, 1876-02-26

4SOydl 0OCtGby lOl lAG ICFCbllUl Va
Cruelty to Animals, against a publican
and veterinary surgeon, 4Ar causing to
be cut and cutting, respectively, three
cocks combs,-a practice which was repre-
scented as cruel and unnecessary and as of
no sort of benefit to the creatures them
selves. The evidence of another veteTina-
Ty surgeon was taken to prove that sever
al nerves were cut through in the process,
and that the creatures suffered much pain
for no good end and Mr.. Harrison Weir,
the animal painter, gave it as his belief
that the practice was o very painful one,
and that, after all, it spoilt the appearance
of the creatures subjected to it. The
magistrates, however, dismissed the case,
holding that it was not one which came
within the meaning of the Cruelty to
Animals Act, but they granted an appeal
to o higher Court on the point. The de-
Cislon was certainly a very curious one,
unless the magistrates held that the prac-
tice is really one intended to promote the
animals own good. Otherwise it is quite
clear, that whether the pain inflicted be
sufficient or insufficient to warrant the
inaiction of any penalty under the Act, the
Act certainly applies. Indeed, wherever
the Act has been applied, it has been to
punish the inhictiOn ofsuffering on animals
foran inadequate or trivial end. If the
bantam cocks were i'll treated at all, it is
quite certain that their iIl-treatment was
punishable by Martins Act,
The Senatorial delegates of the Seine be.
longing to the Radical party have accepted
a programme which, as they are French
Radicals, ought to be very horrible, but ia,
except as to the Army, identical with that
otalI English Radicals who happen also TO
be Dissenters. They propose the aboli-
ton Of the state Of siege, liberty OF meeting
and association, gtAtuitous, compulsory,
and secular education obligatory militia
~ service, without privileges OF any kind;
election Of Mayors by the municipalities;
revision ofany taxation calculated to de-
press industry, and the separation Of
Church and State. That is the present
programme of men whose success ut the cleo
lions seems to French Conservatives to
Justify measures Of repression, and even q
military coup d6tQt. Grant that NJ. PI-
chat and his friends have other measures
in reserve, and still their moderation shows
that they defer to a public opinion which
they feel to be irresistible, and which,
therefore, needs no support from bayonets.
The New York papers produce evidence
that the man Thomassen, alias Alexander,
did his best to get a box OF specie, as he
called it, insured on the White Star steam
or Celtic from Liverpool to New York,
which reached New York on the Gath
October last, but failing, brought the box
which he called the box of specie, unit-
sured. The box was still in the Offices Of
the Company at New York, and being
opened, was found to contain bags OF shot,
and nothing else. 1t about the size Of
the boxes in which the clockwork for ex-
ploding the dynamite was contained. AS
Thomassen only desired to insure his
worthless box for Sc 900, it does not look
as if be had many or any accompIices in
the plot. $4,000 would have been little
enough for one criminal who was running
such a risk. He represented the box as
containing 96,0 in specie, and it was
just about of the requisite weight to pass
for such box.
A frightful accident occurred on the
Great Northern Railway on Friday week,