preach upon the subject of Gambling. The Press also in most places was very enthusiastic and greatly helped on the movement. Although the Totalisator Abolition Hill brought forward by Mr. Kll was defeated by the small majority ot •>. the feeling against gambling is steadily growing stronger. On the 1 oth of September a large and influential deputation waited on the Premier in Wellington, for the purpose of urging on the Government the neeessitv of (1) The abolition ot tin* Totalisator, (2) isolation of racecourses from telegraphic and telephonic com inunication, ami (3) making the publication of betting news in the daily papers illegal. The Premier gave the deputation a sympathetic reception, and promised to have “the whole matter looked into with a view to have more restrictive legislation passed next session. ' The f>.*> branches of the W.i .T.U. were supplied with forms and a letter of in struct ions, besides a great deal of extra correspondence, but I have only received answers from 34. The total number of signatures forwarded to Parliament was about 20,000. Forms were also sent to many places where there is no branch of tho W.r.T.l’., to tin* care of Ministers’ Associations, and t hristian Endeavour Societies, with the request that they would forward them according to instructions. It is impossible to report the work of each I’nion separately, but I am sure that as the result of the work of the W.r.T.U. as a whole, there has been a decided awakening during the past year,

ami that public opinion against tin Totalizator iz daily growing stronger. .WINKS <\ MA< ALISTKU, Superintt* admit