§ 20. Mr. HALESasked the Home Secretary whether he is aware of the rapid extension of the chain-letter scheme in which money is now demanded; and, seeing that this is an infraction of the Lottery and Betting Act, whether he will take steps, either by confiscation of such moneys or other effective means, to ensure the discontinuance of this practice?
§ 22. Mr. MITCHESONasked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the prevalence of so-called chain-letter schemes, which induce the public to participate by holding out the lure of large financial rewards in return for a small initial outlay; and whether, in view of the mischief they cause and of the possibility of fraudulent practices to which they may give rise, he will take action to prohibit such schemes?
§ 23. Sir GIFFORD FOXasked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the prevalence of so-called chain-letter schemes, which induce the public to participate by holding out the lure of large financial rewards in return for a small initial outlay; and whether, in view of the mischief they cause and of the possibility of fraudulent practices to which they may give rise, he will take any action to prohibit such schemes?
§ Sir J. SIMONI have of course no authority to determine a question of law which can be decided only by a competent court, but I may observe that certain types of snowball schemes, to which these chain letter schemes bear some resemblance, have been held by the courts to be illegal lotteries. Quite apart, however, from any action which the authorities responsible for enforcing the law may take if they are advised that any particular scheme contravenes the law, it is to be hoped that recipients of these letters will, in their own interest, refuse to take any part in schemes which at their best are a snare and a delusion and at their worst provide scope for the dishonest exploitation of credulous members of the public.
§ Mr. HALESIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that since this question was put down, I have been inundated with letters and telephone messages from all over the country, insisting on the suppression of this scheme?