The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1851-12-18

holy or privately, any lottery, game or device OF
ever name it may be called, for the purpose Of az
posing setting to SALE or disposng Of any houses,
lands, tenemsnts, or real estate, or any money,
goods, or things in action Whoever easnds agaiass
this provision, shall be deemed guilty Of misds-
mesnor, and, on conviction, be subject to 6ns
equal to the whole sum or value by which said lot
terry. game, or device, shall be made; and IL such
amount cannot be ascertained, to fne Of $500,
or to imprisonment not exceeding two years, or
both, in the discretion of the court.
SEQ g, 30, and 81. create penalties for selling.
procuring, or vending tickets for Offering for sale
any property dependant upon the drawing of any
lottery and the forfeiture Of the property offered for
sale or distribution, and make IL the duty of tho
district attorneys to demand sue for, and recover
in behalf Of the State, all property go forfeited and
to pay the proceed, into the county treasury foe
the benefit of the poor.
Sec. 80 forfeits all prizes drawn IN any lottery
forbidden BY law, to the use Of the poor and mskesi
the duty of the overseers of the pooraof the town
where the person persons drawing such prize, Or
any OF them, shall reside, to sue fer the Same In
their names; and they shall recover the same in IN
action for money had and received.
Such are our statute laws, pursuant to the eoo-
stitution; and nothing can be clearer as to thsir
application to the lottery scheme and device sdop-
ted by the Art Union for the distribution of their
property by the way of lot or chance, and no
thing can be clearer than that it ID, In all its
essential elements, and to all intents and pur.
poses, lottery.
The third section gives them the power to mako
such Q constitution, by laws, and reg ulations from
time to time, as they shall think proper, but ct the
same time restricts them to the fol- owing objects
l. For prescribing their respective functions and
the mode of dischargng the same 2. For the "a,
mission of new members; 8. For the government Of
the officers and members; For REQUESTING the
annual contributions towards the funds, the time
of meeting, and for expeLng members not oon-
forming to the constitution, bylaws, and regula-
tions This constitution very clearly defines all
their chartered powers and rights, which by the
last section it is expressly provided that they shall
possess the general powers, and be subject to tne
restrictions and liabilities prescribed in tho Third
Title of Chapter xviii of tho First Part of tbs
Revised Statutes Of this State, the sixth sub
division of the first section of which is as fol-
any law Of this State for the management of its
transfer Of II, stock" 1tis here obvious that tho
association can have no powers beyond those pre-
scribed to it by the act of Incorporation, which
in no respect authorizes them to dispose Of
their property by lottery, devise game of chance;
while the sixth subdivision of the general act rela
tive to incorporations previously stated express
y prohibits them from making any BY. laws fncon-
sistent with any law of the State. What thsss
statute laws are, have been SEEM and, not wihstAnd
ing, they do, in open and palpable violation Of
these statutes, distribute by . device, or scheme,
and By lottery, let, or chance the property Of tbs
association, in the face of these well known stat
utes-at least, well knewn to the managers aad
law against offenders 1t is true that, the fourta
section Of the act of January 70 1914, which changed
the name 70 the present one of Art Union, ths
words distribution Of works of art, provided for in
the constitution thereof and the annual election OF
officers, was changed, and provided to be held on
the first Friday preceding the 18th December; snd
that the twentieth article Of the constitution Of the
Association, adopted December, i8i7, provides
for the purchase or production of work. Of art,
principally paintings kali be distributed publicly
by lot, each member having one share for every -
paid. But this gives the association no authority
power to make q lottery, or to distribute these
IN ri
scheme. Nor did the Legislature, nor the act,
when it provided for the annual distribution on .
different day, mean, by referring to the constita-
ton, of the provision then existing Of tas
association, to sanction or legaize any suoh
thing as q lottery of the Art Union. II they
did. then are all our statutes, 10 effect, repealed
perty, money, and things in action, provided they
not called by the name Of lotery for. If this Is
not lottery, then game Of chance, which gives
one ticket holder costing %, property worth 1000,
worth less than s5, or blank. and the operation Of
which is to leave large profit to the mana gers-"a
rose by some other name which does not smell Is
sweet And If such things be so, it is time the pub
lie should know II, for such monopoly should not
be confined to an association because the managers
sId associates happen to be rich, influential. and
the highly respectable aristocracy of our city And
f they are sanctioned by law, public opinion
overlapping law" and these who are entrusted
with the administration of law san ,tion il, then
games Of chance and gambling should also be tols-
rated, ana lottery tickets sold, PROVIDED the mana
gers Of lotteries only call their tickets shares
subscriptions for the encouragement Of building
churches and academies of science. Selling po-
licies in these games Of chance is also legal,
certainly. II the drawing of the pictures OF
the Art Union Is right and legal. The sails
Of policies, which are nothing more than bets
upon the numbers and value of the pictures
drawn, in which the policy vender, for considers
ton Of one dollar, offers to pay sixty dollars IL
the numbers designated in the lottery scheme Of tho
Art Union comes out the highest priced picture, and
tickets If the is legal the other is equally 80;
and II the Art Union lottery scheme and drawing
goes on then every policy and lottery ticket vendsr,
II arrested, can turn upon and arrest the managers
of the Art Union, aud the vendors Of their shares
In this country the laws and their operation should
be equal, and not one law for the rich and another
for the poor. IL has been we'll said that racing
improved the breed Of horses, and answered, true,
but II was at the expense Of the morals Of the pso
pie. Does not this apply to the Art Union d.