Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1861-1862, 1862-01-09
RICHMOND WHIG.
GAN GAMBLING BE SUPPRESSED :.
To he Efitor Of he Who;

uHel me- as doubt not II has the minds Of many o.
your readers with sorow Whatever the object Of tht
writer may have been, the arcls will not serve any
other purpose than that of palating the vice Of gan
bing-a vice. as the author Of the communication con-
ies'es, "of no ordinary magnitude" He wishes to ses
gambling promptly and finally suppressed and what
means docs he uss to further this important result? III.
uses scarcely any language but what will inevitably serve
70 encourage those who commit this vice to prosecute
their ruinous career. He cites for their qualification
whs. be alleges Scrplural snd Apos,oital e1ampts
He tells them that, "bsiore the ,od ehance was god
7t whose aas millions worshpped, and that when Barsa-
has and Matthias recorded in tho ess chapter Of the
Acts OF the Apostles iound themselves rival Aspirans for
lvacsnt Aposeshp tNey resolved gamble for L. AID
that Aathias won it, Now, TO say nothing of The uu.
happy manner m which tho latter part of tha extract
was penned lcs mc ask "Erskine" where lie found Gu
hat any species of gambling prevailed before the aood
Who or what is his authority for the statements The
B bic says nothing the subject, never mentions
1 iadi'dual Of thi. period lagiog anything to
10 with games of chance. If the Bibs is silent on the
subject, one is entirely at loss tp know whence the
Triter of this article got his information for there
40 other authentic history of the Antedeuyisn era, or
indeed any history at all. II the assertion could have
been proven, and the fac! established the period wa
certainly most unfortunate TO refer to- fortErsk-
| ine," who admits the immortality of gambling might
very readily have remembered that was on account Of
the vices Of the Of that time that the Alod came
and swep: them away. Who informed tae author of
the communication in question hat sarslbss snd Mat.
thiss "iyal aspi,ants" for the vacant Apostle
shipy The account in Acts, which he qlotes, says
nothing OF their beiag aspirlns" to the Office saws
nothing Of their being rivals, desiring the position
At all Wha! is the authority for saying that they re-
solved to gamble for il? Tho account doesn. state
that they had anything 10 wish what done on the
occasion. II does inform that the1o two Dis
cPcs we're even p?ssent at the time referred TO- What
does he gs; his information from! Il he had examined
.de narrative ias;eai of trusting to Vague Tesol
lection oft he seems to have doue he would hay,
ia tha. tie lo cIs. by Others /. IS evident from
he tngulse tha. these Disciples had nou ht to do
With The &c; which elevated them to off,c. Taey did
no gamble Tor the position, did anybody gamble Oh
th' oecl'iJa, as can b. shown by mo5asmoa Illus.
traitor. When landed e1iati' to be divided bstweea
SAL thiec heirs, and into ihrel equal pass it ia most
common thi,g for three tickets, representing these thre
Of the a5d acsiS5a;ed By the yet This Ia aa nOt
eru lot AID GORE p,ads the ancient lo in p,inciIc
such IS WAS rssl by the Apostles in the selection Of one
10 m the vacaacy o;osouci by the Apostacy and death
of Judas aud by tle Roman soldiers 10 who should
have the seamless Of the crGcifed Jesus. There
va, no gambling in the case, property o! one man
plssiag 20 the hlnls OF another upon tusn OF die
without any equivasntLhe eirGuns,al nee, and almost
done crcunsaucs which constitutes the essence aud
wee OF gambling.
al. - L.. .b,4, 1;,y
20 on this writer informs cf the popularity Of this
practice in high circles" arguing from this circumstance
that the evil HIS strong aposOn to DO o'eFthroWn
The gentlemen nigh; well have arguci the same thing
n rep e. to other evil Mr. Clay ands. Prct-
tiss he tells Us glmb,d rsy, G-d SO did Chnlcs james
Fox, aud Richard Basey S,sSl,n. All o! which is
tru,. and .om1 Of these msl were guilty OF oher vices
also Mr. Preuiss not oyly smbei but was notorious
" dissipaed drinking man, who died before his time,
from his excess. s. Hr Fox no: Only gambed, but k'p'
mistress was e rake generally, we're Lis ;hirbosom all
open in very vulgar indecent way, and was rarely, Is
NJ. d. Walpoe tells "a purGalby abutioas. Were all
these things porulsr in high crcls- Did the fact that hr
Fox con m,t.cd these things prove ta they were pop
usr in high ciycss Me- ciard B;insey Sheridan rot
OILY was a mos reckless g4mest,r but he tabituilly
d-auk himself to the most bals.ly ngoKcloD, and
irorned in debt, and hunted by sh2 H. and trusted by
40 one, AID dcl nna-ior5ak n and GoiiorsAken, and
was found dead in a ro5m not f habiation ior swine
We're I'll these tilgs poplar in high cclcs because
Nr. shsrdln who committed them was, on account Of
his brilliant talents, admitted % the bss society? Is il
the sober truth il the case Ar. Editor, that
The name OF CAssiu' houoTs this eorrup;ioa2"
Or does the oorruy ion tshonor the OF Cassius
hid Charles JsmgJ Fox croy the high moral pOs1n Of
william Pitt who never gambed ord nearly always lad
NJ Fox "sub polIccY" Did poor Sheridan, the yuy
sight OF whom surps,, remiadsd men ef cards, ev.
@, cc.upy tho omiueuc, aud have the influence o!
WLo,rforcs, or George Canning. These r
try did no. attain the weight, they would have scccr-
ei If they had been free from tha vice, and the corrup
ton surely disLonorcd "the name Of Clsius" The
names Of the prominent persons mentioned oy the wri
Ter Of the article under consideration did not coyi
give dignity or innocence to the practice in question: aad
there il nothing 10 the fact that these guilty
Of this vice to show that this practice cannot be
cepsully opposed or will continue to be committed with
no important dimnl!ion, as long "as grass grows, and
water flows" Tue argument,to my mind, Sir, Is wholly
destitute Of force, or even plAusibily.
"Frskiue" asks in i;alicS "when and where wa
g,mblng ever put down?' If the geat!emln had ia
psr;z himself with ho history OF gaming, he vonl
have known that the public Opuiol of which he spek
srb,inglv as rather ncnug to the other side, has pc
an end to female gambling for moasy. Tas paetce Of
the par. OF females is very rare, no. unbu.hiagl!
Committed ss It WAS in the seventeenth century, wien
called forth the elegant ire Of Joseph Addison Ia.
D; 8 no small trump. Bat must ass, when wa' rob
b,sy ever put down thoroughly, or iatemperauce o
iraad, or slardsrng murder Shall no t'uehearte
lover o. h kind and country, especiy in this inlanc
of our Conederacy when all Ough: to be endeavoring
give proper mould to it. laws aud its virtue shall
5 yrtacus patriot extr; himself to pu; down any vice. b
, Cause it has not been successfully warrcd gnst
days that are gone? Shall you, NJ litoT, oroso you
laudable JtI to give fora and color to the desni
Of the v,upg Rsplblc b,cluse evils havo always cx ste