1 624.] Mr. Lawrence on Cr 



Uiera in the streets, without the slight- 

 est previous endeavour to put an end 

 to their sensibility by the easy and 

 well-known mclhod of puncturini^', or 

 wounding with a knife, tlie spinal 

 marrow ; but why should this exeito 

 our admiration, wliilst tlio horrible 

 operation is daily perforiued, and 

 witnessed with the utmost nonchalauce 

 by thousands, tiieuce participcs criml- 

 nis, of Chnrcli of England and ("on- 

 venticle Christians, who arc so meri- 

 toriously regular in their orisons lo the 

 God of mercy in their own precious 

 behoof .' 



Nothing-, surely, can be nioro ill- 

 timed or chinierical, than llie proniul- 

 galiou of sueli an idea, as la\ingthe 

 axe to the root of tlie sports of the lield, 

 uothing so liable to excite disgust and 

 ridicule, and to produce a dcternui;ed 

 and obstina'.c aversion lo all refurm. 

 "i "o point out the exercise of unneces- 

 sary or heedless barbarity, in whatever 

 branch, is clearly another case, adapted 

 to tlie j)rcsent enlighicued slate of the 

 public mind, and would assuredly be 

 received with patience, and obtain a 

 gradual attention. I can speak on that 

 point from a pleasing exjjerirnce. 

 Your corresjiondcut is most unfortu- 

 nate. He has taken the bull by the 

 born?. lie has assailed the morals of 

 men in their strongest hold, and level- 

 led his reproof against those pnrts 

 wiiicli are the least objectionable. 

 (low comes it that lie has overlooked 

 baiting of aiiimals; in other words, the 

 horrible priaeiple, be it instinctive or 

 rustomary, of deriving pleasure from 

 deliberately contrived tortures, — riding 

 horses to death in the field, and driving 

 them to deatli upon the road, — the 

 treatment of that most oppressed and 

 <<)rlured victim under heaven, the poor 

 .stage-horse, in the latter and excru- 

 ciating part of his career; hisjirogress 

 thciiee to Smithfield, to the green and 

 fish-cart, to those actual hells, the 

 iiacker'sand catgut-maker's yards — the 

 education of children Vvilhout the 

 sliglitcst instruction in their duty 

 towards brute animals, unless, indeed, 

 tl;al the feelings of those animals must 

 necessarily be subservient, in all cases, 

 and to whatever extent, to human 

 interest and caprice. 



'J'lie animal ({uestion appears to me 

 to have been hitherto inii)erfeetly un- 

 derstood, in eonse(|uenee of that gene- 

 ral reluctance to its discussion, aris- 

 ing from the alarms of prejudice and 

 interest. The ueccssity of a law for 



■utlty to Animals. lOp 



the protection of beasts has, indeed, 

 often been controverted, but never 

 successfully. That portion of law in 

 the case, which we had jirevioiisly to 

 Mr. Martin's Bill, was a most execra- 

 ble and cruel burlesque on legislation, 

 a disgrace to our Statute-books, in 

 fact, in no slight degree, an incentive 

 to Ijarbarity and crime. The gist of it 

 was, that no man could be liuuisiied 

 for the most enormous and llagraat 

 acts of crurlty exercised upon his own 

 animal ; or on any other, unless some 

 injury or trespass' could be proved 

 asainst property. A marked instance 

 of the triiuiiph of commercial selfish- 

 ness over the justice and morality of 

 legislation! Mr. IMariin's Bill passed 

 tlie houses, as it weie, by mere sui- 

 ferance, against the avov.ed opinions 

 of many, nujre especially tiiose para- 

 gons of humanity', certain great law- 

 authorities. For the obvious irjiper- 

 fectiou oithis Bill, noblameor disgrace 

 can i)ossil)ly attach to i's lionourable 

 anil gcijerous mover. Instead of in- 

 cluding animals generally, as substan- 

 tial justice, and even common sense, 

 re(juired, its operation is restricted to 

 cattle, which is plainly to announce i<» 

 the high and low bhu^kguards of the 

 cr(ati<in, that a contimiiince of the 

 security to ^>r«/«?'/// ischifily intended; 

 and, that tiicy arc at free liberty to 

 discharge the wiiole artillery of their 

 savage passions on those classes of 

 animals which the law, in its wisdom, 

 has chosen to forget, 



IMy sentiments on this subject are 

 precisely the same as I published 

 them nearly thirty years since. Ag- 

 gression, injustice, and wanton barba- 

 lity, as well against beasts as n:en, 

 are pioper objects of legal interference, 

 and they can be no otherwise repres- 

 sed. All deliherale staking down ani- 

 mals, of whatever description, to the 

 torture, under the nnnie of baiting, and 

 the vile pretence of sport, come fairly 

 and truly under the above heads. 

 With resjiect to the necessary use of 

 animals, in all its various relations, it 

 must l-e left to liie discietion of pro- 

 piietors, being an o})j(ct of moral 

 iiistruclion, not of legislation, ft is 

 not use, with which I aim to inlerfeic, 

 but abuse. Here again discrimina- 

 tion is necessary. 1 refer materially 

 to the abuse of principle. Under a 

 just, moral, system, no man can 

 have a right, v,:;ntoidy, and williout 

 plea of use or necessity, to put an ani- 

 mal out of life by slow and horrid tor- 

 ments, 



