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ANNUAL MEETING. 
state for a very long time, and it no doubt developed that 
keen sense of pleasure in killing an animal which is only 
equalled by the one higher pleasure of killing a man. People 
will go through any amount of suffering — as they do in war 
— to kill or to be killed, and I do not think there is anything 
in this world that men have sacrificed so much for as for the 
sake of fighting ; nothing is so popular as war, even among our 
most civilised nations. Women never have this instinct — never 
naturally ; of course there are occasionally women who enjoy 
salmon fishing, &c., just as there are some men who do not, but 
they are the exceptions. A boy will always, if he sees a fly in a 
window, try to catch and kill it, or if a mouse runs out of his hole 
every boy starts off to catch and kill it, while every girl tries to 
climb on a form out of the way. Well, we must bear this in 
mind, that it is a perfectly natural instinct for a boy to throw a 
stone at a bird, but it is an instinct he must be taught to control. 
We all read of the sad end of that poor porpoise who came up 
the Thames about a month ago — how everybody struck at it and 
threw things at it, and shot and harpooned it — it was the impulse 
of everybody to try to kill it. This impulse, though it be not a 
wicked one at first, is one which a boy should be taught is wrong, 
and should be replaced by an interest in and regard for all 
animals and living things. Herein lies the value of the Selborne 
Society and other kindred societies. With regard to sport, I 
cannot say that I entirely disagree with sport, even when men 
do go out to kill birds or animals. Sport tends to induce 
patience and fortitude, and takes people out of the town into the 
country, and helps them to enjoy the beauties of nature. It 
needs early rising and many other things, and you must con- 
sider whether these and other advantages are sufficiently great 
to counteract the evil to the animal, which must not merely be 
computed by the numbers killed, as the greater number would 
soon die in other ways, for we must remember that all wild 
animals prey upon each other. There are, however, other prac- 
tices which go by the name of sport which are hardly worth 
considering as sport at all ; some so-called sports which are 
altogether abominable, and where the destruction of life can 
have no possible compensation in any good to the men who 
practise them. Then there are questions involved, difficult 
questions in relation to legislation. I am rather sorry to see 
that more legislation is required for the protection of wild birds. 
I fear we may have too much legislation about many subjects, 
and you need to remember that you cannot make men good and 
moral by legislation, and we must be very careful in exercising 
these laws to see that we do not go too far and make legislation 
ridiculous. For instance, to prohibit the taking of ospreys’ eggs 
in the Comity of London is, 1 think, going a little too far. 
I would rather see people humane to animals from their own 
knowledge of them than compelled to be so by law. Of course 
tliere are cases where law must come in, but if we can, by 
