1 1 8 
NATURE NOTES. 
that scores of birds were maimed, shot and killed, and their 
bodies were left lying about the island. The accused were de- 
fended by advocates who pleaded guilty, in the hope of 
preventing the full facts from coming before the bench, in 
which, however, they did not succeed, as Mr. Colam, junior, 
counsel for the prosecution, made a statement showing the nature 
and extent of the proceedings of the defendants. The magis- 
trates fined them in the maximum penalty of £22 17s., including 
costs, or £3 5s. 4d. each. 
Ail Selbornians will heartily rejoice at this vindication of the 
cause of nature and humanity, against senseless and unsports- 
manlike brutality, and will congratulate Mr. Colam and the 
Society whose work he so vigorously conducts, on their triumph 
over the inaction and evasion on the part of the authorities, 
which threatened at one time to secure entire impunity for the 
perpetrators of the outrage. We have had an opportunity of 
seeing the various steps taken by the R.S.P.C.A. in this 
matter, and it has increased our admiration for the wisdom and 
energy with which it conducts its never-ceasing crusade against 
cruelty. At a meeting of the Council on Monday last, hearty 
votes of thanks were passed to Mr. Colam for his action in the 
matter, and to Mr. Thomas, the local correspondent of the 
Daily Graphic , who was the first to call attention to the occur- 
rence. More than one member present expressed the intention 
of sending an increased subscription to the R.S.P.C.A., as a 
practical mode of showing appreciation of its work. Those 
who desire a fuller account of the trial will find it in the 
forthcoming issue of the Animal World , to which, doubtless, a 
large number of our readers subscribe. It is probable that we 
may also recur to the subject in our own columns. 
One hardly likes to dwell upon the abominable behaviour of 
the offenders in this case. In addition to the money fine, they 
have suffered the ignominy of public exposure and convic- 
tion, and if they have any sense of decency at all, they will 
have very great difficulty in reconciling their conduct with 
that which one would expect from “ officers and gentlemen.” In 
this connection we believe that we owe some apology to our 
correspondent, “Justitia,” for our remarks in the last number 
of Nature Notes. He pointed out that the magistrates who 
on the English and Irish bench so severely treat the offences of 
peasants, especially with regard to poaching, are taken from the 
very class, some members of which were guilty of these outrages. 
He was, unfortunately, more than right. Incredible as it seems, 
we believe that some of the offenders in this case were actually 
magistrates themselves. One of these, a County Councillor and 
County Magistrate, has, unhappily, escaped conviction owing to 
a conspiracy of silence on the part of his fellow criminals ; an- 
other was the very worst of the whole gang, inclined apparently to 
glory in his shame, and having no idea of the brutal and unmanly 
nature of the offence. We have been told that Colonel Henry 
