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7.
his report. In the prison Pereni upuried (which, it will be observed, coincided with that of the Francis) I do concur. To far as I have been able to learn and believe, much of the gambling complained of among the lower classes of the Chinese, whether in the shape of games or lotteries, is nothing more than the ordinary forms of recreation familiar to races there more civilized. I might instance as a case in point, the game of the Tombola, so popular with the lower orders in Italy. Among the higher classes of the Chinese a great part of the gambling takes place in bonâ fide Clubs, which the law cannot undertake to suppress or even to stringently regulate, any more than it can in London. That there are gambling houses (properly so termed) in existence is doubtless true, but it would seem that the laws at present in force are sufficient to keep their number in check, and their owners and frequenters, to a large degree, under control.
I. If the Government of this colony were to enter upon a crusade for the total suppression...