The Sun. — 1836-05-09 (London, England)

FRENCH PAPERS.  -CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES—SITTING OF MAY 7. M. Teste, Vice-President. The Order of the Day was the report of the Committee of Petitions. M. Champanbet (the reporter) read two petitions, the first of which, signed by M. Pichat, a merchant of Pans, prayed the Chamber to suppress the licensing system of public gaming-houses (hazard tables), or at least to diminish the number of those establishments in the capital ; the second, on the part of M. Begot, required the Clamber to commence a prosecution agalnet various gaming-houses for the restitution of 4500,000 francs, of which they had defrauded the city of Paris. The Committee had paitf special attention to the subject refbrred to in the above petitions, and had examined into the various allegations support of the prayer of the petitioners. it was said those houses were kept open at all hours, and that tradesmen, bankers' clerks, and minors, were permitted to enter them, and also that a considerable portion of the sums which ought to be paid to the city of Paris, was fraudulently withheld. The result of the investigation of the Committee, upon these complaints, showed that the houses in question were regulated ~by the Police a 3 well as they possibly could be. It then examinel the matter under two points of view,—first, that of morality ; and, secondly, as to the possibility of remedying the. evil by the suppression of those houses. As to the first, elere could be no doubt of the immorality of gaming tables, but it appeared that they were of the class of necessary evils, and that their suppression would not. destroy the syatem of gambling. Besides, if they were suppressed, the city of Paris would be deprived of a revenue of 5,000,000 f., which was applied for the support of the hospitals, and nevertheless gaming would be carried on to the same extent in private houses as was done in London, where such eitablishments, from their extreme immorality, were called hells—cefers.—(Laughter.) He should remind them of the opinion of Casimir Perier, who, speaking open this question, had said that the suppression of' gaining-houses could not be effected without leading to serious inconvenience. 'Faking all these points into consideration, the Committee thought it their duty to recommend that the above petitions he referred to the Minister of the Interior. M. de la Rochefoucault supported the prayer of the petitions, and cited numerous facts to show the demoralizing effect of gambling-houses ; ir. his opinion, they were the nurseries of all kinds of crime—suicide, assassinations, and robberies. For to those haunts tradesmen, bankers' and merchants' clerks, and minors, were seduced, and forced from one crime to another. Not later than a few months since, a student of medicine, named La Foret. who had gained 4,000 f. at rouge et noire in the Palais Royal, was followed from the garning-table,, robbed, and assassinated in the Rue Mazarine. it was *most singular that a Go. vernment. with such facts before their eyes, could persevere in supporting so immoral a syetem, merely because its suppression would deprive the city of nvie, 015,000,000E_ ; he, therefore, thought that this matter was deserving of the immediate consideration of the Minister of the Interior, to whom he bad no objection that the petitions should be referred. . .  M. Pugabe said he intended to :vote for the petitions being referred to the Minister of the Interior, but :n hi; absence, be should be glad to hear a few ~vords in et:planation friar) the President ol'the Council as to what measures the Government, was likely to adopt upon this important subject. The President of the Council said, that no doubt serious complaints had been m. de to the Government with respect to gaming-houses, end I.he petitioners were not the only persons who had addressed the Cr.hhwt for tio supprAsion of such establishments:. But it did not follotv from those complaints that solemn engagements were to be violated. It would have been but right had those petitioners pointed out the manner in whi:4l the Governnent could replace the sum of 5,000,000 f. vhich was thus to be sacrificed. The Ministers were asked Nitat they intended to do upon this question, but he was not bound to give an answer to the Chamber upon this point. There were two things to be considered—first, as to the dignity of the suppression ; and secondly, as to the mode cif replacing the 5,000,000 E There could be no difference of opinion as to the immorality of gaming, but it. was difficult to know how the evil was to be remedied. Besides, it was not likely that the Government could, so soon after Suppressing the lottery, consent to abandon so large a sum hq 5000,000 f. without any certain mode of supplying such a n'sAcieney. After some observations from M. Laft:tte, the Chamber decided upon referring the above petitions to the President of the Council and Minister of the Interior co:jointly.