One fact, of a highly useful import, was established by this debate—­and having received the concurrent attestation of Mr. Freeman, must now be considered as no longer open to doubt—­that cheating is a necessary part of gaming, from which even honourable gamblers—­(what a revolting solecism!)—­do not shrink!  But this is not the worst of the admissions made, in the course of this debate—­which we here enumerate: 

1.  The winner is always in danger of murder—­and runs for his life.

2.  The loser becomes a cheat, a murderer, a suicide, or a drunkard.

3.  The tortures of the damned are common to all gamblers, winners and losers.

4.  Deception and lying are their common attributes.

5.  Outlawed by public opinion—­they wage implacable war against the morals, peace, and happiness of society.

* * * * *

So many allusions have been made to the Laws of Ohio and Pennsylvania against gambling, that it is thought necessary to append them here, that the reader may judge for himself how far the charges of impolicy, partiality, and non-efficiency are justified by these instruments.

[Law of Pennsylvania for the Suppression of Gambling, drafted by J. H. GREEN.]

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That if any person shall keep a room, building, arbour, booth, shed, or tenement, to be used or occupied for gambling, or shall, knowingly, permit the same to be used or occupied for gambling; or if any person, being the owner of any room, building, arbour, booth, shed, or tenement, shall rent the same to be used or occupied for gambling, the persons so offending shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in any sum not less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars; and if the owner of any room, building, arbour, booth, shed, or tenement, shall know that any gaming-tables, apparatus, or establishment is kept or used in such room, building, arbour, booth, shed, or tenement, for gambling, and winning, betting, or gaining money, or other property, and shall not forthwith cause complaint to be made against the person so keeping or using such room, building, arbour, booth, shed, or tenement, he shall be taken, held, and considered to have knowingly permitted the same to be used and occupied for gambling.

SECT. 2.  If any person shall keep or exhibit any gaming-table, establishment, device, or apparatus to win or gain money, or other property of value, or to aid, assist, or permit others to do the same; or if any person shall engage in gambling for a livelihood, or shall be without any fixed residence, and in the habit or practice of gambling, he shall be deemed and taken to be a common gambler, and upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned and kept at hard labour in the penitentiary not less than one, nor more than five years, and be fined five hundred dollars, to be paid into the treasury of the county where such conviction shall take place, for the use of common schools therein, to be divided among the accepting school districts in such county, in proportion to the number of taxable inhabitants in each district.