The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-22 00:00:00

GAMING IN PUBLIC-HOUSES.

- The decision of. Sir Charles Wetherell, upon an appeal
from the conviction' of certain Magistrates of Bristol, at
the recent Quarter_Sessions in that eity, is of consider=
able importance to the Licensed Victuallers of the United
Kingdom,-=as going far towards settling the question
upon which opinion has hitherto been much divided,
touching-.the lawfulness of 'permitting certain innocent
games to-be-played, for mere- pastime or amusement, in
a public-house.

7
The facts of the case were simply these :—Mr. Lewis,
of the Plume of Feathers Tavern, in Redclifr-street,
Bristol, kept a bagatelle-table in one of the rooms of his
house, and at this table it has been customary for some
of his visitors to amuse themselves, occasionally, but
without " playing for money or money's worth." An

information- was-laid against him before three of the
Magistrates, for permitting " gaming " in his house,
against the statute and the tenour of his license • anti
the -Magistrates had thereupon 'found hiM guilty of 'the
offence, and fined him accordingly. The appeal was to
the Recorder.' from this conviction. • The facts were ad-
nutted by the appellant, and it was admitted by the re-
spondents, that no, proof had been had that the playing
alleged to have taken place-had been " for money or
money's worth." . •
In support of the 'conviction it was argued that the
words of the statute, 9th George IV. c. 51, sot forth in
the licence, "Nor shall permit or suffer the playing at
unlawful games, or any other gaining whatsoever, com-
prehended gaming, or.playing at games of every descrip-
tion, whether of skill or chance, and whether for money
or not in a Word, that " gaming" is playing at any
sport, for any purpose whatsoever, and is contrary to the
tenour of the publican's liCence.

In' this view of the question the Court acquiesced, and
the conviction was therefore confirmed; with costs.
We are not disposed to find- fault with the .decision
of Sir.Charles-Wetherell' as :an unsound one. On the
contrary, we think it impossible to look into the
gromids and reasons upon which it rests without being
• satisfied that it is a fair . exposition of. the spirit
and intention of the law as it now stands. The
famous -statute; 33 Henry VIII., prohibits, by spe-
cial enactment, every game known at the time when it
was passed, whether such game was played for money- or
for mere sport. It was.the playing at the-game, and not what
the game was played for, that was made to constitute an
offence under the statute. •Then come the statutes of
Charles 11. and of, Anne, .expressly prohibiting gaming
for money, ; and adding several specific games to. those
already enumerated in the prohibitory statute of Henry
the Eighth. The games enumerated in these statutes
are thus made " unfulgamea" by Special enactment ;
and then; as cumulative upon these " unlawful games,"
conic the words of the 9th-George IV., c. 51, " and . any
Other gaining whatsoever," which gaming, as the Learned
Judge remarked, must be taken ejusdem generis with
those games which had been declared to be unlawful;
and it is obvious that a bagatelle-table is ejusdem generis
—a species of gaming of the same kind as the games de-
scribed in the preceding statutes.
It is be thus to look -the 'matter fully in the face, in-
stead of expressing a
,doubt touching the: soundness of
Sir,Charles Wetherell's law. The words of the statute

under which publicani hold their licence are too carefully
drawn, and are too 'stringent in their operation, to per-
mit playing at any game, however 'simple or rational—at
any sport; however innocent and .recreative, and any
attempt.to break through thent; therefore, will but place
the' licence in jeopardy. •
Whether the law is it reasonable and Wholesome law, is al-
together another question ;'and upon this point, we appre-
hend.there will not be much -diversity .of opinion amongst.
reasonable men. It is, no doubt, right and proper enough
to discourage and suppress gambling, and to prevent
public-houses being made the resort of gamesters ; but
that furnishes no reason why innocent amusement,
rational sport, or skilful'recreations, should be altogether
prohibited. The statutory• obligations upon licensed
victuallers are sufficiently numerous and stringent, with-
out this severe prohibition, to preient disorderly conduct
in their houses, whether arising from. gaming or from
any other cause, and to punish them when such occurs
and this sweeping prohibition is,. therefore, as unneces-
sary for any useful purpose,. as it is unreasonable and
oppressive. - -
The reasons assigned in the statute of Henry VIII.
for the suppression of gaming, and •iepeated by Sir
Charles Wetherell, taken together with the fact that
gaming, or playing at games of every conceivable spe-
cies, is permitted in houses that do not fall within the
Licensing Act, exhibit, in a very striking light, the ab-
surdity of the law as it now stands. These reasons are,
that playing at games or sports has a tendency to draw
,people from their. Usual .occupations—to induce them to
waste their time—ind to beget in them habits of idle-
ness. Not to remark upon the fact, that the same rea-
sons may be alleged against-all varieties and kinds of re-
creation, and that, therefore, they are not conclusive
against gaming alone—it is Obvious that 'this tendency
cannot attach to gaming iu public houses only. If such
reasons be conclusive against bagatelle in. a pub-
lic-house, and. furnish a justification of the law
which prohibits it there, they must be equallY conclusive
against bagatelle, billiards, and every other game, when
played in a coffee-house, or a smoking-divan. For ex-
ample : gaming is prohibited 'in the public-house, while
it is permitted in all Other houses. The law will permit
a man to open a house, and to keep it open for billiard
and other play, in spite of its tendency- to draw men
from their avocations, and to induce them to waste their
time ; but it visits the licensed victualler with penalties
and ruin, if he but occasionally permit his customers to
recreate themselves with similar play ! What can be
urged in favour of such a distinction as this ; or, what
good reason can be given for thus placing the heavily-
taxed and closely-watched licensed victualler at such a
disadvantage, in comparison with all the rest of society ?
The law which does so is an unnecessary, an absurd, and
an oppressive law, and should forthwith bo reformed.—
Advertiser.

The Abbe Gtasset, who died lately at. Bagneres,
aged 97, has left a perpetual rent of GOOf., to be divided
annually between the thr,ee persons whom a jury, corn-
posed of the Bishop, the Prefect, and. the Mayors of
Tarbes and Bagneres, shall declare to have performed
the most meritorious actions.
EXTRAORDINARY SHOT. —We understand
that as James Agars, gamekeeper to A. Bcsville, Esq.,.
of ThOrpe, was shooting on the Gth inst, with a double
barrelled gun, a woodcock and a bittern rose at the same
time, when he killed them both, being one
with each bar-
rel.—York Courant.

Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards—Lieutenant C. S.
Burdett, from the 60th Foot, to be Ensign and Lieutenant,
vice Fraser, who exchanges, Jan. 21.
Scots' Fusilier Guards—Captain F. Seymour, .from the 19th
Foot, to he Lieutenant and Captain, vice Byron, who ex-
changes, Jan. 21.

sth •Regiment of Foot—Captain W. C. Kennedy, from the
2d West India Regiment, to be Captain, vice Jenkins, who
exchanges, Jan. 21.

11th—Foot—..J. T. T. Boyd, Gent., to be Ensign, by pur-
chase, vice Lord Kimbolton, appointed to the Ist or Grena-
dier Regiment of Foot,Guards, Jan. 21.

19th Poot—Captain the Hon. G. A. Byron, from the Scots'
Fusilier Guards, to be Captain, vice Seymour, who exchanges,
Jan. 21.

37th .Foot—Lieut. S. R. M. Byrne to be Adjutant, vice
Lewis, promoted, Jan. 21.
60th Foot—Lieut. J. W. S. Fraser, from the Coldstream
Regiment of Foot Guards, to be Lieutenant, vice Burdett, who
exchanges, Jan. 21.
65th Foot— A. Macdonnell, Gent., to be Ensign; without
purehaEe, vice Rhatigan, promoted, Jan. '2l.
Ist West India Regiment—Sergeant-Major A. Smith to be
Quartermaster, vice Allard, deceased, Nov. 18.
2d West India Regiment—Captain T. Jenkins, from the sth
Foot, to be Captain, vice Kennedy, who exchanges,Jan. 21.
Royal Newfoundland Companies—H. B. Chambers, Gent., to
be Ensign, without purchase, vice Gillespie, promoted, Jan. 21.
HOSPITAL STAFF.--A,.sistant-Surgeon J. Murtagh, M.D.,
from the 6th Foot, to be Staff-Surgeon of the Second Class,
July 2, 1941.
Commission by the Lord Lieutenant of Haverfordwest.
-

George Hoch, ksq., to be Deputy Lieutenant, Jan. 8.
Commissions by the Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire.
Henry Edwyn Chandos Scudamore Stanhope, Esq., to be
Deputy Lieutenant ; William Unett, Esq., to be ditto.
Commission by the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire.
King's Regiment of Cheshire Yeomanry Cavalry.—Tabley
Troop—William Worthington, Gent., to be Cornet, Jan. 7.