Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/653

 LOTTEEY 647 are diminished, and their earnings are devoted to the public welfare. Similar to the lottery of modern times was the mode sometimes adopted among the Romans in distributing the congiaria among the people; instead of the usual direct donations of corn, wine, and oil, tickets were issued which entitled the holders to various shares in these supplies. A closer resemblance is found in the favorite custom of Augustus, which was imitated by his succes- sors, of distributing at his feasts sealed packets (sortes conviviales), similar in appearance, but containing orders for articles of very different value. The same practice existed among the feudal princes. In the middle ages the same mode was adopted by the Italian merchants in the disposition of their wares. A money lot- tery, called the lotto, was instituted at Flor- ence in 1530 for the benefit of the state; and in Venice a half century later lotteries existed under public control. Two kinds of lottery may be distinguished, the Genoese or numeri- cal, and the Dutch or class lottery. The for- mer originated in Genoa. The election by lot of five members of the grand council afforded the subject of wager. The names of ninety candidates were thrown into a wheel of for- tune, and bets were made upon the result of the drawing. Numbers were afterward sub- stituted for the names of the councillors, and the city undertook the direction of the game. The players fixed upon certain numbers, wa- gering that one, two, or more of them would be drawn among the five, or that they would appear in a certain order. The lottery main- tained itself by calculating nicely, according to the doctrine of probabilities, the chances of success, and then adjusting the prizes so as to insure a profit to the bank. The prizes were larger as the chances of success were less ; thus in the class of chances which required two out of the five numbers drawn, one ticket in 400 may win. In Austria, where this sort of lot- tery is used, the holder is paid with 240 times, and in Bavaria with 270 times the price of his ticket. In the quaterne, which requires four of the five numbers, the probabilities of success are as 1 to 511,038; and the winner receives in Austria 60,000 times, and in Bava- ria 64,500 times the value ventured. Out of Italy this sort of lottery was first established in Vienna in 1752, and in Berlin in 1763. The origin of the second kind, the class lot- tery, has been referred to the Roman con- giaria, already mentioned; but with more correctness probably to the lotteries of mer- chandise established at several places in Europe during the middle ages, and the invention of Italian merchants. In this species, the num- ber and value of the prizes are regularly estima- ted, all the ticket holders are interested at once in the play, and chance determines whether a prize or a blank shall fall to a given num- ber. The drawing generally takes place at several different times, and the largest prize ia withheld till the drawing of the last class. The lottery is supported by a fixed percentage deducted from each prize. The first lottery in France was established in 1539. Francis I. gave his assent to it, on condition of a surren- der to the crown of a tax on every lot. It re- ceived the name of blanque from the white tickets which indicated the blanks. A law promulgated in the 6th year of the republic (1798) prohibited all private or foreign lot- teries, and from that date the loteries nationales displaced all others. They were instituted in all the large cities. In 1800 three or four draw- ings took place every week. This government monopoly lasted till 1836. A law of May 21 of that year abolished all lotteries, and inclu- ded among them all sales of merchandise or other property, movable or immovable, effect- ed by lot, and all schemes whatever offered to the public in which the lot is the prin- ciple of decision. The law confiscates the property offered in the lottery, and enforces severe penalties against its agents and man- agers, whether the scheme be French or for- eign. Lotteries of personal property, the pro- ceeds of which are to be devoted to charitable objects or to the encouragement of art, may be authorized by government. In Germany the first class lottery was opened at Nuremberg in 1699. This kind seems to be the one most used in that country at the present time. The lotteries are controlled by government, and their profits applied to the support of work- houses and similar institutions, or to charitable objects. The principle of the system is to re- turn in prizes the money received, deducting a small profit and the cost of management, which discount amounts usually to about 13 per cent. Money lotteries are most frequent, though lotteries of goods are often offered. The latter are very attractive, because each ticket holder receives some prize, though it be of slight value; they require like all others the approval of government. Whole estates, which have become heavily encumbered, have been sometimes offered as prizes. The pre- mium lotteries of Germany are peculiar to that country. Governments issue proposals for loans, offering to capitalists a small percentage upon the amount furnished, by way of inter- est, and perhaps a like amount in premiums to be awarded by lot. The hope of winning the prizes secures bidders for the loans at a low return of interest, who would not have sup- plied the funds at the usual rate. The earliest English lottery of which there is any record was instituted in 1569. The drawing took place at the west door of St. Paul's cathedral ; 40,000 shares were sold at 10s. each, The prizes consisted of plate, and the profits were devoted to the repair of the harbors of the kingdom. During the following century the passion for this sort of gambling rapidly in- creased, so that in Queen Anne's time lotteries were denounced as ' ' public nuisances. ' ' In 1 6 1 2, by permission of James I., a lottery was drawn for the profit of the Virginia company, and