THE LOTTERIES (WAR CHARITIES) BILL.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Szn,—We are permitted by the laws of our country to do "evil" knowing that evil may come, but not "evil" in the certainty that good will come. Gambling on racecourses is freely permitted, and gambling by thousands who have never been on a racecourse in their lives. It is conceivable that of the eighty Members who supported Mr. Taylor and rejected the Lotteries (War Charities) Bill at least half have lost or won money at games of chance and skill and hold themselves blameless. But to allow the Red Cross pearls to be raffled for the benefit of war charities would be in their eyes a scandal. Why should "little raffles conducted at bazaars under clerical auspices" (Spectator, p. 138, August 10th) be above (or beneath) the criticism of purists? Nature herself is an incorrigible gambler. The eggs on which a hen sits patient0 for three weeks may not all contain chickens. If all emerge, it is seldom that all live to grow up. The pearl-fisher may open a thousand oysters before he finds a marketable pearl. Some nuts are blind. Out of a packet of seeds from the most reputable of seedsmen some refuse to germinate, sow we never so wisely. Marriage, we know, is a lottery. So is birth. The virtuous parents of twelve children do not succeed in rearing a round dozen of paragons. Life is a "gamble," no matter what Mr. Taylor and his supporters may think or do, and life would be very dull if it were not so. No one engages in business, no ono
dabbles in stocks or shares, with the intention of leaving off just where he began. Is it a sin to set a sprat to catch a mackerel?— I am, Sir, &c., IDA Poo. Winsley Corner, near Bradford-on-Avon.
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