The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-06-26 00:00:00

COCK-FIGHTING.

The Times has published the following letter from
Admiral Rous:—

Sir,—A motion in the House of Commons to increase
the punishment to Her Majesty's subjects who indulge
in the most ancient and Royal amusement of cock-
fighting induces me to trespass on your columns.
It has been argued that it is a wise policy to forbid
this sport, owing to its cruelty. On this principle,
why not make pigeon-shooting illegal when fat Herods,
standing over the traps, slay the innocents? Why not
legislate against hunting, coursing, fishing? In the
latter amusement, what can be more brutal than im-
paling worms on hooks, or trolling with live bait to
catch pike? Playing with a fine salmon on your hook
is a pleasant pastime, although the victim differs in
opinion. Neither is there much to be said in favour
of grand battues, where hundreds of birds and ground
game escape mutilated to live a miserable life or to be
eaten by rats.
All these amusements must of necessity be cruel,
but they are sanctioned by the upper classes, and
the cruelty is ignored. With respect to the cham-
pions of the cockpit, is it a greater boon for a young
cock to be well fed and reared to fight a battle, if
victorious to be petted for the remainder of his
life, with half-a-dozen little hens for his comfort, or
to cut his throat early in life to satisfy the appetite
of a carnivorous man? And this man, who daily is
an accessory to the murder of youth in the shape of
veal, lamb, and Spring chickens, prides himself on his
amiability, and in the House of Commons expatiates
on the cruelty of allowing pugnacious birds to contend
in fair fight, to the admiration of thousands of good,
honest men who delight in such specimens of first-rate
pluck and courage. A vegetarian may indulge in such
romance, or a Fakir who declines to wash or comb his
hair for fear of disturbing a happy family. It must be
clear to every man that in this country there is one law
for the rich and another for the poor. The Snob sticks
to the former, but the thoroughbred gentleman stands
by the poor man. In ancient times the gamecock
was considered an emblem of divinity by the Syrians
and Greeks.

When Themistocles besieged Dalmatia, he corn
manded that two cocks should be fought in the open
view of his army, and exhorted them to behave as
these stout-hearted creatures fought. Pomponius
Mela, the historian, asserted that the Roman Empire
did . not begin to decline until cocking had fallen into
disrepute among its Governors. He proves that
Severus was not able to conquer Britain until he had
rendered his principal officers passionately emulous of
glosy by exhibiting a main of cocks every day before
them. The soothsayers warned Mark Antony to take
heed of Cesar, because his cocks were always beaten
by him.
The great Gustavus told the King of Denmark he
had no cause to fear the Imperialists, since they had
given up cocking and were devoted to drinking and
dancing. Christian, King of Denmark, said
"Were I to lead an army against the great Infidel of
Constantinople I would choose none but cockers for
my commanders, and none but lovers of the sport for
soldiers."
Our Henry VIII. built a stately pit in Whitehall,
where he often disported himself among his most noble
and loving subjects, The dying speech of Sir T.

- -
Urquhart, who was wounded at the battle of Naseby,
was—" My King and a good cock I have ever loved,
and like
_a good cock in my Sovereign's service I gladly

no* expire:"
A Mr. Wilson, in the last century, advises. all men
who take delight in this delicious and pleasant pastime
never to forsake or alienate themselves from it, so long
as it shall please the Almighty to bless and prosper
them; and he adds that we are bound to encourage
cockfighting among ourselves and to discourage it
among all foreign nations.
If cocking, which formerly was a grand sport with
the great nobles of this kingdom, be now a sin, I am
an old and hardened sinner. In 1827, in command of
the Rainbow, I brought ten English-bred cocks from
Sydney to Malacca, and fought ten battles with a
Chinese merchant who had defeated all the Malays.
We won every battle, and I would go 200 miles to see
a main between the Cheshire Piles and the Lancashire
Blackbreasted Reds if there was no legal prohibition.
Any amusement which creates alliances and augments
friendly acquaintance adds to the strength of the Em-
pire, for united we stand; and the monotony of human
life is relieved by every salutary diversion.
I finish by a quotation from an ancient writer :
"We, in our shortsighted wisdom, deem ourselves supe-
rior to our progenitors and ridicule their pastimes and pur-
suits, forgetting that in a few years another generation will
hustle us off the stage, and will revenge our treatment of
our ancestors by treating us with similar indignity."