In the House of Commons on Friday, May 11th, Mr.
John Buchan moved the second reading of his welcome Bill to make greyhound racing subject to local option, The .Government had promised facilities for the Bill, but left the house a free vote. Mr. Buchan made no pretence of liking local option, but he thought that in this case it was the most convenient_ means of giving districts the opportunity of deciding whether a greyhound track was or was not wanted. Personally he found greyhound racing attractive and interesting, though there was too little racing and far too much waiting. The fact remained, however, that the tracks were poten- tial open-air casinos and were rapidly becoming ubiqui- tous. It would be hypocrisy to forbid the closed casino and leave its open-air relation unregulated. The right thing was to take action while the system was still in its infancy. The Home Secretary unexpectedly stated that the police had reported that greyhound racing had not increased juvenile betting, though it had increased betting in general, and that probably it had decreased drinking. Nevertheless, the Home Secretary said that he would vote for the Bill. The second reading was carried by 222 votes to 18.
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