54 THE ARAB THE HORSE OF THE FUTURE. 



Mr. J. Snowy, a betting gentleman who has, he 

 says, spent all his lifetime in travelling between 

 England and Australia and India, and so gained the 

 title of * The Stanley of the Turf,' writes in his book 

 of ' the glorious country called Australia, where 

 every man, woman, and child takes an interest in 

 the great Melbourne Cup, and where 90 per cent, of 

 its inhabitants are born gamblers.' Is this betting 

 gentleman wrong ? Then let us inquire of religion 

 and piety. The Rev. W. G. Maconochie, at the 

 Session of the Presbyterian Assembly in Melbourne 

 {Register, November 15, 1902), said that Australia 

 was the paradise of the Spieler, tote, and the book- 

 maker and all that class, and that there were many 

 people who could speak of nothing but horses 

 throughout the year. The reverend gentleman 

 scarce meant Suffolk punches. Of course he meant 

 beasts to gamble with — living machines largely used 

 to fleece the unwary. We thus find the poet and the 

 Socialist, the preacher and the sportsman, all con- 

 curring. Later on they have been supported by the 

 leader of the Labour Party in South Australia : 

 * Gambling was eating the vitals out of the working 

 classes. Betting on horses was the growing curse 

 of South Australia.' 



The * vets ' unwittingly but necessarily aid in the 

 degeneration. Doctors live by the sick, not by the 

 sound. So with ' vets.' I am sure that ' vets ' as 

 well as doctors do their level best when consulted. 

 I gladly trust them both, but they cannot be expected 



