Society For The Preventio...
The Times, 1824-06-17T00:00:00

The friends r.f the ba for the prevention of ecrutlt to animati r sembhled yesterd,ay at Old Slaughlter's Coffee.house; in St.Mar-. in's-lane, for the purpose Of fotmiog a Society more efrectully to. heckthe praetce of?tratimg the brute crseation with eruelty'. IFOWELL Ei:TOM;, Esq., IUP., was unanunously caUed to the Tune CXAXRSLA stated the object ofthe meeting. He observed that1 -debstizable7noton vto preventthe exercise ofcruelty towardsani- Qang, butto spreadamongst thelo6erordersofthe people, especially monftthosetowvhom thecareof animals was intrusted a degree of r elbZwhich,o compel them to think and act like those of I penOr d, inttead of sinking into a comparison (in vhich their hferionity was now unfortunately acknowledged) with the poor brute. vcr which they exereised a brntal authority. There were in the OO1M manypersons distinguifshed for their active benevolence. T.o nstitutions enad arisen out of the exertions of a few such individuals Athe* British and Foreign School Society, and the Prison Disdpline ~Cty e and had changed the whole face of the country. Hlere was , muc more. easpictoas bIi nning. A societv might here hproductive of elccts equally calculated to alter flht condition of the morat feeling throughont the land. Of ~enleceSsity for interference. there existed nO doubt. By a ,--turm v;hicti be held in his hand, it appeared that-a man Ied Wheeler, whgo had been employed to keep an eye upon mhnen who broughlt .cattle to Smithfield market; had hiMnelfap- ~rehended and brought to conviction no less than 63 men, for cruel Utreacommitted since the 12th of Decemberlast. (Hear,hear.) Mr. Broome,who had paidgreat attention to the subject and ha4 !mPloyed WVheeler, would perhaps state to the meeting his views as :o the best meana to be adopted for the attainmcnt of the general abject of themeetinz. .r BROO3SE said tbatevery method should be resorted to for the Purpose of directing the public attention to the subject; that tracts mad sermons should be published, to effect a change in the moral feelings of these who had the control of animals: but whetber they ihould expend money in prosecuting individuals who vere detected In committing outriges upon the brute creation, wv&s a question upon which the Sodety must decide. He felt a strong aversion to prose- euting societies- they looksedlike powerful, and of course most ob- jectionable and unconstitutional confederacies, acting in opposition to an individual, and were also subject to gross abuse and misma- nagement. The payment of agents in suc cases would be a pre- mium leading to grievous prosecntions. Ie was, howeverAconvinced thattracts and sermous would have a most excellent an extensive 31r. IAllEYXoTthoughtthatprosecutionswouldbe absolutely neces- -ary. The class ofmen with whamthe efforts ofthemeetingwould probably come in contact, were now sunk in the lowest state of ig- DOrance and brutiality, and altogether unassailable by such weapons a-, tracts or sermons, becausethey never read nor went to church. It was palpable that nothing but prosecutions could affect drovers, al- -hough more gentle means might have an influence upon others who acted with rigour towards the brute creation. TheRCY. Ir.fATcH submitted thatboth courses might properly be atopted. - No odium had been excited by the prosecutions which had been instituted, and as it was to be pres:umed that no prosecu- tions except those which were absolately requigite would be insti- tuted, he did not see whysa prejudice could attach to them. They vouldnotprosecute for beating a horse, but they would for breaking theleg of acow, by cruelly beating the animaL The slighter offinces might ha Ieft to the operations of tracts. - l3r. RTrTr,3.P., for Galwav, agreed thatalthoughprosecutions might be adopted in some cases, it would be il!-judged to stand for=ardasaprosecutiRg societv. They might appoint agents to watch the conduct of those wh'o frequented the markets; and those agents might prosecute upon their own responsibility, and at their ciwn expense. (Hear, hear.) Ife had himself a good dwcI to do with the gendte-aen who attended the markets,and he was convinced tbtat othing but punishment would have any effect upon them; yet to tonn a confiederacy of prosecutors would throw a great unpopula- sity upon the Society's proceedings. It lhad been stated that the first efort sbould be 'to alter tbe moral feeling of the cominunity. This -would be done by acting as had been proposed. Indeed a re- volution in morals had taken place by the passing of the act, ard tke eleclav.tionsof theopinion of the Kinh, Lords and Commons upon the subject. HIe could state many instances of?this change through. .out the country. Not long ago it was thought no disgrace by a gen- {leman to get rid in any manner of a racer or a hunter which had :erved him for eight or ten years. A wvidely different feeling now prevailed. Se had been infor'med of an instance in which a gentle- an of large fortune in I.eicestershire, the heir to a tide, who a3vilg a hunter whbich had borne hiu! at the head of the pack for eight or ten years, but unfortunately was disabled bv an accident rom keeping its usual station, had thie barbarity to sell the poor ani. *mal for 41. to drawv coals from a mine. Now, since the passing of the bill, this heir to a title was so much ashamed of wlhat he had done as to do aU he could to conceal the transaction; and his friend was so much ashamed of the transaction as to refuse to tel the name of th.e performer of it. A ladv with whom he was acquainted bought a horse in IFeland for iQ guineas. The animal was so intemperate that she could not ride it. She was, however; so much afraid that it would fall into bad hands,tbat she kept itto the pregemt time in Lvery stables, though she had been offered 50 guineas for the horse. In fact the act had created a moral feding. The CuAitMALr then pat a resolution for the formation ef a so- ciety. It was carried unanimously. - Sir JA.,rEs MUACINTOSH expressed his full concurrence in what had been done, and apologized for the haste in which he was obliged to attend the House of Commons. He,however, should call the at- tention of the meeting to one point. With respect to those animaLs which had been placed under our power, and which it was ne<essary to kill to supply our wants, we were bound to give them the least possible degree of pain in putting them to death. Now he wished the attcntion of the meeting to be directed to this point, and that it might be ascertained whether shorter and less painful modes of slaughteringanimals mightnotbe adoptedthan those atpresentin use. After the establishment of some regulations for conducting the Society, avote of thanks wasmoved to the Chairmant, who congratu- lated the meeting upon the formation of such a Society, ad the meeting dispersed. OCIETY Fr FOR T11 , PREVENTIO OF CRDELTY - I . Tow ANIMALLs. .