The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-30 00:00:00

A BILL ABOUT HORSERACING.

The Reeporoist disapproves of Mr. Hughes's Bill on
several grounds,
,and asks what concern the State has in
such a matter. All Paws restricting the trade in its
management of horses, providing Queen's Plates and the
like, are laws establishing' bounties, and as we know by
the experience gainpd in every other trade, are radically
unwise. The dealer, 4 let alone, will treed the horse for
which there is a
.dep*ld ranch hotter than Government
can teach him, and the single law wes4oui,d propose upon
the subject is one abrogating ai.T that gxlet ,anti icaving
the trade as free alike from restriction and trom ,encour.
agement as the trade in cats. Mr. Hughes, among other
things, wants to stop three-year-olds running for Queen's
Plates ; but suppose five-year-olds only run, why 'should
Parliament pay for the racing of five-year-Olds any more
than for the.racing of donkeys on Hampstead Heath?
What is it to the State whether horses are swift or only
sure? With the second h.lf of Mr. Hughes's Bill we have
a little more sympathy, thonglapven on this side we are
unable to go as far as he does. The temptation offered
by lotteries, and therefore' by betting:shops, which are,
after all, nothing but lotteries -in a new
is a temptation to prime 'of a very exceptional kind.
The sliopman who would not steal thinks he may borrow,
and aft he 1Q044 npon winning as a certainty, soothes 4is
conscience as he 4.4oies thewith 'tlie idea that he is
benefiting himself without Injuring his master. It was
proved by the inquiry into thiEt afa# of hdteries that this
was their invariable consequeuee— artificial
temptation to theft was by this means placed 13e-fore
community largely entrusted with other persons' money,
and it was therefore, as we think, justifiably removed.
It would be quite justifiable and very wise to prohibit
horse-lotteries also, if we pan only_ do it, but it is very
hard to imagine a law whioli W 03114 hilly accomplish the
end, and which would have a &aim of being tarried out.
We can and do make it an offence to keep a bating:shop.
We can and do refuse legal assistance towards- the
recovery of a bet. We might possibly, by a little more
severity, and by punishing all newspaper proprietors and
bill-stibicere for advertising such places, make the law more
effective;hilt
Boxy we are to go farther we do not see.
The evil of ihOeifiisting g§:tem is undoubted, but it is one
of those evils whirl} we :can ,at 4e/.4 only hope to restrict
to those who are deteßaine.,d t.'e. indulge their taste. We
can by prohibiting agoimies, an; tholr` i',(ilyertisements
make it difficult for a gambler to bet withent'persapally
seeking a person to bet with, and that would he Something
gained, perhaps much gained ; but to gq further than that
is only *.eood one more to the long list of ourinoperative
laws. Won e:,• it were, put up a hedge, which it will
take the inajoritY some t.i.w.ible to break through ; but the
few who will take the trouble mnst of necessity be let
alone. Make' betting in- itself tin offence, and every 'het
Will be rather more a matter of 'hohotir than it is qt pre-
sent, yet short pf this we can do nothing, except dhow
betting shops, as we P,R314941g.P*,*

The Vice-Chancellor of Ireland has sanctioned Op
sale of the Dublin Exhibition buildings to Sir Arthur
Guinness and his brother for £51,000, to pay off the
debts.

Tm AXLMY NAVY.—The Broad Arrow says,
there is no likelihood .of py official gazette conferring
Bath appointirieilts puPished at this season. The
4rijiy and Navy Gazette, say that SW Spenper Robinson,
K.C.B. cue of the Lords of the Adtniraliy; and be
controller of the 04y, has #rrived in London, and
given satisfactory .accounts of the performan'c,es of the two
turret-ships Captain gonorp*., puCelfpecially of those
of the latter. "he successor to Vice-Admiral Jill. Thomas
Symonds, K.C.8., commanding the Channel Squadron
has not been as yet decidedly fixed upon. butice-
Admiral E. G. Fanshawe is still the favourite at the pro-
fessional Clubs.—Having in view the present state of
Canadian affairs,
it is hardly probable that the Ist Batta-
lion 60th Rifles will be withdrawn- from Canada for the
present. Refiy-Admiral Loring, C. B. , has been nominated to
succeed Rear:Admiral Key, as Superintendent of
Portsmouth Dockyard,—The appoint rent of District In-
spector gusketry at Aldershot is vacant by the promo-
tion of Captain D. Thompion, 67th Foot, to 'a majority
in MS regunent.-LThe Myted Service Gazette says' Captain
E, 11. ThelWall has been app9iuted Gunnery Instructor to.'
the Royal lylarhie Artillery, vice WArthur, appointed
Payra‘s,W.,

LAW AND POTAOK.

CliiiiHUH-RAVia
Church-rate case has has been tried in respect of the
parish church of Edgmond, Salop, in the diocese of Lich-
field. The suit was brought to pay off an advance by the
Public Loan Commissioners for the repair of the church,
and the sum in dispute was 10s. Mid. at the rate of 2d. in
the pound on the property of the defendant, a parishioner.
The question in dispute was the validity of a poll taken
at the vestry meeting, at which the application of the
Loan Commissioners was resolved upon. It was con-
tended it should have been the poll of the parish, not of
the vestry meeting. The Dean of Arches decided that
the poll was regular, and left the rest of the case to be
subsequently deci.ied.
THE UNITED SERVICE COMPANY. —The question whether
it is competent for a company, by special resolution, to
release persons who have subscribed the memorandum of
association from the obligation of taking the number of shares
set opposite to their names has been raised in the Rolls
Court. The United Service Company (Limited) was
started in 1865, when General Hall became one of the
directors, and subscribed the memorandum of association
for 500 shares, only 250 of which were allotted to him.
Three years later the Board released him and other sub-
scribers from their liability in respect of shares subscribed
for, but not allotted. The company has since been wound
up, and the official liqudator has applied for the addition
of General Hall's name to the list of contributories, in
respect of the 250 shares not allotted. Several other cases
depended on this one. The Master of the Rolls decided
that General Hall's name must be settled on the list
in respect of the 250 shares subscribed for by him but not
allotted.

A PATENT CASE.—A case arising out of a dispute about
a patent has been brought before Vice-Chancellor
Matins. A person named Wright, who was the holder
of a patent for making kitchen ranges, entered into an
agreement with Mr. Hassall by which the latter was to
be the sole manufacturer of the patented article. Wright
afterwards entered into agreements with three iron manu-
facturers at Sheffield, Hassall having filed a bill to re-
strain them from manufacturing the ranges the defendants
objected that the agreement with him had not been
registered under the Patent Amendment Act.—The Vice-
Chancellor was of opinion that the agreement did not
require to be registered, and the defendants ,having had
notice of it were bound by its provisions. The objection
was unsustainable in any case, as the agreement had now
been registered, and the registration would date back to
the time of filing.
THE BOARD OF WORKS.—An application has been
made in the Court of Exchequer to set aside an award of
compensation made by an arbitrator between the owner
of a house in Parliament-street, and the Board of Works.
The claimant was a tailor who had been in business
for many years and the arbitrator had awarded
him a large sum as compensation for his house, and a
further sum for the goodwill of his tusiness." A rule was
obtained last term on the ground that no compensation
ought to have been given for goodwill, but the court held
the compensation was properly awarded and discharged
the rule.

THE PROSECUTION OF MR. BENNETT.—The Dean of
Arches stated in court that he gave Mr. Bennett, of Frome,
leave to appeal on his decision and he had received a
letter from the Registrar of the Judicial Committee, telling
him the case had been remitted to his Court. He had
been informed that the promoter had taken no further
proceedings, and accordingly notice must be given that
the case should be at once proceeded with, or struck off
the books of the Court.