OBSERVATIONS ON MAD DOGS. 261 



the metropolis. Among the many lamentable cases of 

 persons and animals getting bitten by mad dogs, we 

 may safely say that nineteen in twenty of them originate 

 from people keeping useless curs, which they turn loose 

 to forage on the town, and for which there is paid no 

 tax. (I always invoke the tax-gatherers, when I want 

 to get rid of a nuisance ; but, Lord knows, for no other 

 purpose !) Let me suggest, therefore, that every one 

 should have on his dog a collar, with the name and 

 address, by which the owners of dogs may be found, 

 and made to .answer for any depredations committed 

 by, or default in payment of duty for, them. A muzzle 

 may be added ; or a penalty for not having one. Let 

 all dogs that are found loose without collars be taken 

 by the police, and advertised in their district ; and if, 

 within a certain time, no one comes forward to take 

 charge of a dog and pay the tax (which, if an animal 

 of any apparent value, plenty of people would be glad 

 to do, on speculation, or for the chance of reward from 

 the owner), let the magistrate have the full power of 

 passing sentence of death. This may appear cruel ; 

 but the riddance of useless curs is a minor evil when 

 compared to the distressing events that have so lately 

 occurred in the metropolis. It may be asked, how are 

 the dogs to be caught ? But it would be bad policy to 

 publish the many ways which there are of doing this, 

 at the risk of giving finishing lessons to dog-$tealers. 



June 24th, 1830. In consequence of more distressing cases that 

 have just occurred, I have been induced to hastily pen down the 

 foregoing suggestions, with which there is barely time to save in- 

 sertion, under the head of " dogs/' for the sheet on which the 

 printer is now waiting; and on which, therefore, I have no time for 

 reflection. But if these observations should lead to any better 



