THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



519 



brutality ? It would be a libel iipou our gallant allies to bup- 

 pose that the existence of practices so dastardly would be 

 endured for a day by a brave people, if known, as it should 

 be, to the nation at large. 



There is one man, however — and he not wanting in that 

 " quality of mercy" which "becomes the throned monarch 

 better than his crown" — who could abolish these iniquities 

 by the mere declaration of his own will ; and would the 

 women of France (and this is an Englishwoman's sugges- 

 tion) but prefer a petition on the subject to their chivalrous 

 monarch, the end were gained. 



Time was, as Pope tells us, when our huntsmen passed 

 upon the ladies of quality who were present at the death of 

 a stag the savage compliment of putting the knife into their 

 hands to cut the throat of a helpless, trembling and weeping 

 creature ; but time and manners have changed : our women 

 are now cast in softer mould, and loathe the infliction and 

 the inflictor of cruelty. The bare recital of these veterinary 

 atrocities moves them to tears ; and are French women less 



compassionate and teiidtr-uoartod than their Knglish sisters." 

 Surely in the land where Rosa Bonheur has shown, upon the 

 glowing canvas— in touches of nature which make us feel 

 " the whole world kin" — how like ourselves horses may be 

 in their affections and their joys, there are not wanting 

 noble women who can feel that, like us, these poor dumb 

 fellow-creatures of ours have thtir sufferings too— miseries 

 enough from the injustice and ingratitude of man, without 

 any aggravation of them from his wanton barbarity. Surely 

 in a country which sends forth her sisters of charity in 

 thousands, to minister, with unwearied self-devotion, to suffer- 

 ing humanity, and whose loveliest and moat exalted lady is 

 ever foremost to sympathize and relieve, some good angel will 

 be found to set about this work of mercy — a task which will 

 win for her the honour of the good and the brave, and be 

 not unremembered of Him whose " tender mercies are over 

 all His works," in the day " when the accountable ahall 

 give account, and but the merciful shall mercy find," 



I am, sir, your obedient servant, C. 



A WORD ON THE BUTCHERY. 



[translated from the FRENCH OF THE " JOURNAL D'AGRICULTURE PRATIQUE."] 



A perfect silence has reigned on the subject of the trade in 

 fat cattle since the day in which the Farisiau butchery was 

 surrendered to the reign of freedom. The decree of the 24th 

 February, 1858, was received favourably, as will ever be the 

 case with the adoption of a true principle, and excited great 

 expectations. We had solicited it as the only means of ren- 

 dering to meat— an article of first necessity for all in the pre- 

 sent day — its true commercial value. Many persons were 

 under this delusion upon the first view of the measure. The 

 Optimists declared that the emancipation of the Parisian 

 butchery would lead by a very rapid route to the solution of 

 the important problem of cheap living. If they had dared, 

 the Pessimists would have asserted the contrary theory. Re- 

 sponding to the first only, the partisans of freedom said — 

 " Wait ; the consequences of such a measure cannot be 

 immediate. They will develop themselves one by one in time. 

 The benefit that we hope from the new system is beyond doubt, 

 and you may consider it certain that it will be large and com- 

 plete ; but have patience." In spite of the restriction, this 

 was perhaps going a little too far, and promising more than 

 time might justify, at least in a delay relatively near. In his 

 report to the Emperor on the question, the Minister who pro- 

 posed and countersigned the decree of the 24th February has 

 shown himself more judicious. " Without a doubt," said he, 

 " the new system will not produce absolute and permanent 

 low prices, but it will establish the genuine value, ^disengaged 

 as much as possible from parasitical expenses and extravagant 

 profits ; that fair value which is only produced by competition 

 and the natural course of commerce. Meat will be dear when 

 cattle are dear, that is evident ; but when cattle are cheap, 

 the public will necessarily profit by it." 



This is the truth, aud these words place the question upon 

 its true ground. They throw out, in the second proposition, 

 as secondary, all that is commerce, properly so called, of the 

 butchery, and bring back the mind to the essential causes of 

 the market price of fat cattle. 



The opinion of the consumers is too much circumscribed in 

 the circle of facts that have reached their final period : the 

 attention of the Minister, proceeding from e£fect to cause, 



attaches itself more particularly to this, and the signal as an 

 evil to be opposed. 



The excessive dearness of meat had therefore two sources — 

 the one secondary, owing, it is thought, to the mal-organiza- 

 tion of the butchery ; the other, primordial, which we must 

 attribute to the too high price of the first matters of meat — 

 forage, and the insufficiency of the means of producing cattle. 



We have endeavoured to remedy the inconveniences of a 

 defective organization of the butchery, but we have done no- 

 thing to relieve the true cause of the dearness of meat, and as, 

 definitively even according to the foresight of the Minister 

 the effects of a monopoly always outlive, whatever we may do, 

 for a certain time, the decrees that pronounce their supprei. 

 sion, no modification favourable to the public has been mani- 

 fested in the commerce of the butchery since the month of 

 March, 1858. 



The importation of foreign cattle has decreased, the rear- 

 ing of the native breeds has not increased, and the con- 

 sumption has certainly continued its onward march. Under 

 the influence of these facts, it is easy to foresee that, far 

 from being lower, the price of meat is much more likely to 

 rise than to maintain the present rate, which is already 

 found too high. 



Political economy and commerce appear to have esta- 

 blished for ever and ever what are called food crises— that 

 is to say, the misery and sufferings resulting from bad har- 

 vests of cereals. It is necessary that, in unison, both should 

 be now occupied in preventing the privations that may arise 

 from the insufficiency of cattle. The quantity of meat 

 slaughtered is not less than heretofore, the facts showing 

 quite a contrary result ; but they say, also, that the demand 

 is greater than the supply — that the exigences of consump- 

 tion greatly surpass the activity of production. The conse- 

 quence is easy to perceive : the produce will be scarcer and 

 dearer. Now it is not a matter of indifference that the most 

 indispensable objects of life should be scarce or abundant, 

 sold dearly or at a low price. 



What causes the low price of a commodity is, either 

 gre»t abundance or the absence of a demand. On the other 



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