In common with probably every foreigner in Shanghai we have received a circular letter, with enclosures, from "The Hupeh Prize Ticket" giving an address of 151- 162 Min Kwok Road, and soliciting support for a lottery. Without casting any reflexions on the bona fides of the promoters of this scheme, it would be as well to point out that the documents fail to state either that the lottery is run under the auspices of the Chinese Government (or provincial Government), or that the proceeds will be devoted towards some benevolen* end. The scheme set forward 'n the documents provides for no fewer than 36 drawings per annum, 18 for big prizes and 18 for "secondary" prizes, From the data supplied in the circulars some interesting calculations can be made. If the promoters sell all their tickets for a big prize drawing, they net $180,000, of which $126,476 is to be returned in prizes, leaving a balance of $53.5 for profits and expenses—or for the yearly series $963,432. The secondary prize lottery on a similar "basis, should provide a gross profit of 3539,478, or a total for both series of 1.500.000 odd out of a gross annual income of $4,680,000. Probably all the tickets: are not sold but the above figures are sufficient to show the possibilities of the scheme. In view of the immense amount of money spent, rightly or wrongly, by the public in lotteries the time has come cither for their suppression, which is the ideal solution of the whole matter, or the strictest sup-revision.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.