[TO THE EDITOR OP TEE
Sra,—I have no brief for the Cadburys, Crosfields, Morrells, or Rowntrees, and I am extremely attached to the Spectator„ which I have studied pretty regularly for more than forty years, but I do not think that you conduct this discussion fairly. For instance, you say : "Honest men must condemn the action of those who, detesting gambling, yet draw profits from what is in effect a public gaming-house." (i.) How do you know that the Cadburys, Crosfields, Morrells, or Rown• trees detest gambling? (ii.) How do you know that profits are drawn from any, let alone all, of the newspapers in question P You do not know, cannot know. Therefore yon do not know, cannot know, whether the actions under discus. sion are such as honest men must condemn. You ought to begin by ascertaining whether the Cadburys, Crosfields, Morrells, and Rowntrees do detest gambling, and go on by ascertaining very carefully whether, as a matter of fact, they do draw profits from these papers. Failing this knowledge, your game is not cricket.—I am, Sir, &c., " FAIR PLAY'S A jEWEL.” [At the beginning of this controversy we " took the point made by our correspondent. We admitted that if the members of the Cadbury and Rowntree families concerned in reality took the man-of-the-world -view of betting, and saw no harm in it, our indictment of them for hypocrisy was unfair, and that the amplest apology would be due from the Spectator. Further, we declared our willingness to apologize and with. draw if the persons in question would write to us and state that they did not, in fact, object to betting. No statement of that nature has ever been made. On the other hand, the fact that the Daily News, directly it passed under the Cadbury control, abandoned the publication of betting news, and made a virtue of so doing, and that for a time the Northern Echo (a Rowntree paper) did the same, is a proof that the persons in question condemn betting. It has never been denied that the papers in question make a profit. In conclusion, we must refer our correspondent to onr note to the letter signed " —ED. Spectator.]
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