Reriew of Rei-ieus. 1:13:06. 



History of the Month. 



537 



Mil'jinti /!>' /'(nii.'lt.j Desoerate Remedies 



(The officials of the V.R.C. are satisfied that Mr. Bent's 

 <iaml)liiig Suppression Bill as it stands will kill horse- 

 racing.) 



The V.R.C. : " Bless you. Sir. those blemishes can easily 

 be removed. Cure him if you like, but we can't afford to 

 kill him. you know." 



the Exhibition. The effort is well worth the patron- 

 age of evervbody who can afford the time and 

 monev to pay a visit to Christchurch. I would re- 

 mind readers again that they can get whatever infor- 

 mation they want either from the New Zealand 

 Tourist Offices in Melbourne and Sydney, or direct 

 from the Tourist Department, Wellington. 



Victoria is muddling along with her 

 Victoria's Gambling Bill, manifesting only the 

 Gaining Bill, dcl)ating poiwer of a tenth-rate de- 

 bating society. Endless amendments 

 have been introduced for the purpose of over- 

 weighting the Bill, and in this respect some of the 

 worst offenders have been some members of the 

 Labour Party. Some only, for others of them have 

 given a splendid support to the Bill ; but those re- 

 ferred to have by every device thev could conceive, 

 done their best to block the path of reform. It 

 was hoped that the Bill would be through before the 

 Cup, but this hope was disappointed. Now^, Labour 

 members ought not to oppose social reform. Rank 

 Conservatives may, without any surrender of prin- 

 ciple. They are not expected to vote for refomi, 

 but Labour men, w'ho are supposed to stand for the 

 general good, should surely be in favour of killing 

 the things that do more harm to the labouring 

 classes than an\ thing else, and help to keep them 

 down — i.e., drink anfl gambling — or be false to their 

 pretensions. It is grievous to note that in New 

 South Wales some of the worst opponents of the 

 Gambling Bill were members of the party, and ttie 

 same thing is happening in Victoria. Verb. sap. A 

 politician who changes his coat is more to be feared 

 than a straight-out opponent. The parties in the 

 two States named should follow in the steps of the 

 South Australian party, which stands solirllv for re- 

 form wifh regard to these evils. 



Melhoitrne Punch.^ 



(The streets of Melbourne are said to he infested with 

 spielers and confidence men from all the States, seeking a 

 Cup harvest.) 



Local SPrELER Ito the lyaw) : "Here, I say, this isn't fair 

 dinkum. W'hy don't you shift these bloomin' interlopers 

 'n give the local ' guns ' a chance to ' earn a honest 

 living '?" 



The 



Gambling 



Mania, 



The Melbourne Cup has come and 

 gone, leaving the same bad taste in 

 the mouth of thousands that dissi- 

 pation always leaves. Of course 

 there was display galore, but the point that has to be 

 remembered is that the Cup is not primarily for the 

 mere pleasure-seeker, but primarily and essentially 

 for the gambler. It is he who keeps the thing 

 going. It forms a holiday for the lady of fashion 

 and the gentleman of business, but the face of the 

 gambler shows beneath it all. Our opposition is not 

 to horse-racing or to pleasure, but to the gambling, 

 for it is producing a race of men in these States that 

 is a menace to society. It is to men of this charac- 

 ter, and the conditions that produce theni, to \Vhich 

 we are averse. Sooner or later, it is to be hoped 

 when not too late, this young country will see that 

 the army of spielers, bookies, fleecers that gambling 

 raises, constitutes an under-world that will work 

 hopeless ruin to it. 



Victt^ria has one of the worst laws 

 in the world relating to vagrants. 

 N'o one can be arrested without a 

 warrant. In other States they can 

 be taken up on suspicion. The result of the Vic- 

 torian law^ is that at Cup time the scum of the States 

 pours into Melbourne, but although the most notori- 

 ous criminals, thieves and vagabonds may be in the 

 city, the police are powerless. Melbourne had an 



An 



Dnaccountakle 



Complaint. 



