As we give in another column a long letter dealing
with the Baker Street "mad-dog" case, it is only fair to give here the remarks of the Magistrate who tried it, as supplied by the Chief Commissioner of Police. Here is the memorandum which was sent to Thursday's Daily Telegraph :—" Consider- able attention having been directed to the Baker Street dog case, on which several sensational letters and articles had been written ascribing cruelty and inhumanity to police officers, the Commissioner desires to place on record the views of the Magis- trate in dealing with this case as follows :--4 The police in this case acted perfectly rightly, and there was no cruelty on their part. It is not necessary to be shown that an animal is really mad ; what is required is that a constable should have reason- able grounds for supposing that the dog is mad, and no one who has heard the evidence in the case can doubt that the officers properly acted under that belief in the interests of the public. I cannot help thinking that the lady has been very ill-advised in taking the summons against the police, and should have more carefully considered the matter before bringing a charge which renders them liable to six months' imprisonment, against an inspector of eighteen years' standing and another officer who has been for some time in the force. In my opinion, these sum- monses were only taken with a view to modify the charge against the lady ; but in that they have signally failed. 1 only inflict a small fine, as I am disposed to make some excuse for her, believing that she so acted under the excitement of the time.' " We have no means, of course, of judging between the very different statements supplied to us, but it seems almost certain that even if the police had reasonable grounds for believing the dog mad, they yet took a most inhuman way of destroying the poor creature,—one which looks extremely like a very serious offence against the Act punishing cruelty to animals. To allow inhumanity in the police is a certain method of encouraging inhumanity in the public.
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