Lotteries and Gambling

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122 LOTTERIES AND GAMBLING.

Inconsiderate slander appears to proceed chiefly from two

motives. F irs t, many people slander others, merely because

they th ink it exh ibits their own character to belter advantage. They wish the faults o f their neighbors to serve as a

cloak for their own, and also, by way of contrast, to render

their virtuesthe more conspicuous. I t is probable that most

slanderers feel a secret pride in thinking that they are free

—when they happen to be so—from the vices which they

censure in others.I n the second place, i t seems like ly that some, especially

persons of a loquacious turn, slander their neighbors merely

for the sake of having something to ta lk about. Hav ing

formed a habit of loquacity, and being at a loss for topics

of conversation, they have recourse to that prolific theme,

which is never exhausted. I t is lamentable indeed, thatthe education of any should be so neglected, that they

should ever find themselves reduced to the unhappy alter-

na tiveo f either sayingnothing or slandering the ir neighbors.

Such slander as th is, almost innocent as i t may appear at

first view, shows not only a destitution of mental furniture,

but of sober reflection and virtuous principles.

C H A P T E R X I .

Lotteries and Gambling.

T h e r e are two kinds o f games; games o f chance and

games of skil l . A game at chess or at bat-and-ball, is a

game of skil l . A game at hustling or at throwing upcents, is a game of chance. A game at cards or at nine

pins, is a game partly of sk ill and partly o f chance. T o



LOTTERIES AND GAMBLING. 123

play for money, or any thing equivalent to money, whether

in a game of chance or of ski l l , is called gambling. A

lottery, strictly speaking, is a game of chance; differing,however, in two or three respects, from common games of

chance. I n the latter, those who engage in the play,

have all an equal chance for gaining or losing; but in a

lottery, the managers are sure to be gainers, and the pur

chasers o f tickets, taken collectively, are sure to be losers.

I n common games, the winners and losers manage thegame entirely between themselves ; but in a lottery, those

who incur the risk, have the game managed for them, by

individuals who see to it that they are well paid for their

trouble. I n common games, the- business is conducted in

a private way, and between a few individuals; but lotteries

are carried on in a public manner, on a larger scale,and generally under the sanction of the civil law.

Since, therefore, a lottery is a game of chance, in whifh

money or other valuable property is to be lost or won, it

comes strictly under the definition of gambling . Tha t

legislators should see fit to authorize lottery systems, does

not alter their nature and tendency. A th ing may belegal, and yet imm oral and ruinous. I f a thing is evil in

itself, to give it the sanction of law only increases the

evil.

The evils of common gam bling being generally ac

knowledged and the practice generally reprobated, the

remarks now to be made w il l be chiefly confined to thenature and tendency of lottery systems.

1 . Lotteries occasion a great waste o f lime. We wi l l

leave out of the account the time which the managers of

lotteries and the venders of tickets must devote to their

employment. 'B y this craft they have their wealth.'

The expenditure of time on the part of those who purchasetickets, claims our chief attention. Th is being a more



1 24 LOTTERIES AND GAMBLING.

numerous class of ind ividuals, whose time is generally of

more value to their families, and who, collectively con

sidered, are sure to receive no equivalent for the time andmoney of which the lottery system deprives them, the loss

becomes a more serious in jury to the public. Let us glance

at some of the items which go to make up the amount of

time consumed by the purchase of tickets . I n the first

place, some time must be spent in de liberating whether

to buy a ticket or not—-whether to buy a whole ticke t or apart of one—and whether to buy a ticket in this lottery or

in that. During this deliberation, lottery advertisements,

in the newspapers and elsewhere, must be read, the

schemes of various lotteries compared, and the subject

talked over with one's family, friends, and neighbors.

After the ticket has been purchased, and the drawing hascommenced, an equal or greater portion of time must be

spent in obtaining intelligence in regard to the blanks and

prizes that are drawn from day to day, and in talking and

th inking about the constantly brightening prospect of draw

ing a handsome prize . A nd when, to this state.of sus

pense, which half unfits the man for the discharge of hisordinary duties, an end is put by drawing a blank, or some

petty prize, the ev il is only begun. I f he draws a blank,

he feels as i f he could not afford to lose the money he gave

for his ticket, and he must purchase another with the hope

of better luck. The next blank that turns up, produces

the same feeling in a two-fold degree ; and he th inks itcannot be that ill luck w il l attend him three times in suc

cession. The third disappointment stings him more

deeply ; bu t he has gone too far to go back. W hy should

not he draw a prize as well as such and such a one 1

Besides, he is afraid of being laughed at and despised, i f

he should give up now. I t would look like an acknowledgment of poverty, or like pusillan imity and want of sp irit.



LOTTERIES AND GAMBLING. 1 25

He ventures again, and is again disappointed ; but the

disappointment only inspires him with the desperate resolu

tion of persevering ti ll he draws a prize large enough torecompense him a hundred-fold for all his losses. Thus

he goes on, each succeeding disappointment only serving to

increase his infatuation, t i l l , by the combined influence of

buying tickets and neglecting his proper business, his

pecuniary affairs become embarrassed, and his family,

perhaps, is reduced to want. — I t is not meant, that everyunfortunate adventurer goes so far as th is ; but that such

is the infatuating nature of that hope which trusts to a

lottery as a means o f acquiring wealth. Individuals of a

less sanguine temperament, are driven to despair at an

earlier stage of the ir career ; and some are rendered wise

enough, by two or three failures, t^ resolve never again tobuild their hopes on the wheel of Fortune.

The preceding remarks have been made on the suppo

sition that the result o f every adventure is a blank. But it

is seldom that this is the case. I f several tickets are

purchased, the probability is, that some one of them w il l

draw a prize nearly sufficient to repay the adventurer forthe money which he has expended. This partial success,

however, produces an effect worse than i f nothing but

blanks had been drawn. I t inspires a double confidence,

that the next ticke t w ill b ring a larger prize,—as the

purchaser has now some evidence tha t he is one of the

" favorites of Fo rtune." Hence, draw ing a small prizeoccasionally, is only an ign is fu lu u s , which lures its victim

to more certain destruction.

2. Lotteries occasion a great loss o f property . Th is is

evident from what has been already said. " T im e is

money." Just so far as the lottery adventurer wastes his

time and neglects the appropriate duties and labors of hisstation, his pecuniary interest suffers. But this is not a ll.

1 2



12-6 LOTTERIES AND GAMBLING.

Even if no loss of time or neglect of business resulted from

the purchase of tickets, there is still an inevitable loss of

money. I t is well know n, tha t the amount of all the prizesis very far from being equal to the cost of a ll the tickets.

The managers and ticket venders must live by their trade,

(and the trade is said to be a very lucra tive one to those

whose consciences will suffer them to engage in i t ; ) and a

small sum must also be reserved to promote the ostensible

object of the lottery. Now, it is evident, that the purchasers of ticke ts must sustain a loss equal to the difference

between the amount of a ll the prizes and the cost of all

the tickets. I f this loss were equally divided among them ,

no man would buy a ticke t. T o the purchase of every

ticket, a definite amount of certain loss would be attached.

And in what respect is the case better, as lotteries are

actually managed ] I t is no better ; nor can i t be viewed

so by any, except those who have so li tt le s ki ll in arith

metic, as not to understand the " doctrine of chances.','

Instead of the certainty of a smoll loss, there is a possibil ity

of ga in , which is more than cancelled by the •probability

of a greater loss. The whole body of purchasers must

inevitably suffer a certain amount of loss, (and not a small

amount, neither;) and if one of them bears less than his

share of it , some other must bear more than his share;

and i f one, or a few, instead of losing, become gainers, this

very gain, too, comes out of the pockets of the other pur

chasers. I t is susceptible of mathematical demonstration,

that the possibility of gaining and the probability of losing,

attached to a ticke t, being added together, are precisely

equivalent to a ce rta inty , that the purchaser w ill sustain a

loss equal to his share of the sum total of loss which must

be sustained by the whole body of purchasers.

As so many purchase tickets, influenced by the hope of

gain, and even by the expectation of acqu iring wealth, it



LOTTERIES AND GAMBLING. 1 27

may be well to show, i f possible, sti ll more clearly, the

delusive nature of such a hope and the unreasonableness

of such an expectation. A man holds a ticket in a certainlottery. I t is evident, that if the draw ing is conducted

honestly, every other t icket in the lottery has the same

chance of drawing the highest or any other given prize, as

the one which he holds. I n other words, the chances or

probabilities of losing or gaining, attached to all the

tickets , are equal. I f it is a wise calcu lation, then, to buyone tic ket, it must be equally so for the same man to buy

a second ticket in the same lottery ; because this second

ticket has as good a chance of drawing a prize, as the first.

For precisely the same reason, it is equally wise to buy a

th ir d and a. fo u r th ; and the greater number o f tickets he

buys, the more wisely he acts ; because every additionalticke t is worth just as much to him as the first. Whatever

degree of probability of making a fortune the possession o f

one ticket gave him, the possession of one hundred tickets

increases this probability one hundred-fold. And sup

posing the whole lottery to consist o f 10,000 ticke ts, what

ever wisdom and good calculation he may have manifestedin buying one ticke t, he w il l manifest 10,000 times as

much of the same qualities, would his pecuniary means

allow, by buying up the whole lotte ry. He would then be

sure to draw the highest prize, and all the others with i t.

But where, in the mean time, is the " splendid fortune"

which this noble adventurer is to secure ? A short processin subtraction will furnish an answer.

In ord inary cases, men act according to apparent proba

bilit ies. If the prospect of advantage in-any enterprise, ap

pears to be less than the prospect of in ju ry , the enterprise is

abandoned. Every man, in his senses, must acknowledge,

that such an enterprise ought to be abandoned. Yet, injust such an enterprise does he embark, who buys a ticket




in a lottery. A lthough there is a possibility of ga ining ,

yet the probability of losing is so much greater, that, on

the whole, there is a probability that the man w ill be aloser by the bargain ; and the more tickets he buys, the

nearer this probability approaches to absolute certainty.

I t must, therefore, be an act of folly, to buy a ticke t, in

fluenced by the hope of drawing a prize, un til a lottery

scheme shall appear, in which the value of the prizes

exceeds the price of a ll the tickets . And the men whoshould make such a lotte ry, would manifest as rational a

regard to their own pecuniary interest, as the purchasers

of tickets now do.

The great inducement, with many, to purchase a ticket,

is the possibility of drawing a high prize . But it should

be remembered, that the greater is the prize on which theeye of hope is fixed, the greater is the number of chances

against drawing it. The high prizes are as much less in

number, as each one is greater in amount. The chance

of drawing one of the lowest prizes, numerous as they are,

is not worth the price of a ticket, because the blanks are

so much more numerous. And the chance of draw ing ahigh prize, is of no greater value.

3. Lotteries are attended with a species o f superstition

and impiety. A l l the idle talk about " lucky ti c k e ts " and

the " favorites of Fortune," savors more of paganism, than

of Christian ity. In pagan Greece and Rom e, Fortune

was regarded as one of their many deities. A nd our lottery

folks would fain persuade their deluded votaries, that

Fortune is a real goddess, on whose favor and aid they

may safely rely. Surely, somuch.is not said in this strain

withou t any meaning ; and the only meaning tha t can be

attached to such language, is one which is equally in op

position to reason and scripture. The object appears to

be, to spread a delusion over the minds of the ignorant




and unth inking, and produce an impression on each pur

chaser, that he is more like ly than others to draw a prize.

But on what ground is this hope built ? I f the chances

are not all equal, it must be ow ing either to fraud in the

managers of the lottery, or to some supernatural interposi

t ion. I f the lottery is fairly conducted, nothing can give

one ticket a greater probability of drawing than another,

but the agency of some invisible being, setting aside the

ordinary laws of nature. Many holders of lottery tickets

seem to have a secret expectation that such an agency will

be exerted in their behalf, though they would be ashamed

to avow it, and have probably no very definite ideas on the

subject.

4. Lotteries and gambling tend t> destroy habits of in

dustry and to produce a dipravation o f morals. Tha t

lotteries tend to destroy habits of industry, was made

evident by our remarks on the ' the waste of t ime ' which

they occasion. But there is another view of the subject,

which is worthy of consideration. I t is a wise appoint

ment of Providence, that property shalj be ordinarily ac

quired by industry, economy, and good calcu lation. So

long as a man relies on his own efforts and talents to ob*

tain a subsistence or to accumulate wealth, he will natural

ly exhibit an assiduous, uniform, and persevering applica

tion to his business, whatever it may be. But just so soon

as he begins to dream of obtaining riches from some other

source, he begins to neglect those means on which he has

hitherto relied ; his ordinary business grows irksome ; he

remits his accustomed efforts, and becomes idle and

irregular in his habits.—Such is the natural tendency of

lotteries ; and by common gambling, the same effects are

produced in a still greater degree.

5. Lotteries increase the inequality in the distribution

o f property.- ft is justly considered as one cause of the

12 *




superior prosperity and happiness of our country, that the

distribution of property is much less unequal than in most

other civ ilized nations. We are free, not only from an

aristocracy of power, rank, and privilege, but also from an

aristocracy of wealth. Instead of having a few men im

mensely r ich, and all the rest sunk in abject poverty, the

great mass of our com munity enjoy that easy competence,

that happy mediocrity of condition, which affords the best

security to virtue and the surest means of fe lic ity. But

lotteries are continually destroying this desirable equilib

rium in the condition of men. They are continually ex

hausting the sources of comfort in the lower classes, and

pouring a flood of wealth on here and there an individual,

who perhaps had enough before, or who does not deserve,

or does not know how to use, his sudden affluence.

6. Lotteries injure those whom they enr ich , as w e l l as

those whom they impoverish. I t is a maxim, confirmed

both by the dictates of wisdom and the decisions of ex

perience, that that property is of the greatest service to its

possessor, which is acquired in a gradual manner and byhis own efforts. How often have we seen a youth injured

in his morals and in his temporal prosperity, by being heir

to a la/ge estate. How often does the son of a rich man

prove to be a prodigal, who ' wastes his substance with

riotous liv ing .' Such effects on the character and habits

are easily accounted for. I f , then, the expectation andthe subsequent possession of a large inheritance , prove so

inju riou s, much greater will the in jury probably be, when

a man, by the chances of a lottery, is suddenly made the

possessor of a ' splendid fortune,' which his education and

habits have, prepared him neither" to use nor to enjoy.

7. Lotteries and gambling afford peculiar temptationsand fac i l i t ies f o r the practice o f f ra u d . It is a common

remark, that gamhlers are notorious for cheat ing; and




that the young and inexperienced often become victims

to the knavery of older and more practised villains. T he

temptations and facilities for the practice of fraud by themanagers of lotteries and the venders of tickets, are evi

dently quite as great, as among common gamblers. How

far those gentlemen have sufficient strength of moral prin

ciple to resist these temptations and to abstain from avail

in g themselves of these facil ities, it is not easy to say. I t

has been stated, however, on apparently good authority,that lotteries are scarcely, if at all, more exempt from

fraudulent practices, than other species of gambling. In

our preceding remarks on the pernicious effects of lotteries,

we have all along supposed them to be conducted w ith

perfect fairness and integrity . I f , however, the reverse of

this is the case, as there- is much reason to believe, it isevident, that our representations of the tendency of lottery

systems to produce a depravation of morals and to impov

erish the unsuspecting purchasers of tickets, fall far below

the truth.

8. Lotteries and gambling tend to excite bad passions,

and, partlcular'y, tn foster the principle o f selfishness. It

is natural to expect, that he who has abandoned all trust in

the blessing of Heaven on the ordinary means of acquiring

property, and all reliance on his own efforts, and who has

placed his hope of gain on he knows not what, wil l , when

this hope is disappointed, be far from feeling a sp irit of

resignation to his lot. Th is expectation is verified in the

outbreakings of unhallowed temper which are often w it

nessed at the gambling table. Similar in kind, though

usually less in degree, are the feelings that are frequently

excited by the disappointments which lotteries occasion.

The hope of drawing a prize, is, at the best, but a

selfish one. He who buys a ticket, knows that whatever

he may gain by draw ing a prize , must come out of the




pockets of his neighbors. The wish to be a gainer him

self, is, therefore, virtually a wish that others may be losers.

This is true of every species of ga m bling ; and would be

true of lotteries, even if the amount of all the prizes was

equal to the cost of all the tickets.

When the merchant or manufacturer receives money for

the articles which he offers for sale, or the professional

man for his services, those who pay the money, sustain noloss, because they receive an equivalent in retu rn. So far

from sustaining a loss, they obta in, for the ir money, those

things which are essential.to their comfort and happiness.

But wh6n a man gets money by gambling, or by a lottery

t icket, the case is totally different. Those, from whom the

money comes, receive, in return, no equivalent whatever.A l l their remuneration is in having their hopes blasted, and,

perhaps, their ev il passions excited . The loss they sustain

is as complete, and their sensations of regret, and some

times of resentment, are as poignant, as if the money had

been taken from them by a thie f, or a robber, or a cheat.

—When I purchase an article of another, and pay him forit, I feel that I have done him a favor and obtained an ac

commodation to myself. By such an intercourse, a mutual

favor is conferred, and mutual feelings' o f kindness are

excited. But if I take advantage of my neighbor's ig

norance to sell him an article for twice its value, how

different are my feelings toward h im! The feeling whichprompts to such an act, is covetous and selfish in a high

degree. And when I th ink of him whom I have thus

defrauded, it can be only with feelings of hatred,—unless,

by being brought to repentance, I resolve to confess my

crime and.make restitution. Almost equally covetous and

selfish are the motives which actuate the gambler andthe lottery adventurer; and almost equally malignant are

the feelings which are often reciprocated between the

winners and the losers.




9. There is something ir ra tio na l and absurd in the very

idea of transferring money from one person to another by

lot, or by a game whether of chance or of skil l . Supposeyou and I have each a ten-dollar bi l l , and I say to you,

" Let us put these bills together, and decide by lot which

shall have them both.'' But why should not each keep and

use his own money ? I f we both equally need our money, it

is evidently best that each should retain his own. I f you are

in want of ten dollars, and I have that sum to spare, freelyto give it to you would be an act noble and generous; but

to afford you an opportunity to obtain it by lot, while you

at the same time stand an equal chance to be distressed

by the loss of the ten dollars which you now have, so far

from being a favor, seems to be rather a piece of mockery.

Are we both in affluent circumstances, and wish to transfer a litt le money merely as a mark of frftndship ? Let it

then be given as a mark of friendship. A present, bestowed

in a suitable manner, w il l excite feelings of gratitude and

of reciprocal attachment; but no man regards it as a mark

of friendship in another, to invite h im to sit down and

gamble with him.

Equally irrational is it, to suspend the transfer of a sum

of money on the result of a game of skill. Suppose I say

to you, " I f you w il l throw a stone so as to h it that apple

on yonder tree, I w il l give you ten dollars." The stone

is thrown ; the apple falls ; and I pay the money. But

have you done any thing to earn or merit the money ?—or

have I received any equivalent for it ? W ou ld the folly be

any less, on my part, i f I cast the money into the street,

and left it to be picked up by the first passenger that happen

ed to see it T—Suppose I had farther said, " If you do not

h it the apple, you shall give me a dollar ; " and suppose

the stone, on being throw n, had missed its mark. W ha trig htfu l claim have I to the dollar?—or what crime is




there in a little want of dexterity, that you should deserve

to forfeit that sum 1 Surely none ; and a transfer of money

on such a ground, is palpably unjust, as well as irrational

and absurd.—The case we have just considered, is what

is commonly called a bet or wager, and differs from a

game only in the greater simplicity and brevity of the

process by which a result is obtained. Laying a bet or

wager, therefore, may properly be termed a species of

gambling, its nature and tendency being precisely the

same.

If it is reasonable and right to suffer the distribution of

property to be regulated by chance, it is equally so, to

manage our other business in the same manner. Suppose,

then, that instead of a money lottery, we were to have ac iv il or po litical one, in which the office of chief magis

trate should be t\% highest prize, while the smaller prizes

consisted of the various subordinate offices of power and

trust. The tickets would probably sell wel l ; and all the

trouble and mischief of electioneering would be spared.—

" B u t this would not do at a ll ," say you ; " for not one inten of the men thus raised to office, would be fit for the

station." Very t rue ; and is not the distribution of

property by a lottery equally unwise ? Would not nine-

tenths of those who draw high prizes, be better without

them 1 And are not nine-tenths of those who draw

blanks, really inju red by the loss*? The absurdity andfolly, in the two cases, are the same in k ind , and differ

only in degree. The difference is, that it is a less inju ry

to the public , that a fool or a knave should draw a prize

of 10,000 dollars, — though a thousand poor men are

made poorer in order to obtain the money,—than that he

should be raised to high political preferment.

The p ract ica l inference to be drawn from the view that

has been taken of the subject of this chapter, is, that



OF RIGHTS. 135

every thing ought to be avoided, which tends to encourage

or uphold lotteries or any species of gambling. A l l games

of chance have this tendency. Such games,—a fondnessfor which, in the young, is frequently regarded as a source

o f innocent pleasure,—produce precisely that effect on the

mind, which prepares the individua l to become eventually

a ruined gambler, or at least an infatuated lottery ad

venturer. W hen children and youth, in games of chance

or ski l l , ' play for something,' however small in value,they are taking the first step in a path, which may lead to

ru in temporal and eternal. A ch ild should not be allowed

to gamble even for a p in . Is this a needless degree o f

scrupulosity ? Those will not think so, -who know the

powerful influence of early impressions and early habits.

Let us be consistent. I f we would avoid evil, let us shunthe path that leads to it. The lady, who accepts a ticket

when offered as a present,—the printer, who suffers tickets

to be printed in his office,—the proprietor of a newspaper,

who admits lottery advertisements into his columns,—the

parent, who patronizes such a paper and brings it into his

house, are all doing that which an enlightened consciencemust condemn.

C H A P T E R X I I .

Of Rights .

" R i g h t and obligation," says D r. Paley, " are recipro

cal ; that is, wherever there is a right in one person, there

is a corresponding obligation upon others. I f one manhas a ' r ig h t ' to an estate, others are under ' ob liga tion '

to abstain from i t ; i f parents have a" ' r igh t ' to rever-

Lotteries and Gambling

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