,,killing ,,for ,,sport ,this volume is published by ,,messrs4 ,g4 ,,bell ,,sons for the ,humanitarian ,league4 ,,killing ,,for ,,sport ,,essays ,,by ,,various ,,writers ,,with ,a ,,preface ,,by ,,bernard ,,shaw ,,edited ,,by ,,henry ,s4 ,,salt ,,london ,g4 ,,bell ,,and ,,sons1 ,,ltd4 ,,york ,,house1 ,,portugal ,,street #aiae ,,note ,during the past twenty-five years1 chiefly owing to the action of the ,humanitarian ,league in giving continuity to what had previously been only an occasional protest1 the subject of certain cruel pastimes1 called by the name of 8sports10 has attracted a large share of public attention4 ,the position of the ,league as regards the whole question of 8sport0--i4e41 the diversions and amusements of the people--is this1 that while heartily approving all such fair and manly recreations as cricket1 rowing1 football1 cycling1 the drag-hunt1 etc41 it would place in an altogether different category what may be called 8blood-sports0--i4e41 those amusements which involve the death or torture of sentient beings4 ,but as it is recognised that humane reform can only come by instalment1 and that legislation cannot outrun a ripe public opinion1 the ,league has asked for legislative action only in the case of the worst and most demoralising forms of 8blood-sports0--viz41 those which make use of a tame or captured animal1 and not one that is really wild and free4 ,for the same reason the ,league pressed1 and pressed successfully1 for the abolition of the ,royal ,buckhounds1 not because that particular hunt was in itself more cruel than others1 but because it stood as the recognised and ,state-supported type of a very degraded pastime4 8,your efforts have gained their reward10 wrote ,george ,meredith to the ,league on the occasion of the ,buckhounds' fall1 8and it will encourage you to pursue them in all fields where the good cause of ,sport1 or any good cause1 has to be cleansed of blood and cruelty4 ,so you make steps in our civilisation40 ,but these steps in civilisation have not been easily made4 ,it is not as widely known as it ought to be that since the prohibition of bull and bear baiting1 more than half a century ago1 there has been practically no further mitigation of those so-called sports which in this country absorb a great part of the thoughts and energies of the wealthier classes4 ,the ,acts of #ahdi and #ahed1 which prohibited the ill-usage of domestic animals1 gave no protection to animals fer natur1 except from being 8fought10 or baited2 and the ,cruelty to ,wild ,animals in ,captivity ,act1 of #aijj1 applies only to those animals that are actually in confinement1 or are released in a maimed condition to be hunted or shot4 ,thus1 while humane feeling has steadily progressed1 legislative action has obstinately stood still2 and while we shake our heads at the cruel sports of our great-grandfathers1 we are ourselves powerless to stop present brutalities which are as intolerable to humane thinkers now as were bull and bear baiting then4 ,in a civilised community1 where the services of the hunter are no longer required1 blood-sports are simply an anachronism1 a relic of savagery which time will gradually remove2 and the appeal against them is not to the interested parties whose practices are arraigned--not to the belated ,nimrods who find a pleasure in killing--but to that force of public opinion which put down bear-baiting1 and which will in like manner put down the kindred sports 7for all these barbarities are essentially akin7 which are defended by similar sophistries4 ,at a time when widespread attention is being drawn to questions concerning the land1 it is especially fitting that the part played by the sportsman should not be overlooked1 and that not only the cruelty1 but the wastefulness of the practice of breeding and killing animals for mere amusement1 should be made clear4 ,by including in this volume a number of recent essays1 the work of several writers 7each of whom is responsible only for the views expressed by himself71 it has been possible to present the subject of sport as regarded from various standpoints1 and in a fuller light than has ever been done before4 ,the book1 in fact1 is the first one in which the humanitarian and economic objections to blood-sports have been adequately set forth4 ,,contents ,,page ,,preface4 ,,by ,,bernard ,,shaw xi ,,the ,,cruelty ,,of ,,sport4 ,,by ,,george ,,greenwood1 ,m4,p4 #a ,,sport ,,and ,,agriculture4 ,,by ,,edward ,,carpenter #cd ,,the ,,cost ,,of ,,sport4 ,,by ,,maurice ,,adams #de ,,the ,,economics ,,of ,,hunting4 ,,by ,w4 ,h4 ,s4 ,,monck #fj ,,facts ,,about ,,the ,,game ,,laws4 ,,by ,j4 ,,connell #fi ,,the ,,destruction ,,of ,,wild ,,life4 ,,by ,e4 ,b4 ,,lloyd #he ,,the ,,callousness ,,of ,,fox-,,hunting4 ,,by ,h4 ,b4 ,,marriott ,,watson #ie ,,big ,,game ,,hunting4 ,,by ,,ernest ,,bell #aja ,,blood-,,sports ,,at ,,schools4 ,,by ,,an ,,old ,,etonian #aaf ,,fallacies ,,of ,,sportsmen4 ,,by ,,henry ,s4 ,,salt #acj ,,appendix ,,by ,,the ,,editor ,i4 ,,sport ,,as ,a ,,training ,,for ,,war #adi ,,ii4 8,,blooding0 #aee ,,iii4 ,,the ,,hunting ,,of ,,gravid ,,animals #aeh ,,iv4 ,,drag-,,hunt ,,versus ,,stag-,,hunt #afb ,v4 ,,clay ,,pigeon ,,versus ,,live ,,pigeon4 ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,j4 ,,stratton #aff ,,vi4 ,,coursing #agj ,,vii4 ,,the ,,gentle ,,craft #agd ,,viii4 ,,spoiling ,,other ,,people',s ,,pleasure #agi ,,index #ahc ,,preface#a ,,by ,,bernard ,,shaw ,sport is a difficult subject to deal with honestly4 ,it is easy for the humanitarian to moralize against it2 and any fool on its side can gush about its glorious breezy pleasures and the virtues it nourishes4 ,but neither the moralizings nor the gushings are supported by facts3 indeed they are mostly violently contradicted by them4 ,sportsmen are not crueller than other people4 ,humanitarians are not more humane than other people4 ,the pleasures of sport are fatigues and hardships3 nobody gets out of bed before sunrise on a drizzling wintry morning and rides off into darkness1 cold1 and rain1 either for luxury or thirst for the blood of a fox cub4 ,the humanitarian and the sportsman are often the self-same person drawing altogether unaccountable lines between pheasants and pigeons1 between hares and foxes1 between tame stags from the cart and wild ones from the heather1 between lobsters or pat de foie gras and beefsteaks3 above all1 between man and the lower animals2 for people who are sickened by the figures of a battue do not turn a hair over the infantile deathrate in ,lisson ,grove or the slums of ,dundee4 ,clearly the world of sport is a crystal palace in which we had better not throw stones unless we are prepared to have our own faces cut by the falling glass4 ,my own pursuits as a critic and as a castigator of morals by ridicule 7otherwise a writer of comedies7 are so cruel that in point of giving pain to many worthy people ,i can hold my own with most dentists1 and beat a skilful sportsman hollow4 ,i know many sportsmen2 and none of them are ferocious4 ,i know several humanitarians2 and they are all ferocious4 ,no book of sport breathes such a wrathful spirit as this book of humanity4 ,no sportsman wants to kill the fox or the pheasant as ,i want to kill him when ,i see him doing it4 ,callousness is not cruel4 ,stupidity is not cruel4 ,love of exercise and of feats of skill is not cruel4 ,they may and do produce more destruction and suffering than all the neuroses of all the ,neros4 ,but they are characteristic of quite amiable and cheerful people1 mostly lovers of pet animals4 ,on the other hand1 humane sensitiveness is impatient1 angry1 ruthless1 and murderous4 ,marat was a supersensitive humanitarian1 by profession a doctor who had practised successfully in genteel circles in ,england4 ,what ,marat felt towards marquesses most humanitarians feel more or less towards sportsmen4 ,therefore let no sportsman who reads these pages accuse me of hypocrisy1 or of claiming to be a more amiable person than he4 ,and let him excuse me1 if he will be so good1 for beginning with an attempt to describe how ,i feel about sport4 ,to begin with1 sport soon bores me when it does not involve killing2 and when it does1 it affects me much as the murder of a human being would affect me1 rather more than less2 for just as the murder of a child is more shocking than the murder of an adult 7because1 ,i suppose1 the child is so helpless and the breach of social faith therefore so unconscionable71 the murder of an animal is an abuse of man's advantage over animals3 the proof being that when the animal is powerful and dangerous1 and the man unarmed1 the repulsion vanishes and is replaced by congratulation4 ,but quite humane and cultivated people seem unable to understand why ,i should bother about the feelings of animals4 ,i have seen the most horrible pictures published in good faith as attractive in illustrated magazines4 ,one of them1 which ,i wish ,i could forget1 was a photograph taken on a polar expedition1 shewing a murdered bear with its living cub trying to make it attend to its maternal duties4 ,i have seen a photograph of a criminal being cut into a thousand pieces by a ,chinese executioner1 which was by comparison amusing4 ,i have also seen thrown on a screen for the entertainment of a large audience a photograph of an ,arctic explorer taking away a sledge dog to shoot it for food1 the dog jumping about joyously without the least suspicion of its human friend's intentions4 ,if the doomed dog had been a man or a woman1 ,i believe ,i should have had less sense of treachery4 ,i do not say that this is reasonable3 ,i simply state it as a fact4 ,it was quite evident that the lecturer had no suspicion of the effect the picture was producing on me2 and as far as ,i could see1 his audience was just as callous2 for if they had all felt as ,i felt there would have been at least a very perceptible shudder1 if not an articulate protest4 ,now this was not a case of sport4 ,it was necessary to shoot the dog3 ,i should have shot it myself under the same circumstances4 ,but ,i should have regarded the necessity as a horrible one2 and ,i should have presented it to the audience as a painful episode1 like cannibalism in a crew of castaways1 and not as a joke4 ,for ,i must add that a good many people present regarded it as a bit of fun4 ,i absolve the lecturer from this extremity of insensibility4 ,the shooting of a dog was a trifle to what he had endured2 and ,i did not blame him for thinking it by comparison a trivial matter4 ,but to us1 who had endured nothing1 it might have seemed a little hard on the dog1 and calling for some apology from the man4 ,i am driven to the conclusion that my sense of kinship with animals is greater than most people feel4 ,it amuses me to talk to animals in a sort of jargon ,i have invented for them2 and it seems to me that it amuses them to be talked to1 and that they respond to the tone of the conversation1 though its intellectual content may to some extent escape them4 ,i am quite sure1 having made the experiment several times on dogs left in my care as part of the furniture of hired houses1 that an animal who has been treated as a brute1 and is consequently undeveloped socially 7as human beings remain socially undeveloped under the same circumstances7 will1 on being talked to as a fellow-creature1 become friendly and companionable in a very short time4 ,this process has been described by some reproachful dog owners as spoiling the dog1 and sincerely deplored by them1 because ,i am glad to say it is easier to do than to undo except by brutalities of which few people are capable4 ,but ,i find it impossible to associate with animals on any other terms4 ,further1 it gives me extraordinary gratification to find a wild bird treating me with confidence1 as robins sometimes do4 ,it pleases me to conciliate an animal who is hostile to me4 ,what is more1 an animal who will not be conciliated offends me4 ,there is at the ,zoo a morose maned lion who will tear you to pieces if he gets half a chance4 ,there is also a very handsome maneless lion with whom you may play more safely than with most ,st4 ,bernard dogs1 as he seems to need nothing but plenty of attention and admiration to put him into the best of humors4 ,i do not feel towards these two lions as a carpenter does towards two pieces of wood1 one hard and knotty1 and the other easy to work2 nor as ,i do towards two motor bicycles1 one troublesome and dangerous1 and the other in perfect order4 ,i feel towards the two lions as ,i should towards two men similarly diverse4 ,i like one and dislike the other4 ,if they got loose and were shot1 ,i should be distressed in the one case whilst in the other ,i should say 8,serve the brute right60 ,this is clearly fellow-feeling4 ,and it seems to me that the plea of the humanitarian is a plea for widening the range of fellow-feeling4 ,the limits of fellow-feeling are puzzling4 ,people who have it in a high degree for animals often seem utterly devoid of it for human beings of a different class4 ,they will literally kill their dogs with kindness whilst behaving to their servants with such utter inconsideration that they have to change their domestic staff once a month or oftener4 ,or they hate horses and like snakes4 ,one could fill pages with such inconsistencies4 ,the lesson of these apparent contradictions is that fellow-feeling is a matter of dislikes as well as of likes4 ,no man wants to destroy the engine which catches him in its cog-wheels and tears a limb from him4 ,but many a man has tried to kill another man for a very trifling slight4 ,the machine1 not being our fellow1 cannot be loved or hated4 ,the man1 being our fellow1 can4 ,let us try to get down to the bottom of this matter4 ,there is no use in saying that our fellow-creatures must not be killed4 ,that is simply untrue2 and the converse proposal that they must be killed is simply true4 ,we see the ,buddhist having his path swept before him lest he should tread on an insect and kill it2 but we do not see what that ,buddhist does when he catches a flea that has kept him awake for an hour2 and we know that he has to except certain poisonous snakes from his forbearance4 ,if mice get into your house and you do not kill them1 they will end by killing you4 ,if rabbits breed on your farm and you do not exterminate them1 you will end by having no farm4 ,if you keep deer in your park and do not thin them1 your neighbors or the authorities will finally have to save you the trouble4 ,if you hold the life of a mosquito sacred1 malaria and yellow fever will not return the compliment4 ,i have had an interview with an adder1 in the course of which it struck repeatedly and furiously at my stick2 and ,i let it go unharmed2 but if ,i were the mother of a family of young children1 and ,i found a cobra in the garden1 ,i would vote for 8,la mort sans phrase10 as many humane and honorable persons voted in the case1 not of a serpent1 but of an anointed king4 ,i see no logical nor spiritual escape from the theory that evolution 7not1 please observe1 ,natural ,selection7 involves a deliberate intentional destruction by the higher forms of life of the lower4 ,it is a dangerous and difficult business2 for in the course of natural selection the lower forms may have become necessary to the existence of the higher2 and the gamekeeper shooting everything that could hurt his pheasants or their chicks may be behaving as foolishly as an ,arab lunatic shooting horses and camels4 ,but where ,man comes1 the megatherium must go as surely as where the poultry farmer comes the fox must go unless the hunt will pay for the fox's depredations4 ,to plead for the tiger1 the wolf1 and the poisonous snake1 is as useless as to plead for the spirochete or the tetanus bacillus3 we must frankly class these as early and disastrous experiments in creation1 and accept it as part of the mission of the later and more successful experiments to recognize them as superseded1 and to destroy them purposely4 ,we should1 no doubt1 be very careful how we jump from the indisputable general law that the higher forms of life must exterminate or limit the lower1 to the justification of any particular instance of the slaughter of non-human animals by men1 or the slaughter of a low type of man by a high type of man4 ,still1 when all due reservations are made1 the fact remains that a war of extermination is being waged daily and necessarily by man against his rivals for possession of the earth1 and that though an urban humanitarian and vegetarian who never has occasion to kill anything but a microbe may shudder at the callousness with which a farmer kills rats and rabbits and sparrows and moles and caterpillars and ladybirds and many more charming creatures1 yet if he were in the farmer's place he would have to do exactly the same1 or perish4 ,in that case why not make a pleasure of necessity1 and a virtue of pleasure1 as the sportsmen do8 ,i think we must own that there is no objection from the point of view of the animals4 ,on the contrary1 it is quite easy to shew that there is a positive advantage to them in the organization of killing as sport4 ,fox hunting has saved the existing foxes from extermination2 and if it were not for the civilization that makes fox hunting possible1 the fox would still be hunted and killed by packs of wolves4 ,i am so conscious of this that ,i have in another place suggested that children should be hunted or shot during certain months of the year1 as they would then be fed and preserved by the sportsmen of the counties as generously and carefully as pheasants now are2 and the survivors would make a much better nation than our present slum products4 ,and ,i go further4 ,i maintain that the abolition of public executions was a very bad thing for the murderers4 ,before that time1 we did exactly as our sportsmen now do4 ,we made a pleasure of the necessity for exterminating murderers1 and a virtue of the pleasure4 ,hanging was a popular sport1 like racing4 ,huge crowds assembled to see it and paid large prices for seats4 ,there would have been betting on the result if it had been at all uncertain4 ,the criminal had what all criminals love3 a large audience4 ,he had a procession to ,tyburn3 he had a drink3 he was allowed to make a speech if he could2 and if he could not1 the speech was made for him and published and sold in great numbers4 ,above all1 such fair play as an execution admits of was guaranteed to him by the presence of the public1 whereas now he perishes in a horrible secrecy which lends itself to all the abuses of secrecy4 ,whether the creature slain be man or what we very invidiously call brute1 there is no case to be made against sport on its behalf4 ,even cruelty can justify itself1 as far as the victim is concerned1 on the ground that it makes sport attractive to cruel people1 and that sport is good for the quarry4 ,the true objection to sport is the one taken by that wise and justly famous ,puritan who objected to bear baiting not because it gave pain to the bear but because it gave pleasure to the spectators4 ,he rightly saw that it was not important that we should be men of pleasure1 and that it was enormously important that we should be men of honor4 ,what the bear would have said if it had had any say in the matter can only be conjectured4 ,its captors might have argued that if they could not have made money by keeping it alive whilst taking it to ,england to be baited1 they would have killed it at sight in the ,pyrenees2 so that it owed several months of life1 with free board and lodging1 to the institution of bear baiting4 ,the bear might have replied that if it had not been for the bear pit in ,england they would never have come to hunt for it in the ,pyrenees1 where it could have ended its days in a free and natural manner4 ,let us admit for the sake of a quiet life that the point is disputable4 ,what is not disputable by any person who has ever seen sport of this character is that the man who enjoys it is degraded by it4 ,we do not bait bears now 7,i do not quite know why72 but we course rabbits in the manner described in one of the essays in this book4 ,i lived for a time on the south slope of the ,hog's ,back2 and every ,sunday morning rabbits were coursed within earshot of me4 ,and ,i noticed that it was quite impossible to distinguish the cries of the excited terriers from the cries of the sportsmen1 although ordinarily the voice of a man is no more like the voice of a dog than like the voice of a nightingale4 ,sport reduced them all1 men and terriers alike1 to a common denominator of bestiality4 ,the sound did not make me more humane3 on the contrary1 ,i felt that if ,i were an irresponsible despot with a park of artillery at my disposal1 ,i should1 7especially after seeing the sportsmen on their way to and from their sport7 have said3 8,these people have become subhuman1 and will be better dead4 ,be kind enough to mow them down for me40 ,as a matter of fact there is always a revulsion against these dehumanizing sports in which the killing can be seen1 and the actual visible chase shared1 by human beings3 in short1 the sports in which men revert to the excitements of beasts of prey4 ,several have been abolished by law3 among them bear baiting and cock fighting3 both of them sports in which the spectators shared at close quarters the excitement of the animals engaged4 ,in the sports firmly established among us there is much less of this abomination4 ,in fox hunting and shooting1 predatory excitement is not a necessary part of the sport1 and is indeed abhorred by many who practise it4 ,inveterate fox-hunters have been distressed and put off their hunting for days by happening to see a fox in the last despairing stage of its run from the hounds3 a sight which can be avoided1 and often is1 by the hunters1 but which they may happen upon some day when they are not hunting4 ,such people hunt because they delight in meets and in gallops across country as social and healthy incidents of country life4 ,they are proud of their horsemanship and their craftiness in taking a line4 ,they like horses and dogs and exercise and wind and weather1 and are unconscious of the fact that their expensive and well equipped hunting stables and kennels are horse prisons and dog prisons4 ,it is useless to pretend that these ladies and gentlemen are fiends in human form3 they clearly are not4 ,by avoiding being in at the death they get all the good out of hunting without incurring the worst of the evil1 and so come out with a balance in their favor4 ,shooting is subtler3 it is a matter of skill with one's weapons4 ,the expert at it is called1 not a good chicken butcher1 but a good shot4 ,when ,i want1 as ,i often do1 to pick him off1 ,i do so not because ,i feel that he is cruel or degraded but because he is a nuisance to me with the very disagreeable noise of his explosions1 and because there is an unbearable stupidity in converting an interesting1 amusing1 prettily colored live wonder like a pheasant into a slovenly unhandsome corpse4 ,but at least he does not yap like a terrier1 and shake with a detestable excitement1 and scream out frantic bets to bookmakers4 ,his expression is that of a man performing a skilled operation with an instrument of precision3 an eminently human expression1 quite incompatible with the flush of blood to the eyes and the uncovering of the dog-tooth that makes a man like a beast of prey4 ,and this is why it is impossible to feel that skilled shooting or fox-hunting are as abominable as rabbit coursing1 hare-hunting with beagles1 or otter-hunting4 ,and yet shooting depends for its toleration on custom as much as on the coolness with which it has to be performed4 ,it may be illogical to forgive a man for shooting a pheasant and to loathe him for shooting a seagull2 but as a matter of plain fact one feels that a man who shoots seagulls is a cad1 and soon makes him feel it if he attempts to do it on board a public ship1 whereas the snipe shooter excites no such repulsion4 ,and 8fair game0 must be skilfully shot if the maximum of toleration is to be enjoyed4 ,even then it is not easy for some of us to forget that many a bird must have been miserably maimed before the shooter perfected his skill4 ,the late ,king ,edward the ,seventh1 immediately after his recovery from a serious operation which stirred the whole nation to anxious sympathy with him1 shot a stag1 which got away to die of just such internal inflammation as its royal murderer had happily escaped4 ,many people read the account without the least emotion4 ,others thought it natural that the ,king should be ashamed1 as a marksman1 of his failure to kill1 but rejected as sentimental nonsense the notion that he should feel any remorse on the stag's behalf4 ,had he deliberately shot a cow instead1 everyone would have been astounded and horrified4 ,custom will reconcile people to any atrocity2 and fashion will drive them to acquire any custom4 ,the ,english princess who sits on the throne of ,spain goes to bullfights because it is the ,spanish fashion4 ,at first she averted her face1 and probably gave offence by doing so4 ,now1 no doubt1 she is a connoisseuse of the sport4 ,yet neither she nor the late ,king ,edward can be classed as cruel monsters4 ,on the contrary1 they are conspicuous examples of the power of cruel institutions to compel the support and finally win the tolerance and even the enjoyment of persons of full normal benevolence4 ,but this is not why ,i call shooting subtle4 ,it fascinates even humane persons not only because it is a game of skill in the use of the most ingenious instrument in general use1 but because killing by craft from a distance is a power that makes a man divine rather than human4 8,oft have ,i struck ,those that ,i never saw1 and struck them dead0 said the statesman to ,jack ,cade 7who promptly hanged him72 and something of the sense of power in that boast stimulates every boy with a catapult and every man with a gun4 ,that is why there is an interest in weapons fathoms deeper than the interest in cricket bats and golf clubs4 ,it is not a question of skill or risk4 ,the men who go to ,africa with cameras and obtain photographs and even cinematographs of the most dangerous animals at close quarters1 shew much more skill and nerve than the gentlemen who disgust us with pictures of themselves sitting on the body of the huge creatures they have just killed with explosive bullets4 ,shooting 8big game10 like serving as a soldier in the field1 is glorified conventionally as a proof of character and courage1 though everyone knows that men can be found by the hundred thousand to face such ordeals1 including several who would be afraid to walk down ,bond ,street in an unfashionable hat4 ,the real point of the business is neither character nor courage1 but ability to kill4 ,and the greater cowards and the feebler weaklings we are1 the more important this power is to us4 ,it is a matter of life and death to us to be able to kill our enemies without coming to handgrips with them2 and the consequence is that our chief form of play is to pretend that something is our enemy and kill it4 ,even to pretend to kill it is some satisfaction3 nay1 the spectacle of other people pretending to do it is a substitute worth paying for4 ,nothing more supremely ridiculous as a subject of reasonable contemplation could be imagined than a sham fight in ,earls ,court between a tribe of ,north ,american ,indians and a troop of cowboys1 both imported by ,buffalo ,bill as a theatrical speculation4 ,to see these grown-up men behaving like children1 galloping about and firing blank cartridges at one another1 and pretending to fall down dead1 was absurd and incredible enough from any rational point of view2 but that thousands of respectable middle-aged and elderly citizens and their wives1 all perfectly sober1 should pay to be allowed to look on1 seems flat madness4 ,yet the thing not only occurred in ,london1 but occurs now daily in the cinema theatres and yearly at the ,military ,tournaments4 ,and what honest man dare pretend that he gets no fun out of these spectacles8 ,certainly not ,i4 ,they revived enough of my boyish delight in stage fights and in the stories of ,captain ,mayne ,reid to induce me to sit them out1 conscious as ,i was of their silliness4 ,please do not revile me for telling you what ,i felt instead of what ,i ought to have felt4 ,what prevents the sport question and every other question from getting squarely put before us is our habit of saying that the things we think should disgust us and fill us with abhorrence actually do disgust us and fill us with abhorrence1 and that the persons who1 against all reason and decency1 find some sort of delight in them1 are vile wretches quite unlike ourselves1 though1 as everyone can see1 we and they are as like as potatoes4 ,you may not agree with ,mr4 ,rudyard ,kipling about war1 or with ,colonel ,roosevelt about sport2 but beware how you pretend that war does not interest and excite you more than printing1 or that the thought of bringing down a springing tiger with a well-aimed shot does not interest you more than the thought of cleaning your teeth4 ,men may be as the poles asunder in their speculative views4 ,in their actual nervous and emotional reactions they are 8members one of another0 to a much greater extent than they choose to confess4 ,the reason ,i have no patience with ,colonel ,roosevelt's tedious string of rhinoceros murders in ,south ,africa is not that ,i am not interested in weapons1 in marksmanship1 and in killing1 but because my interest in life and creation is still greater than my interest in death and destruction1 and because ,i have sufficient fellow-feeling with a rhinoceros to think it a frightful thing that it should be killed for fun4 ,consider a moment how one used to feel when an ,irish peasant shot his landlord1 or when a grand duke was blown to pieces in ,russia1 or when one read of how ,charlotte ,corday killed ,marat4 ,on the one hand we applauded the courage1 the skill1 the resolution of the assassin2 we exulted in the lesson taught to tyrants and in the overthrow of the strong oppressor by the weak victim2 but we were horrified by the breach of law1 by the killing of the accused at the decree of an irresponsible ,ribbon ,lodge under no proper public control1 by the execution of the grand duke without trial and opportunity of defence1 by the suspicion that ,charlotte ,corday was too like ,marat in her lust for the blood of oppressors to have the right to kill him4 ,such cases are extremely complicated1 except for those simple victims of political or class prejudice who think ,charlotte ,corday a saint because she killed a ,radical1 and the ,ribbonmen demons because they were common fellows who dared to kill country gentlemen4 ,but however the cases catch us1 there is always that peculiar interest in individual killing1 and consequently in the means and weapons by which individuals can kill their enemies1 which is at the root of the sport of shooting4 ,it all comes back to fellow-feeling and appetite for fruitful activity and a high quality of life3 there is nothing else to appeal to4 ,no commandment can meet the case4 ,it is no use saying 8,thou shalt not kill0 in one breath1 and1 in the next 8,thou shalt not suffer a witch to live40 ,men must be killed and animals must be killed3 nay1 whole species of animals and types of men must be exterminated before the earth can become a tolerable place of habitation for decent folk4 ,but among the men who will have to be wiped out stands the sportsman3 the man without fellow-feeling1 the man so primitive and uncritical in his tastes that the destruction of life is an amusement to him1 the man whose outlook is as narrow as that of his dog4 ,he is not even cruel3 sport is partly a habit to which he has been brought up1 and partly stupidity1 which can always be measured by wastefulness and by lack of sense of the importance and glory of life4 ,the horrible murk and grime of the ,pottery towns is caused by indifference to a stupid waste of sunlight1 natural beauty1 cleanliness1 and pleasant air1 combined with a brutish appetite for money4 ,a battue is caused by indifference to the beauty and interest of bird life and song1 and callousness to glazed eyes and blood-bedabbled corpses1 combined with a boyish love of shooting4 ,all the people who waste beauty and life in this way are characterized by deficiency in fellow-feeling3 not only have they none of ,st4 ,francis's feeling that the birds are of our kin1 but they would be extremely indignant if a loader or a gamekeeper asserted any claim to belong to their species4 ,sport is a sign either of limitation or of timid conventionality4 ,and this disposes of the notion that sport is the training of a conquering race4 ,even if such things as conquering races existed1 or would be tolerable if they did exist1 they would not be races of sportsmen4 ,the red scalp-hunting braves of ,north ,america were the sportingest race imaginable2 and they were conquered as easily as the bisons they hunted4 ,the ,french can boast more military glory to the square inch of history than any other nation2 but until lately they were the standing butt of ,english humorists for their deficiencies as sportsmen4 ,in the middle ages1 when they fought as sportsmen and gentlemen1 they were annihilated by small bodies of starving ,englishmen who carefully avoided sportsmanlike methods and made a laborious business 7learnt at the village target7 of killing them4 ,as to becoming accustomed to risks1 there are plenty of ways of doing that without killing anything except occasionally yourself4 ,the motor-cyclist takes more trying risks than the fox-hunter2 and motor-cycling seems safety itself compared to aviation4 ,a dive from a high springboard will daunt a man as effectually as a stone wall in the hunting field4 ,the notion that if you have no sportsmen you will have no soldiers 7as if more than the tiniest fraction of the armies of the world had ever been sportsmen7 is as absurd as the notion that burglars and garrotters should be encouraged because they might make hardier and more venturesome soldiers than honest men2 but since people foolishly do set up such arguments they may as well be mentioned in passing for what they are worth4 ,the question then comes to this3 which is the superior man8 the man whose pastime is slaughter1 or the man whose pastime is creative or contemplative8 ,i have no doubt about the matter myself1 being on the creative and contemplative side by nature4 ,slaughter is necessary work1 like scavenging2 but the man who not only does it unnecessarily for love of it but actually makes as much of it as possible by breeding live things to slaughter1 seems to me to be little more respectable than one who befouls the streets for the pleasure of sweeping them4 ,i believe that the line of evolution leads to the prevention of the birth of creatures whose lives are not useful and enjoyable1 and that the time will come when a gentleman found amusing himself with a gun will feel as compromised as he does now when found amusing himself with a whip at the expense of a child or an old lame horse covered with sores4 ,sport1 like murder1 is a bloody business2 and the sportsmen will not always be able to outface that fact as they do at present4 ,but there is something else4 ,killing1 if it is to give us heroic emotions1 must not be done for pleasure4 ,interesting though the slaying of one man by another may be1 it is abhorrent when it is done merely for the fun of doing it 7the sportsman's way7 or to satisfy the envious spite of the worse man towards the better 7,cain's way74 ,when ,charlotte ,corday stabbed ,marat1 and when ,hamilton of ,bothwellhaugh shot the ,regent ,murray1 they were stung by intolerable social wrongs for which the law offered them no redress4 ,when ,brutus and his fellow-conspirators killed ,csar1 they had persuaded themselves that they were saving ,rome4 ,when ,samson slew the lion1 he had every reason to feel convinced that if he did not1 the lion would slay him4 ,conceive ,charlotte ,corday stabbing ,marat as an exercise of manual and anatomical skill1 or ,hamilton bringing down the ,regent as a feat of marksmanship6 ,their deeds at once become1 not less1 but more horrifying than if they had done them from a love of killing4 ,jack the ,ripper was a madman of the most appalling sort2 but the fascination of murder for him must have been compounded of dread1 of horror1 and of a frightful perversion of an instinct which in its natural condition is a kindly one4 ,he was a ghastly murderer2 but he was a hot-blooded one4 ,the perfection of callousness is not reached until a life is sacrificed1 and often cruelly sacrificed1 solely as a feat of skill4 ,peter the ,great amusing himself by torturing his son to death was a revolting monster2 but he was not so utterly inhuman in that crime as he was when1 on being interested by a machine for executing criminals which he saw in a museum on his travels1 he proposed to execute one of his retinue to see how the machine worked1 and could with difficulty be brought to understand that there was a sentimental objection to the proceeding on the part of his hosts which made the experiment impossible4 ,when he tortured his son he knew that he was committing an abomination4 ,when he wanted to try an experiment at the cost of a servant's life he was unconscious of doing anything that was not a matter of course for any nobleman4 ,and in this he was worse than abominable3 he was deficient1 imbecile1 less than human4 ,just so is the sportsman1 shooting quite skilfully and coolly without the faintest sense of any murderous excitement1 and with no personal feeling against the birds1 really further from salvation than the man who is humane enough to get some sense of wickedness out of his sport4 ,to have one's fellow-feeling corrupted and perverted into a lust for cruelty and murder is hideous2 but to have no fellow-feeling at all is to be something less than even a murderer4 ,the man who sees red is more complete than the man who is blind4 ,the triviality of sport as compared with the risk and trouble of its pursuit and the gravity of its results makes it much sillier than crime4 ,the idler who can find nothing better to do than to kill is past our patience4 ,if a man takes on himself the heavy responsibility of killing1 he should not do it for pastime4 ,pastimes are very necessary2 for though a busy man can always find something to do1 there comes a point at which his health1 his sanity1 his very existence may depend on his doing nothing of the smallest importance2 and yet he cannot sit still and twiddle his thumbs3 besides1 he requires bodily exercise4 ,he needs an idle pastime4 ,now 8,satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do0 if the idler lets his conscience go to sleep4 ,but he need not let it go to sleep4 ,there are plenty of innocent idle pastimes for him4 ,he can read detective stories4 ,he can play tennis4 ,he can drive a motor-car if he can afford one4 ,he can fly4 ,satan may suggest that it would be a little more interesting to kill something2 but surely only an outrageous indifference to the sacredness of life and the horrors of suffering and terror1 combined with a monstrously selfish greed for sensation1 could drive a man to accept the ,satanic suggestion if sport were not organized for him as a social institution4 ,even as it is1 there are now so many other pastimes available that the choice of killing is becoming more and more a disgrace to the chooser4 ,the wantonness of the choice is beyond excuse4 ,to kill as the poacher does1 to sell or eat the victim1 is at least to act reasonably4 ,to kill from hatred or revenge is at least to behave passionately4 ,to kill in gratification of a lust for death is at least to behave villainously4 ,reason1 passion1 and villainy are all human4 ,but to kill1 being all the time quite a good sort of fellow1 merely to pass away the time when there are a dozen harmless ways of doing it equally available1 is to behave like an idiot or a silly imitative sheep4 ,surely the broad outlook and deepened consciousness which admits all living things to the commonwealth of fellow-feeling1 and the appetite for fruitful activity and generous life which come with it1 are better than this foolish doing of unamiable deeds by people who are not in the least unamiable4 ,g4 ,b4 ,s4 ,march1 #aiad4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,copyright1 ,george ,bernard ,shaw1 #aiad1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,,killing ,,for ,,sport ,,the ,,cruelty ,,of ,,sport ,,by ,,george ,,greenwood ,it is a favourite rhetorical device of the vivisectionists to divert argument from the main question into side issues by instituting a comparison between vivisection and the various forms of field-sports1 such as pheasant-shooting1 for example4 ,it is hardly necessary that ,i should point out the futility of such controversial methods2 for1 as ,horace long ago taught us1 there is no use in an illustration which merely substitutes one dispute for another4 ,vivisection may be wrong1 though pheasant-shooting be right2 while if pheasant-shooting be wrong1 it is obviously absurd to appeal to it in aid of the cause of vivisection4 ,but for those who recognise that it is the duty of man to abstain from all practices which involve cruelty to the lower animals1 it is important to consider the whole question of sport1 and to endeavour to arrive at just and logical conclusions upon the ethical issues which are raised by its pursuit4 ,here1 at the outset1 ,i think it is necessary1 in order to avoid confusion1 to attempt some definition of the word 8cruelty40 ,by so doing we shall escape the absurdities of those who tell us that all sport is cruel1 and yet that its pursuit can1 nevertheless1 be justified by other considerations4 ,the late ,professor ,freeman long ago pointed out that those who speak in this slipshod fashion are ignorant of the very elements of logical reasoning4 8,cruelty0 is a word which carries its own condemnation with it4 ,it denotes something which is morally unjustifiable1 just as the word 8lie0 denotes a morally unjustifiable falsehood4 ,justifiable falsehoods are not lies1 neither can a lie ever be a justifiable falsehood4 ,for the purposes of this paper1 therefore1 ,i am content to define 8cruelty0 as 8the unjustifiable infliction of pain40 ,i think that is better than defining it as 8the unnecessary infliction of pain40 ,for1 to take an example1 the shooting of a partridge can hardly1 in any ordinary case1 be looked upon as a necessary act4 ,to define cruelty1 therefore1 as 8the unnecessary infliction of pain0 would be to settle the question--or1 rather to beg it--in such a case1 by means of a definition4 ,it is true that the definition which ,i have preferred leaves the question what is or is not justifiable1 in any given case1 open for discussion2 but that is1 of course1 inevitable1 whatever definition we may adopt4 ,if1 then1 we are compelled to say of any sport that it is cruel1 we are compelled also to admit that such sport is morally unjustifiable4 ,now1 sport1 according to the general acceptation of that term1 is of two kinds4 ,there are1 first1 sports such as cricket1 football1 golf1 rowing1 and many others1 which do not involve the taking of animal life2 and1 secondly1 there are the sports of hunting1 coursing1 and shooting1 in all their various branches1 which are frequently denoted by the compendious term of 8blood-sports02 and it is with the latter class of sports only that this essay is concerned4 ,let us1 therefore1 examine these blood-sports1 and ask ourselves in each case whether they are cruel1 and therefore unjustifiable1 or whether1 notwithstanding the pain and suffering which they necessarily involve1 they are1 nevertheless1 justifiable forms of amusement and recreation1 such as a humane and thinking man need not scruple to indulge in4 ,but before proceeding farther with the discussion1 ,i must own that ,i am not a little appalled at the audacity of undertaking such an inquisition4 ,for is it not the boast of our countrymen that ,england is the home and the motherland of sport8 ,what appellation does an ,englishman more ardently desire than that of 8sportsman08 8,a good sportsman10 8a good all-round sportsman10 8a fine old sportsman0--what names are more honourable than these8 ,i have frequently heard it said of a man that 8he was always ready for a bit of sport10 and it was generally recognised that very high praise was implied by such a description4 ,fox-hunting1 hare-hunting1 rabbit-coursing1 ferreting1 ratting1 badger-baiting--it was all one to him so long as he could get 8a bit of sport06 ,what higher character could a ,briton possibly aspire to8 ,no wonder the man was so popular with his neighbours1 and so highly esteemed6 ,and so1 if we begin to question the humanity or the propriety of any of these forms of amusement1 the crushing answer invariably is1 8,but it's sport60 ,surely that is amply sufficient6 ,surely that is final6 ,what more do you want8 ,sport is always excellent4 ,sport is an end in itself4 ,sport is a god worshipped in a thousand temples throughout the length and breadth of the ,united ,kingdom4 ,let us burn incense on those altars2 let us reverently bow the knee at those shrines4 ,great is ,god ,sport of the ,britishers6 ,nay1 does not our very ,empire depend on ,sport8 ,is it not ,sport that knits the fibres and fashions the sinews of an ,imperial race8 ,it were almost as well1 then1 to speak disrespectfully of religion itself as to speak slightingly of ,sport4 ,and yet1 as philosophers1 as social students1 as humanitarians1 we must nerve ourselves even for this perilous quest4 ,we must not shrink4 ,we must not be deterred from pushing our investigation even into the ,holy of ,holies of this great god which the people of ,england have set up4 ,and let us face our worst dangers at once4 ,first1 then1 ,i would say a few words about the most honoured and the most celebrated of all our ,british sports1 8the noble science10 as it has been called--the glorious sport of fox-hunting4 ,,fox-,,hunting4 ,now1 fox-hunting seems to most of us almost a part of the ,british ,constitution4 ,it takes rank among the best-established of our time-honoured institutions4 ,what would become of the glory of ,england1 were it not for fox-hunting8 ,and speaking as one who in days gone by was1 so far as time and opportunity and a shallow purse allowed1 a votary of the chase1 ,i can honestly say that the sport has more to say for itself than some who have never fallen under the sway of its fascination are able to realise or understand4 ,let us see what can be said for it4 ,great and undeniable are the pleasures of the meet2 great the delights of the country-side as the hounds are thrown joyfully into cover1 with a burst of melodious chiding4 ,what a picturesque sight6 ,the busy1 eager1 indefatigable pack2 gallant steeds impatient for the coming race1 and scarlet coats lighting up the wintry woodland scene6 ,then the excitement of the 8find02 the still greater excitement of the cry1 8,gone away6 gone away60 hounds in full cry1 and the cheery blasts of the huntsman's horn to rally the stragglers in the rear6 ,and if there be anything at all which can in any way justify the high-sounding title of 8the noble science10 we may look for it now4 ,for the man who can ride straight to hounds and hold his own over a stiff country must possess some qualities which are not to be despised4 ,he must not only be a fine horseman--and fine horsemen are few and far between--but he must know how to combine courage with judgment1 prompt decision with sound discretion4 ,here for the good rider1 whose heart is in the right place1 are the true pleasures of the chase4 ,but let us now look at the other side of the picture4 ,it has been a splendid run1 but the end approaches4 ,the fox has been viewed dead-beat1 painfully crawling into a hedgerow1 with coat muddy and staring1 tongue hanging out of his mouth1 brush trailing on the ground4 ,what sight more piteous can be conceived8 ,a few minutes more and his merciless pursuers are upon him2 and1 to use the words of ,whyte ,melville1 the ,laureate of the chase1 8',twas a stout hill-fox when we found him1 but now ',tis a thousand tatters of brown60 ,this1 then1 is the end1 and aim1 and object of our sport--8the kill06 ,it is our pride to be 8in at the death40 ,i confess ,i have often felt no little ashamed of my brother-man--man1 that 8paragon of animals10 8in action how like an angel6 in apprehension how like a god60--as ,i have listened to those wild shrieks and yells of 8,who-whoop0 that proclaim--what8 ,that a little animal has been hunted to its death4 ,and it is this thought from which the thinking man can never escape1 and which is to his enjoyment as the canker to the bud--the thought that it is necessary for his pleasure that a poor little animal1 in all the agony of terror and exhaustion1 should be running for its life before him6 ,and since this is the inevitable concomitant of the sport--even the great and glorious sport of fox-hunting--the thinking man must ask himself1 8,am ,i justified--morally justified--in purchasing my pleasure at such a price80 ,can we for a moment doubt what the answer of the thinking man must be8 ,i do not say that all fox-hunters are cruel men2 it would be absurd1 indeed1 to bring such a charge4 ,many good and humane men--men who would shrink from and abhor anything that they recognised as cruel--are1 nevertheless1 habitual followers of the hounds4 ,they have persuaded themselves--it is so easy to persuade oneself in accordance with one's inclination1 especially when the object to which one is inclined has all the sanction of custom and long usage--they have persuaded themselves that the sport is justifiable in spite of the suffering which is its necessary accompaniment and result4 ,or1 perhaps1 especially if they are young men1 they have not thought about it at all4 ,but ,i cannot help the belief that1 as thought and true civilisation advance1 it will be recognised that to seek pleasure in the hunting of any animal to its death is unworthy of a thinking and humane man4 ,if the humane man can do these things1 it must be because he has not yet become a thinking man4 ,if the thinking man can do them1 it must be because he is not a humane man4 ,and this conclusion will1 ,i think1 be fortified if we consider1 very briefly1 some of the arguments by which it is sought to justify sport of this kind4 ,we are frequently told that the fox is a thief and a marauder--a robber of hen-roosts--and that1 therefore1 he must be destroyed4 ,the simple answer to this is that the fox is carefully preserved2 that when foxes are scarce in a hunting country they are imported from elsewhere2 and that the man who shoots a fox is held up to odium and scorn as guilty of the heinous crime of 8vulpicide40 ,but we have no sooner answered this flimsy argument than we are met by another of a quite different character4 ,we are told that if foxes were not preserved to be hunted they would be exterminated2 and that a fox1 if given his choice1 would much prefer to take his chance of escaping the hounds to the alternative of extermination4 ,this is certainly a quaint specimen of the sportsman's logic4 ,we are asked1 in the first place1 to assume an impossibility--namely1 that a fox should be endowed with reason to enable him to consider and come to a decision upon the suggested question2 secondly1 we have to assume what his answer would be2 thirdly1 that that answer would be a wise one for the foxes2 and1 fourthly1 that man ought to be bound by it4 ,to this puerile argument it is sufficient to say that the question before us is not what a fox might1 in an imaginary and impossible contingency1 conceivably think best for himself1 but what is right for man to do4 ,if1 therefore1 the alternative be between the extermination of foxes1 by methods as painless as may be1 and their preservation to be hunted by man1 ,i cannot doubt in what direction the true interests of humanity will be found to lie4 ,to this conclusion1 then1 ,i think our reason must inevitably lead us1 even with regard to the best and most popular of blood-sports as practised in this country4 ,i do not hesitate to confess that ,i was brought to it with reluctance1 knowing full well the pleasures of riding over a country with hounds in front and a good horse under me4 ,but1 in truth1 the case seems too clear for argument4 ,on one side are inclination and pleasure1 and prescription1 and the false glamour of 8sport02 on the other side are 8that incomparable pair0--humanity and reason4#b ,,the ,,wild ,,stag ,,hunt4 ,but if the inexorable laws of reason and of ethics compel us to cast our vote against 8the noble science0 of fox-hunting1 what shall we say of such sport as the hunting of the red deer in the ,west of ,england8 ,its votaries would fain cast over it the glamour of poetry4 ,they dilate on the glorious country--the woods of ,porlock1 the bright heaths of ,exmoor1 the exhilaration and excitement of a wild gallop over a wild country in pursuit of this magnificent wild creature--8the antlered monarch of the waste40 ,but we have only to turn to the acknowledged textbooks on the subject 7such as ,collyns's 8,chase of the ,wild ,red ,deer10 for example7 to learn of the horrible cruelties which are the inevitable concomitants of this much-extolled sport--to learn how the hunted animal1 in its terror and despair1 will dash over cliffs into the sea1 or vainly seek refuge in the waves from its merciless pursuers upon the land4 ,i will not waste time and words over it4 ,i regard it as a cruel form of pleasure which every humane man should shun and shrink from4 ,a relative of mine1 who for many years acted as secretary to a fox-hunt in the ,west of ,england1 and who had a great reputation as a rider to hounds1 told me that he had once gone to see the sport on ,exmoor1 and that nothing would induce him to repeat that experience1 so terrible and so disgusting were some of the things which he witnessed there4 ,alas6 that woman should be a participator in such cruel deeds--ay1 and pride herself on her rivalry with brutal man6 ,but we know the type4 ,their eyes are blinded lest they should see1 and their ears closed lest they should hear4 ,they know no better4 ,they have never learned to think6#c ,here again we are told there is only one alternative3 either these deer must be preserved to be hunted or they must be exterminated4 ,but again1 also1 there can be no doubt as to what our choice should be4 ,we should lament the loss of these wild denizens of the forest and the moor2 but better1 far better1 would it be that their lives should be ended1 as painlessly as may be1 by the rifle1 than that they should be preserved for a sport which is an outrage upon humanity4 ,,shooting4 ,i have touched upon hunting2 let us now consider the twin-sport of shooting1 and let us first consider it in its most favourable aspect4 ,how well do ,i remember those bright ,september evenings1 long ago1 when the rays of the westering sun1 striking obliquely on the ruddy clover-heads1 bathed them in the rosy light of a summer that still lingered on 8the happy autumn fields06 ,youth1 health1 and hope were ours then--youth1 health1 and hope1 and friends6 ,life lay all before us2 and1 what was more to the purpose for the present moment1 before us1 too1 were the partridges--a covey scattered among those smiling clover-heads4 ,we go forward to beat them up with all the joy and excitement of that golden time when life has not yet been saddened by the pale cast of thought4 ,the birds rise before us1 singly1 or in twos4 ,the last shots are fired4 ,the old retriever picks up the fallen game4 ,then we turn homewards1 just as the glorious sun sinks at last behind the high ,hampshire hills1 and 8barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day40 ,were we then guilty of cruelty8 ,i answer 8,no10 because the moral qualities of an act exist only in the mind of the agent1 8,for there is nothing either good or bad ,but thinking makes it so20 and it had never occurred to us to question the morality of a sport which gave us such days of happiness1 such nights of unbroken repose4 ,and truly1 if we admit1 for the sake of argument1 at any rate1 and making no assumption as against the vegetarian1 that it is legitimate for man to use birds and beasts for his food1 ,i see not much that can be justly said in condemnation of shooting such as this4 ,if birds may be used for food1 how better can they be killed than by the gun8 ,and thus it appears that it is that much-maligned and much-ridiculed individual the 8pot-hunter0 who is the best justified of all the shooting confraternity6 ,again1 if rabbits must be kept under for the sake of agriculture 7a proposition which few will be found to dispute71 it is certainly far better that they should be shot than be taken by that hideous instrument of torture1 the steel trap1 or the hardly less cruel contrivance known as 8the wire40 ,but when we come to the shooting of artificially reared and carefully preserved pheasants1 and especially to what is known as 8battue shooting10 very different considerations arise4 ,let us take an instance4 ,the short ,december day has drawn to a close4 ,there has been warm work in the coverts4 ,a thousand head of game--pheasants1 hares1 and rabbits--have been brought to bag4 ,in fact1 we have had1 not indeed a tremendous battue1 as these things are reckoned nowadays1 but simply 8a jolly day's covert-shooting40 ,but now darkness--thick1 gloomy1 winter darkness--has settled down like a pall upon the woods4 ,there is some snow upon the ground1 and with the night has come a sharper frost and a bitter1 piercing wind4 ,but what is that to us as we gather together in the warm dining-room1 where the lamps are so bright1 where the logs burn so keenly1 and where thick curtains ward off the draughts of that nipping1 eager air1 and deaden the sound of the gusts moaning fitfully without8 ,how delightful a festive dinner like this after our day of woodland sport6 ,and yet1 as ,i have raised the first glass of champagne to my lips1 a thought has sometimes come to me which has gone nigh to spoil my pleasure4 ,it is the thought of that cover where the fun was so fast and furious1 and which literally seemed to swarm with game4 ,i picture it as it is now under the darkness of night4 ,there1 within sight of the bright lights around which we are so joyously gathered1 there are scores--hundreds may be--of miserable creatures with mangled limbs and bleeding wounds2 some with hind-legs broken1 dragging themselves piteously over the frosty ground2 some writhing in agony which death comes all too slowly to relieve4 ,ah1 if that wounded hare could speak1 as she looks at the line of light streaming from our dining-room windows1 what a curse might she not breathe against the cruel savages within6 ,what a contrast6 ,here1 light1 warmth1 and pleasure2 there1 darkness1 cold1 and pain unspeakable6 ,are not these considerations which should give us pause8 ,and can it be denied that the man who has learnt to stand at 8a warm corner0 unmoved while wounded beasts and birds are struggling or piteously crawling in agony all around him1 who can listen unmoved to the terrible cry of the wounded hare--a cry like that of a child in pain--can it be denied that that man1 who has so deadened his susceptibility to the sufferings of his humble and helpless kindred of the animal world1 has himself suffered grievous injury to that which is best in human nature--that sacred instinct of compassion1 wherein some thinkers of no mean order have thought they discerned the origin and the very basis of morality8 ,and what a curse to our country is this selfish mania for the preservation of game--preservation for the purpose of destruction6 ,for this are the country-folk warned off from the quiet woodland ways2 for this are the children prohibited from entering the copses to gather wild-flowers2 for this are enclosures made1 barbed-wire fences erected1 footpaths and commons filched from the public1 and the landless still further excluded from the land2 for this must temptation be constantly set before the eyes of the labourer2 for this must the offender against the game laws be called up for sentence before a tribunal of game-preservers2 for this must the woods and the country-side be denuded of their most delightful inhabitants--the jay and the magpie1 with their lustrous plumage and wild cries2 the squirrel1 embodiment of life and graceful activity1 with his curious winning ways2 the quaint1 harmless1 and interesting little hedgehog2 the owl1 with its long-drawn melancholy note1 as it hawks in the summer moonlight--for this must wood-sides be disfigured by impudent notice-boards1 telling us1 in the arrogant language of the rich ,philistine1 that 8,all trespassers will be prosecuted1 all dogs destroyed02 for this must millions of innocent creatures be pitilessly condemned to shocking mutilations and atrocious agonies1 long drawn out4 ,such is 8,merry ,england0 under the rule of the game-preserver6 8,strange that where ,nature loved to trace ,as if for gods a dwelling-place1 ,there man1 enamoured of distress1 ,should mar it into wilderness40 ,i have now briefly considered those blood-sports which are generally spoken of as 8legitimate0 sports--namely1 hunting and shooting4 8,but10 someone will ask me1 8what of hare-hunting1 and coursing1 and otter-hunting--are not these #8legitimate' sports also80 ,well1 over these ,i care not to delay2 a few words will suffice for each4 ,,hare-,,hunting ,,and ,,otter-,,hunting4 ,well has it been said that 8,poor is the triumph o'er the timid hare40 ,it is to my mind indeed a pitiable form of pleasure that men should go forth to hunt to death this1 the most timorous of animals4 ,even in the days of bluff ,king ,hal1 when humanitarians were indeed few and far between1 and it was hardly recognised that men had any duties to the lower animals1 there was found a great and good and enlightened man to raise his voice in protest against this sport4 8,what greater pleasure is there to be felt10 wrote ,sir ,thomas ,more in his 8,utopia10 8when a dog followeth a hare than when a dog followeth a dog8 ,for one thing is done in both--that is to say1 running1 if thou hast pleasure therein4 ,but if the hope of slaughter and the expectation of tearing in pieces the beast doth please thee1 thou shouldest rather be moved with pity to see a silly1 innocent hare murdered of a dog1 the weak of the stronger1 the fearful of the fierce1 the innocent of the cruel and unmerciful40 ,ought we not to feel some shame if we have not advanced farther than this old teacher of nearly four hundred years ago8 ,but it seems that the age of ,king ,george ,v4 has still something to learn from the age of ,king ,henry ,,viii4 ,and but a few years later1 in the reign of that famous ,king's still more famous daughter1 in 8the spacious times10 when kindness to poor animals was but little thought of1 do we not hear the voice of the great poet who is not of an age1 but for all time1 in an exquisite description of the miseries of the hunted hare8-- 8,by this1 poor ,wat1 far off upon a hill1 ,stands on his hinder legs1 with listening ear1 ,to hearken if his foes pursue him still4 ,anon their loud alarums he doth hear2 ,and now his grief may be compared well ,to one sore sick that hears the passing-bell4 8,then shalt thou see the dew-bedabbled wretch ,turn and return1 indenting with the way2 ,each envious briar his weary legs doth scratch2 ,each shadow makes him stop1 each murmur stay4 ,for misery is trodden on by many1 ,and1 being low1 never relieved by any40 ,and here let me say that1 if some of us have been loud in our protest against hare-hunting by schoolboys 7and ,i refer especially to the case of the ,eton beagles71 it is because we believe it to be of paramount importance that this duty of kindness to animals should be inculcated upon the young2 that this sacred instinct of compassion should be fostered in young minds2 and that boys should be restrained from pursuits which tend to deaden this best of all human feelings4 8',tis education forms the common mind2 ,just as the twig is bent1 the tree's inclined40 ,and who shall say what harm may be done to character1 if the men who are responsible for education allow it to be supposed by those under their charge that animal suffering is a thing of no account8 ,as to otter-hunting1 or the 8otter-worry10 as it is better called1 it is a kind of sport of which ,i have seen a good deal in bygone days1 but which ,i always found abominable4 ,let me give one example from my own experience4 ,it is a lovely day and a lovely country4 ,the beautiful ,river ,plym is flowing clear and cool in its lower valley depths1 between wood-clad hills4 ,i see before me an old quarry-pool4 ,precipitous rocks stand over it4 ,one little stream1 or adit1 alone connects it with the river4 ,at the farther end1 away from the entrance of this adit1 the hillside slopes more gradually1 and is covered with broken fragments of rock and quarried stone4 ,on my left the pool lies open to the woods4 ,we had found an otter in the morning1 and it was supposed that the creature had taken refuge in the 8clitter of rocks0 above the pool4 ,accordingly1 men armed with otter-spears1 and aided by terriers1 endeavour to dislodge it4 ,suddenly another otter1 much larger than the one we have been hunting1 emerges from this retreat and dashes into the water4 ,instantly the pool is surrounded by excited hunters4 ,a man with a spear stands at the adit-head1 blocking that way of escape4 ,the water is alive with swimming hounds1 while others stand baying on the banks4 ,now1 an otter can stay long under water1 but it must rise at intervals for breath2 so1 after a pause1 we hear the shout of 8,hoo1 gaze60 and ,i catch sight of a small dark face and large brown eyes for one moment above the surface of the pool4 ,again and again1 at ever-shortening intervals1 ,i see that face appear and disappear4 ,i can never forget it--that wild1 scared face1 and the terror of those hunted eyes6 ,there is no possibility of escape4 ,hounds and 8sportsmen0--yes1 and 8sportswomen0 too--surround the pool1 and the only exit is carefully and effectually guarded4 ,the otter1 wildest and most timid of animals1 must either attempt to run the gauntlet or be actually drowned in the pool4 ,only one thought possesses me--that of sickening compassion for this poor1 beautiful1 hunted creature4 ,men--and1 good heavens6 women too--seem frenzied with the desire to kill4 ,no thought of pity seems to dawn upon their minds4 ,so at length1 amid yelling men and baying hounds1 the wretched 8beast of the chase0 is forced for dear life's sake to try the desperate shift of taking to the land1 in the vain hope of finding sanctuary in the friendly waters of the ,plym1 that are so near and yet so far4 ,vain hope indeed6 ,scarce twenty yards of flight1 and the hounds roll her over4 ,from the carcass thus barbarously done to death the 8pads0 are cut off as trophies by the huntsman1 and the master goes through the ceremony of 8blooding0 his little son1 who has now seen his first 8kill40 ,the boy's cheeks and forehead are smeared with blood from one of the dripping 8pads10 and the 8young barbarian0 goes home swelling with pride at this savage decoration4 ,what a lesson for him6 ,thus is the rising generation taught to be gentle and compassionate1 and to love 8all things1 both great and small06 ,o ,sport1 what horrible things are done in thy name6 ,how long shall the nation continue to bow the knee to this false god--this bloody ,moloch of ,sport8 ,,spurious ,,sports4 ,but of all the sports of killing which we have hitherto reviewed1 this much at least may be said--namely1 that they are concerned with the hunting or shooting of wild animals at liberty1 in their native haunts4 ,we now have to consider certain other blood-sports1 the differentiating feature of which is that they are concerned with the hunting or shooting of animals liberated from captivity for that purpose4 ,such are rabbit-coursing1 the hunting of carted deer1 and the shooting of pigeons from traps1 which are very commonly referred to as 8spurious sports0--a title which they most justly merit4 ,on pigeon-shooting ,i will not waste many words4 ,to shoot a strong 8blue rock10 released from one of five traps1 at a rise of between twenty and thirty yards1 is not1 as some people think1 an easy thing to do4 ,on the contrary1 it is a very difficult thing to do1 the result being that1 even when good shots are competing1 many birds get away wounded1 to die a lingering death4 ,moreover1 if a test of skill be all that is required1 the clay pigeon answers the purpose quite as well as1 if not better than1 the living bird4 ,i might dwell1 too1 on the injuries sometimes done to the birds when closely packed in hampers for transport purposes4 ,but it is1 ,i think1 sufficient to say that it is now generally recognised in this country that the practice of shooting captive birds from traps has about it none of the elements of 8sport0 properly so-called4 ,it is a mere medium for betting and money-making1 or money-losing1 without any of those healthy1 invigorating1 and athletic concomitants which do something to redeem genuine 8sport0 from the reproach of cruelty2 and if cruelty be the unjustifiable infliction of pain1 then it can1 ,i think1 hardly be doubted that pigeon-shooting must be classed among cruel sports4 ,of this opinion was the ,house of ,commons thirty-one years ago2 for in the year #ahhc a ,bill passed through that ,house1 on second reading1 to put down this spurious sport by law4 ,and to show how poorly it is now esteemed1 even in fashionable circles1 it may be mentioned that the ,hurlingham ,club1 where pigeon-shooting was once regularly carried on1 some years ago decided to prohibit this unworthy practice in their grounds4 ,it remains to consider the two spurious sports of rabbit-coursing and the hunting of carted deer4 ,let us take the latter first4 ,what are the animals employed for this form of fashionable amusement8 ,they are park-bred deer1 kept in paddocks or stables1 and carefully fed and exercised4 ,it is said on behalf of the 8stag-hunters0 7so called7 that to do the deer any injury is the last thing they wish for2 on the contrary1 their desire is to recapture the animal alive and well1 in order that he or she may afford sport another day4 ,this1 doubtless1 is true enough2 but1 unfortunately1 the deer is terrified by the chase1 and becomes exhausted in the course of it4 ,unfortunately1 too1 there are such things as spiked iron railings and barbed-wire fences1 to say nothing of walls and other obstacles with which the hunted deer is confronted in his cross-country flight4 ,the result is inevitable1 and such as all reasoning men know to be inevitable--namely1 that from time to time terrible 8accidents10 as they are euphemistically called1 take place1 some of which1 but by no means all1 find their way into the columns of our newspapers4 ,thus1 to give an example1 it twice happened within a period of eight months that a miserable hunted deer impaled itself upon a spiked iron fence at ,reading1 which in its terror it essayed to jump1 but which in its exhaustion it failed to clear4 ,i could give case after case in which a hunted deer has lacerated itself in the attempt to leap a barbed-wire fence2 broken a leg1 or perhaps 7more mercifully7 its neck1 in trying to clear a gate or wall2 cut and wounded itself by jumping on a greenhouse or glass frames2 fallen exhausted before the hounds1 and been bitten and torn by them2 sought refuge in a river1 canal1 or pond1 and been drowned by the pursuing pack4 ,ten such cases are known to have occurred in six months with one pack only1 hunting in the ,home ,counties1 and six tame deer were done to death by that same pack within that period4 ,these cases formed the subject of questions put by me to the late ,prime ,minister1 ,sir ,henry ,campbell-,bannerman1 in the ,house of ,commons4 ,i should like to quote his answer given to one of such questions on ,march #ad1 #aijg3 8,if such cruelties are perpetrated1 and we can do anything to stop them1 ,i shall be very glad4 ,i am against cruelty of any sort1 whether under the name of sport or otherwise4 ,i like it rather less under the cloak of sport than otherwise40 ,nay1 this cruel and contemptible travesty of sport was once1 in a lucid interval1 condemned1 even by that well-known and recognised organ of sport1 ,the ,field1 8the country gentleman's newspaper40 ,for in ,the ,field of ,september #c1 #ahib1 we read as follows3 8,if we look at this fiction of chase from an unprejudiced standpoint1 we must admit that it is only prescription and usage which enable us to retain it in our sporting schedule and to tolerate it as legitimate4 ,strictly speaking1 it stands on the same footing as bull and bear baiting1 both of which have had to go to the wall under the influence of what is called the march of civilization40#d ,need ,i say more8 ,surely the case is too clear for argument--except1 indeed1 for certain peers in the ,gilded ,chamber1 whose hidebound prejudice seems to be impervious to reason6 ,so much for the hunting of carted deer1 the spurious sport of the rich4 ,what shall we say of rabbit-coursing1 which has been described as the sport of the poor1 but which would1 ,i think1 be better called 8the spurious sport of the spurious poor08 ,here1 too1 ,i can speak as an eye-witness1 and ,i will repeat the description of what ,i saw1 as it appeared in a ,london newspaper3 8,wishing to see for myself what goes on at the #8sport' of rabbit-coursing1 ,i took train on ,sunday morning to ,worcester ,park ,station1 whence a walk of about a mile leads to the field where the entertainment is provided4 ,here was soon gathered together an assembly of about three hundred #8sportsmen1' mostly lads and larrikins4 ,there was a large number of dogs1 chiefly of the #8whippet' breed1 and many of them carefully clothed after the manner of greyhounds4 ,the ear was assailed by the noise of continual barking1 and the nose by whiffs from a neighbouring sewage farm4 ,after we had waited some little time a van was drawn on the ground heavily laden with large shallow hampers packed with live rabbits4 ,three or four of these hampers were brought forward to the starting-point2 a stout gentleman who carried a revolver and appeared to #8boss the show1' gave the order #8to get behind the ropes1' some juvenile and promising bookmakers mounted stools1 and the fun commenced4 8,two dogs are led to the starting-point amidst shouts of #8,i'll lay three to one1' #8,i'll lay seven to four1' etc41 quite in the approved sporting style4 ,a man opens a sort of trap-door in the lid of one of the hampers1 seizes one of the cowering rabbits by the skin of the back1 presents it to each dog alternately1 in order1 ,i presume1 to excite him to the utmost1 runs with it1 still held in one hand by the skin of the back1 some thirty-five yards1 and then flings it down1 whereupon a shot is fired from the revolver1 the dogs are released and rush madly for the prey4 ,what follows requires some explanation4 ,let it be remembered that these are1 or were1 wild rabbits1 among the most timorous of wild creatures2 that they have probably undergone the horrible experience of being driven from their burrows by the ferret some days 7and who shall say how many days87 before2 that they have been sent by rail to town2 that they are carted to the scene of action closely packed in hampers2 that they are1 for a long time previously to being #8coursed1' surrounded by shouting men and barking dogs1 and that after all this1 weak1 dazed1 and half paralysed with fear1 the victim is #8dumped down' in the middle of a strange field4 8,the result is what might be expected4 ,he can hardly run1 and knows not where to run4 ,some come straight back into the mouths of the dogs1 others make a feeble attempt to seek shelter in the distant hedge4 ,but the result is always the same4 ,in a few seconds the dogs are upon him4 ,the first seizes him by the back or hind-quarters2 the second1 overtaking the first1 and not to be balked of his share of the prey1 grabs the victim by the head and shoulders4 ,then ensues a tug of war1 during which the miserable rabbit is frequently more than half disembowelled before he is taken1 still alive1 or half alive1 from the jaws of the dogs4 ,not one escapes2 he is not given a chance4 ,one that was put down a few yards in front of two very young dogs1 who were evidently new to the business1 might have got away1 but when this was seen a large dog was at once sent after the fugitive4 ,i am told that at ,north ,country meetings when a puppy is entered a rabbit is frequently mutilated by having a leg broken or an eye put out2 but ,i saw nothing of this at ,worcester ,park4 8,i should mention that ,i was joined by a friend from ,new ,malden1 well known in the neighbourhood for humanitarian efforts1 and that we were at once #8spotted' as alien interlopers1 and looked at askance in consequence4 ,possibly the result was greater caution in the management of the proceedings4 ,but we saw quite enough4 ,fifteen wretched creatures were done to death in forty-five minutes1 and the #8sport' goes on all day and every ,sunday4 ,i counted the steps taken by the man who ran forward with each rabbit1 and never did they exceed thirty-five4 ,a really wild rabbit in his own familiar haunts might have some chance at that4 ,but these poor cowering things1 tortured to make a hooligans' holiday6 ,the mere monotony of it was sickening4 ,and yet when a ,bill is brought into ,parliament to make such abominations illegal1 a noble lord1 one of the pillars of the ,jockey ,club1 opposes it because it #8would affect the poorer classes far more than themselves1' and because it is #8a piece of class legislation' 7,lord ,durham in the ,house of ,lords1 ,the ,times1 ,march #d1 #aijb74 ,why not go back to cock-fighting and bull-baiting at once80#e ,such are the sports that make ,england great1 that strengthen the muscles and sinews of a conquering ,imperial race6 ,let us rejoice1 then1 that we have an ,hereditary ,chamber1 where faddists and fanatics are unknown1 to throw the gis of its protection over the pleasures of rich and poor alike1 and where the high-souled1 high-bred scions of a time-honoured aristocracy magnanimously defend the cherished institutions of our forefathers against the attacks both of blatant democrats and sickly sentimentalists6 ,,the ,,ethics ,,of ,,sport4 ,it was said by a noble lord in the ,upper ,house not long ago that 8,physical courage and love of sport have been for centuries the distinguishing characteristics of the ,british race40 ,is there any necessary relation between these two things8 ,i take leave to doubt it--indeed1 ,i entirely deny it--if by 8sport0 these 8blood-sports0 are intended4 ,but let us set beside this wonderful pronouncement the statement of a cultivated and enlightened ,englishman who was for many years resident in ,burmah4 ,in that charming book1 8,the ,soul of a ,people10 ,mr4 ,h4 ,fielding writes as follows3 8,it has been inculcated in us from childhood that it is a manly thing to be indifferent to pain--not to our own pain only1 but to that of all others4 ,to be sorry for a hunted hare1 to compassionate the wounded deer1 to shrink from torturing the brute creation1 has been accounted by us a namby-pamby sentimentalism1 not fit for man1 fit only for a squeamish woman4 ,to the ,burman it is one of the highest of all virtues4 ,he believes that all that is beautiful in life is founded on compassion1 and kindness1 and sympathy--that nothing of great value can exist without them40 ,may not our much-vaunted ,christianity learn something from this despised religion of the ,buddha1 first taught by ,gautama on the banks of the ,ganges some six hundred years before ,christ8 ,for what is it that ,buddhism teaches us8 ,it teaches as a first principle to do no harm to any living thing2 it teaches mercy without limit1 and compassion without stint4 ,of the ,burmese ,buddhists we read3 8,they learn how it is the noblest duty of man1 who is strong1 to be kind and loving to his weaker brothers1 the animals40 ,contrast with that the following1 taken at random from among my newspaper cuttings 7it is a paragraph from the ,morning ,post73 ,june #ad1 #aijd4 8,the ,carlisle ,otter ,hounds met at ,longtown yesterday1 and had the best hunt that has taken place in the ,esk for fifty years4 ,a splendid otter was put up at ,red ,scaur1 and for four hours he kept men1 hounds1 and terriers at bay4 ,he left the river several times for the woods and rocks1 and ran the woods as cunningly as a fox4 ,eventually1 when climbing a steep rock for a hole1 he fell back exhausted into the water1 and the hounds despatched him4 ,his body was presented to ,sir ,richard ,graham40 ,no thought of pity here for the poor wild creature1 hunted1 harried1 and remorselessly pursued by men and hounds for four mortal hours--in water1 through woods1 over rocks1 ever flying in all the agony of fear1 till the last dregs of strength are exhausted1 and1 on the very threshold of the longed-for refuge1 he falls1 hopeless and helpless1 in the stream1 where 8the hounds despatched him40 ,such is a 8grand otter hunt10 the best that had taken place in the ,esk for fifty years6 ,truly we may smile at those holy men of the ,buddhists who carried bells on their shoes in order to give warning as they walked to the little creatures in the long grass2 but for my part ,i own that1 upon the whole1 ,i would far sooner be classed with these poor sentimentalists1 who have seen in their hearts the coming of that 8milder day0 for which the great poet who sang of 8,hartleap ,well0 so devoutly longed1 than with that flower of muscular ,christianity1 the stalwart ,britisher1 so distinguished for his love of sport and his contempt for pain--his own generally excepted6 ,how1 then1 stands this question of sport considered as a question of ethics8 ,a great ,german thinker1 as we all know1 believed that he had found the very basis of morality in the sacred instinct of compassion4 ,i will not argue whether ,schopenhauer was right or wrong in that contention1 but this1 at any rate1 we must all admit--namely1 that without compassion all our boasted morality would be but as sounding brass and as a tinkling cymbal4 ,nay1 whether it be or be not the basis of morality1 this at least is true that1 without compassion1 no morality worth having could exist at all4 ,let us listen for a moment to ,rousseau on this matter3 8,mandeville was right in thinking that1 with all their systems of morality1 men would never have been anything but monsters if ,nature had not given them compassion to support their reason2 but he failed to see that from this one quality spring all the social virtues which he was unwilling to credit mankind with4 ,in reality1 what is generosity1 clemency1 humanity1 if not compassion1 applied to the weak1 to the guilty1 or to the human race as a whole8 ,even benevolence and friendship1 if we look at the matter rightly1 are seen to result from a constant compassion1 directed upon a particular object2 for to desire that someone should not suffer is nothing else than to desire that he should be happy4''' ,the more closely the living spectator identifies himself with the living sufferer1 the more active does pity become40 ,and again3 8,how is it that we let ourselves be moved to pity if not by getting out of our own consciousness1 and becoming identified with the living sufferer2 by leaving1 so to say1 our own being and entering into his8 ,we do not suffer except as we suppose he suffers2 it is not in us1 it is in him1 that we suffer4''' ,offer a young man objects on which the expansive force of his heart can act--objects such as may enlarge his nature1 and incline it to go out to other beings1 in whom he may everywhere find himself again4 ,keep carefully away those things which narrow his view1 and make him self-centred1 and tighten the strings of the human ego40 ,it is upon this theme that ,schopenhauer becomes so eloquent1 and with larger view even than that of ,rousseau1 as it seems1 he brings the lower animals within the protection of his moral system4 8,there is nothing that revolts our moral sense so much as cruelty4 ,every other offence we can pardon1 but not cruelty4 ,the reason is found in the fact that cruelty is the exact opposite of compassion--viz41 the direct participation1 independent of all ulterior considerations1 in the sufferings of another1 leading to sympathetic assistance in the effort to prevent or remove them2 whereon1 in the last resort1 all satisfaction and all well-being and happiness depend4 ,it is this compassion alone which is the real basis of all voluntary justice and all genuine loving-kindness4''' ,there is another proof that the moral incentive disclosed by me is the true one4 ,i mean the fact that animals also are included under its protecting gis4 ,in the other ,european systems of ethics no place is found for them1 strange and inexcusable as this may appear4 ,it is asserted that beasts have no rights2 the illusion is harboured that our conduct1 so far as they are concerned1 has no moral significance2 or1 as it is put in the language of these codes1 that there are no duties to be fulfilled towards animals4 ,such a view is one of revolting coarseness--a barbarism of the ,west4''' ,compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character1 and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to living creatures cannot be a good man40#f ,so wrote a young ,german philosopher some seventy years ago2 and all that has since happened in the world of thought has but served to strengthen his teaching as to our duty towards the lower animals4 ,for since he wrote science and thought have become profoundly modified by one of those epoch-making inductions which1 at very rare intervals1 some great thinker is inspired to make4 ,we have seen the establishment and the almost universal acceptance of the doctrine of evolution1 involving as one of its corollaries the unity of life and the 8universal kinship0 of man with his humbler brethren--or cousins1 if you will--of the animal world4 ,i venture1 then1 to offer this teaching for my readers' consideration4 ,in its light ,i would ask them to view these questions1 and if they shall think that that light is the light of reason and truth1 then to follow it wheresoever it may lead4 ,i do not think it will lead them to offer fresh hecatombs upon the blood-stained altar of ,sport4 ,,footnotes3 #b ,one of the strongest objections to fox-hunting consists in this1 that each season must necessarily be preceded 7so at least we are told7 by the barbarities of 8cub-hunting40 ,the slaughter of these poor little cubs is cruel and pitiful work4 ,sometimes1 too1 a vixen falls a victim to the hounds while her cubs are still dependent on her for their food4 ,no doubt an early ride on a fine ,september or ,october morning is a pleasant thing1 and the 8sportsman0 need not know much about what goes on in the coverts1 or trouble himself to think about it6 ,but the fact remains that this is a miserable and cruel form of 8sport40 ,and what shall we say of the practice of 8digging out0 a wretched fox when1 perhaps after a long run1 he has sought refuge by 8going to ground08 ,can anything be conceived more callous or more cowardly8 ,yet educated1 and1 presumably1 thinking men1 and women too--,heaven save the mark6--stand by and enjoy the fun6 ,such is the debasing effect of 8sport0 upon the human mind and character6 #c ,in the ,westminster ,gazette of ,august #ae1 #aijh1 a woman wrote on 8,the ,enchantments of the ,new ,forest10 and this is what she says3 8,anyone with a drop of sport-love in them1 given a nag of some kind1 will not be a day in the forest before he finds himself chasing some animal1 alive or dead40 ,the sentiment is surely even more deplorable than the grammar4 #d ,it must in fairness be added that the article from which the above extract is made was subsequently repudiated by the editor as being 8quite opposed to the line which ,the ,field has always taken40 ,it seems that 8by an oversight the article was inserted during the absence of the departmental editor40 ,i quote it1 nevertheless1 as showing that over twenty years ago the truth as to this matter had dawned upon the mind of at least one of the leader-writers of a great sporting paper4 #e ,moreover1 there is a sport which1 as the ,rev4 ,j4 ,stratton has pointed out1 might well supersede rabbit-coursing--viz41 whippet-racing4 8,it cannot be pleaded10 he says1 8that if we were to stop the coursing of captured rabbits we should be unduly depriving workmen of recreation1 for #8whippets' could be employed just as well in races as in chasing rabbits4 ,of the first of these sports ,i can speak as an eye-witness4 ,in whippet-racing a course is formed1 which is kept free for the dogs by ropes on either side4 ,at one end1 men have in hand the whippets that are about to compete1 and here stands the starter1 holding his pistol4 #8,runners-up' now come on to the course1 carrying in their hands a towel or scarf1 and starting from the front of the dogs1 and frantically waving the article they hold1 and whistling1 and calling to the animals1 they begin to run towards the far end of the course1 where the winning-line is marked out and the judge has taken up his post4 ,when the right moment has arrived1 the pistol is fired1 and the whippets are liberated1 and commence to travel the course with the speed of the wind1 the #8runners-up' always getting well beyond the winning-point before the dogs overtake them1 in order that the latter may pass it at their utmost pace4 ,it is altogether a remarkable sight1 and had ,i never seen the thing1 ,i could not have believed that the little dogs would enter into the contest with the ardour they do40 #f ,my quotations are from ,mr4 ,a4 ,b4 ,bullock's translation of 8,the ,basis of ,morality10 see pp4 #agj1 #bjh1 #bah4 ,,sport ,,and ,,agriculture ,,by ,,edward ,,carpenter ,it has frequently been pointed out that the enthusiasm for 8sport0 is the relic of a very primitive instinct in man4 ,in that sense it is quite natural4 ,in early days the sheer necessity of pursuing and killing animals for food1 or of hunting down and destroying beasts of prey1 must have become very deeply ingrained2 and the satisfaction of that need became an instinctive pleasure1 so much so that oftentimes nowadays the pleasure remains1 though the need has long disappeared4 ,in the village where ,i live there is a countryman of a very primitive type1 who goes almost mad with excitement when the hunt is out4 ,though over forty years of age1 he has been known more than once to leave his horses with the plough in the field and career wildly after the hounds for two or three hours on end1 careless of what might happen to his deserted team4 ,at the public-house afterwards in the evening he recounts in a shrill voice every detail of the 8find0 or the 8kill40 8,talk about your oratorios and concerts10 he shouts1 8there's no music1 ,i say1 like the 'ounds60 ,on one occasion when the hunt was baffled by the fox getting into a narrow cleft in some rocks1 and with the fall of evening the hounds had to be drawn off1 this man positively remained on the spot1 watching1 all night2 and when the huntsmen returned in the morning with a terrier1 he followed the terrier as far as ever he could--head and shoulders--into the hole1 helped the dog to clutch the fox1 and all three--dog1 fox1 and man--suddenly freed1 rolled together down the steep cliff-side into a stream below6 ,such is the force of the old instinct1 and the story helps one to realise the strange conditions of sheer necessity under which primitive man lived1 though in the light of actual life and the present day it is ludicrous enough1 even if not revolting in its ferocity4 ,so far from there being any necessity in this case to rid the country-side from a beast of prey1 it is quite probable that the fox in question had been imported from ,germany--as a certain number undoubtedly are--simply in order to provide a country squire's holiday6 ,a ,french lady1 herself very fond of riding1 told me lately that in her native ,burgundy foxes are still very numerous1 and have to be hunted down in consequence of the damage they do2 but when ,i informed her that our foxes are largely 8made in ,germany10 and brought over in order to do artificial damage and so be artificially hunted1 she laughed almost hysterically--as surely she was entitled to do4 ,there is this futile artificiality about almost all our 8sport40 ,it is one thing to sit all night in the lower branches of a spreading tree just outside some little ,indian village1 in order to get a chance of shooting the dangerous man-eating tiger as he comes forth from the jungle1 and quite another to pot tame pheasants at the corner of a wood1 or half-tame grouse as they fly over the 8battery0 in which you 7and a gamekeeper7 are safely ensconced4 ,the pheasants have been reared under a barnyard hen and fed by hand till they are as tame as fowls1 and the grouse can only be persuaded to fly to the guns by a quarter-mile-long line of 8drivers10 who with much shouting and waving of flags compel them to rise from the heather4 ,the gamekeeper gets his guinea tip1 and you in return get the credit of a large bag secured by his kind assistance6 ,the force of humbug could no further go4 ,the truth is1 all this modern 8sport0 is a simple playing at hunting and shooting4 ,and if it were merely playing1 though it might be somewhat laughable1 there would be no need to protest4 ,but1 unfortunately1 there are two serious considerations involved1 which are by no means 8play0 to those concerned4 ,one 7which has been touched on elsewhere7 is the needless cruelty to the animals2 the other is the serious ruin of our agriculture and detriment to our farm populations4 ,the damage done by fox-hunting to fences and crops is obvious enough to everyone4 ,but there are other complications4 ,in a hunting district the tenants far and wide are invited to find homes for the puppies which are being reared for the replenishment of the pack4 ,it is an ungrateful task4 ,the puppy is a pest on the farm2 it is in everybody's way1 and it has its muzzle eternally in the milk-buckets4 ,its board and lodging are not paid for2 but--oh1 gracious compensation6--the farmers who 8walk puppies0 are given a dinner at the end of the puppy-rearing season1 and get their chance of a prize for the best exhibited4 ,partly in consideration of these favours1 but more because they do not want to offend the gentry in general or their own landlords in particular1 the tenants put up with these obnoxious additions to their households4 ,furthermore1 as foxes must on no account be killed by private hands1 even though they are constantly raiding the farmyards1 the owners of the hunt offer compensation for fowls killed or wounded1 as they also1 of course1 do for fences and crops damaged4 ,but what a situation for any self-respecting farmer6 ,to see a tribe of 8gentlemen and ladies0 tearing over his land and making havoc of his new-sown wheat1 to find half a dozen fowls some morning with their heads bitten off1 to have his wife at her work tumbling over an intruding puppy--and then to have to go1 cap in hand1 to ask for compensation for all these things6 ,what an unworthy position for him to be in1 and how galling to think that his life-work and the very dignity of his profession are so lightly regarded1 or that the loss of them can be counted as easily atoned for by a few shillings4 ,,growing ,,grouse4 ,as to the grouse moors1 the damage done to agriculture and to the popular interest in connection with them--though it might not appear obvious at first--is very considerable4 ,a hundred years ago the moors in my neighbourhood--as in many other parts of the country--were common lands4 ,the people had rights of pasture over them for their cattle and sheep1 they kept down the rabbits1 using the latter largely for food1 and they were able to grow farm crops up to the very edge of the heather4 ,to-day these same lands--enclosed on the plea of public benefit6--are given over to grouse4 ,the rabbits have become to a great extent the gamekeepers' perquisites1 and very valuable 8perks0 too4 ,they are allowed to swarm1 and consequently they not only destroy what pasturage there is on the moors1 but1 penetrating into the farms along the moor edges1 they damage very seriously the cereal and other crops4 ,i know places where ,i am credibly informed that a hundred years ago oats were commonly grown1 but which now are quite impossible for such a purpose4 ,and--such is the sway of the institution--young farmers desiring to shoot the rabbits on their own tenancies are looked askance at and discouraged from doing so for fear they might possibly bag a brace of grouse6 ,when we consider the well-known expense involved in rearing and shooting these sacred birds1 and at the same time the damage1 just described1 to ordinary agriculture1 we have again a sad picture of the prevailing futility4 ,on some farms--especially1 ,i believe1 in ,devonshire--where grouse are not concerned1 but where rabbit-shooting is a favourite recreation of the landlord class--the spinneys and copses are allowed to become so infested with bunnies that general farming is greatly paralyzed in consequence4 ,indirectly in a similar way does pheasant-shooting lead to agricultural damage4 ,in the present day--partly out of fear of ,lloyd ,george and all his works--the tendency of landowners is to sell and make ready money from the old oak and other timber in their woods1 and by planting plentiful spruce and fir to turn the plantations into pheasant covers4 ,the number of gamekeepers charged with preserving these plantations multiplies1#g and their idea of duty consists in the destruction of any and every winged and four-footed creature that might possibly be harmful to the pheasants or their eggs4 ,it would probably surprise the reader to have a complete list of such--and ,i do not presume to supply it--but it includes hawks and owls of various kinds1 jays1 magpies1 stoats1 weasels1 and even the beautiful and probably innocent squirrel4 ,all these fall victims to the gun or the trap1 and1 needless to say1 the balance of ,nature is seriously upset in many directions4 ,for our purpose here we need only point out the consequent and ruinous swarming of mice and sparrows4 ,the destruction of hawks and owls in particular has led to this result4 ,clouds of sparrows1 ever multiplying1 occupy the hedgerows and descend upon the cornfields as soon as ever the corn is ripe1 doing countless damage--to which the mice contribute their share4 ,no one who has not witnessed it with his own eyes could believe the loss to the farmer from this cause alone4 ,and again we are struck with the foolishness which allows this to go on merely for the sake of breeding tame birds for the guns of very tame sportsmen4 ,the pheasant is a very beautiful bird1 and if allowed to breed in our woods under natural conditions1 would hold its own in a modest way1 and with the other denizens of the woodlands1 the squirrels and the jays and the owls and the hawks1 would render these places really interesting and delightful resorts4 ,it seems sad that all these animal possibilities should be destroyed for the sake of what is often little more than human brag and bag6 ,as an instance of the unintelligent way in which these things are worked1 it may be mentioned that even that stately bird1 the heron1 is a mark for1 and is commonly shot down by1 the gamekeeper4 ,and why8 ,because1 forsooth6 it not unfrequently feeds upon trout4 ,the trout is a sacred fish1 and therefore the glorious heron must be shot6 ,whether the gamekeeper wars upon the kingfisher for the same reason ,i do not know4 ,but it seems quite possible that he does1 for beauty and rarity are no defence4 ,,pheasant ,,or ,,peasant8 ,there is another aspect of the subject which must not be passed over4 ,to-day the small-holding question is coming very much to the fore4 ,the splendid results obtained by a combination of small farms and agricultural co-operation1 already conspicuous in ,denmark1 and coming into sight in ,ireland1 are strongly urging us in ,england in the same direction4 ,a large multiplication of small-holders1 with facilities for their combined action and co-operation1 is to-day the one promising outlook for ,british agriculture4 ,yet it is notorious that the ,county ,councils are much more inclined to hinder than to help this movement4 ,and why8 ,there may be different reasons2 but undoubtedly one of the most powerful is--sport4 ,it is obvious that a population of small holders--particularly if associated and combined--would form a very serious obstacle to the latter4 ,a squire with three or four farms under him1 of #ejj acres each1 can easily make terms with his tenants1 and persuade or compel them to favour the hunting and shooting2 but what would he do with fifty small-holders8 ,it would be a very different pair of shoes1 and he would have to walk 7like ,agag7 somewhat delicately4 ,the compensations1 and the obstructions1 and the complications generally1 would bring the old order to an end4 ,thus we come very clearly1 ,i think1 to a certain parting of the ways in the matter of our agricultural future in this country4 ,it all comes to this3 ,are we going to continue for ever playing at the land question--that question whose vitality and importance we daily more and more perceive--or are we going to be serious about it8 ,we cannot take both ways4 ,on the one hand1 we have the ,scottish ,highlands depopulated for the sake of deer2 we have ,english farms more or less ravaged1 and farmers terrorised for the sake of fox-hunting2 we have grouse-moors and pheasant-covers1 with their concomitant evils1 let to rich ,americans and titled grocers2 and1 on the other hand we may have a real live agriculture and a brisk independent rural population4 ,we cannot have both4 ,if we retain the present system--conducing1 no doubt1 to a healthy schoolboy type of squire--it means a downcast1 stupefied1 unenterprising peasantry4 ,if we turn seriously to the re-establishment of agriculture1 and of a real live1 manly population on the land1 that will undoubtedly mean the abandonment of a good deal that goes by the name of sport4#h ,the time grows short1 for indeed anxious problems lie in the near future before this country1 and a choice has to be made--a choice that may have a good deal to do with the position of ,england in the world4 ,the country-sides have got to stop playing at rural life1 and to take it up seriously4 ,nor1 after all1 would the abandonment of sport as the chief object of the country gentleman's existence mean the abandonment or discouragement of all wild life4 ,rather the contrary4 ,we all in these over-civilised times appreciate the value and importance of wild nature2 and however effective and widespread we may make our agriculture1 we shall surely also demand the establishment of extensive natural reserves for all kinds of free plants and creatures4 ,we have seen that 8sport0 is not really favourable to wild nature life1 but only to some very artificial and limited forms4 ,with the abandonment of sport in its present shape1 it is possible that the landowners of the future--whether private individuals or public bodies--will turn their attention to the making of splendid nature-resorts in wood and mountain and moor1 where every kind of creature may have free access and free play1 unharmed by man1 and open to his friendly companionship and sympathetic study4 ,,footnotes3 #g ,the following is quoted from ,mr4 ,lloyd ,george's speech at ,bedford 7,october1 #aiac73 8,in #ahea you had in this country #i1jjj gamekeepers2 in #aiaa there were #bc1jjj4 ,during that period the number of labourers on the soil went down by #fjj1jjj4 ,the number of gamekeepers went up by #bej per cent41 and the number of labourers down by #fjj1jjj4 ,pick up a copy of the ,field and look at the advertisements there1 and you will realise the extent of the evil4 ,here is one advertising shooting rights for estates where last year #e1jjj pheasants were shot4 ,here is a sportsman who advertises #a1jjj acres1 with coverts to hold #g1jjj rabbits on his estate4 ,you try a small holding there6 ,agriculture has had a bad time4 ,it has had to pass through a time of great crisis4 ,what would have been done in any other trade if it had to face the difficulties which agriculture had8 ,a great capitalist would have introduced new machinery1 got the best labour1 and would have put the whole of his energy1 brain1 and enterprise into restoring that industry4 ,he would have gone1 if necessary1 for years without any return1 and at last he would have pulled through4 ,that is what has happened in many industries in this country4 ,what has happened here8 ,what has the great capitalist done in agriculture8 ,he has trebled the number of his gamekeepers1 he has put land out of cultivation1 he has increased enormously the number of pheasants which have been turned on to the land40 #h ,see the 8,report of the ,land ,enquiry ,committee10 vol4 i41 #aiac1 which in its chapter on 8,game0 contains a severe condemnation of the practice of excessive game preserving4 8,the damage done by game is too serious to be overlooked4 ,even when the tenant farmer is fully compensated the damage amounts to a national loss4''' ,not merely is land under-cultivated1 but large areas are altogether out of cultivation owing to the preservation of game4 ,this land1 instead of providing food for the people1 provides sport and delicacies for the few1 and is the source of much damage and annoyance to neighbouring farmers40 ,,the ,,cost ,,of ,,sport ,,by ,,maurice ,,adams 8,now ,dives daily feasted and was gorgeously arrayed1 ,not at all because he liked it1 but because 'twas good for trade2 ,that the people might have calico1 he clothed himself in silk1 ,and surfeited himself on cream1 that they might get the milk2 ,he fed five hundred servants1 that the poor might not lack bread1 ,and had his vessels made of gold that they might get more lead3 ,and e'en to show his sympathy with the deserving poor1 ,he did no useful work himself that they might do the more40 ,,ernest ,,bilton4 ,in a tract entitled 8,sport1 ,a ,national ,benefactor10 dedicated to the sportsmen of the nation1 ,mr4 ,henry ,r4 ,sargent gives elaborate statistics to prove that large sums of money are devoted to the maintenance of sport1 while about #be1jjj1jjj are annually spent upon it4 ,of this amount he estimates that wages absorb some #f1jjj1jjj4 ,rents of shootings and fishings1 and the price of race-horses1 come to #e1ejj1jjj1 which sum1 though 8going principally to the upper classes1 is recirculated in various ways10 while1 8except the few pounds paid for dead horses1 we have from hunting1 shooting1 and racing1 over #f1jjj1jjj a year paid for oats1 meal1 hay1 straw1 beans1 and bran2 and let it be understood that it is all ,british produce4 ,no infernal foreign stuff is given to our hounds or horses1 though we may eat it ourselves1 and thus encourage ,free ,trade--that curse of our country40 ,after we have thus been shown 8what a gigantic medium sport is for the circulation of money--the vertebr 7sic7 of our common weal10 we are not surprised that 8to these facts and figures1 which no sophistry can dispute and no method of statement darken10 ,mr4 ,sargent should 8draw the attention alike of sportsmen1 prigs1 prudes1 and the public10 and should 8invite the consideration of ,radicals and ,socialists0 to the subject4 ,for he continues gravely3 8,let these political step-brethren ponder well before they strive to injure the classes who maintain our sports4 ,let them recognise the fact that as a universal benefactor in bringing to the poor the rich man's money1 a substitute for sport can never be found4 ,these revolutionists should also assure themselves of the fact that never can they devise a system which will carry out the principles of ,communism as practically and universally as that which has always been adopted by our resident landlords4 ,be it #e1jjj1 #bj1jjj1 or #ajj1jjj a year1 which may be focussed in the one individual1 he spends it all among the community4 ,yet these are the men who are marked for destruction by the ,radical1 the ,socialist1 and the ,anarchist2 and not the landlords alone1 but all moneyed men1 no matter of what class40 ,it is small wonder1 then1 that the heart within him is grieved when he thinks of those bold bad men1 the agitators1 for they1 he informs us tearfully1 8as a rule1 dislike the upper classes10 while those pre-eminently wicked men1 the land agitators1 to a man1 8hate them with ferocity40 ,it was to gratify that hatred1 as our author is assured1 8and not so much to benefit either the land tenants or crofters1 that agitation has been got up in ,ireland and ,scotland40 8,in ,ireland hunting was attacked1 as was openly avowed1 to drive the landlords out of the country1 but happily hunting is as strong there as ever1 except in ,waterford2 and although they be not so well off as formerly1 we still have the landlords4 ,in ,scotland the same game is being played by the agitators4 ,although they strive to hide the motive under the kilt of the crofter1 they have no desire but to injure the landlords through means of attacking the shooting4 ,hunting was also assailed by other parties1 in alleging that cruelty was practised by hunting carted deer6 ,an outcry is also raised for the tourists1 that in pursuit of their vocation they are1 forsooth1 to be allowed to disturb the ,highland forests1 and so scare away the wild red-deer1 animals which the agitators know well cannot abide the sight of a human being1 much less the slightest noise4 ,what do agitators care for tourists1 anyway8 ,then comes this raid upon racing4 ,of a truth1 therefore1 it is high time that all sportsmen1 from the peer to the pantry-boy1 should coalesce and defend themselves in organised phalanx against those who1 with intolerance and impertinence1 gratuitously assail us40 ,for just consider the money spent on racing1 and the number of men employed4 ,some #h1jjj young men1 says ,mr4 ,sargent1 8are employed in the racing stables of the kingdom--a number equal to that of more than ten regiments of the line40 8,when we come to consider what has been spent upon the stables at ,newmarket1 and other places ''' the amount becomes absolutely appalling6 ,the sum has to be counted in thousands--and it runs into millions--all of which is spent in labour and material4 ,as do the other branches of sport which ,i have dealt with1 racing sends money flowing from the rich to the poor man's pocket1 but at the same time nearly all classes derive monetary benefit through this special branch of sport40 ,one seems to have heard something of gambling at races1 but our author tells us that 8it is the misfortune of racing1 and not its fault1 that betting should be connected with it10 but he holds that 8to stop gambling on the ,turf1 which has existed from time immemorial1 is an impossibility3 so no one need attempt to do so40 ,with the true democratic feeling engendered by the 8principle of ,communism0 animating sport1 he asserts that 8no man abhors gambling more than ,i do1 and ,i would1 if ,i could1 put a stop upon the shop-boys and humble classes indulging in the vice1 but ,i would let the others do as they choose40 ,for the author is sure that 8to interfere with any old-established institution which is working well is a most dangerous thing40 8,god knows10 he exclaims in despair1 8what would be the result1 if these latter-day saints1 who are now on the prowl1 were to succeed in their attempt to interfere with racing1 even if only so far as betting is concerned40 ,,giving ,,employment4 ,the pamphlet from which the foregoing extracts have been taken is not1 as one might imagine1 a huge joke1 nor is it a sly attempt to pour ridicule upon sport4 ,it was published by the ,sporting ,league--on the executive committee of which we find the names of many noble lords and distinguished commoners--apparently with the serious intention of furthering the fifth of the ,league's praiseworthy objects--8,generally to do whatever may from time to time seem advisable for counteracting the pernicious influence of #8faddists4'0 ,it seems that we can hardly reckon a sense of humour among the many 8inestimable benefits0 that sport bestows on its devotees1 however much food for laughter the publications of the ,league may give to 8faddists0 and the public4 ,although this tract was published some years ago1 its arguments have not deteriorated with age1 since we find them essentially reproduced in an address delivered in ,november1 #aijh1 at the ,surveyors' ,institute1 by the ,president1 ,mr4 ,howard ,martin1 and commented on with approval by ,the ,field4 ,mr4 ,martin1 like the author of the tract1 seriously insists on the great benefits which agriculture and business derive from fox-hunting4 ,he estimates that on the upkeep of hunters #c1ejj1jjj a year are spent4 ,shooting also involves a large outlay for the feeding and rearing of birds1 and attracts much cash to the pockets of residents in the country4 ,and1 further1 the prosperity due to sport radiates in all directions4 ,not merely farmers and farm-hands1 but local innkeepers1 country fly-drivers1 and village shopkeepers share in the stream of wealth which sport pours forth over the country4 ,there are even tips for the inn-servants and the porters at the railway-stations6 ,indeed1 ,mr4 ,martin declared that he had taken great pains to get at reliable facts and figures on which to ground his arguments1 and his conclusion was that not only did hunting and the preservation of foxes generally benefit agricultural districts1 but that hunting and the exercise of shooting rights indirectly benefited the country at large 8by checking rural depopulation40 ,the ,field is not unmindful of the rich physical and moral gains which the gamekeepers1 beaters1 and others ministering to sport1 derive from a shooting-party4 8,they are all of them fond of sport2 they like to see birds well killed1 they enjoy the pick-up1 they enjoy 7a matter of no little moment7 a good beaters' lunch1 they like a good glass of ale at the close of the day1 and are better off in mind and pocket for a few hours which interrupt the routine of their ordinary life like a holiday40 ,it is amusing to note how largely the anti-,budget protests of the distressed ,dukes and other wealthy persons were based on the egregious fallacy that 8giving employment0 is conducive to the welfare of the community1 without regard to the character of the employment given4 ,nothing1 for instance1 could be more absurd than the remarks made by ,lord ,londonderry on ,august #bc1 #aiji1 and solemnly reported in ,the ,times3 8,what was his position if he had to curtail his expenditure1 as he was told by his ,radical friends that he must do8 ,the great interest in the property to him was the shooting and gardens1 which gave employment to a large number of men4 ,could it be said that these two enjoyments were to him absolutely selfish8 ,he was able to send out large consignments of game as presents1 and was also able to benefit those out of employment in times of depression4 ,therefore that amusement was not a selfish one40 ,the fact that ,lord ,londonderry's shooting gives employment to a large number of persons is in truth its greatest condemnation2 for though the individuals employed may be glad of the work1 the community loses by the waste of time1 labour1 and money involved in such a perfectly futile occupation as that of game-preserving1 in which every pheasant killed has cost far more than its own food-value4 ,here1 again1 is a delightful extract from a sporting paper1 ,october #f1 #aiji3 8,rearing of pheasants is a very costly matter1 and one which ,i anticipate will be seriously curtailed in the near future if this so-called #8,working ,man's ,budget' is passed4 ,county gentlemen will be very hardly hit if this iniquitous ,bill becomes law1 and they will consequently have to effect economies in every direction4 ,one of the very first will be in reducing their shootings1 or in giving up rearing birds altogether4 ,pheasants which are hand-reared cost about #ds4 each to feed1 from start to finish4 ,thus it is easy to understand what sums of money find their way into farmers' and tradesmen's pockets for the purchase of food alone1 for hundreds of thousands of pheasants all over the kingdom have to be fed for months every year4 ,the money which is expended one way or another over shooting is quite enormous1 for it must be remembered that1 in addition to the purchase of eggs and food1 there are wages1 clothes1 and fuel for keepers2 there are also endless expenses in connection with rearing4 ,when the shooting commences1 there are beaters at #bs4 #f;d4 and #cs4 per day1 with meat1 bread1 cheese1 and beer4 ,and there is the expense of hospitality to guests4 ,take it all in all1 the old saying that each pheasant shot costs1 one way and another1 a guinea1 is not far wrong4 8,now1 who benefits from all this8 ,the poor owner certainly does not1 for it is all pay1 pay1 pay with him1 and if he does sell his surplus birds1 he will only get back #bs4 to #bs4 #f;d4 a bird4 ,but the public gets the benefit1 for they can purchase these costly-reared birds for the price of chickens4 ,one day those people1 the farmers1 tradesmen1 working-classes1 and labourers1 will wake up to what they have lost1 when they find the country house shut up1 and shooting1 as it used to be1 a thing of the past40 ,no doubt all these crumbs of blessing fall from the rich man's pocket on the happy gamekeepers1 beaters1 and others who are employed by a shooting-party4 ,no doubt the country lads1 servants1 and porters rejoice in the tips they receive4 ,much money is spent on sport1 and a great deal of it finds its way as wages and gratuities into the pockets of dependents1 but to contend seriously that sport checks depopulation is ludicrous4 ,it is an insult to our intelligence to argue that the country is more prosperous and supports a larger population when the land is portioned out in great estates1 many of which are only farmed to the degree necessary to keep the game on the land2 when the people are driven from the country-side into the town2 when in ,scotland whole counties have been cleared of inhabitants in order to form vast deer forests for the sport of a few rich men4 ,,the ,,reality4 ,of the #ef1jjj1jjj acres in ,great ,britain something less than #ae1jjj1jjj are actually cultivated1 although there are #ce1jjj1jjj acres of cultivable land4 ,thirty years ago there were more than #b1jjj1jjj agricultural labourers in ,great ,britain1 but in #aijg they had decreased to #a1caa1jjj4 ,in the same year there were more than #ag1jjj1jjj acres of pasture4 ,in 8,fields1 ,factories1 and ,workshops10 ,prince ,kropotkin estimates that the soil of the ,united ,kingdom would produce enough food for #bd1jjj1jjj people1 instead of for only #ag1jjj1jjj as at present1 if it were cultivated as thoroughly as it was only thirty-five years ago1 while if it were cultivated as thoroughly as ,belgium it would produce enough to feed #cg1jjj1jjj4 ,take1 again1 the question of ,afforestation4 ,the ,report of the ,royal ,commission1 issued on ,january #ae1 #aiji1 is a most important paper in many ways4 ,of special interest are the references made by the ,commissioners to the responsibility of blood-sports for much of the bad condition of our woodlands4 8,considerations of sport have played an important part in determining the method of management of our woods4 ,clean boles1 with high-pitched crowns1 the exclusion of the sun's rays1 and ground destitute of grass1 weeds1 and bushes1 are not conditions favourable to either ground or winged game4 ,on the contrary1 trees that are semi-isolated1 and with low-reaching branches1 and a wood that is full of bracken1 brambles1 and similar undergrowth1 present conditions much more attractive to the sportsman1 and it is these conditions that many landowners have arranged to secure4 ,ground game1 too1 has been the cause of immense destruction amongst the young trees1 and thus it has1 in a measure1 directly brought about that condition of under-stocking which is so inimical to the growth of good timber and to the successful results of forestry4 ,nor is it possible in the presence of even a moderate head of ground game to secure natural regeneration of woodlands1 the young seedling trees being nibbled over almost as soon as they appear above ground4 ,so intimate is the association in the ,united ,kingdom between sport and forestry that even on an estate that is considered to possess some of the best-managed woods in ,england1 the sylvicultural details have to be accommodated to the hunting and shooting1 and trees must be taken down in different places to make cover for foxes1 and so on40 ,if1 then1 the land of our country1 instead of lying almost idle or in permanent pasture interspersed with parks and copses as cover for game1 or left desolate as moor and deer forest1 were covered with the small farms of prosperous peasants1 like ,belgium or ,denmark1 and the more rugged and uncultivable districts turned into national forests giving regular and healthy employment to large numbers of men1 would not far better results be obtained1 even from the purely economic point of view8 ,now we have a few gamekeepers and beaters1 a few grooms1 jockeys1 stablemen1 and horse-dealers1 and other dependents of the sportsmen1 and a few farmers1 breeding horses and growing fodder for them1 while the labourers are turned out of their native village for want of work and house-room1 and drift into the already overcrowded and hideous towns which daily absorb more and more of the country1 or are even forced to leave their native land altogether and seek a livelihood in lands beyond the sea1 free1 as yet1 from the blessings of sport2 then we should have some millions of free men earning an honest living in healthful surroundings1 and producing a thousandfold more wealth for themselves than is distributed by the aristocrats and plutocrats1 who1 according to the protagonist of the ,sporting ,league1 so fully 8carry out the principles of ,communism40 ,but it is surely needless to labour the point4 ,the arguments of the economic defenders of sport are so grotesque that it is difficult to believe that a sensible man of business like ,mr4 ,martin can really be in earnest in his advocacy of sport as a means of finding employment for the people4 ,but sports1 and especially blood-sports1 are not only defended on the ground that they give employment1 circulate money1 and confer other economic advantages on an ungrateful nation4 ,as ,the ,field contends1 there are 8assets which cannot be calculated in shillings and pence10 and the author of our entertaining tract challenges those 8who1 with the bigotry characteristic of all faddists10 attack the chasing of hares and foxes1 or the worship of the sacred bird1 to 8look at the matter straight and see what inestimable benefit sport is to the nation4 ,should we ever lose our love for sport10 he continues1 8or be prevented indulging it1 we shall assuredly lose our manliness1 and very likely our wealth1 and then what will become of the nation80 ,the word 8sport0 is a very loose and indefinite word4 ,it covers all kind of healthful and innocent exercises as well as hunting1 shooting1 and racing4 ,no one doubts that an open-air life is a natural and healthy life2 that running and riding1 and swimming and sailing1 and other outdoor exercises and games1 are good both for mind and body2 but the 8moral and intellectual damages0 of all blood-sports are a very serious set-off against any physical advantages they may have4 ,a staunch defender of sport was once dwelling--in debate--on the glories of a day with the hounds1 and describing how a ride across country in the fresh frosty air swept the cobwebs from the brain of the jaded city man and sent the blood coursing healthily through his veins4 ,he was met by the rejoinder that all these advantages could be got by a gallop over the downs1 or1 at any rate1 by a 8drag0 hunt4 8,ah1 but that's not all10 he cried1 8one must have the zest of running down and killing an animal1 and thus satisfying a natural instinct40 ,the reply that such an instinct was an echo of primeval savagery1 and just one of those which hinder the upward progress of the race--one1 also1 more completely gratified by the butcher or the slaughter-man--only provoked the anger of the sportsman1 and failed to shake his rooted belief in the blessings of sport4 8,ah1 ,sport is the pride of the nation6 ,it made ,britons the men that they be2 ,it does good to the whole population1 ,and knows neither class nor degree40 ,this doggerel1 with which ,mr4 ,sargent concludes his tract on sport1 encourages the notion that blood-sports develop manliness1 and that if ,englishmen ceased to ride to hounds1 to hunt the hare or otter1 or shoot the pheasant and partridge1 they would become effeminate4 ,this superstition ought surely to have received its death-blow by the events of the ,russo-,japanese war4 ,when we hear of the rice-eating1 gentle ,japanese1 who prefer taming wild creatures by kindness to shooting or mangling them1 performing prodigies of valour apparently quite beyond the capacity of the fiercer nations of the ,west1 it is surely time to revise our conceptions of what true courage is1 and how it is nurtured4 ,and any manliness which might be nurtured by sport is steadily being reduced to a minimum4 ,the author of our ingenuous tract descants1 indeed1 on the hardships endured by fox-hunters1 grouse-shooters1 and deer-stalkers1 but says nothing of the noble sportsmen who merely wait till the pheasants are driven past them1 to slaughter them at their ease as fast as loaded guns can be handed them1 or of those who find a manly pastime in shooting pigeons let loose from cages4 ,shall we form a high opinion of the manly virtues of the well-to-do cowards who chase tame stags1 or of the low-class ruffians who let frightened and dazed rabbits out of bags for a hopeless run for life before savage dogs8 ,the insensibility which delights in seeing a fox torn to pieces by hounds1 or which feels no pain when that excessively sensitive and timorous creature1 the hare1 is seen dropping from exhaustion with a pack of harriers in full cry on its track1 is not an element of true manliness1 but a survival from a pre-human state4 ,in the savage state the mighty hunter was a hero because he bravely risked his life for the defence of wife and child against strong and fierce beasts that might else have devoured them1 or endured toil and hardship1 and encountered danger in the search for food and clothing4 ,but in ,england to-day hunting is an anachronism1 which survives only because land-monopoly1 and an unjust distribution of the national inheritance1 have led our 8splendid barbarians10 in the absence of the need for work1 through the pressure of social distinctions1 and the want of higher mental development1 to seek release from boredom and fill up an aimless life by the indulgence and artificial stimulation of subhuman instincts4 ,even those sports which1 like cricket and football1 take the form of health-giving games in the open air1 and may really help to develop manliness1 are to a large extent spoiled by the rise of professionalism and gambling4 ,the great crowds which assemble to see other men engage in the hazardous game of football1 and to exercise themselves merely in betting on the players1 are being trained neither in manliness nor morals4 ,we should indeed do all in our power to cultivate manliness1 but it must be the quality which truly answers to the name2 a fortitude capable of enduring hardships without whining1 and a deliberate human courage which realises the danger1 and consciously and resolutely faces it1 not the mere brute fearlessness of animal excitement1 insensibility1 and stupidity4 ,it behoves all1 therefore1 who have the interest of humanity at heart1 and are striving to help it on its upward way1 to set themselves resolutely against blood-sports in any form1 as a relic of savagery and an enemy to true manliness1 and to endeavour to dissociate manly and health-giving sports from gambling1 and to abolish the professional4 ,to do all this effectively we must work for the abolition of the parasitic classes2 we must strive to give all a share in the national inheritance1 and such an education1 mental1 moral1 and physical1 as may fit them for the work of life1 and for a wise and healthy use of the increased leisure in which all should share4 ,,the ,,economics ,,of ,,hunting ,,by ,w4 ,h4 ,s4 ,,monck ,it is often maintained that hunting1 whatever objections may be raised to it on grounds of humanity1 is beneficial to the public4 ,the reasoning by which it is sought to establish this thesis reminds one of that by which ,dr4 ,mandeville endeavoured to prove that private vices were public benefits2 but it is proposed in this article to examine the subject more fully4 ,cruel sports1 generally speaking1 are not1 ,i believe1 public benefits1 even from the pecuniary point of view2 but as the grounds for this assertion are not the same in all instances1 they cannot all be dealt with in a single article4 ,nor do ,i propose in the present instance to deal with all sports that come under the head of hunting4 ,i shall confine myself to hunting animals with hounds1 the men and women who participate in the sport being usually mounted4 ,labour generally may be referred economically to the two heads of productive and unproductive4 ,it is productive if it produces more than the cost of the labourer's maintenance 7taking his past maintenance preparatory to his work into consideration71 and unproductive if it produces less4 ,and in general there is an objection to employing labour in a less productive manner than it might otherwise be employed4 ,a great author or a great statesman might be able to earn more than his bread by breaking stones on a road1 but everyone would regard forcibly employing him in this manner as a waste of labour4 ,horse-labour and even dog-labour may be similarly regarded2 or1 to put it otherwise1 the labour of every horse and every dog represents a certain amount of human labour which must be regarded as usefully employed or as wasted1 according to the work which the horse or dog does4 ,if ,i set a horse to draw a big stone to the top of a hill and then down again1 everyone would regard this amount of horse-labour as wasted2 but it would be different if the same horse were employed in drawing stones to the site of a building where they were required4 ,and in estimating the productiveness or unproductiveness of labour in any given case1 we must have regard to the value of what it produces to society in general1 and not merely to the amount which the labourer receives for producing it4 ,one might earn #ajj by walking a mile in the shortest period on record without producing anything of the slightest utility to mankind4 ,human labour1 however1 in a country like this1 is capable of producing more than is required to feed and clothe the population and to supply them with fire and shelter4 ,there remains a surplus which may be devoted to mental improvement or to any innocent recreation4 ,recreation must be regarded as a good thing1 and labour employed in producing recreation cannot be regarded as absolutely unproductive4 ,it may1 however1 be unproductive in the wider sense in which ,i have used the term--viz41 the value of the product does not suffice to pay for the maintenance of the labourers4 ,i mean1 of course1 the value of the labour to society4 ,those who employ it1 ,i presume1 consider it worth what they expend on it--to themselves4 ,but they might be of a different opinion if they had less money to expend4 ,turning then to our recreations1 ,i think ,i may lay down in the first instance that the best recreations are those in which the largest number of persons can participate4 ,and it is more especially desirable that the working-classes should participate in them1 for the man who spends most of his available time at hard labour stands in much greater need of recreation than the man or woman who has little or nothing to do--whose ordinary life1 perhaps1 includes more recreation 7or1 at least1 idleness7 than labour4 ,but working men cannot afford to keep or to hire horses1 and seldom possess any skill in horsemanship2 and if one of them did happen to obtain a mount and was able to ride successfully1 his presence at a hunt would be resented as an intrusion4 ,hunts are recreations for the wealthy classes only1 and this mainly results from their expensiveness4 ,the poor could not join in a hunt without paying more than they could afford to pay4 ,but money always represents labour1 and an expensive recreation means a recreation on which a large amount of labour has been expended without any useful result except this recreation4 ,in these last remarks ,i have anticipated the next condition of a good recreation--viz41 that the expenditure of labour on it should be small4 ,the more labour we can spare from recreation for works of more abiding utility1 the better4 ,but hunting is very expensive1 and the promoters are not philanthropic enough to expend the additional sum which might enable a greater number of persons to participate in it4 ,the hounds consume a large amount of food which could be used to better purpose if they were out of the way4 ,a number of persons are employed in looking after the hounds whose labour has no productive result except in contributing remotely to the pleasures of the chase4 ,kennels have to be erected for keeping them1 and horses and machines are required for moving them4 ,great numbers of horses used in hunting do no other useful work whatever1 and these are often high-class and high-priced horses4 ,then there are huntsmen1 whippers-in1 etc41 to say nothing of the food supplied to the horses1 and of the persons employed to look after the foxes or other animals intended for the chase4 ,fox-coverts often occupy land that would otherwise be valuable1 and the preservation of deer and hares prevents land from being put to the best agricultural uses4 ,that hunting always reduces1 and very materially reduces1 the proceeds of labour available for the use of the public cannot1 ,i think1 be seriously disputed2 and in many cases labour is diverted from these productive uses to the production of recreation for others1 in which the labourer himself does not participate4 ,a similar remark is often applicable to grooms4 ,another condition of a good recreation is that it should do no harm to others4 ,but can this be said of hunting8 ,as regards fox-hunting in particular1 the fox is a mischievous animal1 and would have been exterminated like the wolf long ago if he had not been preserved for the pleasure of hunting him4 ,he kills young lambs1 fowl1 and anything of the kind that comes in his way2 and woe to the farmer who revenges himself by killing the depredator6 ,even the hare and the deer are far from innocuous4 ,but the hunt does more mischief than the animals that are hunted4 ,the hunters break down the farmer's fences and frighten his cattle and sheep1 often causing the loss of his calves or lambs1 and injure his crops1 while he has no redress because the landlord has reserved the right of hunting over the land4 ,,the ,,recreation ,,of ,,the ,,few4 ,we are told that hunting necessitates a large expenditure of money in the district4 ,every expensive amusement must do that4 ,but if the most expensive amusement was the most valuable to society1 it would follow that the way to benefit society was to increase the amount of unproductive labour4 ,but even with productive labour our great object is to obtain the desired product with as little labour--as little expense--as possible4 ,the more cheaply we can produce the necessaries and conveniences of life1 the better it will be for the people4 ,this will hardly be disputed4 ,why1 then1 should we apply a contrary rule to recreations1 and lay down that the more expensive they are1 the more beneficial they will prove to society8 ,granted that a hunt produces a large expenditure of money in the district1 that some deserving shopkeepers and tradesmen make a profit thereby1 and some honest labourers are employed at better wages than they would receive if the money in question were not expended--what then8 ,what would become of the money thus expended if there were no hunt8 ,it is almost certain that it would be expended in a manner more advantageous to the community4 ,even if the owner of the money wished to invest it rather than to spend it1 he would probably do so by employing it in the working of a railway1 or a mine1 or some other work of public utility4 ,if he simply lodged it in a bank it would enable the bank to lend more money to its customers to be employed by them for useful purposes2 and if he kept it in his house in bank-notes the results would be pretty much the same as if he had lodged it in the bank4 ,it might not1 of course1 be expended in the district1 but we should look to the interests of the kingdom rather than those of the district4 ,but save in the few cases in which persons come from a distance to enjoy the pleasures of hunting in a particular district1 ,i believe the money would usually be expended in the same district1 and with greater advantage to the inhabitants1 if there were no hunt4 ,the comparison should not be made between the district with this expenditure and the same district without it1 but between the district with this expenditure and the same district with the same sum expended in a different manner4 ,would the same sum1 if otherwise expended1 be likely to prove less beneficial to the district8 ,i think not4 ,hunting is1 therefore1 objectionable as a recreation on many distinct grounds4 ,it affords recreation to only a small number of persons1 these being the very persons who are least in need of recreation4 ,it involves the expenditure of a large amount of labour 7direct or indirect7 as compared with the amount of recreation produced2 and1 passing over the sufferings of the hunted animal altogether1 it involves no small amount of injury and accidents both to men and animals4 ,but1 in the wider view of the modern economist1 it is also objectionable as cultivating a callousness of feeling and disregard of suffering which is in the last degree undesirable--and especially as cultivating this feeling among the class from which our legislators are largely drawn4 ,they become inured to regard with indifference not only the sufferings of the hunted animal1 but those of other animals and even people which they witness4 ,if there were less hunting and shooting among the class from which the majority of the legislature is drawn1 the humanitarian cause would receive a fairer hearing in ,parliament1 as would also be the case if flogging were abolished at the public schools1 where the members of this class are for the most part educated4 ,but what are we to think of education at a school like ,eton1 where flogging is supplemented by a pack of beagles8 ,i would rather 8teach the young idea how to shoot0 than how to hunt1 or how to flog4 ,how often do we hear the argument--stated in somewhat more circuitous terms--8,i hunt1 and therefore hunting must be right4 ,i was flogged1 and therefore flogging must be right60 ,we have only to break down the barriers between the different classes somewhat farther1 in order to put an end to all such class-amusements as hunting undoubtedly is4 ,in cricket1 for example1 we see gentlemen and professionals playing side by side and vying with each other as to who will do the best service for his county1 while thousands of spectators of all ranks assemble to watch the play4 ,but in games conducted on horseback the public can rarely participate4 ,when1 like polo1 they are conducted in a confined space1 the public can look on1 but they cannot keep the hunt in view for any considerable time4 ,in dealing with sports and their cost1 there is a principle which we must never lose sight of3 ,sports do not produce money or wealth4 ,their function is merely to distribute money or wealth when otherwise produced4 ,is the mode of distribution which we are considering a good one8 ,it is certain that those who decided on expending their money in this manner were not actuated solely or chiefly by considerations of public utility2 and considering how difficult it often is to determine what mode of expending a given sum will on the whole prove most beneficial to the public1 the chance of our hitting on an almost perfect distribution1 when we are looking at the whole subject from a totally different standpoint1 seems rather remote4 ,this undesigned coincidence may have taken place1 but it is one which1 in the circumstances1 requires to be strictly proved4 ,i assume that the majority of sportsmen are not fools or bad people4 ,how would such men and women as they are have spent this money if the hunting-field had been closed against them8 ,and would this new mode of spending it be better or worse for the public than the present one8 ,,facts ,,about ,,the ,,game ,,laws ,,by ,j4 ,,connell 8,the ,game ,laws are the tribute paid by the over-worked and over-taxed people of ,england to the ,lords of the ,bread--to the predatory classes who have appropriated the land and depopulated the hills and valleys1 to increase their own selfish pleasures4 ,the destruction of the ,game ,laws is as inevitable in the long-run as was the destruction of ,slavery1 the repeal of the ,corn ,laws1 the overthrow of an alien ,church in the sister isle2 but the fight will be a stiff one between the freemen of this country and our savage or only semi-civilised aristocracy and plutocracy40--,,robert ,,buchanan4 ,by the common law of ,england and ,scotland1 following that of ,rome1 wild animals in a state of nature are common to all mankind4 ,a legal writer says3 8,by the very nature of the case wild animals cannot be made the subject of that absolute kind of ownership which is generally signified by the term property4 ,the substantial basis of the law of property is physical possession1 the actual power of dealing with things as we see fit1 and we can have no such power over animals in a state of nature40 ,it is1 for instance1 impossible to confine pheasants1 partridges1 grouse1 etc41 to a particular estate1 and1 taking fences as they are1 the same may be said of the great majority of hares and deer in this country4 ,moreover1 the individuals of each species are so much alike that it is impossible for anyone to identify them as his property4 ,all legal writers without exception acknowledge that living wild creatures are not property4 ,nevertheless1 the ,game ,laws were placed on the ,statute ,book to establish a proprietary right in those animals1 and1 as ,mr4 ,barclay1 ,sheriff of ,perthshire1 once told a ,house of ,commons ,committee1 they 8put game1 which was not property1 in a higher scale than property40 ,they did this by means of a system of licences for killing and selling game1 and by making trespass1 which1 in itself1 is only a civil offence1 a criminal offence of great magnitude4 ,at an early stage it was discovered that a free right of hunting was incompatible with the preservation of game in sufficient numbers to afford enough sport to the monarch and the nobles1 and accordingly a series of laws known as the ,forest ,laws were enacted1 by means of which certain districts were reserved for purposes of sport to the sovereign4 ,the increase of population soon rendered protection necessary for areas outside the ,royal ,forests if the supply of game was to be kept up1 and the result was a series of enactments known as the ,game ,laws4 ,it will thus be seen that the right of taking wild animals1 which originally belonged to the whole people1 was filched from them by a selfish and privileged class1 who1 we need hardly add1 stole the common lands1 by means of 8,enclosure ,acts10 in much the same manner4 ,it is strange but true that1 except in ,ireland1 and in the north of ,scotland1 the people have come to acquiesce more readily in the robbery of the land than in the robbery of the game4 ,the ,act which is considered the first or oldest of the ,game ,laws became law in the thirteenth year of ,richard ,,ii41 and it is interesting to observe the reasons for placing it on the ,statute ,book which the legislators of the time advanced4 ,said they3 8,it is the practice of divers artificers1 labourers1 servants1 and grooms to keep greyhounds and other dogs1 and on the holidays when good ,christian people be at church1 hearing ,divine service1 they go hunting in parks1 warrens1 etc41 of lords and others1 to the very great destruction of the game40 ,we know hundreds of districts1 from ,kent to ,caithness1 of which the same might be written to-day1 thus showing that the ,game ,laws have utterly failed to obtain a moral sway over the people4 ,the term 8game0 includes hares1 pheasants1 partridges1 grouse1 black-game1 ptarmigan1 and bustards4 ,in addition to these there are a number of animals to which one or other of the game statutes extends protection4 ,these are rabbits1 deer1 roe1 woodcock1 snipe1 quail1 landrails1 and wild duck4 ,although there is no property in wild animals1 it has been settled by the ,courts that the right to pursue or take game is a private privilege4 ,in ,england this privilege belongs to the occupier of the soil1 in the absence of any agreement to the contrary1 and in ,scotland to the owner4 ,in the former country agreements reserving the game to the owner are almost universal4 ,the occupier or the owner of the soil has the right to claim any game killed on his land2 but such is the curious state of the law that the poacher who takes away what he kills is not guilty of theft4 ,the ,game ,laws are held in abhorrence by the majority of people1 chiefly for two reasons3 first1 on account of their injurious economic effects1 and1 second1 because of the harsh punishments which they inflict for trivial offences4 ,by their action large tracts of land have been rendered almost totally unproductive1 cultivation has been abandoned and immense numbers of labourers thrown out of employment2 the crops of farmers near preserves1 although often on a different estate1 have been injured or even destroyed2 ill-feeling has been engendered between the authors and the victims of game preserving1 and not infrequently the landless1 workless labourer has been driven to break the law in order to procure food1 thus landing himself in violence1 or even murder4 ,in addition to all this1 the irrepressible sporting appetite of the people1 sustained by a consciousness of having moral right on its side1 leads to a reckless love of breaking laws which are unjust1 unfair1 and injurious4 ,no believer in democratic government1 no lover of order1 can uphold statutes which demoralise those who live under them4#i ,,administration ,,of ,,the ,,game ,,laws4 ,but bad as are the ,game ,laws in essence1 the manner in which they are administered makes them far worse and more hateful4 ,it is notorious that a large number of ,justices of the ,peace are game preservers4 ,the people who break the ,game ,laws almost all belong to one class1 the people who sit in judgment on them almost all belong to another and hostile class4 ,the effect of this arrangement is made very clear by the following questions and answers3-- ,when ,mr4 ,j4 ,s4 ,nowlson was asked by a ,select ,committee of the ,house of ,commons1 8,do game preservers ever act as magistrates in cases of offences against the ,game ,laws80 he replied1 8,yes1 but not in their own cases4 ,for instance1 if ,a has got a case ,b will take it1 and if ,b has got a case ,a will take it40 ,again1 8,in case a man was brought up for an offence against the ,game ,laws1 and there was a certain amount of evidence given1 do you think he would stand a greater chance of conviction than if it were an offence against some other law80 ,reply3 8,we do consider so40 ,everybody acquainted with agricultural labourers is aware that a strong feeling prevails among them that justice is not to be expected in cases of offence against the ,game ,laws4 ,a ,house of ,commons ,committee reported that 8very few of the ,game ,law convictions are regular in point of form1 and they would have to be set aside had they gone before the ,judges40 ,it was a common occurrence for justices to sentence poachers to longer terms of imprisonment than the law allowed4 ,for this and other reasons the ,home ,office has liberated a vastly greater proportion of offenders against the ,game ,laws than of any other class of offenders4 ,an impartial observer might be excused for thinking that the penalties for poaching are high enough to satisfy the most exacting4 ,for instance1 the penalty for trespass in pursuit of game in the daytime is a fine of two pounds with imprisonment in default1 and if the offence be committed by a party of five or more the penalty is five pounds each with imprisonment in default4 ,in the case of night poaching1 the penalty for a first offence is three months' imprisonment with hard labour1 and at the expiration of that period the offender is compelled to find sureties for his good behaviour for a year1 or undergo a further imprisonment for six months with hard labour4 ,for a second offence the penalty is six months' imprisonment with hard labour1 and at the end of that time the offender must find sureties for his good behaviour for two years or undergo a further twelve months' imprisonment with hard labour4 ,for a third offence the penalty is seven years' penal servitude4 ,but this is not all4 ,if a party of three or more enter land at night for the purpose of taking game or rabbits1 and if any of the party be armed with gun1 crossbow1 firearms1 bludgeons1 or any offensive weapon1 each and everyone of such persons shall be liable to penal servitude for fourteen years4 ,yet there are persons who think that those laws are not severe enough4 ,a witness1 for instance1 before that ,select ,committee cheerfully proposed that poaching be made felony all round4 ,it is needless to say that the harshness1 or rather barbarity1 of the punishment in store for them renders poachers but little inclined to yield themselves up when they find themselves confronted by gamekeepers4 ,this accounts for much of the bloodshed of which we read in connection with poaching4 ,it also accounts for much of the sympathy which is felt for poachers by all classes of the population except game preservers and their agents4 ,,the ,,gamekeeper4 ,among the many unsatisfactory products of the ,game ,laws not the least objectionable is the gamekeeper4 ,mr4 ,joseph ,arch once said3 8,keepers are generally taken from the louting men one sees idling about40 ,the knowledge that their masters sit on the ,bench of ,justice1 and that their evidence will be believed in preference to that of trespassers1 frequently emboldens them to acts of the worst brutality4 ,some years ago1 in charging a ,grand ,jury at the ,nottingham ,assizes on certain indictments for malicious wounding and murder1 arising out of poaching affrays1 ,mr4 ,justice ,vaughan ,williams commented on the way in which these private police of individuals go out armed to the teeth1 accompanied by savage dogs1 and without any code of instructions to regulate their proceedings4 ,dr4 ,alfred ,russel ,wallace1 referring to arrests1 etc41 said3 8,i believe myself that in three cases out of four1 the gamekeepers act illegally40 ,whatever the men may have been originally1 it is certain that their method of living demoralises the great majority of keepers4 ,they are often selected at first because of their brutality4 ,a humane man would be useless in such a post4 ,head-keepers1 who are generally well paid1 as a rule act honestly by their employers1 but it is a fact known to the writer that the more poorly paid ones not only take game for their own use1 but frequently sell it in order to provide themselves with drink4 ,in almost every district in which game is preserved it is well known to the working people that the keepers will purchase1 on behalf of their masters1 eggs which they know to have been stolen4 ,in ,august1 #aijj1 a show of gamekeepers' dogs was held at the ,royal ,aquarium1 ,london4 ,we quote from a ,london paper3 8,i would rather have one of these dogs with me in a night row than three men10 said ,mr4 ,w4 ,burton to a representative yesterday4 ,he was gazing fondly at five ferocious-looking bull mastiffs in the ,westminster ,aquarium1 where a show of gamekeepers' dogs is being held4 8,if they were unmuzzled10 he added1 8one alone could tear a strong man to pieces in five minutes4 ,at ,thorneywood ,kennels1 ,nottingham1 ,i have trained these dogs to help the gamekeeper in catching night poachers1 and although they are kept muzzled a man has no chance with them4 ,if he attempts to run away he is knocked down instantly and kept a prisoner until the keeper arrives4 ,they are the same breed of dogs that were used for bull-baiting in the last century40 ,with long imprisonment1 or even penal servitude staring him in the face1 and the prospect of immediate violence from man1 or dog1 or both1 it is not to be wondered at that the poacher often turns out 8a rough handful40 ,all will remember ,kingsley's lines3 8,there's blood on your new foreign shrubs1 squire1 ,there's blood on your pointer's feet2 ,there's blood on the game you sell1 squire1 ,and there's blood on the game you eat40 ,it is probably not too much to say that hundreds of encounters between poachers and gamekeepers occur every winter in this country4 ,except in cases where life is lost1 the ,london papers do not report them1 and even then they do not always do so4 ,local papers1 published in districts where game is preserved1 are the sheets to search for such records4 ,it may be mentioned here that in the neighbourhood of ,london gamekeepers are much less aggressive and brutal than in remote districts4 ,near ,london they seldom attempt to arrest poachers4 ,acting under orders1 presumably1 they content themselves with following poachers and identifying them if possible1 for the purpose of summoning them afterwards4 ,moreover1 the punishment meted out to poachers in the neighbourhood of the ,metropolis is much lighter1 as a rule1 than in the provinces4 ,this is believed on all hands to be due to the criticism and denunciation of harsh sentences by ,reynolds's ,newspaper and other ,radical organs4 ,such is the effect of this criticism that some years ago1 after the occurrence of some bloody affrays1 orders were given on some estates near ,croydon1 that in future poachers were to be simply ordered off the land1 and were not even to be summoned unless they resorted to violence4 ,these orders were afterwards withdrawn1 but the fact that they were given shows that game-preservers are fearful of losing their privileges if public attention is directed to them4 ,in reading reports of poaching affrays it is well to remember that it is almost invariably the gamekeeper's side of the case that is presented to the public4 ,if the poacher escapes1 he of course is never heard from4 ,even if he be caught he is seldom believed1 and his description of the encounter seldom reported4 ,there are exceptions to every rule1 but it is the sincere belief of the present writer that1 when they find themselves confronted by keepers1 the vast majority of poachers would go away quietly if allowed4 ,the abolition of the power of arrest would1 therefore1 be a long step in the direction of peace4 ,the poacher1 whether he poach for food or for sport1 never believes that he is guilty of a moral crime4 ,for this reason1 the gamekeeper will never command the respect which is almost invariably accorded the policeman1 even by the most hardened criminals4 ,policemen1 as a rule1 are humane in their treatment of prisoners1 and chiefly because they do not suffer from any sense of personal wrong4 ,with gamekeepers the case is widely different4 ,from the depredations of the poacher they suffer1 or think they may suffer1 in repute or convenience1 or even in pocket4 ,in the circumstances it is little wonder that they frequently act brutally4 ,as there are exceptions to all rules1 there are1 of course1 exceptional magistrates who occasionally let light in on the dark ways of game-preserving4 ,the following paragraph1 culled from the ,airdrie ,advertiser of ,march #e1 #ahih1 reveals a case in point3 8,,charge ,,against ,,gamekeepers4--,on ,thursday1 before ,sheriff ,mair1 at ,airdrie1 ,robert ,connor ,m',guire1 steelworker1 #ad1 ,watt ,street1 ,mossend1 pleaded guilty to a charge of daylight poaching4 ,he was fined #cas41 including expenses4 ,accused complained to the ,sheriff that he had been assaulted by the two gamekeepers1 and that he still bore marks of their violence upon his arms1 which he was desirous of showing4 ,the gamekeepers were called in and appeared to treat the accusation lightly1 one of them remarking that #8it was immaterial to him4' ,the ,sheriff sent for the ,inspector of ,police1 whom he directed to take the gamekeepers into custody and ,m',guire to make the charge of assault against them40 ,we may here mention that all appointments of gamekeepers are invalid unless registered with the ,clerk of the ,peace4 ,very many of them are not so registered1 and1 therefore1 their arrests1 and attempted arrests1 of poachers are illegal4 ,the truth is that on many preserves nearly all the young labourers are keepers' assistants4 ,many of them are desirous of getting appointed as keepers so as to escape from hard work1 and these are often anxious to distinguish themselves by brutal conduct towards not only poachers1 but the most harmless trespassers4 ,,the ,,poacher4 ,and what sort of man is he against whom all this machinery of law and authority and brutality is directed8 ,we refer to the poacher4 ,there is probably no better-abused individual on earth2 but abuse is not argument1 and still less is it evidence4 ,if the reader will turn to the report of the ,select ,committee of #ahdf1 he will see that after carefully sifting the evidence the conclusions arrived at were3 7#a7 ,that the poacher was generally far superior to the average agricultural labourer in intelligence and activity2 7#b7 that the great majority of poachers would break no law other than the ,game ,laws2 7#c7 that the poacher was not regarded as a criminal1 either by himself or the people amongst whom he lived2 and 7#d7 that this opinion was shared even by the game-preserver1 who not infrequently offered him employment as gamekeeper4 ,the reader may not be aware that many poachers become keepers4 ,the well-known writer1 8,stonehenge10 remarks on this3 8,reformed poachers1 if really reformed1 make the best keepers1 but it is only when worn out as poachers that they think of turning round and becoming keepers40 ,it is worthy of remark that every writer on sport of any ability 7as far as we are aware7 feels himself constrained to say a good word of the poacher4 ,we have just now at our elbow a well-known and standard work1 entitled 8,the ,moor and the ,loch10 by ,john ,colquhoun4 ,writing of poachers in bulk 7so to speak7 the author denounces them in unmeasured terms1 but when he comes to speak of individual poachers whom he had known1 his tone is altogether different4 ,we quote from vol4 ii41 p4 #adf3 8,when ,i first knew ,gregor ,more1 of ,callander1 his poaching days were over1 for he had a mortal disease from having lain out in the fields one cold night4 ,he still managed to saunter down the river and give those beautiful sweeps with his line and salmon fly which were the admiration of the whole clachan4''' ,i looked at him with some curiosity2 a nobler specimen of manhood ,i never beheld4 ,upwards of six feet high1 of the finest herculean proportions1 and straight as an arrow1 he seemed equally formed for activity and strength4 ,there was nothing mean or sneaking about his manner4 ,his face was open and manly1 and1 despite the sad discipline to which he had exposed both mind and body1 he had not effaced the natural and sure marks of force and truth from his countenance4 ,although wan and emaciated1 there was a coolness1 a will to dare in his eye1 backed by his tremendous shoulders and still powerful frame1 so that ,i could not look at him without thinking of the words1 #8,majestic though in ruins4' 8,very unlike ,gregor ,more was ----4 ,strange to say1 he had once been a placed minister of the ,kirk 7answering to a beneficed clergyman71 and although he often returned late on the ,saturday night1 after being all the week poaching the deer1 his sermons were both clever and popular4 ,i met him once when traversing a wild range of hills1 and was impressed both with his general information and the courtesy of his address40 ,,some ,,results ,,of ,,game-,,preserving4 ,among the evils incidental to game-preserving1 not the least is the destruction of rare and beautiful birds and beasts4 ,i remember how there was on exhibition in the window of a ,liverpool taxidermist a splendid specimen of the golden eagle1 measuring #g feet #b inches from tip to tip of the wings1 and #c feet #b inches from beak to tail4 ,it had built its eyrie in a small cave in the face of a high cliff at ,benula ,forest1 ,glencannich1 ,beauly1 ,n4,b4 ,it was watched by a keeper1 who descended the face of the cliff after dark1 killed the mother bird1 and carried away the only eaglet from the nest4 ,in most preserves steel traps are set for the purpose of catching birds or beasts of prey4 ,when they are caught they are often allowed to linger in agony for hours1 or even days before being despatched4 ,the writer has seen dozens of hares which had each lost a leg in these traps4 ,when a fox is caught in this manner it will often gnaw the leg off4 ,the horrors of the battue have been described and denounced so often that little need be said about it here4 ,it is simple butchery1 often very clumsily performed4 ,for days after a battue hares may be seen with broken backs1 dragging their hind-quarters after them among the bushes1 and pheasants may be seen running about with broken wings trailing the ground4 ,pigeon-shooting from traps is justly condemned1 but the evils attending it are small compared with those inseparable from the battue4 ,mr4 ,frederick ,gale1 in 8,modern ,english ,sports10 says3 8,at the ,gun ,club ,grounds and similar places1 which are frequented by noblemen and gentlemen1 the cruelty is comparatively nil to that occasioned by the battue40 ,it is within our knowledge that the battue is condemned even by gamekeepers4 ,they cannot be expected to speak their minds freely before their employers1 but if questioned privately many will be found to condemn it as affording no test of marksmanship1 no opportunity for exercise or excitement1 and as being wasteful of the game4 ,the animals that escape wounded often become emaciated1 or even die of hunger before being found4 ,the game preservers are never tired of arguing that the preservation of game increases the food-supply of the people4 ,to this there are two answers1 either of which is crushing4 ,in the first place1 with the exception of rabbits1 game is scarcely ever touched by the masses1 for the very good reason that its price is far beyond their ability to pay4 ,in the second place1 that which they do buy occasionally1 rabbit1 in order to come within their reach has to be sold at a price far below its cost of production4 ,this is equivalent to saying that the same amount of time1 energy1 capital1 etc41 employed in the production of any other sort of food1 would increase the food-supply to a much greater extent4 ,it seems impossible to obtain an accurate estimate of the loss and damage occasioned by game-preserving4 ,we know1 however1 that the ,scottish deer forests alone cover an area of over two million acres1 and the best authorities assure us that all land which will rear deer will rear sheep4 ,the latter are vastly more profitable to the community1 although not always so to the landowner4 ,but all must be sacrificed to game-preserving4 ,for this purpose are footpaths closed1 and labourers compelled to walk long distances to their work4 ,for this are children debarred from playing or picking flowers in the woods or the glens4 ,for this is the factory-worker or the slum-dweller forbidden to breathe the pure air of the hills4 ,for this are vast areas kept barren1 whilst millions hunger for the produce which they might have yielded1 and willing hands1 only too anxious to till them1 are driven to seek employment in the already overcrowded docks4 ,and we think ourselves a practical people6 ,,footnotes3 #i ,see the 8,report of the ,land ,enquiry ,committee10 vol4 i4 7#aiac71 ,ch4 8,game40 ,also1 for some descriptions of ,highland 8,clearances10 the ,rev4 ,donald ,sage's book1 8,memorabilia ,domestica10 and 8,gloomy ,memories10 by ,donald ,mc,leod4 ,,the ,,destruction ,,of ,,wild ,,life ,,by ,e4 ,b4 ,,lloyd ,there is one most regrettable result of killing for sport 7and more especially of game-bird shooting7 which1 though important in itself1 is yet frequently overlooked in discussing the question4 ,this is the destruction of wild life involved1 other than those forms directly slaughtered for pleasure4 ,sir ,harry ,johnston has written forcibly of the necessity of insisting on the sthetic value of wild animals in our landscape1 and the desirability of preserving the species that remain1 because they are beautiful and intellectually stimulating2#aj and the ordinary ,nature lover1 not to mention the naturalist1 cannot but regard with detestation the ceaseless war of extermination waged by the devotees of 8shooting0 on so many of our finest and most interesting birds and mammals4 ,indeed1 numbers of so-called bird-lovers not actively opposed to shooting might change their views if they would but reflect seriously on the damage to our native fauna1 and the consequent dulling of the charm of our country-side1 which game-preserving inevitably brings in its train4 ,for--putting on one side the moral issue--our ,british 8game birds0 cannot compare1 for interest and beauty1 with many of the species which are sacrificed on their behalf1 or rather on behalf of the thoughtless folk who slaughter them for amusement4 ,moreover1 it must be remembered that we do not even possess any great tract of natural country as a ,national ,park or reserve1 such as ,yellowstone ,park in the ,united ,states of ,america1 or its ,canadian equivalent1 or the grand ,swedish ,wild ,park in ,lapland4 ,the gamekeeper1 generally speaking1 is the most ruthless of beasts of prey4 ,if he is a good gamekeeper his great aim is to see that there is always a plentiful supply of partridges in his master's fields1 pheasants in his master's coverts1 or grouse on his master's moors1 as the case may be4 ,with this object in view he endeavours to extirpate all wild life which either is1 or is supposed by him to be1 in any way inimical to the birds in his charge2 and1 unfortunately1 owing to the abysmal ignorance of the average keeper in all that relates to ,nature's intricate interplay of what we choose to call useful1 harmless1 and harmful forms1 the list of supposed enemies is a long one4#aa ,moreover1 the special position occupied by the gamekeeper gives him the power 7a power all too frequently exercised7 of shooting1 either for amusement or profit1 any strange or rare bird that strikes his fancy1 besides making it very difficult to restrain his murderous propensities even in the case of legally protected species4 ,on the whole it may safely be said that gamekeepers as a class are just as unappreciative of the true beauty and interest of animal life as are their masters the sportsmen4 ,to quote one who1 among all living writers1 is probably at once the most sympathetic and penetrating observer and the most delightful interpreter of wild bird life3 8,the gentleman1 like the gamekeeper1 cannot escape the reflex action of the gun in his hand4 ,he1 too1 has grown incapable of pleasure in any rare or noble or beautiful form of life until he has it in his hand--until he has exercised his awful power and blotted out its existence40#ab ,,some 8,,vermin40 ,to come now to the species which are thus warred upon on the plea of facilitating 8sport40 ,taking the mammals first--and the list of our ,british mammals is at best a miserably scanty one--we find that1 leaving out of consideration such exceedingly scarce ones as the wild cat1 polecat1 and pine-marten1 and such admitted marauders as the stoat and rat1 there still remain among those classed by gamekeepers as 8vermin10 the badger1 the weasel1 and the hedgehog3 the first perhaps the most interesting of all our wild quadrupeds1 the two latter certainly not the least interesting and charming4 ,yet although the best authorities are agreed that the harm done by the badger to 8game0 is almost infinitesimal1 the keeper is usually his sworn foe4#ac ,badgers also suffer at the hands of the fox-hunting fraternity1 being destroyed because they are said to be harmful to young foxes1 and because they sometimes open up fox-earths which have been 8stopped0 in readiness for the hunt4#ad ,this1 it may be noted1 affords another example of the falseness of the argument so often advanced that fox-hunting is 8fair0 because the fox has every chance left him to escape4 ,fortunately the badger is a very shy1 nocturnal animal1 exceedingly wary and clever1 and in some few districts the landlords are enlightened enough to see to it that he is left in peace4 ,the fiery little weasel--ruthlessly persecuted--is one of the farmers' most trusty allies1 for its food consists chiefly of voles1 mice1 and rats4 ,as for the hedgehog1 deadly enemy of slugs and snails and insects though it be1 the fact that it will suck eggs if it gets the chance suffices to make its corpse a welcome addition to the gamekeeper's museum--that collection of the rotting bodies of birds and small mammals nailed or hung on to a tree or fence1 with which all who have rambled much in the woods and fields of our country-side must be familiar4 ,what a motley company may often be seen thus strung up on one of these gibbets in some upland hedgerow or woodland glade3 a selection of stoats1 weasels1 moles1 hedgehogs1 crows1 jackdaws1 magpies1 jays1 owls1 sparrow-hawks1 kestrels1 merlins1 and so forth1 according to the locality4 ,the writer has actually seen--and it is not an isolated instance--that delightful bird1 the green woodpecker1 occupying a place among these trophies of the keeper's prowess2 and with regard to another victim1 the harmless nightjar 7,wordsworth's 8buzzing dor-hawk1 twirling his watchman's rattle about071 whose strange1 churning note is so pleasant a feature of an evening ramble in woody or heathy districts1 one keeper told ,mr4 ,hudson3 8,i don't believe a word about their swallowing pheasants' eggs1 though many keepers think they do4 ,i shoot them1 it's true1 but only for pleasure40#ae ,the kestrel again--the expressively named 8windhover10 which hangs aloft poised so gracefully against the wind-- 8,as if let down from heaven there ,by a viewless silken thread0-- a little hawk which preys almost exclusively on voles1 mice1 insects1 etc41 is a valuable friend to the farmer1 and certainly no enemy to the gamekeeper4 ,yet large numbers are destroyed by the latter2 for as ,charles ,st4 ,john1 himself an ardent sportsman1 wrote in his well-known 8,wild ,sports of the ,highlands03#af 8,it is impossible to persuade a keeper that any bird called a hawk can be harmless2 much less ''' that a hawk can be useful40 ,and much the same still applies1 it is shameful to relate1 to other extremely useful species1 such as the barn-owl--which farmers ought to encourage--and the tawny-owl1 etc4 ,worse than this3 incredible as it may sound1 there are several well-authenticated cases of nightingales having been destroyed by keepers because their singing kept the pheasants awake at night6 ,and ,mr4 ,hudson1 among other instances1 records a case where a whole heronry was blotted out1 the birds being shot on their nests after breeding had begun1 because their cries disturbed the pheasants2 and yet another1 where a whole tract of woodland estate was denuded of doves1 woodpeckers1 nuthatches1 blackbirds1 missel and song thrushes1 chaffinches1 and many other smaller birds1 all of which were shot1 any nests found being also destroyed4 ,the keeper said he was not going to have the place swarming with birds that were no good for anything1 and were always eating the pheasants' food4#ag ,though these1 of course1 are extreme cases1 they are notable as showing to what lengths this folly may be carried--what monstrous sacrifices are made to the insatiable ,moloch of game-preserving4 ,besides such striking birds as the brilliant1 eager jay1 the elvish magpie1 the crows1 the fierce sparrow-hawk1 and the bold little merlin1 which are still1 relatively speaking1 common1 and the various beautiful birds of prey--the kite1 the harriers1 the peregrine falcon1 and many others now almost exterminated--the ,british craze for game-preserving has led to the bitter persecution of two especially fine species1 both of which have been almost extirpated in ,southern ,england1 at any rate--the raven and the absolutely innocent buzzard4 ,the former1 round which centres so much of myth1 legend1 and story1 is now seldom met with1 save in a few secluded mountainous districts1 though less than forty years ago the head-keeper of ,exmoor ,forest was able to record the destruction of fifty-two of these grand birds in a single year2#ah while the ,common ,buzzard1 which in virtue of its voice1 appearance1 large size1 and grandeur of flight1 is about the nearest approach to the eagle still left to us1 is now1 alas6 exceedingly uncommon4 ,not long ago1 while wandering near ,dartmoor1 ,i was fortunate enough to watch six buzzards floating high in the air together1 circling round above one another in great spirals1 and uttering from time to time their wild plaintive cry3 an extremely rare sight in ,england to-day1 and one the beauty and impressiveness of which ,i shall not soon forget4 ,any true nature-lover who has watched these splendid soaring birds on the wing will readily understand what an irreparable loss the gamekeeper's ban on them is inflicting on our landscape1 more especially in these days when1 in spite of the trammels of modern civilisation1 an ever-increasing number of people are learning to appreciate the joy of a more direct communion with wild nature1 and1 incidentally1 are discovering the truth of the poet's words3 8''' that such beauty varying in the light ,of living ,nature1 cannot be portrayed ,by words1 nor by the pencil's silent skill2 ,but is the property of him alone ,who hath beheld it1 noted it with care1 ,and in his mind recorded it with love40 ,,the ,,killing ,,mania4 ,next to the gamekeeper1 who1 after all1 is but the instrument of the game-shooter1 and the 8collector0 7whose crimes in respect of our rarer avifauna would fill a volume71 the worst sinners are those gun-sportsmen whose amusement is the wanton destruction of wild life1 without even the flimsy pretext that their victims are eatable4 ,nothing comes amiss to them--from seals1#ai and rare birds like the osprey and the great northern diver1 to seagulls1 shore-birds1 and waders1 and even poor little pipits and thrushes4 ,these are the folk of whom ,sir ,harry ,johnston has truly observed that 8they are often not nearly so interesting1 physically and mentally1 as the creatures they destroy40 ,they are dingy-souled ,philistines1 to whom a dead bird in the hand is worth more than many living birds in the bush4 ,some even profess themselves bird-lovers4#bj ,a ,west ,country farmer's wife once observed to me3 8,my husband is a great lover of birds2 he's got several cases full of stuffed ones that he shot himself40 ,this is as though one should prefer an ancient ,egyptian mummy to the chance of watching and studying a living breathing being of that race4 ,little wonder if1 when thinking of this senseless and careless and callous destruction of so much feathered loveliness1 we should feel inclined to echo ,robert ,burns's angry words3 8,inhuman man1 curse on thy barb'rous art1 ,and blasted be thy murder-aiming eye40 ,moreover1 the 8deep-rooted instinct10 about which we hear so much1 can easily be diverted to a far finer1 more beautiful1 and more useful pleasure than the absurd1 antiquated1 and useless one of killing for sport4 ,i can speak from my own personal experience in saying that the actual thrill and joy of tracking and watching wild creatures for study and observation is far superior to that which is derived from tracking and watching them for slaughter4 ,in other words1 hunting animals to see how they live is finer sport than hunting them to see how they die4 ,it seems1 therefore1 that the real issue is between ,natural ,history as opposed to ,unnatural ,history4 ,on the one hand1 grouse1 pheasants 78semi-domesticated exotics071 and partridges 7very likely imported71 reared at immense cost for slaughter3 on the other1 all these infinitely more varied and natural and gracious creatures--the true sylphs and elves of our woodlands--whose glad1 free beauty so thrilled ,meredith1 and drew from him that impassioned cry3 8,for joy in the beating of wings on high1 ''' ,my soul shoots into the breast of a bird1 ,as it will for sheer love till the last long sigh40 ,and all this wild1 winged life possesses a twofold beauty3 for it is beautiful both in itself1 and--as poetry all down the ages has borne witness--in its influence on the mind of man4 ,,footnotes3 #aj 8,british ,mammals10 #aijc4 #aa ,i can speak from a fairly extensive acquaintance with keepers in various districts2 and 7to quote impartial opinion7 a pheasant-shooting friend lately observed to me1 while discussing the absurd destruction of kestrels3 8,the ,english gamekeeper is a fool3 there's nothing to be said for him40 ,and ,mr4 ,j4 ,g4 ,millais1 another sportsman1 in his great work on 8,british ,mammals10 remarks that 8gamekeepers are often among the most unobservant of men0 7vol4 ii41 #aije74 ,cf4 also1 e4g41 ,seebohm's 8,british ,birds0 7,falconid1 passim74 #ab ,w4 ,h4 ,hudson1 8,the ,land's ,end10 #aijh4 #ac ,see1 e4g41 ,sir ,a4 ,pease1 8,the ,badger10 #ahif4 #ad ,similarly1 one of the reasons often given for otter-hunting is that otters eat trout and salmon1 and so lessen the angler's chance of killing more of them4 #ae 8,adventures among ,birds10 #aiab4 #af ,ninth edition1 #aijg4 #ag 8,adventures among ,birds10 #aiab4 #ah ,w4 ,h4 ,hudson1 8,birds and ,man10 #aija4 #ai ,here is one instance selected from many4 8,during a yachting cruise in the summer of #aijb1 the suite accompanying #8very distinguished persons' gleefully took advantage of their proximity to little frequented ,scotch islands1 to shoot and leave1 to kill uselessly without excuse1 quite a large number of the seals which still remain in ,scottish waters0 7,sir ,h4 ,h4 ,johnston1 op4 cit474 #bj ,perhaps from similar causes to those which lead ,sir ,alfred ,pease1 in defending his hunting habits1 to inform us1 8,i hunt1 paradoxical as it seems1 because ,i love the animals0 7see 8,the ,badger10 #ahif74 ,,the ,,callousness ,,of ,,fox-,,hunting#ba ,,by ,h4 ,b4 ,,marriott ,,watson ,undoubtedly we are a complacent and unimaginative nation1 which defects probably explain and excuse certain indictments brought against us by foreigners4 ,complacency and practicality may have raised us commercially and politically1 but they do not breed the finer graces1 and they are apt to misrepresent us4 ,no one1 for example1 would say that the ,english or ,british race was callous or cruel in comparison with other races4 ,on the contrary1 its reputation for kind-heartedness stands higher than that of its compeers and rivals4 ,yet this same race is engaged to-day in the practice and pursuit of the most brutal sport conceivable4 ,of bull-baiting1 of cock-fighting1 of various barbarous pastimes of our fathers we know nothing now save by hearsay2 but it is safe to say that whereas bull-baiting and cock-mains have long been prohibited by law1 the most cruel sport remains unpenalised and undiscouraged2 nay1 even protected by the law4 ,i can only attribute the continued existence of fox-hunting to that lack of imagination to which ,i have referred4 ,it is necessary for one making a desperate protest of this kind against an inhuman sport to dissociate himself at the outset from sentimentalism and the sentimentalist4 ,death is inevitable4 ,we must look facts in the face4 ,the law of life is ,death1 and ,nature has ordained that the strong should prey on the weak throughout her serried ranks of organic life4 ,the sentimentalist will shriek in vain against the destruction of animal life1 simply because he is shrieking against an ultimate law of ,nature4 ,nature destroys ruthlessly1 and so does man1 who is part of ,nature4 ,but what civilisation may and must demand1 what humanitarianism should and does demand1 is that this inevitable accomplishment of death should happen with the least possible pain4 ,death1 in short1 is necessary1 but torture is not4 ,and fox-hunting is framed to produce the maximum of torture to the quarry4 ,a fox is 8vermin10 they say2 then in ,heaven's name let it be classed as vermin1 and destroyed as such4 ,but what happens is precisely the reverse of this4 ,foxes are carefully preserved in order that they may be hounded to a hapless1 miserable death1 the conception of which transcends any ordinary imagination4 ,gamekeepers and farmers1 to whom foxes are a grave nuisance1 are paid not to destroy them painlessly by gun or otherwise4 ,gamekeepers1 indeed1 receive so much for each fox found on their preserves4 ,the object1 then1 of the hunt is to keep foxes from being destroyed in the natural course of that warfare between item and item of human and feral life1 and to preserve them for a more cruel fate4 ,let us see how cruel that is4 ,the gamekeeper on land which is announced to be hunted on a certain day has carefully during the night earthed up a fox's hole so that the beast cannot get back to it in the morning4 ,at a certain hour pack and company arrive1 and the master learns from the gamekeeper that he is likely to 8find0 in such and such a spinney4 ,thither all proceed1 gay ladies and fresh-coloured men1 and presently hounds give tongue and are in cry4 ,they have 8found40 ,immediately the field is in commotion4 ,gay ladies and fresh-faced men thunder off irregularly4 ,the fun has begun2 they are going to enjoy themselves4 ,but what is the fun8 ,to each of those amiable people it no doubt is involved in the music of the hounds1 in the company1 in the cross-country ride1 in the excitements and hazards and humours of the run4 ,to the master and his huntsmen it involves in addition the responsibility for keeping hounds in hand--a matter of considerable skill4 ,but what does it involve to the fox8 ,this sleek1 furry creature that steals chickens and ducks1 and young pheasants and partridges1 who is a nuisance to farmer and gamekeeper alike1 but to preserve whom is made worth their while--this poor 8vermin10 having no 8earth0 to hide in1 is flying for his life before a pack of strong dogs1 any one of which would be capable of answering for him4 ,,the ,,death4 ,he has 7it may be7 three or four hours' run before him1 with that terrible bell-tongued chorus behind him4 ,one can conceive him towards the close1 his strength failing1 even his vulpine cunning1 his eyes starting from his head and glassy with terror1 his jaws dropping foam1 his heart like a hammer that must break1 straining--straining1 helplessly1 hopelessly towards some covert that he knows now is not4 ,and upon that at last the more merciful rush1 the feeble turn at bay of an exhausted creature1 the mellay of hounds1 and--,death4 ,is it possible to conceive that to a creature any greater torture could be applied8 ,is it really necessary to deal with that fatuous argument--the argument of minds that are either wholly dishonest or ignobly unintelligent--that the fox is 8vermin10 and that he enjoys the run8 ,surely it has only to be stated to glare at one in all its farcical absurdity4 ,i know of a household in which it is considered cruel to allow the cat to play with the mouse she has caught1 and yet this household--men and women--is engaged in hunting other 8vermin0--the fox--three days a week during the season4 ,is it credible8 ,but it is true4 ,women1 who ,i have no reason to suppose are not kind daughters and affectionate mothers1 will gleefully boast how they were in at the death--to see1 that is1 one poor furry creature torn into pieces by a swarm of hounds while in the throes of exhaustion1 of terror1 and of despair4 ,is it lack of imagination1 or is it worse8 ,and that time-worn defence of all sport is no defence here--,i mean the plea that men are improved in health and certain lofty animal qualities by the pursuit of this savage sport4 ,for1 to speak plainly1 the fox is wholly unnecessary4 ,the essentials of hunting are the hounds1 who enjoy themselves1 the horses1 who as a rule must be admitted to do likewise1 unless over-ridden1 and the hunters1 to whom the gratification of the hunt is the ride through brisk air1 the cross-country fences1 the air of adventure surrounding the run4 ,all these essentials are found equally in a drag hunt4 ,those who have had experience of drag hunts 7from which an animal quarry is eliminated7 will admit that there is as much pleasure in them as in the fox-hunt4 ,nay1 they are more advantageous1 and for two reasons4 ,in a 8drag0 you are sure of a run2 you are not dependent on the accident of a 8find40 ,and1 secondly1 you have the benefit of knowing when you may order your change to meet you1 and thus avoid inflicting pain on your horse4 ,the drag obviates all cruelty in a sport which is otherwise invigorating and virile4 ,therefore1 in ,heaven's name1 let the masters of hounds1 who are also men of feeling1 cease to preserve the fox1 and cultivate the drag4 ,the abolition of the ,royal ,buckhounds did much to throw into disfavour the abominable sport of hunting a tame stag1 and it is known that aristocratic circles do not look with favour on the atrocious sport of coursing4 ,is it impossible to enlist the sense of the upper classes in this country in the abolition of fox-hunting8 ,,footnotes3 #ba ,this article originally appeared in the ,daily ,mail of ,february #h1 #aije4 ,,big-,,game ,,hunting ,,by ,,ernest ,,bell 8,if asked why ,i had gone elephant-hunting at the age of nineteen1 ,i would say that it is simply because ,i am the lineal descendant of a prehistoric man40 ,f4 ,c4 ,,selous4 ,apparently there is a considerable public who like reading books about the slaughter of what is called 8big game10 or we should hardly have such a continuous supply of them issued from the press4 ,as1 however1 vanity is apparently no small incentive to the deeds of the big-game hunters1 it is perhaps a fair deduction that the same feeling may have something to do with the publication of their records1 and that such books are in fact not always speculations on the part of publishers1 but are sometimes printed by the authors themselves4 ,certainly the unbiassed reader might be excused for agreeing with the sentiment expressed in the preface of one of the exponents of the art1 when he writes3 8,i shall guard myself against the desire to make the reader be present at the death of my #ejj victims1 which would be very monotonous to him1 for after all1 though circumstances may vary1 the result of a hunt after wild animals is always the same40 ,a study of several books of the sort certainly confirms the impression that the subject is a very monotonous one4 ,the illustrations also share the same want of variety1 for almost all represent dead animals1 varied only by the arrangement of guns and naked savages about them4 ,they apparently illustrate nothing at all but the one fact--which one would think was neither surprising nor creditable--that the perpetrators1 with the aid of ,express double-barrelled rifles1 ,winchester six-shot repeaters1 revolvers1 explosive bullets1 smokeless powder1 rockets1 the electric projector1 ,bengal lights1 etc41 and a band of natives to load and work the machinery1 succeed in destroying the lives of some more beautiful animals4 ,as it is expressed by one author3 8,at the very spot where a minute before there rose1 in all its savage beauty1 this majestic conception of ,nature1 the largest and the most powerful of the animals of the earth1 nothing more than a mass of grey flesh appears in the blood-spattered grass40 ,the climax is reached when we see the 8hero10 as sometimes happens1 sitting with proud mien on the top of some huge animal1 not apparently realizing that the same juxtaposition which brings out the size of the animal is apt to suggest also the smallness of the man whose greatest pride and delight can be wantonly to destroy so grand a creature4 ,we must beg to differ with this writer's enthusiastic exclamation that elephant-hunting is certainly 8the greatest and noblest sport in the world40 ,rather we should be inclined to call it the meanest and most contemptible abuse of man's superior powers4 ,,explosive ,,bullets4 ,of the means employed to accomplish the hunters' ends let us say a few words4 ,explosive bullets we know have been universally condemned in human warfare on account of their barbarity1 but against defenceless animals they are still held to be legitimate by so-called sportsmen4 ,thus1 we read3 8,the impact causes the bullet to expand4 ,often it breaks into pieces or else takes a mushroom shape1 the head in its tremendous velocity dragging and catching with its edges the flesh and viscera2 and it often happens in the case of delicate animals that upon leaving the body it makes a hole as big as the crown of a hat40 ,that a sportsman writing for other sportsmen should feel no shame in making such a statement shows only how we take our morality from our surroundings1 and how demoralising in this case the surroundings must be4 ,after this1 we cannot expect to find much chivalry displayed in this 8the greatest and noblest0 of sports1 and we cannot be surprised to find the author telling us with pleasure how in pure wantonness he hid behind a tree within #aj yards of a female elephant and lodged a bullet in her heart4 ,this1 however1 is outdone by an incident in another volume we remember1 where we were told that the finest stag was shot by a certain ,grand ,duke1 8while it was asleep1 at #bj yards40 ,in fact1 most big-game hunters seem--perhaps not unnaturally--to suffer from a similar want of chivalry4 ,we find ,mr4 ,seton-,karr1 an authority on the subject1 relating how one of his party imitated the young fawn's cry of distress1 when1 as he says3 8,the immediate result was to entice within range numbers of ,virginian deer or blacktail1 most of them does1 and eight fell victims to this somewhat unsportsmanlike device40 ,whether such treachery is to be considered 8unsportsmanlike0 must depend on what meaning we attach to the word1 but if it means 8unlike a sportsman10 we fear the word is misused here4 ,of the impartiality of the big-game hunter in his slaughter we have many instances4 ,any creature that can be shot is fitting game for him1 and he delights in shooting it4 ,one well-known writer gives the following list of creatures killed by him during six weeks3 8,five elephants1 #b lions 7male71 #h leopards1 #b wart hogs1 #aa great spotted hynas1 #g striped hynas1 #d oryx beisa antelope1 #aj awal antelope1 #b common gazelle1 #b bottlenose antelope1 #b gerenuk antelope1 #a lesser koodoo1 #ah dig-dig antelope1 #d bustard1 #b small bustard1 #b sand grouse1 #c genet1 #ad guinea fowl1 #bb partridge1 #d hares1 #cj various40 ,thus #aee animals--mostly wholly unoffending creatures--were slaughtered by one man in six weeks4 ,we are assured that on a second expedition much the same bag was made1 but that he then got no elephants 7which are rapidly being exterminated in that country74 ,to further whet the appetite1 the would-be young slaughterer is favoured with a view of a room in the mighty hunter's house1 which is decorated 7or disfigured7 apparently from floor to ceiling with the heads1 skulls1 and skins of these slaughtered animals--8trophies10 they are called--with a lavishness hardly inferior to that exhibited in a butcher's or poulterer's shop at the season when we commemorate the birth of ,christ4 ,,temporary ,,remorse4 ,of the actual cruelty involved in this kind of amusement--for it professes to be nothing more--we may give a few specimens3 8,my victim1 which ,i see only through a curtain of raindrops1 visibly suffers1 her flank swelling out abnormally and then subsiding2 she is shot in the lungs4 ,we pass round her in such a way that she shall not see us approach1 but she seems more taken up with her sufferings than with us1 and at the moment ,i am going to fire she falls down on the grass1 still breathing4 ,i draw near and give her the coup de grce behind the ear4 ,around her is a large pool of blood1 which the rain carries in a red stream towards the bottom of the little valley4 8,it is the male at which ,i fired first of all4 ,as ,i afterwards found1 his shoulder was broken4 ,maddened by pain and his feeble efforts1 the animal roars with rage1 and1 blowing furiously with his trunk1 tears at everything within reach4''' ,his cries and groans become so terrible that they must be heard a mile away4 8,poor beast6''' ,never have ,i been able to contemplate so near the death of an elephant in all its details4 ,she is lying eight yards from us in the full sunlight at the edge of the water1 which is tinged with red1 and we look on in silence while life leaves the enormous body2 her flank heaves1 blood flows from breast and shoulder1 her mouth opens and shuts1 her lip trembles1 tears flow from her eyes1 her limbs quiver2 with her trunk hanging down1 her head low1 she sways to right and left1 then falls heavily on one side1 shaking the ground and spattering blood in every direction4''' ,all is over6 8,such a spectacle is enough to make the most hardened hunter feel remorse4 ,it seemed to me that ,i had done a bad action4 ,several times have ,i said to myself1 upon seeing those splendid animals suffer1 that ,i ought to place my rifle in the gun-rack for ever40 ,that a man who has spent several years in little else but the destruction of animals for his own pleasure should feel even a temporary remorse is evidence of the brutality of this particular scene1 but we do not know how to characterise the combination of easy sentiment1 costing nothing1 with the cruel selfishness which immediately turns to the account of fresh slaughter4 ,,the ,,hunter',s ,,joy4 ,or take the following bloody tale1 told with evident pride3 8,as ,i came round a bush1 ,i saw at the bottom of a kind of natural alley in the forest1 framed in like a picture by the trees1 a massive old female rhinoceros4 ,she was facing me1 and standing half in sunshine1 half in shadow4 ,from a bush protruded the hind-quarters of another4 ,the distance was about seventy yards4 ,i at once sat down and #8drew a bead' upon her chest4 ,however1 she swerved off1 and the two broke away across the forest1 crash after crash1 dying away in the distance1 marking their course as they receded4 ,i followed1 and once again caught sight of the animal standing motionless behind a bush2 ,i fired1 and the shot was followed by a couple of short1 angry snorts1 the stamp of heavy feet1 and an appalling crashing which advanced and then swept round toward the left4 ,a shot delivered standing1 from the shoulder1 was followed by two shrill squeaks1 as the animal tottered a few paces and fell over on its side2 ,i shall not easily forget that cry1 a sound most disproportionate to the size and bulk of so large a creature1 but which ,i instantly recognised1 from ,sir ,samuel ,baker's description1 as the death-cry of the rhinoceros2 and the hearing of it filled me with a hunter's joy60 ,the hunter's joy is in the death-cry of his victim1 and he glories in the fact that he is the descendant of a line of prehistoric savages4 ,what more evidence can we want of the barbarity of the whole proceeding8 ,or1 again1 take and ponder the following extract from ,ex-,president ,roosevelt's recent book1 8,african ,game ,trails03 8,right in front of me1 thirty yards off1 there appeared from behind the bushes1 which had first screened him from my eyes1 the tawny1 galloping form of a big maneless lion4 ,crack6 the ,winchester spoke2 and as the soft-nosed bullet ploughed forward through his flank the lion swerved so that ,i missed him with the second shot2 but my third bullet went through the spine and forward into his chest4 ,down he came1 sixty yards off1 his hind-quarters dragging1 his head up1 his ears back1 his jaws open1 and lips drawn up in a prodigious snarl1 as he endeavoured to turn to face us4 ,his back was broken1 but of this we could not at the moment be sure2 and if it had merely been grazed he might have recovered1 and then1 even though dying1 his charge might have done mischief4 ,so ,kermit1 ,sir ,alfred1 and ,i fired1 almost together1 into his chest4 ,his head sank1 and he died40 ,is it right1 seriously speaking1 that people who1 by their own admission1 are still under the influence of very primitive impulses1 should be allowed to take their pleasure in this barbarous fashion without some voice being raised on behalf of the innocent victims8 8,,live ,,bait40 ,it appears that there are various ways of hunting the lion4 ,one is to track him to some thick part of the jungle1 and having set fire to it at one end to wait at the other with several guns until the terrified beast rushes out and meets his fate4 ,another method1 which seems to us a specially dastardly one1 is the tying up of some domestic animal--donkey1 bullock1 or goat--as a 8live bait0 for the larger carnivora1 while the sportsman lies in wait1 safely concealed1 to shoot the 8game0 or afterwards to track him out to his lair4 ,we read in one instance as follows3 8,i woke up to find myself being vigorously shaken by the watchman4 ,a terrible struggle was going on between the donkey and the lion1 but a cloud of dust completely obscured them1 notwithstanding the brilliant light of a tropical moon4 ,the lion succeeded in breaking the ropes and carrying off the struggling animal for some distance4 ,the latter1 however1 gaining his legs1 emerged from the cloud of dust and made slowly for the camp4 ,before he had gone many yards the lion had got him again1 and this time he killed him without giving me a chance of aiming at all on account of the great cloud of dust40 ,this practice is also mentioned in the ,hon4 ,j4 ,fortescue's 8,narrative of the ,visit to ,india of ,their ,majesties ,king ,george ,v4 and ,queen ,mary10 where we read3 8,overnight1 or in the afternoon1 bullocks are tied up in likely places for a tiger1 generally at the edge of thick jungle2 and in the morning the shikaris 7or gamekeepers1 as we should call them7 go round to see if any of these have been killed40 ,mr4 ,fortescue mentions that 8the reports of the morning of ,december #bf set forth that1 though sixty bullocks had been tethered in the jungle on the previous night1 only one had been killed40 ,the paucity of the kills on this occasion is explained by the fact that many tigers had already been shot and the 8game0 was becoming scarce4 ,it is not stated how many oxen in all were thus sacrificed4 ,now we submit that1 whatever may be said in defence of big-game shooting in general1 this usage of domestic animals--animals towards whom in all civilised countries it is recognised that mankind has moral1 and often legal1 obligations--is a very shocking malpractice4 ,that the actual suffering witnessed and chronicled is a small part only of the whole is everywhere obvious4 ,these books teem with cases in which the animals escape wounded1 to linger for days1 or perhaps weeks4 ,we read1 for instance3 8,i kill a big male 7elephant74 ,as to the other male and a female1 ,i wound but lose them both after a day's pursuit4 ,however1 as the male seemed to me to be doomed1 ,i send four men in search of it4 ,they return without result after passing the night out of doors4 ,i found this elephant dead on the #bfth0--that is1 after seventeen days in a climate where bodies do not lie long on the ground4 ,we can quite believe that this author does not overstate the case when he candidly admits3 8,a good hunter1 however careful1 adroit1 or well seconded he may be1 must count one out of every two animals which he pursues as lost1 owing to the many difficulties of his profession4 ,this is the minimum1 for how many wound or miss three or four animals before killing one60 ,,primitive ,,instincts4 ,it remains only to say a few words about the morality of this form of amusement4 ,it is often said amongst humane people that hunting is only a relic of more barbarous times1 but it seems to us to be something more than this4 ,it may have taken its origin with primitive man1 but it has certainly made important developments of its own in recent times4 ,there is little in common between the act of the primitive savage1 who1 for the sake of his food1 pitted his strength and skill against an animal1 and the wholesale and reckless slaughter1 aided by the appliances of modern science1 and carried on merely for the pleasure of killing4 ,acts otherwise disagreeable and disgusting may sometimes be justified by the motive1 but a search through several volumes devoted to this sport has failed to reveal any more exalted motive than the desire for trophies--as they are called--to show to admiring friends1 and the love of killing4 8,at daylight we start on the trail1 on which there are spots of blood1 followed by spurts and large clots4 ,when we see that1 #8the heart laughs1' as the natives say1 and victory is almost certain40 ,we learn that 8to bring down an animal as big as an omnibus horse with each barrel1 to roll it over as though it were a rabbit1 is a pleasure which one does not often experience02 and we are also told how the author had 8the pleasure of looking at a magnificent maneless lion stretched in a pool of blood40 ,of the real motive there can unfortunately be little doubt1 and the excuses that are made by the perpetrators for their murderous work are hardly worthy of serious consideration4 ,the moral defences for this kind of sport are of the same nature as the famous snakes in ,iceland--there are none2 and the flounderings of the big-game hunter1 when he tries to defend himself1 show that his ethics and theology are of the same primitive kind as are his other springs of action1 handed down from barbarous ancestors4 ,one writer quoted above tells us1 of course1 that he gives place to no one in his 8love of all dumb creatures collectively0--whatever that may mean--which he seems to think justifies his putting bullets into them individually whenever he has a chance1 and letting them crash through the forests1 as he describes1 in pain and terror1 very likely to die in agonies days afterwards4 ,another excuse urged is that the hunting instinct in us has been given us by ,god1 and therefore should be followed4 ,it apparently never occurred to the writer that pity for the unoffending animals 8butchered to make a sportsman's holiday0 may also be a ,god-planted instinct1 no less than the love of slaughtering them1 though apparently he vastly prefers the latter4 ,that blood-sports develop and encourage a manly spirit1 necessary for the progress of the race and especially of the ,british nation1 is perhaps the most common4 ,but here1 surely1 at the outset we need a definition of terms4 ,if manliness is synonymous with indifference to the suffering of the weaker1 and selfish gratification at the cost of others1 if it is manly to blow a piece 8as big as the crown of a hat0 out of the side of a timid deer1 just for amusement1 then certainly this sport is eminently manly4 ,if1 on the other hand1 the qualities which differentiate the civilised man from the barbarian are a greater regard for the rights of the weak and a deeper sympathy with the feelings of others1 then without doubt these amateur butchers should be regarded as an anachronism in civilised communities4 ,the chocolate-coloured native1 we read in one book1 8would not and could not understand that we had not come to fight elephants and lions like gladiators in the arena1 but to overcome them by superior tactics without more risk than was necessary1 and by the judicious handling of arms of precision0 7italics ours74 ,certainly we think the naked savage here shows a finer instinct for what may be noble and manly in warfare than his so-called civilised brother4 ,for the gladiator who has the hardihood to meet his enemy in fair single combat1 at mortal risk to himself1 we can feel some admiration1 even though the game is a barbarous one2 but for the butcher who skulks behind a tree and slays his innocuous victim by mechanical contrivances with as little risk to himself as possible1 we can feel nothing but contempt4 8,in a short time10 we are told by our hero1 8four elephants were lying dead1 shot through the head or heart1 never having caught sight of us4 ,the remainder of the herd decamped40 ,a glorious achievement in the estimation of the perpetrators apparently1 but one to which we personally should be ashamed to see our name attached4 ,,the ,,blood ,,lust4 ,in the preface to one of the books from which we have quoted1 we are told the story of a certain ,french hunter who1 having been made an officer1 was asked by a friend if he intended now to give up killing lions1 to which he replied3 8,it is impossible2 it seizes me like a fever1 and then ,i absolutely must go and lie in wait40 ,this does seem in some cases to be the most charitable explanation of a strange mental condition1 and in view of the harm which these so-called sportsmen are doing1 it is becoming a question for the community1 whether they should not be temporarily confined1 like others suffering from dangerous and destructive mania4 ,with shooting-galleries and a continuous series of tin elephants and antelopes they could be allowed to indulge their mania quite harmlessly1 and in the evenings they could write up their diaries and chronicle their wonderful adventures without fear of contradiction4 ,apart from the question of the cruelty involved1 we have now the sad spectacle of the rapid extermination of many animals merely for the selfish gratification of a very small section of the public4 ,the recent efforts of ,governments to save them are not likely to have much effect4 ,they are not based on any humane principles1 of course1 but are directed apparently to preventing the total extermination of certain animals1 in order1 at any rate partly1 that a favoured few may still have the pleasure of killing them under game restrictions4 ,thus ,the ,times drew attention to the fact that in ,nyasaland for a #aj licence you may kill #f buffaloes1 #d hippopotamus1 #f eland1 and so on up to a total of #id animals4 ,for #aj you may buy the privilege to deprive the world of #a elephant1 while you may kill #d for #fj4 ,the writer of the article from which we quote tries to show that the ivory of the tusks will pay expenses4 ,we may quote here the following from an article by ,sir ,h4 ,h4 ,johnston1 on 8,the ,protection of ,fauna1 ,flora1 and ,scenery10 in the ,nineteenth ,century1 of ,september1 #aiac3 8,an agitation is again arising for leave to destroy the big game of ,africa--especially in ,rhodesia1 ,nyasaland1 and ,east ,africa--wherever there are possibilities of ,european settlement4 ,the plea advanced now is that the big game1 more than man or the smaller mammals and birds1 serve as reservoirs for trypanosomatous or bacillic disease-germs1 which are then conveyed by tsetse-flies or ticks to the blood of domestic animals and man4 ,this argument should be examined with scientific impartiality1 because so great is the blood-lust on the part of young ,englishmen or their ,colonial-born cousins that they are for ever trying to find some excuse to destroy whatever is large or striking in the local fauna40 ,the only method which would have any likelihood of really protecting the animals would be to make it penal for anyone to kill any of them1 or to have in his possession any skin1 skull1 or other 8souvenir40 ,without their trophies and without the possibility of recounting their exploits to their admiring readers1 the big-game hunters would lose their main stimulus1 and might devote their time and energies to some more useful and less barbarous pursuit4 ,,blood-,,sports ,,at ,,schools ,,the ,,eton ,,hare-,,hunt4 ,we are often told that the true way to teach kindness to animals is 8to begin with the young40 ,let us see how they begin with the young at the chief of ,english public schools4 8,i have told the ,master of the ,beagles that he must not do anything which is unlawful4 ,i am sure that he would not do anything cruel willingly4 ,but until the common sense of the nation expresses itself in the shape of a law forbidding the hunting of wild animals1 ,i cannot interfere with the ,beagles1 which are here an old institution40 ,such were the terms in which ,dr4 ,warre1 when ,headmaster of ,eton1 expressed his refusal--his first of many refusals--to substitute a drag-hunt for the hare-hunt now in favour at ,eton ,college2 and his argument has since been the subject of much humanitarian protest1 and of not a few memorials to the ,governing ,body4 ,but there is one point concerning ,dr4 ,warre's remarks which seems to have almost escaped attention--that the ,eton ,beagles are not1 after all1 so old an 8institution0 as his words would imply1 in the sense of being recognised and encouraged by the school authorities1 for1 as a matter of fact1 they have only been openly permitted since about sixty years ago1 and they were not actually legalised until #ahga4 ,in the old ,eton ,statutes of ,henry ,,vi4 it was ordained under the head of 8,discipline0 that 8no one shall keep in the college any hounds1 nets1 ferrets1 hawks1 or falcons for sport10 and for this reason the authorities long refused to give official recognition to the ,beagles4 ,in the reign of ,dr4 ,keate the hunt1 according to ,mr4 ,wasey ,sterry's book on ,eton1 was 8unlawful1 though winked at10 and this state of affairs continued until about the middle of the past century1 when the ,beagles began to be regarded as on a par with cricket and football4 ,at last1 under the revised ,statutes framed by the new ,governing ,body1 which was called into being by the ,public ,schools ,act of #ahfh1 all earlier regulations were repealed1 and the ,beagles became legalised1 having thus passed through the three successive stages of being prohibited1 winked at1 and recognised as 8an old ,eton institution40 ,it may seem strange that the sporting propensity of schoolboys should have thus defied and survived the ban placed upon it by the pious ,founder2 but the history of ,eton shows it to have been always the home of cruel sports4 ,we are told by ,sir ,h4 ,maxwell ,lyte1 the historian of the school1 that 8sports which would now be considered reprehensible were tolerated and even encouraged at ,eton in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries40 8,no work10 he says1 8was done on ,shrove ,tuesday after #h a4m41 and at ,eton1 as elsewhere on this day1 the practice prevailed of torturing some live bird4 ,the college cook carried off a crow from its nest1 and1 fastening it to a pancake1 hung it up on the school door1 doubtless to serve as a target40 ,then1 again1 there was the once famous and popular ram-hunt4 8,the college butcher had to provide a ram annually at election-tide1 to be hunted and killed by the scholars10 the unfortunate animal being hamstrung and beaten to death in ,weston's ,yard4 ,even in the nineteenth century such sports as bull-baiting1 badger-baits1 dog-fights1 and cat and duck hunts1 were 8organised for the special edification of the ,eton boys40 ,it is from these good old times that the present hare-hunt is a survival1 and though it may now be conducted1 as ,dr4 ,warre has stated1 in a legal and 8sportsmanlike0 manner1 this certainly was not the case at a period no more remote than the headmastership of ,dr4 ,balston 7#aheg-ahfd71 as we learn from ,mr4 ,brinsley ,richards' well-known book1 8,seven ,years at ,eton10 from which the following passage is quoted3 8,it is not pleasant to have to write that the ,beagles were often made to hunt a miserable trapped fox which had lost one of its pads4 ,those who bought maimed foxes1 as more convenient for beagles to hunt than strong1 sound foxes1 should have reflected that they might thereby tempt their purveyors to mutilate these animals4 ,how could it be ascertained whether the fox supplied by a ,brocas #8cad' had been maimed by accident or design8 ,it was an exciting thing for jumping parties of ,lower ,boys1 when out in the fields they saw the beagle-hunt pass them in full cry--first the fox1 lolloping along as best he could1 but contriving somehow to keep ahead of his pursuers2 then the pack of about ten couples of short1 long-eared1 piebald1 or liver-streaked hounds1 all yelping2 then the ,master of the ,hunt1 with his short copper horn2 the ,whips1 who cracked their hunting-crops and bawled admonition to the dogs with perhaps unnecessary vehemence2 and lastly the ,field of about fifty40 ,it is specially worthy of note1 as bearing upon a later controversy1 that ,mr4 ,brinsley ,richards states that 8runs were far better when a man was sent out with a drag40 ,the drag is thus proved to have been in successful use at ,eton almost as long ago as when the ,beagles were first openly tolerated4 ,the prohibition once being cancelled1 the popularity of the hare-hunt grew apace until it reached its zenith in the reign of ,dr4 ,warre1 when the doings of the hunt were regularly reported--in choice sporting jargon--in the ,eton ,college ,chronicle1 so that the whole school1 even to the youngest boys1 was made aware of them4 ,a reference to old numbers of the ,chronicle will show plenty of instances4 ,here are one or two extracts taken almost at random from these records of the chase3 8,march #bj1 #ahig4--;,a hare was soon put up in the first wheat-field1 and1 running back through two small spinneys in the field she was found in1 went away towards ,ditton ,park4 ,hounds ran very fast over the ,bath ,road and straight away into ,turner's gardens4 ,after being bustled about for fifteen minutes in the gardens1 our hare went away at the far end4 ,turning left-handed1 our hare was viewed running parallel with the road and into some brickfields4''' ,after we had been casting round for some time without success among the rows of bricks1 hounds were taken back into a small hut4 ,hardly had they got inside before old ,varlet pulled her out from under a rafter1 absolutely stiff40 8,february #bc1 #ahii4--,time1 one hour1 fifty minutes4 ,a very good hunt1 since scent was only fair1 and we were especially unlucky to lose this hare1 which was beat when she got back to ,salt ,hill4 ,on the next day we heard that our hare had crawled up the ,high ,street to ,burnham1 and entered a public-house so done that it could not stand1 and was caught by some boys1 who came to tell us half an hour afterwards1 but we had just gone home4 ,too bad luck for words60 ,and so on1 with repeated references to 8breaking her up10 and hounds 8thoroughly deserving blood40#bb ,here1 again1 is the published testimony of a spectator of one of these successful runs3 8,on ,february #d1 #ahii1 being in the vicinity of ,eton1 ,i had an opportunity of seeing one of these hare-hunts1 and ,i will give a short and exact description of what took place4 8,at three o'clock some #ahj boys1 many of them quite young1 sallied forth for an afternoon's sport with eight couples of the ,college ,beagles4 ,a hare was found at #c4ae near the main road leading to ,slough4 ,it was chased through the churchyard and workhouse grounds at this town into a domain dotted with villas1 called ,upton ,park4 ,escaping from this spot1 it ran towards ,eton1 but soon doubled back to ,upton ,park1 the numerous onlookers in the ,slough ,road lustily shouting at the dazed creature all the time4 ,these circular chases were thrice repeated1 the hare always getting back to ,upton ,park4 8,twice did the animal come within a few paces of where ,i was standing1 and its condition of terror and exhaustion was painful to behold4 ,the boys1 running after the hounds1 were thoroughly enjoying the thing1 and two masters of the ,college1 ,i was told1 were amongst them4 ,now for the final scene1 at which a friend of mine was present4 8,the hare1 which had been hunted for two hours1 having got into a corner at ,upton ,park which was bounded with wire-netting1 was seized by the hounds and torn4 ,the master of the pack then ran up1 got hold of her1 and broke her neck4 ,the carcass was handed to one of the dog-keepers1 who cut off the head and feet1 which trophies were divided among the followers4 ,the keeper with his knife then opened the body1 and the master1 taking it in his hands and holding it high above the hounds1 rallied them with cries1 and finally threw it into their midst1 as they had1 in the language of the ,eton ,college ,chronicle1 #8thoroughly deserved blood4' 8,i make no comments upon these doings2 ,i only say that ,i think the ,british public ought to know how boys are being trained at our foremost school in respect to the cultivation of compassionate instincts towards the beings beneath us40 ,it is not surprising that the ,humanitarian ,league should have addressed remonstrances to ,dr4 ,warre on the subject of the ,beagles2 one wonders rather that this 8old ,eton institution0 should have so long remained unchallenged by societies which profess to protect animals from injury1 and to teach humanity to the young1 especially as ,dr4 ,warre was himself a member of the committee of the ,windsor and ,eton ,branch of the ,royal ,society for the ,prevention of ,cruelty to ,animals1 and as ,etonian subscriptions go yearly to provide a fund for prosecuting carters and drovers who ill-use the animals under their charge6 ,,the ,,liberty ,,of ,,the ,,boys4 ,to all these protests ,dr4 ,warre had practically but one answer--that hare-hunting not being illegal1 he could not interfere with the liberty of the boys in the matter1 many of whom1 he stated1 are in the habit of hunting 8when at home in the holidays1 and with the approval of their parents40 ,but this plea is at once invalidated by the fact that many things are prohibited to schoolboys which may 7or may not7 be permitted to them at home1 and which are not in themselves illegal4 ,some of the elder boys1 for example1 smoke when at home in the holidays1 and with the approval of their parents2 yet if these young gentlemen1 relying on ,dr4 ,warre's argument1 had started a smoking-club at ,eton1 he would not have hesitated to interfere very promptly with their freedom4 ,why1 then1 should an excuse which is not nearly good enough to justify a smoking-club be seriously put forward by the headmaster of a great public school when a cruelty-club is in question8 ,on one point only would ,dr4 ,warre make any concession--viz41 with regard to the reports that appeared in the ,eton ,college ,chronicle of the 8breaking up0 of hares and the 8blooding0 of hounds4 8,the phrases in question10 he said1 8are among those current in sporting papers1 and ,i regret that they should have found their way into the pages of the ,eton ,college ,chronicle1 being objectionable in sound1 and liable to misinterpretation4 ,i understand1 however1 that these phrases do not imply anything more than that the dead hare is devoured by the hounds40 ,this led to a pertinent inquiry in the press1 whether the ,eton boys were in the habit of hunting 8a dead hare40 ,the cruelty of the sport obviously consists less in the actual killing of the hunted animal than in the prolonged torture of the hunt that precedes the death--the 8bustling0 which1 as we have seen in the extracts from the ,eton ,college ,chronicle1 often renders the panic-stricken little animal 8dead beat10 8absolutely stiff10 8so done that it cannot stand40 ,and1 really1 if the boys are encouraged to do this thing1 it is a somewhat dubious morality which is content with forbidding them to speak of it6 8,objectionable in sound0 such practices are1 beyond question2 but are they not also somewhat objectionable in fact8 ,thus1 while on the one side ,dr4 ,warre hardened his heart and would not lay a sacrilegious finger on the time-honoured institution which had been forbidden in the ,statutes of the ,founder1 humanitarian feeling1 on the other side1 became more and more aroused1 and memorial after memorial was presented to the ,eton authorities1 suggesting that1 8as there is now an increasing tendency among teachers to inculcate a more sympathetic regard for animals1 it is desirable that ,eton ,college should no longer stand aloof from this humane spirit40 ,it is significant of the growth of public opinion on this subject that1 whereas1 some twenty years ago1 the very existence of the ,eton ,hunt was unknown to many except ,etonians1 we now find among the signatures appended from time to time to these memorials such diverse names as those of ,mr4 ,herbert ,spencer1 ,archbishop ,temple1 the ,bishops of ,durham1 ,ely1 and ,newcastle1 ,dr4 ,clifford1 ,mr4 ,thomas ,hardy1 ,mr4 ,william ,watson1 ,mr4 ,frederic ,harrison1 ,sir ,a4 ,conan ,doyle1 ,sir ,john ,gorst1 ,sir ,frederick ,treves1 and ,lord ,wolseley1 also a number of heads of colleges at ,oxford and ,cambridge1 the headmasters of numerous grammar schools and training colleges1 officials of the branches of the ,royal ,society for the ,prevention of ,cruelty to ,animals1 and many distinguished clergy and laymen1 representative of almost every shade of opinion4#bc ,when it was known that ,mr4 ,lyttelton was to be ,dr4 ,warre's successor in the headmastership of ,eton1 it was thought probable that his notorious humanitarian sympathies would lead him to the desired reform2 but these expectations proved to be too sanguine4 ,the immense stability of an 8old institution10 in so conservative a stronghold as ,eton1 is a fact that must be reckoned with2 for ,eton is not like ,rugby1 where a reforming headmaster might venture1 as ,dr4 ,arnold did1 to sweep away at a stroke an ancient sporting custom which had nothing but its age to recommend it4 ,we all know the passage in 8,tom ,brown's ,schooldays0--the speech of 8old ,brooke0--where ,arnold's abolition of the ,rugby ,beagles is incidentally referred to3 8,a lot of you think and say1 for ,i've heard you1 #8,there's this new doctor hasn't been here so long as some of us1 and he's changing all the old customs4'''' ,but come1 now1 any of you1 name a custom that he has put down4 8#8,the hounds1' calls out a fifth-form boy1 clad in a green cutaway1 with brass buttons1 and cord trousers1 the leader of the sporting interest4 8,well1 we had six or seven mangy harriers and beagles1 ,i'll allow1 and had had them for years1 and the doctor put them down4 ,but what good ever came of them8 ,only rows with all the keepers for ten miles round2 and big-side ,hare and ,hounds is better fun ten times over40 ,if we compare this passage with the report of ,mr4 ,lyttelton's address to the ,eton boys at the commencement of his headmastership1 in which he frankly avowed his own 8strong opinions0 on the subject of the hare-hunt1 but added that he did not hold these views in his boyhood1 and did not see why he should force them on the boys1 we see the difference1 not so much between an ,arnold and a ,lyttelton1 as between a ,rugby and an ,eton4 ,it is doubtful if even an ,arnold could have safely flouted ,etonian susceptibilities in this matter of worrying hares with hounds4 ,the reason given by ,mr4 ,lyttelton for allowing the hare-hunt to continue is that all legislation which outstrips 8public opinion0 is injurious and unwise1 by which he presumably means the 8public opinion0 of ,eton itself--for it is certain enough that public opinion outside ,eton would bear the disappearance of the hare-hunt with equanimity--and undoubtedly ,eton opinion1 to those who dwell under the shadow of the 8antique towers10 is a matter of serious consideration1 however medieval it may be4 ,it is a curious fact that the large majority of ,etonians1 though nowadays a bit ashamed of the ram-hunt and other sporting pleasantries of a bygone period1 do not in the least suspect that their beloved hare-hunt belongs in effect to the same category of amusement4 ,thus1 ,sir ,h4 ,maxwell ,lyte1 in his history of the school1 referring to the earlier barbarities1 remarks that 8it is evident that in the time of ,elizabeth cruelty to animals was not counted among the sins for which penitents require to be shriven40 ,but what1 it may be asked1 of the time of ,george ,v48 ,it is entertaining to find the ,eton ,college ,chronicle itself referring to the ram-hunt of the eighteenth century as a 8brutal custom10 and remarking that ,etonians were 8once so barbarous40 ,once6 ,,moral ,,instruction ,,of ,,the ,,young4 ,the value of the moral instruction given at ,eton1 as far as the duties of mankind towards the lower races are concerned1 may be estimated from the following sentiment of an ,eton boy1 quoted from a letter of dignified remonstrance addressed to the interfering humanitarians3 8,a hare is a useless animal1 you must own1 and the only use to be made of it is for the exercise of human beings40 ,it will be seen that ,etonian philosophy is still decidedly in the anthropocentric stage4 ,it is not easy1 even for the most progressively minded headmaster1 to make any immediate impression on such dense and colossal prejudice4 ,but let us at least take courage from the fact that the ram-hunt is no more1 that the college cook no longer hangs up a live crow to be pelted to death on ,shrove ,tuesday1 and that the ,eton boys are not now invited to indulge in the manly sports of bull-baiting1 dog-fighting1 and cat-hunts4 ,these recreations have gone1 never to return1 and it is equally certain that1 sooner or later1 the hare-hunt will also have to go4 ,it is not to be supposed that ,mr4 ,lyttelton1 who is keenly alive to the best and most humane tendencies of the age1 is insensible to the discredit which ,eton incurs by thus prolonging into the twentieth century a piece of savagery which ,rugby1 ,harrow1 and the other great public schools have long outgrown and abandoned2 or that he does not feel the sting of ,mr4 ,w4 ,j4 ,stillman's remark that 8the permission given to the boys of ,eton to begin their education in brutality1 when they ought to be learning to say their prayers1 is the crowning disgrace of all the educational abuses of a nation which instituted the ,royal ,society for the ,prevention of ,cruelty to ,animals40 ,to those1 of course1 who regard blood-sports as not only a proper pastime for men1 but a desirable recreation for schoolboys1 and a fit form of training for military service1 the whole protest against the ,eton hare-hunts must needs seem ridiculous2 but even these thoroughgoing sportsmen will have to admit that the trend of public opinion is against them1 else why does ,eton now stand alone among public schools in this matter8 ,if the reasoning of the ,etonian apologists be sound1 the absence of ,beagles at ,rugby1 ,harrow1 and the other great schools1 is a glaring defect in their system which ought speedily to be remedied2 yet we have not heard that any enthusiast has gone so far as to suggest that the schools which have long since abandoned hare-hunting should now make a return to it1 and short of this complete approval of the sport the excuses put forward on its behalf are about as feeble as could be imagined4 ,it cannot1 for instance1 be seriously argued that boys whose studies are notoriously endangered by the very numerous athletic exercises--cricket1 rowing1 football1 fives1 racquets1 running1 etc4--in which they are able to indulge1 are in need of yet another pastime in the form of hunting hares4 ,granted that it would be inadvisable for the school authorities to preach advanced humanitarian doctrines to boys whose family traditions and prejudices they are bound to consider1 still1 it is not necessary to go to the other extreme of encouraging them in familiarity with sights and scenes which must tend to deaden the sense of compassion4 ,from the moral standpoint1 blood-sports cannot be regarded in quite the same light as athletic exercises2 and there are many persons nowadays who1 without raising the question of the morality of field sports for adults1 think that the license given to young boys to spend their half-holidays in the 8breaking up0 of hares is as great a stain on the ,english public-school system as any of the admitted 8immoralities0 by which that system is undermined4 ,there is1 in the opinion of humanitarians1 a grave inconsistency between the insistence of preachers and teachers on the duty of kindness and consideration1 and the sanction accorded by the school authorities to practices the very reverse of these4 ,unconsciously1 perhaps1 but none the less surely1 the youthful minds which are trained under such influences are affected in their turn1 and learn to conform superficially to maxims of piety and honour1 while practically in their own lives they are setting those virtues at defiance4 ,,footnotes3 #bb ,it should not be forgotten that hare-hunting is also carried on by our naval cadets4 ,here is an extract from the ,naval and ,military ,record of ,march #a1 #aijf1 describing a run with the ,dartmouth 78,britannia07 ,beagles3 8,just outside the covert a hare was moved in the ploughing by hounds1 and gave a most exciting chase around two fields1 and when killed was found to have only three legs40 ,a fine sport for our future naval officers6 #bc ,it is also worthy of note that a memorial against the ,dartmouth ,beagles1 presented to the ,first ,lord of the ,admiralty by the ,humanitarian ,league in #aijg1 was signed by no fewer than twenty-five headmasters of public schools4 ,as a result of the ,league's protests1 the grant of public money for the maintenance of this sport was withdrawn4 ,,sportsmen',s ,,fallacies ,,by ,,henry ,s4 ,,salt ,everyone knows the old story of the ,wildgrave1 that spectral huntsman who1 for the wrongs done by him in the past to his suffering fellow-creatures1 was doomed to provide nightly sport for a troop of ghostly pursuers4 8,the ,wildgrave flies o'er bush and thorn1 ,with many a shriek of helpless woe2 ,behind him hound1 and horse1 and horn1 ,and #8,hark away6' and #8,holla ho6'0 ,if we may judge by the signs of the times1 a similar fate has now overtaken the modern sportsman1 who finds to his dismay that his proud vocation no longer goes unchallenged1 but that he is compelled to stand on his defence before the force of ethical opinion1 and to play the part less of the pursuer than of the pursued4 ,nowadays it is the humanitarians who1 in the intellectual discussion of sport1 derive keen enjoyment from the 8pleasures of the chase10 and having 8broken up0 the ,royal ,buckhounds after a ten years' run1 are hunting the sportsman from cover to cover1 from argument to argument4 ,the sportsman1 in fact1 is now himself standing 8at bay02 and it may be worth while to consider what value1 if any1 attaches to the excuses commonly put forward by him in justification of his favourite pastime4 ,on what moral grounds are we asked to approve1 in this twentieth century1 such seemingly barbarous practices as the hunting to death of stags1 foxes1 and hares2 the worrying of otters and rabbits2 or the shooting of vast numbers of game birds in the battue8 ,the hunted fox1 as we know1 has many wily resources for throwing his pursuers off the scent4 ,what are the corresponding shifts and wiles of the hunted sportsman8#bd ,,the ,,appeal ,,to 8,,nature40 ,the first1 perhaps1 that demands notice is the frequent appeal to 8,nature10 and even 7when the hunter happens to be a man of marked piety7 to the savage instincts which 8the ,creator10 it is assumed1 has implanted4 8,were not otter hounds created to hunt and kill otters80 asked a devout correspondent of the ,newcastle ,daily ,journal4 8,therefore10 he continued1 8let me ask these persons 7the opponents of sport7 what right they have to place their own peculiar faddism against the wisdom of the ,creator80 ,in like manner a distinguished hunter of big game1 ,mr4 ,h4 ,w4 ,seton-,karr1 has defended himself as follows in the ,daily ,chronicle3 8,if a person experiences pleasure in the chase1 such as in fox-hunting or deer-stalking1 or even in lion-hunting1 the rights and wrongs of that natural instinct are a personal matter between that man and his ,god4 ,that1 in common with all carnivorous creatures1 we do possess ,god-planted instincts of the chase is a fact4 ,why did ,almighty ,god create lions to prey nightly on harmless animals8 ,and should we not1 even at the expense of a donkey as a bait1 be justified in reducing their number1 sacrificing one for the good of many80 ,the answer to all this pious verbiage is1 of course1 very simple4 ,in view of the fact that the sportsman of the present day professes to be civilised1 and is at any rate nominally a member of a civilised ,state1 it is quite irrelevant to plead that the propensity to hunt is natural to the savage man4 ,we are continually striving in other departments of life to get rid of ferocious instincts1 an inheritance from a savage past1 which may or may not be 8,god-planted10 but are certainly very much out of place in a society which regards itself as humane4 ,why1 then1 should it be assumed that an exception is to be made in favour of the hunting instinct8 ,the charge against modern blood-sports is that they are an anachronism1 a survival of a barbarous habit into a civilised age2 nor can it possibly be any justification of them to show that ,nature herself is cruel1 for as we do not make savage ,nature our exemplar in other respects1 there is no reason why we should do so in this4 ,and as for the statement that a man's treatment of the lower animals is a 8personal0 affair 8between that man and his ,god10 it can only provoke a smile4 ,for man is a social being1 and not even the sportsman1 belated barbarian though he may be1 can be allowed the privilege of thus evading the responsibility which he owes to his fellow-citizens in a matter affecting the common conscience of the race4 ,but the wild animals1 it is argued1 put themselves outside the pale of consideration because they prey on one another4 ,one searches in vain for justice and mercy among the lower animals--such is the strange reason advanced as an excuse for showing no justice or mercy to them4#be ,but1 in the first place1 it is not a fact that these qualities are non-existent in the lower races1 where co-operation is as much a law of life as competition2 and1 secondly1 if it were a fact1 it would have no bearing whatever on the morality of sport4 ,for why should we base human ethics on animal conduct8 ,still more1 why should we imitate the predatory animals rather than the sociable8 ,and finally1 why1 because some animals kill for food1 should we kill for pleasure8 ,the cruelty of ,nature can afford no possible justification for the cruelty of ,man1 for1 as ,leigh ,hunt wrote in that trenchant couplet which may be commended to the notice of the sportsman-- 8,that there is pain and evil is no rule ,that ,i should make it greater1 like a fool40 ,next we come to the kindred sophism drawn from 8the necessity of taking life40 ,to kill1 we are reminded1 is unavoidable2 for wild animals must be 8kept down10 or the balance of ,nature would be deranged4 ,that1 of course1 is undeniable2 but1 unfortunately for the sportsman's argument1 it is a fact that the breed of foxes1 rabbits1 pheasants1 and other victims of sport1 is artificially kept up1 not down1 in order that there may be plenty of hunting and shooting for the idle classes to amuse themselves with4 ,so far from securing the effective destruction of noxious animals1 sport indirectly prevents it2 more than that1 it causes the killing to be done not only ineffectively1 but in the most demoralising way1 by making a pastime out of what1 if done at all1 should be done as a disagreeable duty4 ,but here we must in justice mention a new and ingenious excuse for blood-sports which 7to add to its zest7 was put forward by a clergyman4 ,it is necessary to take life1 he argued1 and what is necessary is a duty1 and it is right1 as far as possible1 to make a pleasure of one's duties1 and therefore--but the conclusion is plain6 ,presumably the reverend gentleman1 had he lived a century back1 would have found the same pious justification for the practice of making up pleasure parties to see felons hanged4 ,,sport ,a ,,blessing ,,to ,,men4 ,speaking generally1 we may class the remaining arguments under two heads3 those which aim at showing that sport is of benefit to mankind1 or at least not a symptom of cruelty in the sportsman2 and those which actually discover it to be a blessing to the animals themselves4#bf ,in the former and more prosaic category must be placed the queer assertion that sport 8adds to the food-supply0 of the nation4 ,we have all read how1 after some aristocratic 8shoot10 a number of pheasants or other palatable game were presented to the local hospital4 ,sport1 it is seen1 goes hand in hand with the charitable and the philanthropic--truly a touching picture6 ,but the fact remains that the cost of the animals thus reared primarily for sport1 and secondarily for the table1 is far in excess of their market value as food1 and this at once knocks the bottom out of the sportsman's patriotic contention4 ,every stag that is stalked1 every pheasant that is mown down in the battue1 and every hare or rabbit that is knocked over in covert-shooting1 has cost the country much more to produce than it is worth when butchered2 and the game-preserver1 far from being helpful to the community in this respect1 is a positive encumbrance to it1 as wasting labour in the production of what is not a food1 but a luxury4 ,game is reared not for the benefit of the many1 but at the cost of the many1 to gratify the idle and cruel instincts of the few4 ,not less illusory is the plea so frequently made in sporting journals as a justification of sport1 that hunting and shooting 8give employment0 to a large number of people4 8,do these hyper-humane faddists10 asks the ,irish ,field1 8ever consider how1 by doing away with many of what they are pleased to call spurious sports1 they would be taking the actual bread-and-butter out of the mouths of thousands of men and their families8 ,hunting1 shooting1 and other sports give employment to such a vast number of people1 directly and indirectly1 that it would be nothing short of a national calamity if they were discontinued for any cause40 ,what is really proved by such apologists is that blood-sports are a terrible drain on the resources of the nation1 and that millions are annually diverted from productive labour to be employed on the silliest form of luxury--the killing of animals for the mere amusement of rich people4 ,it is the old fallacy of supposing that all expenditure of money1 without regard to the nature of the commodities produced1 is beneficial to the community at large4 ,then there is the much-vaunted 8manliness0 of sport1 so important a quality1 we are told1 in an imperial and military nation4 ,yet what could be more flagrantly and miserably unmanly than for a crowd of men to sally forth1 in perfect security themselves1 armed or mounted1 with every advantage of power and skill on their side1 to do to death with dogs or guns some poor skulking1 terrified little habitant of woodside or hedgerow8 ,this is what ,sir ,henry ,seton-,karr has to say on this point3 8,only those who have experienced it can realise the strength of the hunter's lust to kill the hunted1 though they may find it difficult to explain4 ,it is certain that no race of men possess this desire more strongly than the ,anglo-,saxons4''' ,let us take it that in our case this passion is an inherited instinct--which civilisation cannot eradicate--of a virile and dominant race1 and that it forms a healthy natural antidote to the enervating refinements of modern life40#bg ,the obvious answer to this claim is that civilisation is eradicating the destructive instincts of sport--with extreme slowness1 no doubt1 as in the case of all barbarous inherited tendencies1 but surely and certainly nevertheless2 and the fact that blood-sports are already condemned by many thoughtful people is a clear indication of what verdict the future will pass on the profession of killing for 8fun40 ,that good physical exercise is provided by field sports none will deny1 but it is just as undeniable that such exercise can be as well or better provided in other ways--by the equally healthy and far more manly sports of the gymnasium and the playing-field1 which1 be it noted1 are capable of being utilised by a much larger number of people than the privileged pastimes of the crack huntsman and 8shot40 ,there is no reason why the mass of the population should not1 under a juster social system1 have leisure to derive benefit from cricket1 football1 boating1 hockey1 and the other rational sports2 but it is very evident that only a very few can ever find recreation in those blood-sports which are absurdly called 8national40 ,the rational and humane sports may be for the many2 the 8national0 and cruel sports must be for the few3 that is not the least of the striking differences that distinguish them4#bh ,to contend that blood-sports have no injurious influence on the minds of those who practise them seems about as reasonable as to assert that effect does not follow cause4 ,yet it is frequently urged1 in defence of sport1 that the pleasure is found not in the 8kill10 but in the chase4 ,that may be true in a sense4 ,what humanitarians hold is not that sportsmen derive pleasure from the mere infliction of pain1 but that they seek excitement without sufficient regard to the pain inflicted1 and that this is apt1 in some cases1 to breed a positive love of killing1 a real 8blood-lust40 ,take1 for example1 the following remark quoted from the ,eton ,college ,chronicle3 8,at the time we are writing1 the ,beagles have killed but twice1 though by the time the ,chronicle appears they may have increased this number by one40 ,here it will be seen that what the boys' journal dwells on is precisely the killing--surely a significant side-light on the influence of the sport4 ,there is no escaping this question1 whether at ,eton or elsewhere3 ,why1 if the painful pursuit of a sentient animal be not an essential part of the amusement1 is the drag-hunt refused as a substitute8 ,and if the drag be disdained as not sufficiently exciting1 how can the inference be avoided that the zest of the pastime is enhanced by the peril of the quarry8 ,,sport ,a ,,blessing ,,to ,,the ,,animals4 ,but it is when he is demonstrating that sport comes as a boon and a blessing to the non-human races which are the victims of it that the sportsman is most entertaining4 8,they like it10 he asserts1 when any pity is expressed for the hunted fox4 8,happy the hounds1 loud-baying on his track6 ,happy the huntsmen with their murderous call6 ,but the spent fox1 dead-beat before the pack-- ,his are the sweetest1 strangest joys of all60 ,this love on the part of certain animals for being hunted to death is surely one of the most curious facts in natural history1 and makes it seem almost an injustice to horses1 cows1 pigs1 and other domestic creatures1 that they are denied a privilege which is so freely accorded to their wilder brethren4 ,why should deer1 for instance1 be specially favoured in this respect8 ,the stag1 as a noble lord once remarked1 is a most pampered animal4 8,when he was going to be hunted he was carried to the meet in a comfortable cart4 ,when set down1 the first thing he did was to crop the grass4 ,when the hounds got too near1 they were stopped4 ,by-and-by he lay down1 and was wheeled back to his comfortable home4 ,it was a life that many would like to live40 ,it appears1 therefore1 that it is a loss1 a deprivation1 not to be hunted over a country full of barbed wire and broken bottles by a pack of stag-hounds4 ,life is mean and poor without it2 for1 to humans and non-humans alike1 sport1 as the same nobleman expressed it1 is 8the gift of ,god40 ,but the sportsman can be very 8slim0 when hard pressed in controversy by his implacable pursuers1 and among his many devices for confusing the issue1 the most subtle1 perhaps1 is the metaphysical argument which pleads that it is better for the animals to be bred and killed in sport than not to be bred at all1 and that it is to the 8preservation0 which sport affords that certain species owe their escape from extinction4 ,mr4 ,r4 ,a4 ,sanders1 late ,master of the ,devon and ,somerset ,staghounds1 has thus written of the stag 7,nineteenth ,century1 ,august1 #aijh73 8,he has lived a life of luxury for years1 and has a bad half-hour at the end4 ,from his point of view surely the pleasure predominates over the pain4 ,for if it were not for the hunting1 he would not exist at all40 ,when a ,bill was introduced in ,parliament in #ahhc for the prohibition of the cruel sport of pigeon-shooting1 it was opposed by ,sir ,herbert ,maxwell on the ground that a pigeon would rather accept life1 8under the condition of his life being a short and happy one1 violently terminated10 than not be brought into existence2 and the same sportsman has since stated1 as a 8salient paradox10 that one who takes delight in pursuing and slaying wild animals may claim to rank among their best friends4 ,it escaped his notice1 as it escapes the notice of all who seek refuge in this amusing piece of sophistry1 that it is beyond our power to ascertain the feelings or the preferences of a pigeon1 or of any other being1 before he is in existence2 what we have to deal with is the sentience of animals that already exist4 ,and as for the contention that animals are 8preserved0 by sport1 it is sufficient to point out that it rests on a mental confusion between the individual animal and the species4 ,it would be little comfort to the individual fox who is torn to pieces by the hounds to know1 if he could know1 that his species is preserved by his tormentors1 and that the same process of death-dealing will thus be perpetuated4 ,when it is asserted that but for fox-hunting the fox would have been exterminated in ,england like the wolf1 the answer of course is that of the two methods extermination is far the more merciful4 ,can it be pretended that it would have been kinder to wolves to keep a number of them alive in order that sportsmen might for ever pursue and break them up8 ,and1 really1 if it is so kind to animals to preserve them that they may be worried with hounds1 we ought to feel some compunction at having allowed the humane old sport of bear-baiting to be abolished2 for1 according to the same 8salient paradox10 the bear-baiter was ,bruin's best friend4 ,it is sad to think that there used to be bears in many an ,english village where now they are never seen6 ,it is for the fox1 perhaps1 that the sportsman's solicitude is most touching and most characteristic4 8,if we stay fox-hunting10 it has been said1 8foxes will die far more brutal deaths in cruel vermin traps1 until there are none left to die40 ,how tender1 how considerate1 is this disinterested regard for the welfare of the hunted animal6#bi ,the merciful sportsman steps in to save a noxious species from extinction1 and in return for such 8preservation0 demands that the grateful fox shall be hunted and worried and dismembered for the amusement of his gentle benefactor4 ,but are not our fox-hunting friends just a trifle too clever in making1 at one and the same time1 two quite incompatible and contradictory claims for their beloved profession--first1 that it saves the fox from extermination2 and1 secondly1 that it rids the country-side of a very mischievous animal8 8,for six good months10 says the ,sportsman1 8he is allowed to frolic at his ease1 with all his poultry-bills paid for him40 ,the argument here is that there can be no cruelty in fox-hunting1 because the fox is preserved2 but1 in that case1 what about the following defence of fox-hunting by the editor of the 8,badminton ,library08 8,the sentimentalist10 he says1 8does not consider those other tragedies for which the fox is responsible--the rabbits1 leverets1 poultry1 and game birds that he devours daily4 ,the death of a fox is indeed the salvation of much life40 ,so the farmer is to be grateful to the fox-hunter because the fox is killed1 and the fox himself is to be grateful to the same person because he is not killed6 ,it is obvious that the sporting folk cannot have it both ways2 they cannot take credit for the destruction of a pest and also for preventing that pest being exterminated by the injured farmer4 ,let them choose one of the alternative arguments and keep to it4 8,hark ye1 then1 whose profession or pastime is killing6 ,to dispel your benignant illusions ,i'm loth2 ,but be one or the other1 my double-faced brother-- ,be saviour or slayer--you cannot be both60 ,the more one considers it1 one cannot but smile at the sportsman's 8love0 for the animals whom he so persecutes and worries4 ,tom ,tulliver1 we remember1 was described by ,george ,eliot as 8fond of animals--fond1 that is1 of throwing stones at them02 and so it is with this affection of the sportsman's4 8,what name should we bestow10 says an old writer1 8on a superior being who1 without provocation or advantage1 should continue from day to day1 void of all pity or remorse1 to torment mankind for diversion1 and at the same time endeavour with the utmost care to preserve their lives and to propagate their species in order to increase the number of victims devoted to his malevolence1 and be delighted in proportion to the miseries which he occasioned8 ,i say1 what name detestable enough could we find for such a being8 ,yet if we impartially consider the case1 we must acknowledge that1 with regard to the inferior animals1 just such a being is the sportsman40#cj ,,trust ,,the ,,specialist4 ,such1 then1 are the arguments which are advanced in all seriousness1 and without a suspicion or twinkle of humour1 to prove that blood-sports are a benefit to mankind and to the lower races alike4 ,but before concluding ,i must mention one other piece of reasoning which is as amusing as any specimen of sportsman's logic--the 8trust the specialist0 fallacy1 which asserts that none but sportsmen can fairly pass judgment on sport4 ,for example1 when a memorial was presented to a former ,prime ,minister against the ,royal ,buckhounds1 a certain paper gravely remarked that 8what proportion of the protesting gentlemen had ever been on horseback1 it was not easy to determine40 ,the assumption1 it will be seen1 is that when any cruel practice is arraigned before public opinion1 we are not merely to trust the specialist on technical matters that rightly lie within his ken1 but we are to let him decide the wider ethical issues1 on which1 being no more than human1 he is certain to have the strongest professional prejudice4 ,it is an argument worthy of the ,sublime ,porte itself4 ,in like manner ,lord ,ribblesdale1 when defending stag-hunting in his book on 8,the ,queen's ,hounds10 expressed the sportsman's case as follows3 8,most people will agree that conclusions founded on practice must always have a slight pull when placed in the scales with conclusions based upon theory1 hearsay1 or conjecture--even granting the fullest credit for sincerity and bona fides to the opponents of stag-hunting40 ,now1 it is1 of course1 absurd to represent the ethical objections to sport as 8based upon theory1 hearsay1 or conjecture10 for the methods of sportsmen are well known and beyond dispute1 and many of those who most strongly condemn such practices have been sportsmen themselves and are thoroughly conversant with the facts4 ,but what ,i wish to point out is that ,lord ,ribblesdale's description of the sportsman's defence of sport as 8a conclusion founded on practice0 might be just as logically applied to the criminal's defence of crime4 ,to invoke the judgment of an expert on the morality of a practice in which he is professionally interested is an error similar to that of setting the cat to watch the cream4 ,on the whole1 it is not surprising that the sportsman who can devise no cleverer modes of escape from his humanitarian pursuers than the sophisms above mentioned is already being brought to bay1 and stands in imminent danger of being1 controversially1 8broken up40 ,indeed1 considering the nature of the arguments adduced in its favour1 one is inclined to think that sport must be not only cruel to the victims of the chase1 but ruinous to the mental capacity of the gentlemen who indulge in it4 ,it can hardly be doubted that the ludicrous aspect of modern sport will more and more present itself to those who possess the sense of humour2 and we may even hope that the poverty-stricken caricaturists of our comic papers will some day relinquish their threadbare jokes over the blunders of the hunting-field and the shooting-box1 to discover that the subject of sport is rich in another kind of comedy--the essential silliness of the habit itself1 and the crass absurdity of the arguments put forward by its apologists4 ,,footnotes3 #bd ,some of these fallacies have been incidentally referred to in preceding chapters1 but it is convenient1 at the expense of a little overlapping1 that they should here be treated together4 #be ,blackwood's ,magazine1 ,august1 #ahii4 #bf ,both these lines of argument were followed by ,dr4 ,lang1 ,archbishop of ,york1 when on a recent occasion 7,november #af1 #aiac7 he pronounced what may be called the ,foxology at the dedication of a stained window to the memory of an aged blood-sportsman who was killed in the hunting-field4 ,that a ,christian minister should have been 8launched into eternity10 as the phrase is1 while engaged in hunting a fox1 might have been expected to cause a sense of very deep pain1 and even of shame1 to his co-religionists4 ,what actually happened was that an ,archbishop was found willing to eulogise1 in a consecrated place of worship1 not only the reverend gentleman whose life was thus thrown away1 but the sport of fox-hunting itself6 #bg 8,my ,sporting ,holidays10 by ,sir ,h4 ,seton-,karr1 #aijd4 #bh ,but let us not forget the delightful remark of the ,archbishop of ,york1 that 8even the labourer1 when he felt the stir of the ,meet1 got just one of those fresh events1 excitements1 and interests that he needed in what otherwise was often a very monotonous life40 #bi ,this humane aspect of sport may be aptly illustrated by a passage in ,de ,quincey's essay on 8,murder considered as one of the ,fine ,arts03 8,the subject chosen ought to be in good health1 for it is absolutely barbarous to murder a sick person1 who is usually quite unable to bear it4 ,and here1 in this benign attention to the comfort of sick people1 you will observe the usual effect of a fine art to soften and refine the feelings4 ,from our art1 as from all the other liberal arts1 when thoroughly mastered1 the result is to humanise the heart40 #cj ,soame ,jenyns1 #aghb4 ,,appendix ,,page ,i4 ,,sport ,,as ,a ,,training ,,for ,,war #adi ,,ii4 8,,blooding0 #aee ,,iii4 ,,the ,,hunting ,,of ,,gravid ,,animals #aeh ,,iv4 ,,drag-,,hunt ,,versus ,,stag-,,hunt #afb ,v4 ,,clay ,,pigeon ,,versus ,,live ,,pigeon #aff ,,vi4 ,,coursing #agj ,,vii4 ,,the ,,gentle ,,craft #agd ,,viii4 ,,spoiling ,,other ,,people',s ,,pleasure #agi ,,appendix ,i ,,sport ,,as ,a ,,training ,,for ,,war ,it is often said1 in attempted justification of 8sport10 that it is the best training for war4 ,this is true only in the sense that as far as concerns the creation and the perpetuation of a certain aggressive spirit1 war and sport are certainly kindred pastimes with a good deal in common4 ,they both date from a prehistoric period when man 8,butted his rough brother-brute ,for lust or lusty blood or provender10 and both1 having been prolonged into an age which ought to have left them far behind with other antiquated barbarisms1 are now defended by the same moral and economic fallacies1 as being1 in the first place1 part of the great 8struggle for existence10 8survival of the fittest10 and so forth1 and1 secondly1 as 8good for trade40 ,good for trade they both are1 in the sense that they help the few to snatch a temporary profit at the expense of the many2 and as for the survival of the fittest1 if you are determined to wrest that theory from its true meaning1 it may be made to cover both war and sport at a stretch4 ,as ,robert ,buchanan said3 8,under the fostering wing of ,imperialism1 brute force is developing more and more into a political science4 ,there is no excess of rapacity1 no extreme of selfishness1 no indifference to the rights of the weak and helpless1 which ,christian materialism is not ready to justify4 ,the ,englishman1 both as soldier and colonist1 is a typical sportsmen2 he seizes his prey wherever he finds it with the hunter's privilege4 ,he is lost in amazement when men speak of the rights of inferior races1 just as the sportsman at home is lost in amazement when we talk of the rights of the lower orders4 ,here1 as yonder1 he is kindly1 blatant1 good-humoured1 aggressive1 selfish1 and fundamentally savage40 ,we may take it for granted that1 in the long run1 as we treat our fellow-beings1 8the animals10 so shall we treat our fellow-men4 ,in spite of all the barriers and divisions that prejudice and superstition have so industriously heaped up between the human and the non-human1 the fact remains that the lower animals hold their lives by the same tenure as men do1 and that there is no essential difference between the killing of one race and of the other4 ,the tiger that lurks in all of us will not easily be tamed1 so long as the deliberate murder of harmless creatures for 8sport0 is a recognised amusement in every 8civilised0 country4 ,once open your eyes to the kinship that links all sentient life1 and you will see very clearly the relation that subsists between the sportsman and the soldier4 ,we recall an incident related some years ago at a ,humanitarian ,league meeting1 where the craze for 8big-game0 shooting was being discussed4 ,everyone knows how the possessors of such 8trophies0 as the heads and horns of 8big game0 love to decorate their houses with these treasured mementoes of the chase4 ,it had been the fortune--good or bad--of the narrator of the story to visit a house which was not only beautified in this way1 but also contained a human head that had been sent home by a member of a certain ,african expedition and 8preserved0 by the skill of the taxidermist4 ,when the owner of the head--the second owner--invited the humanitarian visitor to see the trophy1 it was with some trepidation that he acquiesced4 ,but when1 after passing up a staircase between walls literally plastered with portions of the carcases of elephant1 rhinoceros1 antelope1 etc41 he came to a landing where1 under a glass case1 stood the head of a pleasant-looking young negro1 he felt no special repugnance at the sight4 ,it was simply a part--and1 as it seemed1 not especially dreadful or loathsome part--of the surrounding dead-house2 and he understood how mankind itself is nothing more or less than 8big game0 to our soldier-sportsmen1 when they find themselves in some conveniently remote region where the restrictions of morality are unknown4 ,the absolute difference between human and non-human is a fiction which will not bear the test either of fearless thought in the study or of rough experience in the wilds4 ,the temper which makes war still possible in the twentieth century is that which is kept alive and fostered in so-called times of peace by the practice1 among other practices 7for we do not1 of course1 assert that sport is the only accessory to war71 of doing to death thousands upon thousands of helpless animals for purposes of mere recreation4 ,peace advocates who declaim against the infamies of war1 without taking note of the kindred infamies of sport1 have1 to say the least of it1 not looked very deeply into the subject of their propaganda2#ca and precisely the same holds good of those 8lovers of animals0 who are horrified at the idea of running a fox to death1 but are ready to accept the flimsiest of flimsy sophisms as an excuse for going to war4 ,sport is1 in truth1 a form of war1 and war is a form of sport2 and those who defend such institutions as the ,eton ,beagles1 on the ground that the schoolboys who indulge in them are thereby trained to be the future stalwarts of ,imperialism1 are fully justified in their contention--provided only that they look the facts of war and of ,imperialism in the face4 ,the ,etonians who1 in the eighteenth century1 used to beat rams to death with clubs1 and who now break up hares as a half-holiday pastime1 have always furnished a large contingent of officers to the ,british ,army4 ,need we wonder that wars flourish without regard to morality or justice8 ,but when we turn to the assertion that the practice of sport is1 actually1 the best training for war1 we find it to be contradicted by facts4 ,on this point we cannot do better than quote from a letter addressed to the ,humanitarian by ,mr4 ,r4 ,b4 ,cunninghame-,graham3 8,the rise of ,japan and the fighting qualities of the ,japanese have shaken sportsmen from their #8sport-the-image-of-war' position4 ,it is well known that not only are the majority of ,japanese vegetarians1 but that such a thing as a sportsman is unknown amongst them4 ,yet1 without wishing to disparage the prowess of ,european soldiers1 how many #8sportsmen' would wager much money on the chances of a thousand picked ,europeans if opposed to a thousand ,japanese soldiers in an open plain with no weapons but swords8 8,the ,boer ,war1 and the miserable figure cut by our officers in comparison with the ,boer officers in both shooting and riding1 disposed conclusively of the #8sport-the-preparation-for-war' argument1 so dear to sportsmen4 ,in fact1 #8sport' as understood in ,england cannot prepare men for war1 even if they ride to hounds three days a week1 shoot the other three1 and read the ,pink ,un on ,sunday4 ,english sport and war are different in their essence1 and one has no analogy to the other4 8,in the one case men rise from a comfortable bed1 bathe1 and breakfast1 and even if they are exposed to weather during the day1 return at night to a well-cooked dinner and comfortable bed4 ,the horses they ride are valuable1 highly-trained animals1 who are expected to put out their full strength for at most two or three hours1 and are perhaps not required again for two or three days1 or even expected to be required4 ,the shooting is done under the same conditions1 and though requiring skill 7as does the riding in fox-hunting71 is not of a nature to be useful in war4 8,in neither case does the #8diversion' conduce to the self-denying or abstemious habits so essential in war4 ,of course1 ,i do not mean that sportsmen are of necessity of intemperate habits1 but in war the conditions are different from those of sport4 ,in the latter case the soldier rises1 perhaps from a night of rain round a camp-fire1 gets1 without breakfast1 on his half-starving horse1 and jogs along all day at a footspace1 to sleep1 supposing there is no fighting and he has not been killed1 once more by a camp-fire1 perhaps again in rain1 or in a driving wind4 8,every condition under which the sportsman plays is different from those under which the soldier works4 ,as in the ,roman times regiments of gladiators proved the most useless at the front1 so ,i believe a regiment all composed of sportsmen would make a miserable show before a thousand quite unsporting ,japanese40 ,to the same effect is the opinion of ,sir ,h4 ,h4 ,johnston1 as expressed in an article in the ,nineteenth ,century of ,september1 #aiac4 8,one is told that fox-hunting is a splendid school for riders1 the making of our cavalry1 etc4 ,rubbish6 ,very few of our great cavalry officers have been fox-hunters1 or willing fox-hunters1 and practically none of the troopers4 ,a large proportion of our mounted soldiers are recruited from townsmen who never learned to ride until they entered the riding-school4 ,the ,boers were admittedly the cunningest1 most enduring riders recent warfare has known1 but they1 like their cousins of the ,wild ,west1 would probably show themselves duffers in the hunting-field2 at any rate1 they never practised in this school of steeplechasing4 ,the last thing ,i desire to do is to undervalue riding as an exercise1 an accomplishment1 a necessary art in warfare1 a school for teaching suppleness1 coolness1 and courage4 ,but the fox is not a necessary ingredient in the curriculum40 ,we conclude1 then1 that ,sport1 considered as a school for ,war1 is doubly to be condemned1 inasmuch as1 while it breeds the aggressive and cruel spirit of militarism1 it does not furnish that practical military training which is essential to successful warfare4 ,sport may make a man a savage2 it does not make him a soldier4 ,,footnotes3 #ca ,here1 for example1 is a suggestive heading of an article in a ,london paper 7,october #bg1 #aiac7 in reference to a meeting of the ,german ,emperor and the ,emperor ,francis ,joseph for the purpose of promoting peace3 8,,peace ,,emperors ,,meet4 ,,the ,,kaiser ,,shoots #a1ajj ,,pheasants ,,with ,,the ,,austrian ,,archduke40 ,a strange way of inaugurating peace6 ,,ii 8,,blooding0 ,,the ,,blooding ,,of ,,children4 ,of all practices connected with 8sport0 none are more loathsome than those known as 8blooding10 whether it be the 8blooding0 of children1 which consists in a sort of gruesome parody of the rite of baptism1 or the 8blooding0 of hounds--viz41 the turning out of some decrepit animal to be pulled down by the pack1 by way of stimulating their blood-lust4 ,here are a few examples3 ,on ,january #d1 #aiaj1 the ,daily ,mirror published an account of the 8blooding0 of the ,marquis of ,worcester1 the ten-year-old son of the ,duke of ,beaufort4 ,in a front-page illustration the child was shown with blood-bedaubed cheeks1 holding up a dead hare for the hounds1 while a number of ladies and gentlemen were smiling approval in the rear4 ,here1 again1 is an extract from the ,cheltenham ,examiner of ,march #be1 #aiji1 in reference to the 8eviction0 and butchery of a fox which had taken refuge in a drain4 8,captain ,elwes's two children being present at the death of a fox on their father's preserves1 the old hunting custom of #8blooding' was duly performed by ,charlie ,beacham1 who1 after dipping the brush of the fox in his own sic blood1 sprinkled the foreheads of both children1 hoping they would be aspirants to the #8sport of kings4'0 ,presumably the blood in which the brush was dipped was that of the fox1 not of ,mr4 ,charles ,beacham4 ,but what a ceremony in a civilised age6 ,one would have thought that twentieth-century sportsmen1 even if they would not spare the fox1 might spare their own children6 ,the following paragraph also appeared in a ,london paper in #aiji3 8,a pretty little girl on a chestnut cob1 with masses of fair curls falling over her navy-blue habit1 was the chief centre of attraction at a meet of the ,west ,norfolk ,fox-,hounds at ,necton4 ,the pretty little girl was ,princess ,mary of ,wales1 and the day will be a memorable one in her life4 ,she motored back to ,sandringham carrying her first brush4''' ,princess ,mary was #8blooded' by the huntsmen1 and was presented with the brush1 which was hung on her saddle40 ,in connection with deer-stalking1 the practice of 8blooding0 has been described as 8a hunting tradition which goes back to the ,middle ,ages1 and recalls the days when the gentle craft of venery was the most cherished accomplishment of our monarchs40 ,,the ,,blooding ,,of ,,hounds4 ,in the prosecution of ,mr4 ,alexander ,ormrod1 joint ,master of the ,ribblesdale ,buckhounds1 by the ,r4,s4,p4,c4,a4 on ,november #aa1 #aiab1 for cruelty to a doe1 there was evidence that the unfortunate deer1 turned out in private to 8blood0 a new pack of hounds1 was lame and wholly out of condition2 and1 as ,truth remarked1 8the mere fact that the animal1 although given a good start1 only managed to get two or three hundred yards away before being pulled down1 #8screaming like a child1' was quite sufficient to show that she was incapable of escape40 ,take the following3 8,mr4 ,marmaduke ,wright1 of ,bolton ,hall1 a member of the ,hunt1 said he saw ,oddie 7a hunt servant7 the day before the hunt took place4 ,oddie said they were going to let a lame deer out of the pen to blood the young hounds1 and witness said he would not go out1 as he did not care about hunting tame calves1 much less a lame one40 ,the statement of ,john ,james ,macauley1 an eye-witness1 was that the deer 8scarcely put her hind-leg on the ground40 8,she was followed by the hounds for a distance of about two hundred yards4''' ,when the doe could see she was overtaken1 she stopped1 and he heard the poor little thing screaming like a child40 ,lord ,ribblesdale1 called to speak as to the practice of blooding hounds1 condemned the method adopted by his colleague4 8,if blooding had been the object1 his opinion was that there should have been a sudden1 sharp1 and decisive transaction sic1 which would have made the hounds1 whenever they saw a deer1 go at it4 ,if they intended to blood hounds1 the method pursued by ,mr4 ,ormrod was most foolish4 ,it was not an uncommon thing to blood hounds1 and with regard to the question of cruelty1 if they argued from elemental principles1 all sport was cruel4 ,he had hunted carted deer1 and there had been no cruelty40 ,asked whether1 if a lame1 emaciated1 and weakened deer were released from a pen1 it would be an unreasonable thing to hunt it1 ,lord ,ribblesdale replied-- 8,with the #8if1' yes4 ,this was a weak deer2 therefore ,i should have blooded hounds with it40 ,the magistrates decided that 8there was not enough evidence to convict10 but the prosecution did great service in showing what horrible practices are still carried on under the name of 8sport40 ,,iii ,,the ,,hunting ,,of ,,gravid ,,animals ,whatever differences of opinion may exist as to the morality of 8blood-sports0 in general1 there is one recurring feature of such sports which1 whether regarded from the humanitarian's or from the sportsman's point of view1 is almost equally repulsive4 ,we refer to the hunting1 in some cases accidental1 in others deliberate1 of gravid animals4 ,that such hunting--of the hare1 of the otter1 of the hind--takes place1 there is no question whatever1 as is proved by the following facts4 ,it is quite a common practice to continue the hunting of hares with beagles until the middle1 or even to the end of ,march1 by which time many of the doe hares are heavy with young4 ,owing to the remonstrances addressed to the headmaster of ,eton by the ,humanitarian ,league1 the ,eton hunting season has now been curtailed1 but it is still prolonged beyond the date which has been suggested by the better class of sportsmen4 ,the experience recorded in the ,county ,gentleman 7#aijf7 by the writer of the following letter1 ,mr4 ,john ,a4 ,doyle1 of ,pendarren1 ,crickhowell1 seems conclusive3 8,the question you raise is one in which ,i feel a good deal of interest4 ,i have not only been for some years master of a pack of harriers 7foot71 but ,i am also an ,old ,etonian1 and have always felt much interested in the doings of the school beagles1 and sympathy with them4 ,indeed1 before ,i got your letter ,i had thought of writing to the headmaster1 with whom ,i am--perhaps ,i should say was1 a long time back--slightly acquainted4 8,my own practice has always been to have one meet the first week in ,march1 and then end the season4 ,i was once or twice tempted to go on later1 and once killed a doe in kindle4 ,since then ,i have kept to my rule4 ,she gave us a sharp run of twenty minutes or half an hour4 ,this1 ,i think1 disposes of the theory that a pregnant hare has no scent4 ,possibly she has less than she would have normally4 ,but per contra she must be handicapped by her condition4 ,then there is the risk of a chop4 ,and it cannot be good for an animal big with young to be bustled and frightened4 8,there is yet a worse danger4 ,in some forward seasons there may be leverets by the second week in ,march4 ,the dam might be killed1 and the leverets left to die4 ,i would almost sooner never hunt again than run such a risk4 ,of course1 one might hunt through ,march for several seasons and none of these things happen2 but there must be a risk1 and ,i do not myself think that one is justified in running it40 ,what is true of the ,eton beagles is true of every hare-hunt throughout the country4 ,the sport ought to be brought to a close on the last day of ,february1 as1 indeed1 used to be the custom4 8,coursing still goes on among a few10 wrote the author of the 8,sporting ,almanack0 for ,march1 #ahdc1 8but in our opinion the fair sportsman will hold hard as soon as ,march sets in40#cb ,much1 then1 of the hare-hunting of the present time is not fair4 ,still worse is the case of otter-hunting1 which is carried on from springtime till autumn1 with the result that females heavy with young must occasionally be worried1 though sportsmen plead that this is never intentional4 ,an instance that has often been quoted is recorded in the ,hon4 ,grantley ,f4 ,berkeley's 8,life and ,recollections10 where the story is told of a female otter disturbed by the hounds 8in the act of making a couch for her young40 8,at her we went for seven hours1 with constant views1 and during that time1 on a stump overhanging the river1 she miscarried and gave birth to two cubs1 born only a few days before their time4 ,a hound found them1 and when ,i took one in my hand it was scarcely cold4 ,she beat us for want of light1 and well she deserved to escape40 ,similar instances are recorded from time to time1 as by a correspondent of the ,morning ,leader1 who told how in ,devonshire1 in #ahia1 a female otter1 after being worried for nearly four hours1 had given birth to two dead whelps4 ,but of all such malpractices the chasing of in-calf hinds is the most deliberate and the worst4 ,if it be true1 as we are informed1 that tenant-farmers in the ,devon and ,somerset district complain bitterly of the damage done by deer1 what possible reason can be given against the shooting 7when necessary7 of the hinds1 in place of the disgusting and barbarous custom of hunting them8 ,a few years ago the ,rev4 ,j4 ,stratton1 after personally investigating the matter1 described some of the inevitable results of hind-hunting till the end of ,march1 instead of stopping the 8sport10 as ought to be done1 at the beginning of ,march at the latest1 and gave specific cases in which1 when the dead hinds were 8broken up0 to feed the hounds1 calves as large as hares were seen to be taken from the bodies4 ,since that time there is reason to believe that1 owing in part to the ,humanitarian ,league's protests1 there is a growing local feeling against this especially cruel feature of the sport1 and it is hoped that those landowners and residents who have humane scruples in the matter will use their influence to bring about the discontinuance of this disgraceful practice4 ,the whole system of hunting these ,west ,country deer is cruel enough--involving1 as it does1 the death of many of them by leaping from the cliffs on to the rocks1 or being drowned in the sea1 or being hung up on wire-fences and mangled by the hounds4 ,but the hunting of the hinds1 at a time when even savages might compassionate them1 is one of the very worst abominations for which even 8sport0 is responsible4 ,,footnotes3 #cb ,quoted in ,fry's ,magazine1 ,june1 #aiaa1 in an admirable article entitled 8,shabby ,blood-,sports ,worth ,ending40 ,,iv ,,drag-,,hunt ,,versus ,,stag-,,hunt ,the fact is too often overlooked that a ready substitute for the savage chase of animals may be found in the drag-hunt1 a form of sport which preserves all that is valuable in the way of exercise1 while getting rid of one thing only--the cruelty to the tortured stag or fox or hare4 ,as has been pointed out in the ,sheffield ,daily ,telegraph1 a paper favourable to sport3 8,there is little doubt that in time the drag-hunt will become the popular hunting pastime4 ,for years it has been supported by the officers of the ,guards1 and1 besides having the merit of disarming criticism on the part of the ,humanitarian ,league1 it can be enjoyed by thousands of sightseers1 as it defines the tract of country over which the drag leads the hounds40 ,the attempts of some sporting writers to belittle the value of the drag have been very infelicitous4 ,if they personally prefer a blood-sport to a bloodless pastime1 let them say so--it is a matter on which we will take their word--but when they assert that a drag-hunt is not suitable for pedestrians1 or for schoolboys1 they only convict themselves of knowing as little about the practical as about the moral side of the controversy4 ,the following statement was made by the late ,lady ,florence ,dixie1 who spoke with unquestionable authority3-- 8,drags can be fast run or slow run1 according to the way they are laid4 ,my husband owned a pack of harriers and a pack of beagles1 and ,i was able to get him often to hunt them on drags1 and have often ridden with the harriers and run with the beagles4 ,when a very fast1 non-hunting run was wanted with the harriers1 the drag was laid straight and continuously1 and hounds ran fast1 and riding was like a steeplechase1 without a pause1 except when any of us came a cropper6 ,when a hunting run was required1 we laid a catchy drag1 twisting here and there1 lifting the scent1 and copying as near as possible the wily ways of ,reynard4 ,with the beagles we imitated the hare1 who is a ringing1 not straight-running animal1 lifting the scent1 doubling back1 and so on1 and1 in fact1 we brought thus two competitors into the sport--i4e41 the drag-layer versus the huntsman1 and pitted their wiles and their cunning against each other4 ,i may be accepted as an authority1 as few have perhaps ridden in harder-fought hunting runs of all kinds than ,i--fox1 stag1 harrier1 guanaco1 ostrich1 and suchlike--and ,i have had considerable experience with beagles as well1 on foot40#cc ,in face of this testimony1 and of the fact recorded by ,brinsley ,richards1 in his 8,seven ,years at ,eton10 that a drag was successfully used at ,eton half a century ago1 it is absurd to pretend that it could not be used there again2 but if further proof be needed1 it is1 fortunately1 available in the following letter from ,mr4 ,a4 ,g4 ,grenfell1 ,headmaster of ,mostyn ,house ,school1 ,parkgate1 ,cheshire4 ,it will be seen that the idea1 very commonly held1 that the drag-hunt is suitable only for those following on horseback1 and that it would too severely tax the energies of boys running on foot1 is absolutely erroneous4 8,december #af1 #aijc4 8,on the subject of ,beagle ,drag-,hunting at ,schools1 ,i think you will be pleased to know that we have owned and run a pack of beagles at this school for the last ten years on the lines that you suggest1 and with the greatest success4 ,the drag affords any amount of healthy and interesting exercise without cruelty4 ,ours is just an ordinary preparatory school1 with ten masters and ninety boys4 ,our hounds are twenty-three or twenty-four in number4 ,the sport of following them is very popular with all of us1 and it would be hard to devise an easier or better form of school variant to the everlasting football4 ,not only does drag-hunting keep boys from tiring of the regulation game1 but it is to the wind and endurance these runs give us that we owe the fact that we seldom1 if ever1 lose a match against boys of our own size and weight4 ,the beauty of the drag-hunt is that you can pick your course1 you can choose your jumps1 you can regulate your checks and keep your field all together1 and you can insure the maximum of sport and exercise40 ,here1 too1 is the testimony of another headmaster of a preparatory school1 ,mr4 ,f4 ,h4 ,gresson1 of ,the ,grange1 ,crowborough4 8,march #bc1 #aiji4 8,i can fully endorse all that ,mr4 ,grenfell says with regard to the pleasure and amusement to be derived from a drag-hunt4 ,i have kept a small pack of beagles and hunted a drag with them for the last five years with very successful results4 ,in my opinion1 it is a very suitable form of amusement for boys of the preparatory school age1 as you can regulate the distance and the checks1 and there is no fear of their getting overdone4 8,as one who is very keen upon both fox-hunting and hare-hunting1 ,i cannot pretend to say that a drag compares in any way with either4 ,at the same time1 however1 ,i get a great amount of enjoyment out of it myself1 in addition to the exercise1 and ,i do not find it at all a dull sport40 ,we do not1 of course1 compare the drag-hunt with the stag-hunt1 the hare-hunt1 or any other blood-sport1 in the sense of saying that it yields equal excitement2 it lacks1 no doubt1 the thrill of the life-and-death struggle that is going on in front of the hounds4 ,but for those who are aware that such excitement is cruel and morbid1 the drag-hunt may be made to provide an excellent substitute for blood-sport1 with plenty of skill as well as plenty of exercise2 and sportsmen who refuse such substitute merely give proof that their addiction to a barbarous practice is very strong4 ,,footnotes3 #cc ,in like manner1 ,mr4 ,w4 ,h4 ,crofton1 president of the ,beagle ,club1 has admitted in ,the ,times that the drag-hunt1 8run with skill by one who understands the art10 can be made to yield 8excellent exercise0 for schoolboys4 ,v ,,clay-,,pigeon ,,versus ,,live ,,pigeon ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,j4 ,,stratton ,pigeon-shooting is one of those practices which generous minds must regard with aversion4 ,there is not a single element in it which cultivates any good quality in mankind4 ,the late ,lord ,randolph ,churchill1 in the ,house of ,commons1 #ahhc1 alluding to ,monte ,carlo doings1 gave an effective description of a pigeon-shooting scene3 8,he had had the opportunity1 he said1 of watching the sight at ,monte ,carlo1 though he had never had the satisfaction of killing a pigeon himself4 ,the pigeon-shooting at ,monte ,carlo was conducted on the same principles as that at ,hurlingham1 and under similar rules4 ,he saw the birds taken out of the basket1 and before being put into the trap a man cut their tails with a large pair of scissors4 ,that probably was not very cruel1 because he only cut the quill1 though at times he seemed to cut very close4 ,but worse followed4 ,after cutting the tail1 he saw the man take the bird in one hand1 and with the other tear a great bunch of feathers from the breast and stomach of every pigeon4 ,on asking the man what he did that for1 he replied that it was to stimulate the birds1 in order that1 maddened by excitement and pain1 they might take a more eccentric leap in the air1 and increase the chance of the pigeon gamblers4 8,he saw another very curious thing1 too4 ,one of the pigeons was struck and fell to the ground2 but when the dog went to pick it up1 the wretched bird fluttered again in the air1 and for an appreciable time it remained so fluttering1 just a little higher than the dog could jump4 ,while the bird's fate was thus trembling in the balance1 the betting was fast and furious1 and when at last the pigeon tumbled into the dog's jaws1 he would never forget the shout of triumph and yell of execration that rose from the ring-men and gentlemen40 ,now1 what honest-minded man can approve of such a performance as this8 ,yet the so-called sport is in much favour still1 from aristocratic gatherings down to those promoted by low public-houses4 ,it is surely of the nature of anything claiming to be legitimate sport1 that the quarry should be in its natural1 wild condition1 and should have a chance of saving its life from its would-be destroyer4 ,what chance of this kind has a dazed pigeon1 fluttering from a box in the presence of guns ready to fire the moment it appears8 ,the whole thing is cowardly and contemptible1 and should be suppressed by law4 ,this fate it would have met in #ahhc had the ,house of ,lords done its duty as well as the ,house of ,commons2 for a ,bill which aimed at its abolition was rejected in the former ,house after it had passed in the latter4 ,more lately1 however1 there has occurred an event which proves that the views we hold respecting pigeon-shooting are beginning to find acceptance with the public4 ,as everybody is aware1 the ,hurlingham ,club used to lend its patronage to this sport1 but recently a change in its policy took place4 ,a meeting of members was held1 and the question was put to the vote1 whether the shooting of pigeons from traps should be any longer permitted in the grounds4 ,a two-thirds majority decided that it should be abolished4 ,the minority endeavoured to get this settlement reversed by law1 but they were unsuccessful4 ,it was instructive1 as well as cheering1 to observe the favour with which the ,press as a whole received the judgment delivered by ,mr4 ,justice ,joyce on the case submitted to him4 ,as an example of newspaper utterances ,i may quote the comments of the ,daily ,news of ,february #bf1 #aijf3 8,all those who believe that #aijf is better as regards blood-sports than #ahfh will rejoice that ,hurlingham is not to be bound fast to the older date1 and its defective morality4 ,pigeon-shooting is emphatically not now--as ,mr4 ,justice ,joyce said it was considered in #ahfh--;a manly sport1 fit for gentlemen4 ,it may seem a hard saying to those who1 having acquired proficiency in the practice1 have lost their sense of moral truth4 ,the fashion at ,hurlingham has slowly changed in deference to surrounding opinion4 ,pigeon-shooting has not only its negative side of unmanliness1 but the positive side of cruelty1 and we are glad that the ,club is not so indissolubly built on this base sport but that a two-thirds majority may decide when the time has come to abolish it40 ,,clay-,,pigeon4 ,supposing all shooting of birds from traps were prohibited by law1 is there any kindred diversion which might take its place8 ,yes2 there is the clay-pigeon shoot1 which affords good practice in gunnery and amuses its patrons by enabling them to meet and settle contests for prizes and so forth4 ,it ought to satisfy all who have not got into the vicious habit of thinking that sport is poor work unless it inflicts agony or death on animals4 ,the clay-pigeon1 so-called1 does not bear any resemblance to a living bird4 ,it is like a small saucer1 brown in colour1 and brittle4 ,one of the ways in which the artificial shoot is carried on is this4 ,a pit is formed1 deep enough to allow a man to stand in it and remain unseen4 ,in the pit is placed machinery which a person can employ for projecting a 8pigeon0 to a considerable distance1 at a quick speed1 and at any angle4 ,the pigeon may be shot up in the air1 or sent skimming along the ground1 and fly to right or left4 ,the shooter stands some yards behind the pit1 gun in hand1 waiting for the appearance of the object4 ,and1 not knowing what course the pigeon will take1 he is kept on the qui vive4 ,from the sporting point of view1 this is so much to the good1 as uncertainty is an element of enjoyment in the matter4 ,at shooting grounds such as those of ,messrs4 ,holland and ,holland1 of ,new ,bond ,street1 situated at ,kensal ,rise1 there are many diversities attached to the recreation4 ,birds are thrown1 in many cases1 from high structures1 or go flying over trees1 and move in a mode similar to that of pheasants or driven grouse or partridges4 ,then1 further1 at this establishment1 the figures of birds with outstretched wings appear for a few seconds on a whitened screen1 and form interesting objects to fire at4 ,across this screen1 again1 metal representations of rabbits are made to run on an iron rod4 ,from this it will be understood what a deal of variety may be introduced into this form of amusement4 ,what humanitarians desire to see is the substitution everywhere of this kind of shooting for that of firing at pigeons and starlings and other living birds liberated from traps4 ,i ought to say that at ,messrs4 ,holland and ,holland's establishment live pigeons are kept for those who wish to fire at them1 but ,i was pleased to learn that1 for every living bird killed1 a hundred clay birds are shot at4 ,,vi ,,coursing ,coursing1 the practice of chasing a hare with two greyhounds1 slipped simultaneously from the leash1 is one of the most ancient of blood-sports2 but the spirit of those who take part in it does not seem to have improved with time4 ,it may be doubted whether modern patrons of the sport are as chivalrous as those referred to by the old writer ,arrian1 whose work on ,coursing dates from the second century3 8,for coursers1 such at least as are true sportsmen1 do not take out their dogs for the sake of catching a hare1 but for the contest and sport of coursing1 and are glad if the hare escape2 if she fly to any thin brake for concealment1 though they may see her trembling and in the utmost distress1 they will call off their dogs40 ,what is the attraction of coursing8 ,the author of 8,the ,encyclopdia of ,rural ,sports0 7#aheb7 is forced to admit that coursing has been found dull3 8,we may be asked10 he says1 8what pleasure there can be for people marshalled in a line1 at certain distances from each other1 monotonously to walk or ride at a foot pace over a ploughed field or across a wide heath on a bleak ,november day1 the eye anxiously directed hither and thither to catch the clod or the sidelong furrow that half conceals poor puss1 or to espy the tuft she has parted to make her form in40 ,but even so stupid a pastime as this has its charms for many people1 when to the zest of seeing a timid animal's life at stake there is added the more modern excitement of betting on the prowess of the dogs4 ,of the cruelty of coursing1 as practised in the chief contests1 from the ,waterloo ,cup down1 there can be no question4 8,what more aggravated form of torture is to be found10 says ,lady ,florence ,dixie1 8than coursing with greyhounds--the awful terror of the hare depicting itself in the laid-back ears1 convulsive doubles1 and wild starting eyes which seem almost to burst from their sockets in the agony of tension which that piteous struggle for life entails80 ,open coursing is bad enough1 on the score of inhumanity2 but when the coursing is enclosed1 or the hares are bagged ones turned out for the occasion1 the case is still worse4 ,the use of enclosed grounds dates from about #ahgf1 and we learn from the volume on 8,coursing0 in the ,badminton ,library of ,sports and ,pastimes 7#ahib71 that 8many of the old school opposed it strongly1 and with the best reason1 for it utterly lacked the elements of real sport40 ,at the present time it is by a strict system of 8preserving0 hares rather than by keeping them in enclosures1 that a sufficient supply is maintained for the great coursing matches4 ,what an object-lesson in cruelty these meetings afford may be judged from the fact that at some of them1 such as the competition for the ,waterloo ,cup1 there is an attendance of several thousand spectators4 ,here is an 8,impression of the ,waterloo ,meeting10 by ,mr4 ,john ,gulland1 which appeared in the ,morning ,leader in #aiaa3 8,stretching away into the far country 7if you use your eyes7 may be seen two long1 thin black lines1 representing quite a little army of beaters4 ,in a short while dozens of hares may be seen gaily sporting between these lines1 in delightful ignorance of the terrible enemy which is lying in wait for them in front4 ,it is the business of the beater to divert a good hare from his playful companions2 and if you keep your eye well directed on the black lines1 you will soon detect the white flutter of a handkerchief passing along the lines1 and a brown shape leaping swiftly along the ground1 nervously anxious to turn to one side or the other1 but kept to an inexorable straight course by the living wall of beaters4 ,a shout from the crowd1 growing every moment more excited as the short drama is about to begin1 proclaims the fact that the hare is in the battle-ground1 and is about to meet his ,waterloo4 ,and1 higher still1 and louder than all1 the raucous cry of the bookmaker1 #8,take #g to #b1' #8,take #b to #a1' rises shrill in the air4 8,all this time a couple of greyhounds are held tight by a slipper in a box1 open on two sides1 in the middle of the field4 ,as soon as the hare is beaten past the slipper's box the greyhounds tug and strain at the leash1 almost dragging the slipper with them4 ,when the hare has had about fifty yards' start the hounds are released1 and off they dash together1 looking at first like one4 ,this is the most thrilling part of the game1 and is watched in a few seconds of almost breathless silence4 ,pussy hasn't1 however1 much chance against a greyhound1 and is soon overtaken2 but he still has a few arts at his command4 ,for1 just as the dog is about to hurl himself on pussy's unoffending body1 the little creature makes a deft turn aside1 his pursuer flying harmlessly past4 ,then follow a series of turns1 feints1 dodges1 and bounds4 ,puss may1 indeed1 lead his enemies a sorry dance for a little while1 but it is an unequal contest4 ,these greyhounds at ,altcar are the best and fastest of their kind1 and it is seldom that a hare escapes their teeth on ,waterloo ,cup day4 ,in half a minute--at the outside two minutes--all is over40 ,the writer states that he thinks he has never seen 8so many bookmakers and bookmakers' clerks per head of the population0 as at the ,waterloo coursing4 8,it was the merriest gambling ,i have seen for many a long day10 for coursing lends itself particularly well to betting40 ,,vii ,,the ,,gentle ,,craft 8,it has been gravely said that a good angler must also be a good ,christian4 ,without literalising the assertion1 it may well be admitted that there is much in the contemplative character of his pursuit1 and in the quiet scenes of beauty with which it brings him face to face1 to soften and elevate as well as to humanise40 ,thus writes ,mr4 ,h4 ,cholmondeley-,pennell1 a distinguished authority on angling4 ,we fear1 however1 that an examination of the 8gentle craft0 will scarcely justify the assertion2 for the fact cannot be gainsaid that to kill fish for mere amusement is to gratify one's own pleasure at the cost of another being's pain1 and that1 regarded from a moral standpoint1 it will not materially affect the case to plead that the fisherman is 8contemplative10 or that in the pursuit of his pastime he is brought into touch with the softening influences of nature4 ,unfortunately1 as far as his sport 7which is the only point in question7 is concerned1 there is no sign of this softening tendency on him4 ,contemplative he may be 7in the intervals between 8rises0 or 8bites071 but his contemplation has apparently not taken that introspective turn which would seem to be most needed4 ,he may be gentle--in some relations of life2 but in the matter of impaling live-bait and hooking fishes his gentleness is of a worse than dubious quality4 ,one would have thought that a sense of humour would withhold fishermen from making these ludicrous claims to virtues in which1 qua fishermen1 they are very signally deficient4 8,there are unquestionably10 says ,leigh ,hunt1 8many amiable men among sportsmen1 who1 as the phrase is1 would not hurt a fly1 that is to say1 on a window2 at the end of a string the case is altered40 ,the stories told by anglers of the alleged 8insensibility0 of fish--how a hooked salmon that has just broken away will sometimes return to the bait--do not prove very much2 for that fish are less intelligent and less sensitive than warm-blooded animals is no excuse for torturing them to the extent of their feeling4 ,and it is evident1 on the showing of the fishermen themselves1 that the process of 8playing0 a large fish is a very cruel one1 since it means gradually and mercilessly wearing down the strength of the victim during a desperate struggle prolonged sometimes for hours4 ,reading1 for example1 such a passage as the following1 taken from ,dr4 ,hamilton's book on 8,fly-,fishing10 one marvels at the mood which can find enjoyment in so barbarous a sport3 8,i know of no greater excitement when1 after casting the fly1 a sudden swirl of the water tells you that a salmon has risen1 and the tightening of your line that he is hooked4 ,then the mighty rush of a fresh-run fish2 the rapid whirl 7sweet music67 of the reel1 as the line is carried out2 the tremendous leaps and tugs and efforts as the fish tries to free himself4 ,good fisherman as you may be1 the chances are against you4 ,you at one end of the line doing all you can1 and putting all your experience to the test1 to keep and bring to bank the prize you covet4 ,the fish at the other end1 with all his knowledge of the rocks and bad places at the bottom of the river1 doing all he can to circumvent you4''' ,and then1 after a slight pause1 with skilful management the strain is put on4 ,an anxious moment2 he gives1 but oh6 how slowly1 how reluctantly4 ,the question is1 who is to conquer4 ,you feel your power as you wind up2 you see his silver side2 you know there will be yet one or two terrific struggles for life as he gets a glimpse of you and the gaff2 then comes the final rush1 the line paying out inch by inch4 ,it is over6 ,another roll or two1 and he is on the bank--and then the soothing pipe while you study his fine proportions40 ,under some conditions the sport consists in practically drowning the fish in its own element4 8,the most killing place10 says ,dr4 ,hamilton1 8when the hook is well fast1 is in the lower jaw4 ,the strain of the line prevents in a great measure the free current of water through the gills1 and the fish becomes suffocated40 ,to what extravagance the angling mania can run may be seen from certain forms of sea-fishing4 ,the tarpon1 an inhabitant of the ,gulf of ,mexico1 is a great fish of the herring kind1 weighing from #ej to #ahj pounds1 and measuring from #e to #g feet in length4 ,it is not used as food by any but the negroes and 8lower classes10 and its chief value1 we are told1 is for 8sporting0 purposes4 ,in ,the ,queen of ,december #g1 #ahie1 an account was given of 8an angling feat0 performed by a lady who caught a monster of this kind4 8,the lady's grip10 we were told1 8was firm10 and defeated the endeavours of the fish 8to shake the cruel hook from its throat40 ,in this1 and in all angling records1 it will be observed that the cruelty is purely wanton--the killing being done not because it is necessary or useful1 but because the sportsman enjoys it4 ,again1 one of the most nauseous features of the 8gentle craft0 is the use of 8live bait0--that is1 of worms1 maggots1 flies1 grasshoppers1 frogs1 and small fish4 ,here is one of the directions given by ,mr4 ,cholmondeley-,pennell3 8,in using the lob-worm-tail only1 the worm must be broken about the middle1 longer or shorter according to circumstances1 and the hook inserted at the point of the breakage1 the worm being then run up the hook until the shank is somewhat more than covered and only the end of the tail remains at liberty40 ,it is pointed out by ,mr4 ,alexander ,mackie in 8,the ,art of ,worm ,fishing10 that a 8particularly beautiful0 blue-nosed lob will account for as many as four trout1 if cut in two parts and used successively1 and that no worm of this class should be thrown away when only 8slightly shattered40 ,the impaling of a worm or maggot is disgusting enough2 but when live fish are used as bait the cruelty is still worse4 ,it will be observed that it is the angler's object to prolong the misery of the living bait to the utmost extent4 ,thus ,mr4 ,cholmondeley-,pennell1 with reference to pike fishing3 8,with regard to live-baits1 a good deal must of course depend upon the state of the water4 ,should it be very bright and clear1 a gudgeon1 which is also a very tough fish1 will generally be found the best1 and in extreme cases even a minnow used with a small float and a single gimp hook passed through its upper lip or back4''' ,probably the best live-bait of all for thick or clouded water is a medium-sized dace1 as its scales are peculiarly brilliant1 and the fish itself by no means easily killed4 ,in case of waters in which the pike are over-fed1 ,i should recommend my readers to try them with live gold-fish4''' ,if gold-fish are not forthcoming1 small carp form a very killing and long-lived bait4 ,the bait should not be left too long in one place1 but be kept gently moving4 ,it should also be held as little as possible out of water1 on to which1 when cast1 its fall should be as light as possible1 to avoid injury and premature decease40 ,a very cruel way of taking freshwater fish is by night-lines4 ,the victims are often left for hours with large hooks in their mouths2 and when at last taken from the water are exhausted or dead4 ,this perhaps is a poacher's method rather than a sportsman's2 but it is to be observed that as a rule the despised poaching methods--such as the netting1 wiring1 or 8tickling0 of fish--are far less barbarous than those which are honoured as 8sportsmanlike40 ,it is clear1 then1 that the title of 8the gentle craft0 is an absurd misnomer when applied to angling1 and that1 if humaneness had been reckoned among the virtues1 we should not have seen the canonisation of ,izaak ,walton1 the patron saint of fishermen4 ,for as ,byron says of him3 8,the quaint old cruel coxcomb in his gullet ,should have a hook1 and a small trout to pull it40 8,it would have taught him humanity at least10 adds the poet in a footnote4 8,they may talk about the beauties of nature1 but the angler merely thinks of his dish of fish2 he has no leisure to take his eyes from off the streams1 and a single #8bite' is worth to him more than all the scenery around4 ,the whale1 the shark1 and the tunny fishery have somewhat of noble and perilous in them2 even net-fishing1 trawling1 etc41 are more humane and useful4 ,but angling60 ,,viii ,,spoiling ,,other ,,people',s ,,pleasure ,it is a grave charge that is brought against us humanitarians1 of 8spoiling other people's pleasure40 ,we are reproachfully bidden to look at 8sport10 for instance1 and to ponder all the manifold enjoyment which it provides for its votaries--the pleasure of the riders1 the pleasure of the horses1 the pleasure of the hounds1 the pleasure 7some assert7 even of the fox himself--or1 if not exactly pleasure1 at least a praiseworthy acquiescence in the rle assigned him as the purveyor of amusement for others2 for has he not1 like ,faust1 purchased the happiness of a lifetime at the cost of this brief hour of pain8 ,and all this sum of pleasure the humanitarian would deliberately destroy6 ,no wonder that speculation is rife among sportsmen as to any intelligible reason for such malice4 ,are humanitarians insane8 ,or is it a dog-in-the-manger instinct that prompts them to wreck a pleasure in which they themselves--poor joyless creatures that they are--can have no part8 ,we shall be expected1 perhaps1 in answer to these accusations1 to plead some austere and weighty reasons1 such as the danger of an excess of pleasure1 the need of self-sacrifice1 the duty of altruism1 and the like4 ,we shall do nothing of the kind4 ,on the contrary1 we shall point out that humanitarians seek not to diminish but to increase the pleasures of which life is capable2 for it is precisely because we1 too1 love pleasure1 and regard it1 when rightly understood1 as the sum and purport of existence1 that we deplore the absurd travesty of it which at present passes muster among the thoughtless4 ,our complaint against the sportsman and his like is not that they enjoy themselves1 but that they prevent other persons from doing so1 through their very rudimentary and barbarous notions of what enjoyment means4 ,consider1 for instance1 the exquisite pleasure1 surely one of the greatest joys in life1 of seeing perfect confidence and fearlessness in the beings around one--the intrepidity which is the special charm of children1 when well-treated1 and which is characteristic of animals also1 in the rare cases when they have nothing to fear from man4 ,we know with what child-like trust and guilelessness the primitive inhabitants of the ,west ,indies greeted their ,spanish discoverers1 and how the wild animals in newly-found lands have often shown the same unguarded friendliness to man1 until they knew better--or worse4 ,the pleasure of the humanitarian consists in preserving and cherishing to the uttermost this friendly relationship2 the pleasure of the sportsman consists in rending and shattering it1 in making a hell out of a heaven1 and is sowing distrust and terror where there might be confidence and love4 ,chacun son got4 ,it is useless to dispute about tastes4 ,but that the sportsman should proceed to denounce the humanitarian as being 8a spoiler of pleasure0 is a stroke of unintended humour from a very humourless source4 ,the part which the sportsman plays in the animal world--that world which might be a source of much genuine pleasure to us--may be easily pictured if we look at one of the ,london parks where the bird-life is protected4 ,there we see a truce reigning between human and non-human1 with a vast amount of obvious human enjoyment as the result4 ,imagine what would happen if a man were to run with a gun or some other weapon among the unsuspecting animals1 and pride himself on the dexterity with which he reduced them from beautiful living creatures to limp and ugly carcases4 ,he would be arrested as a lunatic1 you say1 by the park-keepers4 ,true2 yet that is exactly the way in which the sportsman is continually running amuck in this larger park of ours1 the world1 where unfortunately there are as yet no park-keepers to restrain him4 ,nor is it only the sportsman1 but everyone addicted to cruel practices of any sort1 who makes the world a poorer and less happy place to live in4 ,centuries of persecution have1 in fact1 left so little real happiness in life that men have been fain to content themselves with these wretched beggarly amusements1 which1 from bull- and bear-baiting to stag-hunting1 have disgraced our national 8sports0 from time immemorial1 yet have always been defended on the ludicrous ground that their abolition would diminish the 8pleasures0 of the people4 ,who1 then1 is the mar-joy8 ,surely not the humanitarian1 whose desire it is that there should be far greater and wider means of enjoyment than at present1 and who1 far from discouraging the sports of the people1 would establish in every part of the land facilities for manly and wholesome sports1 such as cricket1 football1 rowing1 swimming1 running1 and all kinds of athletic and gymnastic exercises4 ,to humanitarians1 pleasure--real pleasure--is the one precious thing2 and it is just because there is so little real pleasure in the present conditions of life that we desire to see those conditions changed and ameliorated4 ,why else should we 8agitate10 sit in committees1 write letters to newspapers1 and organise public meetings to expound our principles8 ,certainly1 not because we enjoy such occupation in itself1 for a more thankless task could scarcely be imagined2 but because life is at present so narrowed and saddened by brutalitarian stupidity that to try to alter it1 even in the smallest measure1 is to us a necessary condition of any enjoyment at all4 ,,index ,accidents involved by hunting1 #ff ,adams1 ,maurice1 on cost of sport1 #de et seq4 ,afforestation conflicts with game preservation1 #ec ,agriculture ruined by sport1 #ch ,athletic exercises compared with blood-sports1 #abi ,badgers as 8vermin10 #hh 8,bag10 a six weeks'1 #ajd ,balance of ,nature upset1 #dj 8,battue10 horrors of the1 #hc 8,battue-shooting10 #ac ,beagles3 ,eton1 #ah2 ,tom ,brown on ,rugby1 #abe2 forbidden by original statutes1 #aag2 not legalised until #ahga1 #aag2 ,dr4 ,warre's attitude re1 #aaf2 strength of the opposition to1 #abd ,big-game hunting3 ,mr4 ,ernest ,bell on1 #aja2 monotony of1 #aja1 #ajb 8,blooding10 #aee ,blood-sports3 not manly1 #ef1 #aab1 #acf2 at schools1 #aaf ,buchanan1 ,robert1 quoted1 #fi1 #aej ,buckhounds1 abolition of ,royal1 #ajj1 #acj ,buddha1 humane teachings of1 #bi ,burmese1 the1 and compassion1 #bi ,burns1 ,robert1 on shooting1 #ic ,byron1 ,lord1 on angling1 #agh ,callousness of fox-hunting1 the1 #ie ,carlisle otter hounds1 #cj ,carpenter1 ,edward1 on sport and agriculture1 #cd et seq4 ,carted deer1 #bb ,civilised versus savage life1 #acb ,clay-pigeons and live pigeons1 #aff ,colquhoun1 ,john1 on the poacher1 #ha ,compassion taught by ,buddha1 #bi ,compensation1 farmers and1 #cg ,cornfields damaged by mice and sparrows1 #dj ,coursing1 #agj ,cricket compared with hunting1 #fg ,cruel sports not public benefits1 #fj ,cruelties of stag-hunting1 #aj ,cruelty1 definition of1 #b 8,cub-hunting10 barbarities of1 #i ,cultivated area of ,great ,britain1 #ec ,deer1 carted1 8accidents0 to1 #bb ,deer-forests3 acreage of1 #hd2 effects of1 #hd ,de ,quincey's satire1 #adb ,dixie1 ,lady ,florence1 quoted1 #afc ,dogs1 gamekeepers'1 #gf ,drag-hunt versus stag-hunt1 #afb ,drag-hunting a pleasurable sport1 #ii1 #afc ,durham1 ,lord1 defends rabbit-coursing1 #bg ,economics of hunting1 #fj et seq4 ,elephants1 extermination of1 #aje 8,enclosure ,act10 #ga ,eton ,beagles1 #ah2 eminent opponents of1 #abd2 hare-hunt1 the1 #aaf2 sports1 brutality of1 #aag et seq4 ,evolution and animal kinship1 #cc ,expenditure on hunting1 #fe ,explosive bullets1 #aac ,farmers and compensation1 #cg ,farmers injured by hunting1 #fd ,field1 ,the1 on tame-deer hunting1 #bd ,fishing1 #agd 8,food-supply0 fallacy1 the1 #hc ,fortescue1 ,hon4 ,j41 quoted1 #aji ,fox1 the hunted1 #f1 #ih ,foxes 8made in ,germany10 #ce ,fox-hunting1 #e et seq42 excuses for1 #h2 ,h4 ,b4 ,m4 ,watson on1 #ie2 illogical1 #ig1 #ih 8,foxology10 ,dr4 ,lang's1 #ace 8,game10 animals included as1 #ga ,gamekeepers3 brutality of1 #gi1 #hf2 ,joseph ,arch on1 #ge2 ,justice ,vaughan ,williams and1 #gf2 increase of1 #ci2 ,mr4 ,lloyd ,george on1 #ci ,game ,laws3 facts about the1 #fi et seq42 a legal anomaly1 #gj2 raison d'tre of1 #ga2 popular dislike of1 #gb ,grand ,duke's exploit1 #ajc ,gravid animals1 hunting of1 #aeh ,greenwood1 ,george1 ,m4,p41 on cruelty of sport1 #a et seq4 ,grouse-moors and farmers1 #ch ,hare-hunting1 #af2 ,sir ,thomas ,more on1 #af ,hedgehogs as 8vermin10 #hh ,heron1 destruction of the1 #da1 #ij ,home ,office1 the1 and ,game ,laws1 #gd ,hudson1 ,w4 ,h41 quoted1 #hg et seq4 ,hunt1 ,leigh1 quoted1 #acc1 #age ,hunter1 the1 as a 8lover of animals10 #ic ,hunting3 expensiveness of1 #fb2 a limited recreation1 #ff2 a rich man's sport1 #fb ,instincts1 8,god-planted10 #acb ,japanese1 prowess of the1 #eg ,johnston1 ,sir ,harry3 on big-game killing1 #aad2 on gun-sportsmen1 #ic2 on wild life1 #he ,justice ignored in ,game ,law administration1 #gd ,justices of the ,peace as game-preservers1 #gc ,kropotkin's1 ,prince1 estimate on produce of soil1 #ec ,land1 effect of ,game ,laws on1 #gb ,legislation affected by hunting1 #fg 8,live bait10 cruelty of using1 #ajh ,lloyd1 ,e4 ,b41 on destruction of wild life1 #he et seq4 ,londonderry's1 ,lord1 economic argument1 #ea 8,lost0 animals1 sufferings of1 #aaj 8,lust1 the blood10 #aac ,lyte1 ,sir ,h4 ,maxwell1 on ,eton barbarities1 #aag1 #abf ,martin1 ,howard1 on benefits of sport1 #di ,meredith1 ,george1 quoted1 #id ,mice and cornfields1 #dj ,modern sport not heroic1 #eh ,monck1 ,w4 ,h4 ,s41 on economics of hunting1 #fj et seq4 ,moral defence of sport lacking1 #g1 #aaa ,natural versus unnatural history1 #id ,nightingales1 destruction of1 #hi ,nyasaland licences1 #aad ,otter hunt at ,longtown1 #cj ,otter hunting1 #ah1 #ai1 #afj ,penal servitude for night poaching1 #ge ,penalties for trespass1 #gd ,pheasant shooting and vivisection1 #a ,pheasants1 artificially reared1 #ac1 #cf1 #ea1 #id ,pigeon-shooting3 not true sport1 #ba2 ,lord ,randolph ,churchill on1 #aff2 prohibited at ,hurlingham1 #bb1 #afg ,poacher3 character of the1 #hj2 the1 as gamekeeper1 #ha2 described1 #ha ,poachers1 illegal sentences on1 #gd ,polo and hunting compared1 #fg ,preservation of game1 #ae ,professionalism spoiling sport1 #ei ,rabbit-coursing1 #bd ,rabbits1 a nuisance to farmers1 #ci ,recreations3 best available to largest numbers1 #fb2 essentials of1 #fb-fd ,remorse of the hunter1 #ajf ,reserves for wild animals1 #dd ,ribblesdale1 ,lord1 and stag-hunting1 #ade1 #aeg ,roosevelt1 ,t41 quoted1 #ajg ,rousseau1 ,j4 ,j41 on compassion1 #ca1 #cb ,salt1 ,henry ,s41 on ,sportsmen's fallacies1 #acj et seq4 ,sargent1 ,henry ,r41 defends sport1 #de ,schopenhauer and the basis of morality1 #ca1 #cb ,select ,committee of #ahdf1 #hj ,sentimentalism versus humanitarianism1 #if ,seton-,karr1 ,h4 ,w41 #aca ,seton-,karr's1 ,sir ,h41 fallacy1 #acg ,shooting1 #aa et seq4 ,small holdings versus sporting interests1 #db ,sparrows and cornfields1 #dj ,spoiling other people's pleasure1 #agi ,sport3 importance of ethical issues1 #a2 as a fetish1 #d2 cost of1 #de-ei2 confusion in the use of the term1 #ef ,sports3 morally unjustifiable if cruel1 #b2 two kinds of1 #c2 spurious1 #bj et seq41 #eh2 and agriculture1 ,edward ,carpenter on1 #cd et seq4 8,sportsman10 a popular appellation1 #c ,sportsmen's claims criticised1 #aci et seq42 logic1 #h2 fallacies1 #acj ,stag-hunting1 cruelties of1 #aj ,steel traps1 barbarity of1 #hb ,torture unnecessary1 #if ,unmanliness of pheasant-shooting1 #eg ,unregistered gamekeepers1 #hj ,unsportsmanlike devices1 #ajd 8,vermin0 exterminated by game-preservers1 #hh ,vivisection and field sports compared1 #a ,wallace1 ,a4 ,r41 on gamekeepers1 #gf ,war1 sport as training for1 #adi ,warre1 ,dr41 his defence of the ,eton hare-hunt1 #aaf1 #abc ,watson1 ,h4 ,b4 ,marriott1 on fox-hunting1 #ie et seq4 ,weasels as 8vermin10 #hh ,wild life1 destruction of1 #he et seq4 ,women and hunting1 #aa1 #ai ,woodpecker destroyed by gamekeeper1 #hi ,wounded victims of sport1 #ad ,young1 need of humane teaching for the1 #ah ,,the ,,end ,,billing ,,and ,,sons1 ,,ltd41 ,,printers1 ,,guildford4