Mr. Green did not wish to say any thing personally against any of the men or gamblers who had been named by Mr. F. Some were benevolent men--but one or two he had named were men without heart. He (Mr. G.) knew several gamblers, amateurs and professional men, who were straightforward in their gambling transactions. He did not desire to hurt the feelings of any of these individuals--he attacked not men but vice--and he contended that gambling was a system of robbery, from beginning to end. That it was that he contended for--and that, he hoped, he had already shown. Mr. Green admitted that Mr. Freeman's story of the scheme gotten up, bowie-knife, &c., was in the main correct. If meeting contracts was honest--why then, many gamblers might be called honest. He did not mean to say that such HONEST gamblers would put their hands in a man's pocket and steal money--no--they would not do that.
But he would say what they would do;--they would sit up all night, have suppers, wine and spirits set out to tempt men, and they would play with any that came; and though some such customers were known or suspected to have obtained the money they played with by robbery, yet he never knew that the gamblers had ever refused to allow such men to play, so long as they had money. Mr. Green described several snares that were practised by gamblers, particularly one at New Orleans, called the "broker." He hoped some of the gamblers of this city would reform as soon as the new law went into effect. He had already heard of some having turned collectors, policemen, &c.--but he doubted their reform if they were turned over to the police--for though there were some very good policemen in this city, he could confidently say also there were some spotted ones.
Mr. Green considered the bowling-alleys and billiard rooms as the very bane of the city--leading men on step by step to the vices of gambling and drunkenness. Mr. Green stated that he had never met with a gambler in his life, who played honestly, and got his living by playing cards honestly--for all he had ever known would take advantage, sometimes--which perhaps the world might call cheating. Mr. Green practically illustrated with a pack of cards the modes of taking advantage, (cheating in plain English,) that were truly surprising. Mr. G. said that such things were done by gamblers, called _honourable_, and if any one had charged such men with dishonesty, why a duel, or worse, might have been the consequence.