Oh. XVn.] CHINESE GAMBLERS. 281 



the red side, it is of course lost, but if on the white side, 

 he wins double stakes ; if on the side on which the colours 

 are divided, he loses. They sometimes stake on the corner 

 of the die, in which case, if three white or three red halves 

 of the die on the three visible sides meet at that comer, 

 white or red wins a single stake ; but if the colours are 

 mixed, neither can win. 



Besides these small gambling-places, in which, for the 

 most part, the lower classes amuse themselves, and in which 

 they were clustered like bees around some fifty banks, there 

 was a regular " hell " near by, at which the more wealthy 

 classes, chiefly from Singapore, played to their hearts' con- 

 tent far into the night at the same games, but for higher 

 stakes. Here one man lost on this day 7000 dollars ; and 

 some Chinamen who had been " cleaned out," expressed 

 their intention of sending to Singapore the following day 

 for large sums, with the avowed intention of breaking the 

 bank. By large sums they meant, say 5000 doUars, and 

 they would play until they lost it all, or fulfilled their 

 thre£|,t. 



Up to the year 1829 gambling was permitted by the 

 government of Singapore. The gambling-houses were 

 farmed, and from 1820 to 1829 the revenue from this 

 source had increased from 5,725 doUars to 33,864 doUars. 

 It was then abolished, and fines are now collected in the 

 magistrate's court for breaking the law in this respect. It is 

 said that the fines collected during the first four months of 

 1864 amounted to 6,112 dollars, or £1,370. I was informed 

 that since the prohibition, gambling has been exceptionally 

 permitted for some days at the time of the China new-year, 

 when not only the Chinese population, but many of the 

 leading merchants may have been seen eagerly mixing 



