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The Abolition of the English State Lotteries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

James Raven
James Raven
Affiliation:
Magdalene College, Cambridge
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Extract

On 18 October 1826 the final English state lottery was drawn at Coopers' Hall. It was the one hundred and seventieth of the state lotteries to be held since their parliamentary inauguration in 1694. Although the economic importance of the lotteries to the eighteenth-century exchequer has been widely recognized, their demise has received scant historical attention. This is despite stark contrast between the promotion of the lottery by government or government contractors, and the strident protests against the lottery's allegedly corrupt and ruinous influence. Why exactly was the lottery abandoned as an instrument of public revenue? Was it in response to moral argument or as a matter of fiscal policy? At issue is not only the effectiveness of organized opposition in transforming participation and policy-making, but also the relationship between Treasury strategies, systems of management and the response of the market.

Type
Articles
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 34 , Issue 2 , June 1991 , pp. 371 - 389
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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References

1 I am indebted to Derek Beales, Julian Hoppit, Peter Mathias and Clive Trebilcock for comments on earlier drafts of this article, and to Chris Gibbings and Leonard Raven for their help in compiling data.

2 Morning Chronicle, 19 Oct. 1826. Drawn under the authority of the 1823 Act.

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29 S. C. on lotteries (P.P. 1808, II), 199.

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64 19 Geo. III, c. 21.

65 42 Geo. III, c. 119.

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67 Minute from Coopers' Hall, 13 Apr. 1807, and J. R. Pearson to the Treasury, 12 Nov. 1808, Lottery Office papers, I.R. 55/13.

68 Treasury minute, 9 Jan. 1808, Lottery Office papers, I.R. 55/15.

69 Pearson to the Treasury, 9 Jan. 1808, Lottery Office papers, I.R. 55/15.

70 Adams to Perceval, 3 Sept. 1807, Lottery Office papers, I.R. 55/13.

71 Adams to the Treasury, 25 Oct. 1810, 17 Jan. 1812, and 9 Dec. 1812, Lottery Office papers, I.R. 55/13; letters from the audit office, 30 May 1810, Lottery Office papers, I.R. 55/17.

72 Reports from Hesse 1813–24, Treasury Board papers, PRO, T. 1/3933; memoranda, Lottery Office papers, I.R. 55/10.

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89 Rival and later coalition tenders, noted on contracts, 1813–23, Lottery Office papers, I.R. 55/21.

90 C. on national debt (P.P. 1890–1, XLVIII), 702.

91 Registers of prize-certificate allocations, 1820–1, open with pages of tickets submitted by contractors, Lottery Office general registers, I.R. 4,157, 201. A few might be claims on behalf of clients, but most are certainly fortunate returns on unsold tickets (fraud in the actual draw can be discounted).

92 H. E. Swift to Hesse, 1 May 1823, Lottery Office papers, I.R. 55/13.

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100 The Times, 13 May 1823.

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111 London Gazette, 22 June 1824.

112 ‘Vindex’ and ‘Vigil’, The Times, 22 Sept., 14 and 23 Dec. 1825.

113 Treasury minute, 26 Oct. 1826, Treasury Board papers, T. 1/3933.

114 Lord Liverpool to the commissioners, 6 Oct. 1826, Treasury Board papers, T. 1/3933.

115 Lottery Office return (P.P. 1830, XVII), 388; Lottery Office: copy of Treasury minute (P.P. 1830–1, VII), 499.

116 Commissioners' reports, Lottery Office papers, I.R. 55/15.

117 Memorandum and minute to the Treasury, Mar. 1827, Lottery Office papers, I.R. 55/10.

118 Select committee on gaming (P.P. 1844, VI), 1–477.

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