108. on lotteries; © MD (ar) 
SS SS DLS SSS = ~~ 
ON LOTTERIES. 4 
[ Translated from the French of Mr Robert.] 
Waara plague! what a ruin ina government is the exist. 
ence of lotteries! a thousand times worse than atax of the 
same productivenefs to the revenue! In a well regulated. 
state there are none ;—there are none in Switzerland. 
Lotteries discourage industry and activity ; they devour 
the subsistence of the unfortunsie ; they blunt their activi- 
ty by offering them a prospect of being able to live with- 
out-gaining it by their work. — Lotteries. occasion bank- 
ruptcies and suicides, by hopes deceived in decisive mo-. 
ments ! Lotteries are a snare held out to avarice ; they sup- 
port a slow feverin the politic body ; they are, imine, a. 
public game, in which the prince plays againgt the most. 
indigent clafs of his subjects, with unequal: chances. 
While millions of people occupy themselves with the’ 
combinatien of numbers,—whilst they are attentive to the 
numbers that have been drawn since a certain time,—whilst 
they are on the look out for those that seldom appear, or 
which have not appeared for a certain time, more or lefs 
distant ; the very serious attention which they bestow on 
these objects, their anxiety on the fate of the next draw- 
ing, are so many drawbacks from what they owe to the 
state, to theiv businefs, and to their duty. 
He that would apply with ardour to some profefsion: 
profitable to himself and society, sleeps in'the hopes that. 
the lottery will provide, soon or late, for his subsistence 5 
he &nds it more aggreeable to:trust his fortune to chance; 
than to the good use of his time. 
Add to this, that by exciting in the mind of the indi- 
gent a false desire of riches, they make him feel more 
forcibly all the bitternefs of his poverty which they aggra- 
vate. Let us respect the unfortunate, and not abuse thus: 
cruelly their credulity-and their misery. 
