438 



GAMING. 



Withm the 



Metropolitan 



District. 



Gaming in a 

 public place. 



dog, cock, or other animal as aforesaid, shall forfeit and 

 pay a penalty not exceeding bl. for every such offence." 

 It has been held to be no offence under this section to 

 assist at a cock-fight unless in a place kept or used for the 

 purpose id). 



By the Metropolitan Police Act, 1839 (2 & 3 Vict. c. 47), 

 s. 47, it is enacted, "that every person who within the Metro- 

 politan Police District shall keep or use or act in the man- 

 agement of any house, room, pit, or other place for the 

 purpose of fighting or baiting lions, bears, badgers, cocks, 

 dogs, or other animals, shall be liable to a penalty of not 

 more than •"•/., or in the discretion of the magistrate may be 

 committed to the house of correction, with or without hard 

 labour, for a time, not more than one calendar month ; and 

 it shall be lawful for the commissioners of police, by order 

 in writing, to authorize any superintendent, belonging to 

 the Metropolitan Police Force, with such constables as he 

 shall think necessary, to enter any premises kept or used 

 for any of the purposes aforesaid, and take into custody 

 all persons who shall be found therein without lawful 

 excuse, and every person so found shall be liable to a 

 penalty of not more than 5.s., and a conviction under this 

 Act of this offence shall not exempt the owner, keeper, or 

 manager of any such house, room, pit, or place from any 

 penalty or penal consequence to which he may be liable for 

 the nuisance thereby occasioned." 



By 5 Geo. 4, c. 83, s. 4, people " playing or betting in 

 any street, road, highway, or other open and public place, 

 at or with any table or instrument of gaming, at any game 

 or pretended game of chance," were to be deemed rogues 

 and vagabonds, and to be liable to imprisonment with hard 

 labour for any term not exceeding three calendar months. 

 It having been held that the words " instrument of 

 gaming " here signified things destined for that purpose, 

 and did not, therefore, apply to halfpence used for pitch 

 and toss (e), nor to cards (/), this enactment was 

 amended by the 31 & 32 Vict. c. 52, s. 3, which extended 

 its provisions to persons wagering or gaming in a public 

 place with " any coin, card, token, or other article used as 

 an instrument or means of such wagering or gaming at any 

 game or pretended game of chance." Both of these enact- 



[d) Morletj V. Greeiihalgh, 32 L. 

 J., M. C. 93; Clarice v. Hague, 29 

 L. J., M. C. 105 ; Coyne v. Brady, 

 9 L. T., N. S. 30. 



(e) TTatson t. Martin, 13 W. E. 

 144. 



(/) S. f. Soach, per Erie, J., at 

 Chambers, July 12, 1856. 



