CHAPTER XV 



HUMANE EDUCATION— THE LAW 



707. "No civilisation is complete that does not 

 include within its sphere of charity and mercy 

 the dumb and defenceless of God's creatures." — 

 Queen Victoria. 



Of all cruelty, cruel fashions are the easiest 

 to banish, because they are set generally by 

 educated people, or at any rate by people who 

 should know better ; cruelty committed by the 

 acknowledged upholders of brutal customs is of 

 course more difficult to abolish. 



I cannot emphasise too strongly the necessity 

 for humane education of children ; for the pre- 

 vention of, rather than punishment for, cruelty ; 

 the establishment of animal hospitals, am- 

 bulances, and humane inspectors who know 

 their work, and strict prohibition of any 

 mutilated animal from being shown in the show 

 ring or any other form of animal show. The 

 Duke of Connaught, at a meeting of the Ottawa 

 S.P.G.A., expressed his feelings thus forcibly: 

 "I hope my presence here will indicate the deep 

 interest I have in the work of the Ottawa 

 Humane Society. Surely the objects of this 

 organisation are such as all of you must feel a 

 personal interest in. I hope all who are here will 

 do all they can to advance these objects." 



708. Less than a quarter of a century ago the 

 humane societies of the world were less than 

 ten. To-day they amount to many thousands. 

 By teaching kindness to animals these societies 

 are forming the basis for the reception of re- 

 ligious instruction and are leading the way to a 

 higher civilisation. 



Bishop Ninde rightly said : " Merciful treat- 

 ment of animals should be taught from every 

 pulpit and in our Sunday schools as a most im- 

 perative Christian duty." 



In the heart of Canada and the States, societies 

 are springing up in the larger towns. For many 

 years there was no check on the cruelty that one 

 saw, but now there is a great difference. There 

 should be greater encouragement from the 

 oflBcials of these various cities and towns. In the 

 North-West great strides have been made during 

 the past few years ; they have to deal in par- 

 ticular with improper clipping, blanketing, 

 frozen bits, overloading, and, up farther north, 

 cruelty to the husky dog. 



709. When the great Lord Erskine, in 1811, 

 appealed for compassion for the humbler crea- 



tures of God, on the floor of the British House of 

 Lords, he was met with nothing but contumely 

 and insult. When Richard Martin caused the 

 first Act for the protection of animals to be 

 passed by the British Parliament in 1822, he was 

 openly an object of derision, and only a glorious 

 minority sympathised with his views. When 

 Henry Bergh first walked the streets of New York 

 City in 1866 as the apostle of mercy for those who 

 had received no mercy, he was the constant 

 object of caricature in the Press, and was sub- 

 jected even to personal insult. All this was not 

 to be wondered at. The world had been through 

 long ages of heedless brutalities wherein the 

 wanton spirit of the savage in man had been 

 allowed free play without repression. 



The Animal Guardian said : " Humane reform 

 involving an alteration of the law can only be 

 carried by votes. To influence votes you must 

 educate the electors. There are three classes of 

 people who need to be missioned — the bishops 

 and clergy, the magistrates, and the local labour 

 leaders." 



710. I have always been horrified at the 

 cruelty that is allowed to exist in French- 

 Canadian parts of Quebec. In many cases the 

 magistrates are totally incapable of dealing with 

 cruelty. Gross cruelty can be seen any day in 

 these parts of Canada. The worse type of man is 

 the coalheaver and the lumberman. 



Great good has been done of late by owners 

 of large hotels, etc., lending their buildings for 

 humane purposes. For example, the Chateau 

 Frontenac, belonging to the Canadian Pacific 

 Railway, at Quebec, loaned part of their hotel to 

 the Quebec S.P.C.A. The Toronto Horse Show 

 authorities regularly allow the Toronto Humane 

 Society to run a tea room during the horse show 

 in aid of this society. 



I have come across several instances where 

 those who have ill-treated horses have been made 

 examples of in their neighbourhood. For instance, 

 the Quebec Humane Society employed as an 

 inspector an old middle-weight champion. When 

 he first commenced he set an example to the rest 

 of the city by inducing a cruel man to fight. 

 The latter, not knowing who the inspector was, 

 thought he had an easy task ; but it ended in his 

 being put into hospital for four months with a 

 broken nose and jaw. 



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