The daily Alaskan., 1911-12-01
STATE OT1ERIEs.
Rise and Fall Of a Tremendous
 Gamble In England.
STARTED UNDER QUEEN BEss
The Firss One Was "ssishout Any sianeks, centaynins Good Priesa ss Vel Of Rsdy Nancy ss of Plate and certsine serts id MarehauadiRss."

] Vel of Redy Money ss of Flsts and
 certaine sorts si @arehaundiRss." Though 1t Is certain that the custom of holding lotteries was pracliced In i European countries as far back as the middle of ihe fifteenth century. R seems that this particular Idea was unknown In England until more than llOo years later. The lottery. In fact. appears Co have been included among those many other important things. both good and bad, that were Intro duced Co public uuti,e during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. it being her maj i estv's exprpss command that thls ready means for raising the wind on behalf of the state finances was adopted.
 The first English lottery mast have taken a good deal ot arranging. owing, no doubt. to the fact that the people of that day required a certain amount of education in tiiis form of gambling. for although the idea was frs, brought forward in the year I556 Gn Mary's reignl. the actual drawing dld not take place until three years later
 One of the original bills of Queen Ellzabeth's lottery has fortunately been preserved. printed in black letter and measuring hre feet In length and one and one-half feet vide It begins by announcing "A very rich LotterIe General. without suy blancks. con tayning a number oi good prices tsicl. as vel of redy money as of plate and certaine sorts of marchaundizes, hay ing ben valued and priced by the com maundement Of the Queene's most ex- cegent majestic, by men expert and skiiful." and goes on Co say that 'the same lotterie Is erected by Der mRjes- ties order to the intent that such com moditie as may chaunce to arise there of. after the charges borne. may be converted towar,les the reparatIOn of the havens and strength of the Realme and toward such ether pubtque good workes." There were something Ike 5000 prizes in this gigantic venture. of which the first was Of the value of E5,O00, while the entrance fee was only two shilIiugs and six pens
 James |. lent his special favoure to lottery whose object was the present plantation of English colonies in Virginia, tho prizes consisting of E5.O00 in money, besides rewardes of casuaHtie." the tickets being drawn '1n a new built house al the west end of paurs the .l9th of June. lGi2T This lottery does not, however, appear Co have been very popular, although we are assured by the historian that it was "plainely carried and honestly performed" for owing to the want of "dlllng uppe the number of lots there were taken out and throwne away threcscore thousand blanckes without ahating any one prize" certainly q very generous proCeeding on the part of the promoters. The lucky msu on this occasion WIS Thomas Sharplife, "R Taylor of London" who won the first prize of "foure thousand Crownes In fayre plate. which was sent Co his houSe in very stately manner" Though Co some extent poorly patron ized, this lottery appears to have evoked a good deal Of interest among the important personages of tbe day. for We are told that during the whole tyme of the drawing there were al- wales present diuers worshipfull Knights and F,squires. accompanied with sundry graUe discreet Citizens"
 As time went on lotteries for every conceivable purpose were held in Lon don and other important towns, with the inevitable result that trouble con stantly arose between the promoters and those Of tl3e ticket holders who happened Co ba unlucky or thought they had been unfairly treated, ss no doubt many of them were. We find, therefore, that periodical orders were issued for the suppression of this form of gambling. though the law does not seem to have had any great effect. At last. however. any one proposing to bold a lottery was obliged to send In a petition to the king. and In Charles IFS reign we 8nd mention of several such applications. One of these was for ethe ransom of English slaves in Tunis, Algiers or the Turkish gaIleys or for any other charitable use the promoter making it a bar gain that after he bad paid in q third of the profits he should reserve the rest for bis own expenses and the re- pair of his fortunes, ruined by loyal ty.r
 Lottery o6leesi for the sale Of tickets were established all over the country as time went Cn. but none was more famous than the agency of one Bish, who lourished at the beginning ot the nineteenth century. This enterprising individual. whose chief offices were io Cornhill and at Charing Cross, must have made a considerable fortune out Of the much stlfer business Of selling tickets than taking them. But bis prosperous carer. as also that Of his fellows, came to an abrupt end when the lottery act was passed 10 1923, bs which lt was provided that after ths drawing of the state lottery for that year there were to be no more of them. II London Globe.