The Express.
London, England, 1864-08-09 00:00:00

PRINCESS L

Tem RTIniTMI, BORN -1664306 LUCK. Mr. D. Murray.
And THE sTRIErs OF LONDON. Mesas. J. W. Ray, David
Fisher. D. Murray. J. Nelson. H. Forrester, sod H. Mellon ;
Urn IL Marston, Mims Barnett and Owynue.

ssre#innA,

Of
tits imam. THE —BE AYE Or CRUM— Manful by
Mr. H De Brenner. Mr. C. Blend. sad Ile H. Baker. —Dendun by
Mlle. C. Stepban. —And THE LIGHT-HOWSZ ICKEPYJCS
DAUGHTER.

EWE WATER AT LONDON WOOL
TRyi DAY Earning. IL 441m.....A14rmaLL. 6b. ILL
To-410660T —Yarning. 6b. IL 46a.

LONDON, TUESDAY, AUGUST 9.

.AN exhibition such as has not hitherto been
attempted on a large scale is opened to the
public this morning, at the Agricultural Hall,
Islington. There, where lately the animals which
minister most to the strength and pride of man
were shown—where Durham; and short-horns were
arrayed in sleek beauty, and the racehorse and hunter
paraded before admiring thousands—a Donkey
Show is now to be held. Why not f The ass
is probably an older friend of man than the horse.
He was earlier domesticated, and lived laborious
days while his disdainful neighbour was disporting
himself in idleness and liberty. Even now in the
greater part of the world, including those countries
where both animals are seen together in perfection,
the ass is the beast of industrious civil life, while
the horse is reserved for the purposes of ostenta-
tion and war. Not that the us cannot be proud,
too, upon due encouragement. Sir JoaN CHARDIN
observed that in his day the seam of Arabia " had
" smooth, clean costa, carried their heads
" aloft, and had fine, well-formed legs,
" which they threw out gracefully in walk-
" ing or gallopping :" • description which it
seems difficult to connect with the species to which
the abused and degraded donkey of our back slums
belongs. Western Asia has always been the favoured
country of the ass, which flourishes best in a warm
climate, attaining there to • greater size, and so-
quiring with it an easier pace and more graceful
action than elsewhere. Of the original type of the
animal we know nothing, for it teems that the
wild asses, specimens of which are found in me-
nageries and the collections of amateur naturalists,
are, like the wild horses of the prairies, descendants
of domestic azi;maht that have escaped from cap-
tivity. In this state they do not entirely cease to
be useful to man, who confers on them the rank
of beads of chase, to be hunted and eaten. The
Boers of the Cape and the Tartars of the
Steppes show an equal partiality to their flesh. As
a useful companion of man the am exhibits various
degrees of capacity, which are proportioned very
much to the treatment he receives. The Eastern
sales become under neglect and ill-usage more and
more diminutive and dispirited, until, as in some
parts of India, they are not much larger than
Newfoundland dogs, and are seen in droves carry-
ing the clay of the pot-maker or the equipage of
troops of gipsies. Even in Spain, where the
monks ride asses twice as large as those used in thin•
country, their stature varies considerably.
The promote-s of the Islington exhibition do
not aspire to exercise any great influence over the
breeding of the ass. At present they will be con-
tent if they can secure better treatment for him
such as he is. In this country of energetic labour
and fierce competition, it is only the humbler
classes of society that can find a place for him in
the economy of their working life, and accordingly
it is chiefly in their hands that he is seen. They
need a strong beast of burden, which can endure
exposure and hardships, and perform much work
while costing little for maintenance, and in the
ass they tied exactly what they require. It is to
be regretted that the treatment which the animal
receives is often harsh and severe. This does not

always, or we would hope even generally, imply
cruelty on the part of the owners, some of whew
might doubtless say, in their pensive moods—
It never was io my soul
To pl►y so ill a part,
But evil is wrought by want of thought
As well as want of heart.
Much of the ill-treatment which the ass sustain is
due to the ingrained belief in his natural stupidity.
The cudgel is resorted to because it is regarded
as the only efficient instrument of instruction.
Thus the animal is hardened until his utter want
of such intelligence as man is willing to concede
to the lower animals has become a byeword.
SHAKESPEARE mentions him a hundred times as •
type of patient stolid intractability, and with the
Greeks and It mums his stupidity was a proverb.
In patriarchal times, however, his name was not
one of reproach, else one of " the world's grey
"fathers" could not have said complacently of his
son, in an hour of Semitic intuition, " Is.sAcHas
"is a strong ass," an expression which commentators
have taken as a prediction of the laborious,
patient character of the future tribe, not with-
out a certain allusion to the Dutch kind of
public policy which prosperity and a peculiar
addiction to material interests would lead it to
pursue. There must, no doubt, be some good
ground for an opinion which has prevailed wherever
the ass has been brought under the judgment of
the more energetic races of mankind. It is re-
markable that that opinion has been most adverse
where circumstances, and particularly a cold cli-
mate, have been unfavourable to the animal. The
ass was an extremely rare animal in England even
WI late as in the days of Queen ELIZABETH, and
has always appeared among us at disadvantage.
His reputed natural stupidity, however, is a po-
pular error. Every good work on natural history

TSB

abounds with i'luatrations of his groat intelligent*
as shown in the adaptation of means to soda. A
number of these may be found in the admirable
work of the Rev. J. G. WOOD, who observes,
" The us is truly one of the cleverest of our
" domesticated animals, and will lose no oppor-
" tunity of displaying his capability whenever
" his intelligence is allowed to expand by being
" freed from the crushing toil that are too often
" the concomitants of a donkey's life." 111-treat-
ment drives the animal to a passive resistance
which is thoughtlessly put down to stupidity, but
not the less punished as perverseness. An attempt
is now made to turn the attention of those who
have most to do with the sea to the good qualities
which lie latent in him, and which may be deve-
loped and improved under proper treatment. The
costermonger, the sweep, the small coal merchant,
and other donkey-masters will be encouraged to visit
the Agricultural Hall this week, and see specimens
of the ass as he exists under favourable circum-
stances. The Prince of WALES takes part in the
work by sending one of the aristocracy of the
species obtained from Egypt. Ownem of donkeys
who have treated their beasts well, and are there-
fore able to exhibit them in a good condition, are
to rece've prizes. This is a very praiseworthy
movement, and perhaps the ludicrous aspect in
which it will doubtless appear to some minds may
not be without its advantages in securing an
additional amount of public attention. However
this may be, we wish the endeavour all the success
which its authors can desire.

THE O'CONNELL MONUMENT IN DUBLIN.

(nox OUR ows coassaronarr.)
DUBLIN, MOYD*2 Ensnto.

The first stone of the intended O'Connell monu-
ment was laid to-day by the Lurd Mayor, on the
site granted by the corporation at the squtheio
extremity of Sitckville-street. The demonstration
was the greatest that has ever taken place in
Dublin, and the conduct of the people was moat
orderly and quiet The procession started r.
12 o'clock from Stephen's-green, where the several
trades of the city bad assembled from an
early hour, with their bands and tie banners of
their respective guilds. The persons who took
part in the procession wore green sashes, roseLles,
and ribbons, and many of the people who thronged
the streets were similarly decorated. Amongst
those who took part in the procession were the
Roman catholic primate, Dr. Dixon Archbishop
Cullen, Archbishop Leahy, and several other Roman
catholic prelates. Starting from Stephen's-green,
the procession passed through the prin-
cipal streets ca Dublin to Sackville-street, where
the,first stone was laid at about five o'clock, by the
Lord Mayor, in the presence of a vast assemblage.
The windows along the line of the procession were
crowded with spectators, and all the shops were
closed. Traffic and business were completely us-
peuded, and the day was kept as a holiday by the
art'-.ans and tradesmen. In the evening • banquet
,oic place at the Rotunda. The Lord Mayor pre-
sided, and amongst the speakers were Archbishop
Leahy, Mr. J. F. Maguire, M.P., Sir Colman
O'Loghlen, M.P., and Sir John Gray.