The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1858-07-08

celestial empire. In the same city that q primo
of the blood royal stakes palaces upon the cast o
q die, the prisoner in his cell draws straws with
his fellow captive to see which shall eat tb.
rations for both. In Russia when men have gam.
bled away all they have, even to their wives and
children. they sometimes stake themselves upoi
the cast, and if unsuccessful, become the slaves o
the winner. The Malays, when everything they
have is gone by gambling, abandon themselves Z
desperation, and intoxicating themselves witt
opium. rush forth into the streets with their sharl
creeses drawn, stabbing and striking every person
that they meet. 1t is lawful for any man to
shoot a Malay thus ss running a muck" An
American writer relates a circumstance which oc.
CURED some years ago at an Indian encampmen;
in one of the western territories of the United
States. Two Indians of different tribes were
gambling together. One of them had at first a
g run of luck" Soon, however, the tickle tide o.
fortune turned in favor of his opponent, and in r
short time he lost, MT only what he had gained
but his horse. his blanket, his rife, and his Who'll
equipment. Finally he staked his scalp agains'
the winnings of his adversary. That too was Ice
and the victor, quickly drawing the knife aronnc
his head tore away the reeking trophy. Their
was but one stake left-his life. He offered that
and again lost. Calmly bending forward he
awaited the fatal blow, and the tomahawk of the
winner, crashing through his skull, ended his
game forever.
1t is difficult to realize the extent Of the fasci-
nation which gambling possesses. In many cases
it seems to bewitch those who have tasted the for
hidden waters, and they become intoxicated with
the draught,-to awaken, perhaps, after the
dream is over, to a realizing sense of their folly,
just as the throbbing head and fevered brow fol-
low close upon the drunkard's revel. In Califor-
MIA and Australia, particularly, during the last
few years, the hard-earned substance of many an
Industrious man. who had left home to win
money for others than himself, has passed into
the impure hands of professional gamblers or
keepers of gambling hells, leaving the victims dis
couraged and disheartened, to sink beneath the
burden Of misfortune, or to begin the world
anew, and, perhaps, unmindful of the lessons OF
experience, to repeat the same old programme
again. Many instances have occurred of heavy
failures, occasioned entirely by the gambling
habits of the members of the firm. We recall
one case in particular, where for upwards of q
year the senior partner of u large commission
house in San Francisc. was in the habit of nightly
visiting a fashionable gaming saloon and secretly
squandering large sums of money. The firm
failed, of course. The wealth Of Crasus could
not for a long time have resisted such a drain.
The news of bankruptcy came like n thunderbolt
upon the creditors of the house, and the dividend
from the assets was a mere nominal sum.
When men are frantic with the spirit of play.
restrictive laws can be of little avail-because the
same sense Of honor that prompts a man to sac.
L;n,Salf x-;lI la-ar H., cro,D or-o.l,~~ -
the magistrate. Yet it is proper that laws should
exist, and well that they do, in order that the at
tention of men may be directed, not only to the
penalties which they incur, hut to the confidence
they repose in sharpers, who, if successful
N play, are certain to be paid with scrupulou.
and who, if unsuccessful, have it in THEN
power to save their money by informing.
The lottery is a common and popular method
IF gambling-being Il game OF chance in which
he plague has, if possible, even less influence thar
n that of the dice. The possibility of drawing :
prize is the bait which induces unthinking peoplr
o invest their capital in this Improbable way.
The chances of success are always against the
holder Of tickets. They must necessarily be so
n order To leave Il margin of profit to the pro-
ector OF the scheme. No one versed in the the
nv of probabilities would for a moment think Of
1
uch an investment rs a source of pecuniary gain,
ven if, as is not always the case, the lottery IL
conducted in a fair and impartial manner. and
he prizes are not myths, existing only upon the
ills and in the imaginations of those who seek
hem. They have a very neat way of managing
hese affairs in Europe. Some enterprising indi-
gets up a lottery, with shares perhaps to
he amount of a million or two francs. and prizes
n proportion, the first Of which is a 81 chateau on
he Rhine,'' with magnificent estates, and, to
ali, a title of nobility. This prize is par
icularly attractive to maid servants and Wallets.
The possibility of becoming owner of a grand
hateau, and of being surrounded with servants
nd dependents and all the luxuries that wealth
an procure, is a strong temptation to people Oh
his class, and when to these attractions is added
he possession of a title of nobility, the temptation
ecomes irresistible. The prospectus of the
cheme are scattered with a lavish hand through
ut England, France, and all Southern Europe,
nd the shares are eagerly seized by the foolish
eople that are imposed upon by this precious
umbug. When the greater part of the tickets ,
re taken up, a notice is issued to the effect that,
n accordance with the general wishes of the
hareholders, the directors of the lottery will at
nee proceed with the drawing, without waiting
,r the allotment of all the shares. So the draw
~ takes place, the prizes are declared, and it v
cry curiously. but invariably happens that all :
ne rich prizes belong to the numbers that are
taken up, and nobody gets them or if once $
a while, for the encouragement of the share
olders, somebody does draw a prize, it is usually :
me lucky German, with an unpronounceable
anne, who nobody ever heard of before, and who
obody can find.
A case occurred in Paris a few years since of a .
,otman who, learning through the newspapers q
tat his ticket had Won a prize which made him y
millionaire, at once threw up his situation and Il
{ up an establishment of his own, with horses, "
n d