The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-08-22

tiles have decided to open the public schools
of the county, on Monday, the 31st of
August. By this arrangement the quarter
will end evenly at the close of the last week
in November, instead of running into the
following month, as it would if the by laws
were carried out to the letter.
Suicide at Havre de Grace.-On Sunday
last, Philip Barrett, Of Havre de Grace,
committed suicide by cutting his throat
with razor. He had been for some days
in depressed hypochondriac condition of
mind, constantly expressing apprehensions
of coming want, and fearing that he and
his mother would starve, &c. Within the
last day or two this alteration of mind had
increased to SO marked a degree that by
the advice of DR.: Cochran, a watch was
kept upon the deceased. On Sunday he
seemed calm, and during the afternoon sat
down in the parlor and listened attentively
to his mother reading, Mrs. Kane being
o'clock Mr.. Barrett walked into the kitchen,
and soon afterwards Mrs. Kane called Mrs
Barretts attention to noise like running
water, and on the two proceeding to the
kitchen door, a horrible sight presented
itself. Barrett had stood up before the
glass and deliberately cut his throat with a
razor, which he had secreted about his
person. Mr.. Barrett was about 45 years of
age, and unmarried. He leaves an aged
mother and two sisters (both married) in
Havre de Grace a married sister in Will
mington, and brother in Pittsburg. He
was hard-working, industrious man.
The Coroner held an inquest, and verdict
was rendered in accordance with the above.
Dogs.-There has been considerable sx-
citement about the dogs recently, and
kind of hydrophobia epidemic has pre-
vailed throughout the country in mild
form, superinduced in great measure, per-
haps, by the newspapers, and the cases of
that terrible disease which occurred in New
York. We have had two cases of rabids
in Elkton dogs recently, which appear to
be authenticated, and one other case of
dog that was charged with being rabd.
| But we did not commence this article for
the purpose of discussing the mad-dog
question any further than to call the atten-
ton of the public to dogs. Every one
acknowledge that there are about three Or
four dogs now kept, where for either pleas
ure or use, one would be all sufficient but
owing to the abuse that has grown up in
the matter of dogs, the law has no restrain
ing power. Hundreds of worthless ours,
without home or master, apparently, prowl
about every town in the land, and these
half starved wretches, kill sheep, go mad,
pilfer from the back yards and keep up a
continual nocturnal serenade like pack of
hungry wolves which disturbs every sleeper
in their neig borhood, who does not happen
to be blessed with nerves of iron. Now
little common sense and a determination to
abate the evil, would soon introduce a rem
edy which should satisfy every right-mind-
ed citizen. We do not know whether the
Town Commissioners have the power or
not; if not, they ought to have it conferred
by the next General Assembly, to tax or
rather license the keeping of dog or dogs,
with the provision that every dog thus
licensed should wear collar, bearing the
owners name and the insignia, showing
that his owner had paid the license upon
said dog. The expense necessary to such |
an organization Of the dog family need |
not be great; in fact it might be almost
nominal; dollar year at most, would be
sufficient. Every dog found without his
owners collar and the proper insignia of
the Town Commissioners, it should be the
duty of theBailiff to kill or impound. Some
such remedy as this would remove about
three dogs out of four of the clan which
infest our streets, to the infinite advantage
of everybody and without working any
hardship to any. The old system of muz-
cling dogs is a relic of barbarism, which !
serves to increase the rabies rather than |
prevent the disease. Dogs that are muz-
zled are frequently thrown into fits, by |
the torment they endure from flies and |
other insects, which on account of the muz-
zle, they are prevented from freeing them
selves from.
Registration officers of Reoistra