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BETTING DEBTS IN ENGLAND. The English law as to the recovery of belling debts lias been a source of income to lawyers for a number of years. The gaining acts of 1815 and 1892 make these debts irrecoverable, but iu recent years there has been a disposition on the part of the judges to allow these eases to be tri.il. with the result that judgment has at times been giveu for plaintiff. The rule has beta that unless the defendant pleaded the gaming acts as a defense the judge had no option but to try the case. The trial of these cases has resulted in the ruling that a post dated cheek, a praaajai to pay in the future or the payment of an installment of the debt is sufficient to make the debt a new contract, and judgment has been given for plaint ill" in such cases. This state of affairs 1ms given rise to a new system of collecting debts by liookinnkors. who in the iirsi place threaten lo report the punter to the Turf Ciiardian Society, which has a list of default lug backers. Should this fall to secure payment the punter is warned that Tattersalls. which con-trola the bottiug iings. will be moved to expel him from the turf, and should these threats fail lie can always be coerced by a threat to bring him before the court. la/bn Parry, of the Manchester Countv Court. dealing witli one of the cases recently, commented upon the meihods of the bookmaker thus: "Before a bookasake* can succeed In such a case he must go to the hacker and sav: "You l oloiig lo this club and if von do not promise to pay in such ami such a time I shall go to so ami so. I call that black nuiiling: the law calls it consideralinn fo* a promise." He then gave .1 verdict for the defendant. A new countv court lule lias just come into force which will clear the courts t,f these cases. It is winded as follows: "Nothing in this rule shall en title a plaintiff to maintain an action contrary lo the provisions of the gaming acts. 185 or 1s:i2. bv reason of these acts uot having been pleaded as a defense." Therefore it Is no longer necessary for a defend ant sued liv a Ixmkinaker in the countv courts for tin- recovery of bets on horse racing to plead the gaming acts. Notice will be taken of the act by Hie county court judge without its being pleaded and the action will be dismissed as an illegal dispute.
