The National Register.
London, England, 1818-06-01 00:00:00

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lki,o. 538.—V0L. XI.

POLITICAL DlSOUnrrioN.

.•—••mo•--.
ON LOTTERIEL

THE pester part of our countrymen visiting France
return bonze in general u much, or more impoverished
by .f..,lttli!eg. than by the imposition end entrances inci-
dent tartrayet!ing. 'Vbenui is it' There are g
houses enough in London ; yet tinny who never before
enteted one, and who, had they not crossed the water,
would in all probability never have thought of so doing,
are insen3ibly and almost irresistibly drawn into the
vortex of play from the povOer of contagion. The source
of this evil is not to be found in the national character of
Frenchman as compared with that of our own country-
man. Unquestionably the spirit of adventure, the feel-
;..ngs which reader GaT:ing a ruling passion, are much
more re.narkable in the inhabitants of this kingdom. than
i I any of her neighbours—still, however, the number of
individuals who amongst us engage in the consarning
vice of pl ly, are cinsparatively raw in proportion to those
who are its votaries in France. The cause of this is easily
tram' to that demoralizing system adopted by the
French Government, which scruples not to sanction
vice where it can be male productive of revenue.—
All the Gam ng house( in Paris are sanctioned by the
Government, and the sums it collects from their licenses
are immense. N 3 wonder then that where the odianz
attached to vied u this effaced by the countenance is
receives from t:e sanct.on of authority, the people
should Coate to feel a horror ire: it.

" Vice is i -I”ast:r of sts:ll knurls! mien.
"'The: to bz. hated. n 23113 bat to be seem"

But if Governments, which oaght to prove as much the
guardiaasef meat morals as of their persons and property.
instead of tearing off the mask which covers the hideous
features of vile, strive rather to render her attractive,
is it astonishing that misery and immorality abound
amongst a people? We believe there are few persons
of discernment who it had f r any length of time
the opportunity obser..int; the manners of the people
of France in her capital, but who have male similar
observations, and have witneased examples of the truth
of them. These evils, as we have said before, are almost
the work of the '; ivernmsat, and on contrasting our
manners with those of our neighb)urs, we are too apt
to congratulate aurae:WO for what we do not possess
en abseir:e of those propensities which render Gaming
Bit let as be just. The only difference be-
tween oureapes and our ne:glibatirs on the pint in
qaes:ion is, the slilference of opportunity, In Paris the
flaming houses are faurlic, here they are pr.:Jr:ft. Tftr:re
where the vice of Ga ming is tolerated it Ceases to be
t wilerel tli;geteefal -.here, where the laws farbld it
tne individual who cliga.-cs in it loses in a great mes-
tere his character. It is well it is so ; but it is stlll
e,:igular, that in tl.is -Mintry, whose laws stigmatise
tile vice in toseerv.l—the Government which enforces
t;: Ix.: Laws when: the °trance is mera:y betweea
sheelti, at the same time, sanction and en-
ccars.;e the gre >f It, whe:c it finis it conven:eat to
biome itso!!. a pa:•ty in Cie tranatactici. We allude to
:coteries, marl to tat Bill no in through the
House of CCM:71033 in suppart of them ; aril we should
coral:lee oars.::ve: deficient in oar duty to-
warls the pahli;orere we to omit to espress the strong
sense we feel of the injurious tend^ney of it. We
consider the syeettt of Lotteries us degrading to the
Goverment as it is per:lie:las to the people. It is
extarting money from the weak, the ignorant, the
wretched, and the tle.e;ierate. by flatterieg their worst
ar4 moat dangerous passions It is ex:Jul-aging a re-
Lance on the uneortui result of fartisnes in preference
to that which depends oa the never-fdlin?; powers of
anduetry and exertion, au I taas layin7 the fotindatian
of a tvile .spreaii ttg dem wkiet, is the (cre,