Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-01

Animals charged with crimes and misdemeanors were
always given the benefit of COUNSEL and these gentry
then as now, hesitated to draw upon all the
of professional ingenuity to their clients
from the clutches of justice
One of the most noted LAWYERS of France in the six
tenth century, Chasseneux by name, owed much OF
his fame the skill with which he handled the OF
myriad of charged with destroying the barley crop
of agricultural province Realizing that the rats
had bad case he first skrlished for delay, and OBJ
tanned it. the plea that since the alleged depreda
tions occurred his clients had scattered over large
territory and would take time for the process servers
to find and summon them On the adjourned day he
procured further postponement on the plea that the
though anxious to show their respect tor the court
by obeyng its mandate had failed to respond because
they in fear of their lives. The plaintiffs he de-
cared kept number of active and vgilant cats which
ready to pounce upon any OF the rats that came
into the neghborhood If the court ready to give
them absolute guaranty of safe conduct, or the
plaintiffs prepared to put satisfactory bonds tor
the good behavior of their cats, he thought he could
promise the prompt appearance of his clients on the
next return day. That the seriously entertained
this plea and admitted its validity matter of record;
and the against the rats appears to have gone over
indefinitely because of the technical obstacles raised by
the defendants counsel.
Back of the forms of law employed for the judicial
punishment of animals in olden times lay the supersti-
ton that spirits of evil entered and possessed the poor
creatures. The New Testament story of the maniac
who was mraculously restored to his right mind and
from whom the unclean spirits passed into herd OF
swine that "ran violently down steep place into the
sea- used to be freely cited in support of this concet
The ignorant peasantry continually calling upon
their religious teachers to drive away invading insects
and other pests that rendering waste their fields
by ordering them to depart under pain of excomnunica
ton The ecclesiastical courts, indeed, were those
which first took cognzance of the ofenses of animals,
though it required the condemnation of civil court to
infct the death penalty but the religious idea under
Law everything connected with the civil proceed
ings as was shown in the of pig brought to trial
for killing child where its depravty proved by
its having of its victims flesh in disregard
of the fact that the day Friday.
Witchcraft wasa particularly henous offensein animals
not less than human beings As late 1894, and in
our own beloved New England, dog was hanged
because he believed to have been ridden by wicked
spre. But the browning in this category
that occurred at Basel Switzerland l474 where cock
was indicted for witchcrat the specific accusation being
that contrary the normal and righteous such
matters and by necroantic and gifts he
except of the crcumstantal variety Counsel for the
prisoner did not attempt to overthrow the testimony
but calmly admitted that his client had laid the egg
Still he pleaded no evil intention had been proved and
no evil results had followed Besides, the laying of
egg as everyone knew, involuntary act and as
such was not punishable by law. In spite of everything
the trial went against the poor cock, which was by
Judgment of the court publicly burned at the stake in
an open square of the town. and his discriminating egg
with him. 1t may have afforded some satisfaction to
the pu minority of skeptics who refused to believe
the cock guilty that evidence to light later which