Current Literature
LOTTERIES AND SWEEPSTAKES By C. L'Estrange Ewen A great deal of labour has been expended by Mr. C. L'Estrange Ewen on his Lotteries and Sweepstakes (Heath Cranton, 15s.), which gives a precise account of the private lotteries held in England since 1567 and of the State lotteries from 1694 to 1826, with chapters on lottery broking and insurance and on Scottish and Irish experience. In the days before the principle of limited liability had been established, the lottery was an easy way of raising capital. Our first colony, Virginia, was started by means of a lottery, and for many public enterprises in the eighteenth century, such as a London water- works or Sunderland bridge, the same method was adopted. Mr. Ewen is in error, by the way, in saying that Governor Pitt bought his famous diamond in 1802—a century out. State lotteries were an easy form of war finance. The moral of the book is surely that if our forefathers, having a vast experience of lotteries, both public and private, concluded that they did more harm than good and therefore put an end to them, we shall do well not to question their verdict. The author favours the revival of lotteries under regulation, but we think that few careful readers of his book will agree with him.
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