1913: Permission Slip to Raffle

March 25, 2019

By AHNZ

Hold on Tom, did you get a permission slip to make that application? Do you even Kafka? Needless to say I find it offensive to liberty that anyone should have to get State permission from bureaucrats to run a community raffle.

This (image left) permission slip (20 Feb, 1913) from Wellington is a reminder how how invasive the ‘Liberal’ government Big Brother had become into everyday Kiwi life. Raffling paintings to support a local sports charity in Naseby was prohibited.

Here’s another, a denial of permission slip (25 Feb, 1913) from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to a woman in Waihi telling her the government will not allow home-made bedspreads to be used in a raffle.

“Bureaucracy expands to keep up with the needs of a  spreading bereaucracy,” said Isaac Asimov. This can be re-phrased for poor Mrs Forster of Waihi: “Bureaucracy expands to keep up with the needs of the bedspreading bereaucracy.”

In 1913 the Liberals were goners as ‘Reform’ had swept to power. The Old Lefties had taken many of the greatest steps away from an uncentralised laissez faire God’s Own there would ever be. Their bureaucratisation and politicisation was unprecedented.

I think I could make an argument that turning Kiwis into a race of kept livestock is what preceded both WW1 and WW2. Once there was a war many more great steps were taken to empower the state and reduce the individual citizen to sacrificial fodder for the collective. That’s for another day though.¹

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