Protests Over

Fiji Lottery

Fiji has under way, by standards, a mammoth lottery, raise funds for the First South Pat Games next year. First prize £3,000, and others range from £l, down to £2. The lottery is expec to net the Games fund about £4,C THE promoters, in a strong s; campaign, induced the I Office to allow the tickets to be s at about 40 post offices through the Colony. Seventy selected fi are also selling the tickets.

So far so good, but only a coi of days after having launched the union the promoters found themsel subject to a broadside from Methodist Church through the ad chairman of the Fiji Mission, F L. D. Fullerton, who also had stir up early opposition against Liquor Bill, passed in July.

Attacking the proposal to lottery tickets in post offices ' Fullerton said that such Governm endorsement gave gambling a digi and status which it did not desei He said that on the one hand Post Office was urging people to s by deposits in the Savings Bank, ; on the other it was urging pec to gamble their money away.

It was also wrong, he said, t civil servants should sell lott tickets and many people would tl exception to them doing so. (Thr who have had to suffer long del through poor service in some of post offices agreed with I Fullerton).

While he was appreciative of efforts to raise money for the Garr he did not think they should do be encouraging gambling. He ur Methodists to support the Gai appeal by direct contribution, at the same time to boycott lottery.

Mr. Fullerton also attacked Hibiscus Festival casino night and gradual introduction of po: machines in Fiji. Poker machii are few in number, but they gradually increasing, especially clubs for members of the lower come bracket, i.e., those who « least afford to play them.

He would no doubt heartened by the recent action of ♦ of the leading Suva clubs which,, its annual meeting, ignored sugg tions by one or two members tt machines be introduced there.