Star.
London, England, 1826-06-03 00:00:00

TO THE PUBLIC.

AT the present moment, when so many ankles neces-
sary to the comforts of the poorer classes are more or less
liable to taxation, it may surely be a qoestion, whether the aboli-
tion of Lotteries, by which the State was a gainer of nearly half a
million per annum, be, or be not, a wise measure?

'Tis true, that, as they were formerly conducted, the system,
was fraught with some evil. Insurances were allowed upon the
fate of numbers through protracted drawings, and as the insurances
could be effected for very small sums, those who could ill afford
loss imbibed a spirit for gambling, which the Legislature very
wisely most effectually prevented, by adopting, in the Year 1809,
the present improved mode of deciding the Lottery all in one day.
As it is at present conducted, the Lottery is a voluntary tax, con-
tributed to only by those who can afford it, and collected without
trouble or expense; one, by which many branches of the Revenue
are considerably aided, and by means of which hundreds of persons
find employment. The wisdom of those who at this time resign
the income produced by it, and add to the number of the•unem-
ployed, may, as I have observed in a former Address, surely be
questioned.

Mr. Pitt, whose ability in matters of financial arrangement few
will question, and whose morality was proverbial, would not, I am
bold to say, have yielded to an outcry against a tax, the continuing
of which would have enabled hint to let the labourer drink his
bumble beverage at a reduced price, or the industrious artisan to
pursue his occupation by-a cheaper light. But we live in other
times—in the age of improvement! To stake patrimonial estates
at Hazard or Fcarti in the purlieus of St. James's is merely amuse-
ment, but to purchase a Ticket in the Lottery, by means of which
a man may gain an estate at a trifling risk, is—lmmoral! nay,
within a few hours of the time I write, were not many of our
Nobility and Senator, some of whom I dare say voted against
Lotteries, assembled, betting thousands upon a Horse Race?
In saying so much, it may be thought that I am somewhat pre-
sumptuous, or that I take a partial view of the ease. It is, how-
ever, my honest opinion, abstracted from personal considerations,
that the measure of abolishing Lotteries is an unwise one, and as
such I give it to that Public of whom I have been for many years
the highly-favoured servant, and fur whose patronage, though Lot-
(cries cease, my gratitude will ever continue.
As one of the last Contractors, I have assisted in arranging a
Scheme, the approval of which by the Public !slowly tesEhed by
the increasing demand for Tickets and Shares. It contain., and for
the first time that a Scheme ever did, SIX Grand PRIZES of
THIRTY THOUSAND POUNDS, all Sterling Money. For
the Sale of Capitats of that amount my Offices have long been
famed, fur there were Sold SYR FIRST, MR LAST, and SIOILI THAN
HALF of all that have ever been drawn. For the Sale of other
Capitals, my Offices are too well known to make it requisite for
me to enumerate, or make any remark, beyond a general one, that
they arc invariably successful, and of that the Public are fully
aware, by the continued preference I have received for many years.

This Lottery being, as Parliament has resolved,
LAsr THAT EVER WILL BR DRAWN,
Is to be decided all in One Day, 18th of JULY.

Tn a former Address I apprised the Public, that the price of
Tickets and Shares would rise after the 27th instant: it has risen,
it ii:ing, and will continue to rise as the Drawing approaches. •