The Inangahua Times., PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1883.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1316, 29 October 1883, Page 2

The Inangahua Times., PUBLISHED TRI- WEEKLY. MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1883.

IN view of the reveia'iona recently made by the Melbourne Press in reference to the fraudulent character of the majority of the dp "consultations in that Colony, the Victorian Government have at length been driven by the force of public opinion to do something m the matter. Our cablegrams this morning relate that the Melbourne police have made a successful raid upon these freebooters ot the turf, capturing several of the most prominent offenders, together with a large amount of plunder. The step has been taken not a day too soon, indeed, pi'y is that it was not taken months a<jo, before they had reaped such a plentiful harves from an unsuspscting public. That it was not taken sooner may be attributed to the ; fact that there are in Melbourne, as there 1 are in New Zealand, numberless ho»a fi 7 e consultations drawn upon every racing event of the year, which are patronised by all classes, from the very highest to the very lowest. They are conducted by men of established reputation and business standing, and with all the publicity which the law will allow. As such they command the widest possible popularity, arid although technically forbidden by j legislation, " they are allowed to flourish under the very nose of the authorities in deference to the popular wish. Side by i . side wi'h them, however, there has grown up a most fruitful crop of bogus ' undertakings, and «hese have gone on increasing year by year, until the thing has assumed the form of a great national evil. The promoters of these fraudulent ataeept being able to allow their agents a verj tempting commission for the sale oi tickets-^a rate three and f out timet greater than could be offerecl i>'y the con ' : ductors of genuine consultations— it fol ) lowed, as a matter of course, that tlie sal« of rickets in .the former were pushec with an energy. and industry which'coulc not be enlisted on behalf of the hone's! investments, and with the result that ir all outside places the spurious- consulta tions gained very largely in the numbei of subscribers; It is not generally knowi perhaps that there are' 'many of thesi . Victorian so-called consultations, whicl I are never advertised at all,! or, in fact even known in Victoria, because the pro motera are too well known to the au " "thorities and public there $o give then the slightest chance of succeeding locally They have to depend entirely upon th< cred ulity of the "public abroad. New Zea land, Tasmania, and Sydney have hitherh been their only hunting grounds, and It is beyoud doubt that they have not hunter in vain. But the day of reckoning hai come round, thanks to the enterprise o the conductors of the Melbourne Herald who were the tirst fo put the bloodhound: of the law upon the trail of thes< scoundrels, who have so long, afid so sue } I ces3fnlly, fleeced the people of the colo nies. But satisfactory and all as it is t< learn that the Government of the adjoin ing Colony have at last lost patience witr , these impostors, it cariho' be otherwisi than' humilitating to New; jjealanders t< know that their confidence has been mis placed, and.their money gone into a sink It would be impossible •tsry j say how mani thousands of public money from thii >, Colony has goue into the .grip of thesi rogues, but that it reaches to an enornioui sum cannot be doubted. There will b( an' end to all this in future, at least om would think so. There is/room enougl in all conscience for racing investment within this Colony without sending thi money across >he sea. .^he great majority E of the sweep promoters in this < olony an men of whom, at all events, something ii known, who have a' least a habitation am - a name. The North fraud was no without its good effect. It led the publi 3 to demand in sweep promoters somethinj more tangi le as a guarantee of good faitl than a mere advertisement and a bundl of tickets. Men of the North stamp havi r ' long since been starved out of the profes sion of the sweepmonger in, this Colony s The majority of those promoters wh( ■^ now enjoy public confidence in ew Zea S land have been before the pu lie in thi it capacity for years, and their fidelity ha r been pretty well tested, while the tnon recent candidates for public favor in th< business offer at least good commercia standing as a guarantee of how fides. Ii view of these facts the evil example o Victoria is not likely to be repeated here and investors will at all events have a fai chance for their money. The whole o the New Zealand consultations on thi Melbourne Cup will close early in thi present week, arid as the drawings wil follow in a day or two, it is only natura 0 to expect, in the face of the revelation just made in Victoria, that subscriber - will, whether requisite or not, watch thei interests with a little extra vigilance.