The Express.
London, England, 1865-01-26 00:00:00

ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION

OF CRUELTY TO AlilMAla

TO TRH ZDITOI or THE ZIPS/LBll.

Eta,—Ate meeting of the Committee of this
Society, held yesterday, I had the hosour to read your lead-
ing article referring to cruelty to animal', which appeared
in your parer of the 7th inst. ; and I was desired to express
to you the most cordial thaoks of this Society for your able
advocaey of the claims of brutes, and of the muse in which
we are Gamed. The premium* in which you placed your
temperate and practical observatiosts will, doubtless,
awaken the attention of many of your readers to a question
which cannot be narrowed down to the mere protection of
dumb creatures ; for, as you suggest, a man carefully kind
to animals will seldom be brutal to his fellows.

Is reply to your question, " Why dt.es not the society
more frequently eased is its head.quarters (the New Cattle
Market) the evil it exists to combat r I am directed today
that we do assail the cruel practice of drovers and horse-
/hiders to which you diode. Every market day our officers
are employed is the market sod its vicinity, and I hays so
hesitation in eerie( the sasses you so justly and graphically
describe would be impossible if we could multiply the Dum-
ber of our mastables, and particularly it the magistrates of
Clakenwell, by whom all cases from that district are
beard, would inflict heavier penalties upon offenders. The
four dicers generally engaged on the duty before named
do prevent an incredible amount of cruelty. I.—
By their preseacs and by their interfersomi.
2.
By prosecutions, hundreds of which have resulted
in meridiem daring the past three or four yams. The
work in the market, and outside is the numerous highways
sad byways, would overtsak the energies of du times the
number of oonstablse which we can afford regularly to em.
ploy in Copenhagen-field.. But the fact still remains, I
beg to submit, that our interference will be useful or the
contrary exactly in proportion as we obtain the support of
the magistrates. if every brutal drover or horsmdmler
ware to be imprisoned for two mouths with bard labour, as
is the aim recently heard by Mr. D'Eyncoort (a copy of
which I enclose for your perusal), we should soon mitigate
the horrors of New Smithfield. Is it not labour is
vain to inflict a penalty of • few shillings upon a
clam of men who, it is well known, are members
of • protective association, the funds of which are designed
expressly to pay such fines! The defendant leaves the court
with • grin of triumph, and he and his companioas repeat
again and again their inhumanity without let or biodramie ;
but Ist the magistrates commit the delinquent, the effect is
re stunning upon his clam that he who witnesses it most
ever afterwards be an advocate for this punishinecit. lam
bound to say, however, that magistrates often take a mfr.
offal view of the cruelty committed by drovers, apparently
for the remorse you give in alluding to another clam of
cisme& The alleged stubbornness of the ox ; its fears
apes reaching thoroughfares crowded with vehicles mad ,
human beings so soon after quitting its louterene and peaceful
fields; the sem irberthrous erudition of the offeeder, sad many
other emaiderstions Whence the judgment of the bench. It
is well-Wwwn to all penose of expertise* that unless we
succeed in proving a charge of • flagrant suitors a dis-
missal would ensue ; this, it will be admitted, considering
its hardening effect upon the minds of brutal men, is •
consummation earnestly and devoutly to be deplored.
With you, the Committee deeply regret that all cruelty
cosset be prevented ; but w►ile they have already aumm.
dished much, evert in the treatment of animals at Copen-
hagen-fields ; while they are still struggllng to edited
their umfulusas ; while they gratefully acknowledge the
assistance of the pram and of private persons ; it will be
obvious that their exertions must be measured by the sup-
pod they receive from public opinion, from justices, and,
not lead, from the charitable members of the comm.
nity ; sad it is from • same of the eludes whiub your
ratted may reedier to the Society in each of them Clan.
Bele that the Committee desire to say they feel greatly
iodated to you.—l sus, ho,,

THE SECRETARY.

12, Pall-mall, Loodoo, Jan. 25.

PILUULACBOTICAL SOCLITY 07 GILT BRITAIN.-
The Mowing aunlidotoo pissed tin major azionoatios so
tied oboodoto yesterday :—Bootb, Samuel, Los-
tar:47l6l "wret„ Edward P., Brentwood ; Holt, Witham H.,
njoriorirgn ; John CI, 1601114011 Aolato, Thom%
London ; Blogiotk- Thr, C., Plymouth ; Synth, Edward,
Wormier.

I quite agree with the Genet, de Frame that it is
monstrous thus officially to designate eertslii caf-
tans sot under auy personal disability, not ob-
teeniostatio tbakiwe d publis soletp, mottoes's men
comprised in bay amnesty, as ineligible to be
allowed to speak in public merely on amount of the
notoriety of their tidies. This is a refinement in
the discovery of a catalogue of " suspects" unknown
to 1791. No doubt under existing illiberal laws
the government may refuse permission to deliver
public lectures without giving any reason at all.
Eat to withdraw an authorisation once granted
for such a reason as the above is a most awkward
proceeding and an unjustifiable insult to indi-
viduals. It is not a rational or decent act on the
part of a government which pretends not only to
be somethiug more than provisional, but to be
deeply rooted in the affections of the country. The
practical effect of the above extraordinary decision
will be to put a atop altogether to the interesting
course of lectures which was to have been delivered
in the Rue Bonaparte, for the seven other leoturere,
MM. Bernd, Coate, Jules Duval, A. Gigot,
Guillaume Guizot. Louis Rariend, and Gaudry,
refuse to go on now that their three brethren in the
work are put under a ban.
Id. Vents, • lecturer in the Rue Cadet, bait been
interdicted for having, on Jan. 15, "departed
from his subject and talked politics."
It is asserted that • government messenger has
been sent to Rome with despatches for M. de Bev
tiger and General de Montebello, ordering the im-
mediate return to France of a part of the army of
occupation, by way of showing the diasatisfaction
of France with the recent conduct of the papal
government.
bL Anselnie Petetin, the director of the Im-
perial Printing-office, has just presented to the
Emperor the first volume of a sumptuous edition
of his Majesty's " Life of Caner." Fifteen
hundred copies only of this edition have been
struck off, and of these the Emperor will make
presents of 1,000.
It is rumoured that the Emperor has granted •
petsiou to M. Proudhon's widow.
I An extraordinary and fatal explosion of gas coo-
eurred at 9 this morning tithe Bridge of Auaterlitz,
opposite the J'ardin des Plantes. Half-a.dosen

people were killed on the spot, their beads and
limbs being scattered about in a frightful manner.
Several yards of foot pavement in the neighbourhood
of the bridge were blown up.
The Bourse lass recovered from the depression of

the last two days. Rents rose 20c. for cub and
account, closing at 861 r. 950. and 67fr. Mobilier
rose Ilfr. 25c. The railways scarcely regained the
fall of yesterday.