Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1913-07-12
Elton SPORT BRUTAL
Cruelty in Weekly Run Of Hounds
and Horses.
Canon Defends the Practice. necIar
Ina That He ThinIea II Good and
kseps crusadins Spirit From
Undesirable Activities


London.--Almost under the walls Of
Elton college a scene was enacted re-
Gently, which. for sheer brutality. II
would be hard TO beat A hard press
cd hare which the boys OF the college
had been hunting with pack OF
hounds 1for beaglesD. maintained at
the college for this purpose. twice
swan the river with the pack close
behind and a half hundred boys yell
ing like fiends on the banks. and was
In the net OF swimming II a third time
when Il was pulled under and killed
amid the enthusiastic cheers of the
young EtoniRns who, OF course. are
mostly the sons of noblemen and 9th
er aristocrnts. and form the nucleus
of the ruling clans OF the future In
this country.
This termination TO the regular
weekly run of the Elton beagles was
a little more brutal than usual. but
not much more. The Elton beagles,
which ARE supported by subscriptions.
nearly always succeeded In killing. as
the phrase goes, when the CARCASS OF
the slaughtered hare is whirled tri-
boy whip and torn to pieces by the
yelptng pack. amid whoops of tIi-
umph from gloating field. A simi-
lar triumph OF the Elton beagles. it
may be remembered, was recalled by
that noble sportsman. Lord Ross
more, in his recent book of reminis-
cences In these words:
zone of the prettiest things ever
saw was a hare. very hard pressed,
that took to the water and swan
right out into the middle with all the
hounds after her, but she was, unfor-
tunately. SO beat that she was
drowned from sheer exhaustion half
way across"
The latest exhibition OF brutality
at Elton has shocked HUMANITARIAN.
and an influentiaIly signed petition
was presented the other day TO Canon
kyttelton, the reverend head master
of Elton college, begging him to do
away with the pastime OF hare hunt
ing at Elton, on the ground that its ef-
feet is Ito stimulate cruelty among
the young" This. by the way. is by
no means the first petition OF the kind
that has been laid before q head OF
the famous college with similar OBJ
| ject, others In the past having been
signed by Herbert Spencer, Sir Fred
| erick Treves, Sir A. Conan Doyle, the
late Lord Woiseley and other famous
men. but all without avail
After due reflection Canon Lyttel'
ton, who himself is the son OF lord
has replied to the petition in a letter
in which he declines TO do away with
the beagles. md an exceedingly re
! markable letter II Is To begin with
| this man of God, who, before becom
ing head master of Elton. was the
honorable canon of st. Adams, and
who is the author, among other books
of one called Studies in the Sermon
| of the Mount asserts. that Tar from
| there being an increase of cruelty
! among English boys. many educators
are not without misgivings at the al
most unnatural genfleness of the mod
ern schoolboy compared with his fore
father"
How insignificant, then" says the
canon, must the influence of THU
kind OF hunting be In the opposite di
rection."
The reverend canon ends his lettel
by declaring that, -'as far as possible
all cruelty has been banished" from
the hunting and killing of hares b.
the Elton boys Needless to say. hii
shufling APOLOGIZE, ms 1t is termed. haI
called forth a broadside of whitening
sarcasm. One OF those who pay theil
compliments In the canon in no uncer
tain terms Is Sir Philip Burne Jones'
while among the reverend headmas
ter's critics are several old Etonians
one OF whom, after recalling LORD
Rossmore's pretty sight" remarks:
That's my idea OF how the you'll
of the nation should be brought up
and that's why I am In hearty sym
pathy with Canon Lyttelton's reason
ing. Let him go on as he Is going
then he viii run no risk OF offending
Lord Bung. or Sir Gorgias Midas. o.
other influential people who hav,
their SONS at Elton. was nearly sew
en- years there myself, and was neve
troubled by any stupid humanitarian
teaching"