28 FEBRUARY 1931, Page 21

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

SIR,—Much of the misleading impression created by Miss Gardner's two letters will be corrected by Mr. Rider's letter in your issue of February 21st, but since she quotes certain statements from the Reports of the Inspectors of Mines and from other sources, I should like to add these 'further

comments. • I do not doubt for one moment Miss Gardner's sincerity in seeking to improve the conditions of pit ponies, but the original statements, to which I took exception as being an exaggerated description of general conditions, were :—

"Thousands of ponies are worked continuously for sixteen hours on end persistently for weeks, and these same ponies never really rest at all, or rarely lie down in their underground stables. Ponies who are incapable, through fatigue and prolonged labour, of doing the requisite amount of work, are at the mercy of irritable drivers who do not scruple to use the whip."

And :—

"Life to the pit pony is a series of brutal despotic events."

Miss Gardner states that "the Northern Mines Report for 1926 called attention to some mines where the ponies worked sixteen hours a day 'continuously for weeks on end.'" In her letter this statement is given between inverted commas : perhaps you will allow me to give the actual quotation in full :— "Care and Treatment of Animals.

"All mines in the Division employing horses and ponies were inspected during the year and most of the large collieries were visited a number of times. Owing to the long stoppage nearly all the animals were raised to the surface in May, and turned out to grass until December. Without exaggeration these animals were, generally speaking, very pleasing to look at. I think any

fairminded man or woman who saw them would come to the conclusion that the pit horse or pony was not the ill-treated and

neglected dumb animal some people would have the public believe. Their coats were sleek and bright as a result of proper treatment and constant cleaning and grooming. "At a few collieries the animals were left out in the open during the early winter weather without shelter, and suffered much from

exposure to the cold ; on the other hand, it is pleasing to be able to state that in most cases the ponies were taken under cover and housed in farm buildings and the like, before the advent of bleak weather, and were, therefore, in first class condition when work was resumed.

"Following the stoppage, and owing to the rearrangement of shifts and altered hours, I fear there was a tendency at certain collieries to work ponies for long hours without intervals for food

and rest. My staff reported that at some mines ponies worked from fourteen to sixteen hours on end for continuous shifts through-

out the week. In my opinion this is false economy, and if work i3 heavy, it is too much to expect animals even in the very best condition to perform continuously. I sin pleased to record, however, that on taking the matter up with the managements, new ponies were ordered and shifts so arranged that animals were worked the long shift only once or twice 9, week, "Generally speaking, I feel sure animals in mines are very well treated and compare favourably with surface horses ; there will

be isolated cases of cruel treatment, even under the• very best

conditions, from time to time, due to brutal men and boys wh9 have charge of these creatures, but such treatment cannot be long continued before the culprit's deeds are discovered, and I am glad to note that cases brought before the magistrates, and proved, are severely dealt with. Any laxity on the part of owners, agents and managers, which comes to my knowledge, of neglect or ill- treatment of animals in mines will be immediately reported to you With a view to proceedings being taken against thbse •responsible." Secondly, Miss Gardner refers to statements attributed to Mr. J. R. Rider, secretary to the North of England Veterinary Association. Mr. Rider's own letter will be sufficient comment, especially as she adds, "Since Mr. Rider is in a position to know the actual state of affairs, his warning is all the more significant."

Her third reference is to a statement attributed to Lord Jokey. in 'd debate in the House of Lords in 1928. She gives it as

You will find that the long hours are worked in the threo- shif t pits."

The actual quotation is as follows :— 'Accident, occasionally take place which may result in some of the ponies having to work a little longer than usual, but you will generally find that the long hours are worked by the three' shift pits. Wherever a three-shift pit is working a pony is not allowed to work for more than eight hours and there is an interval of eight ;Janis before it begins to work again."

Out of consideration for your space, I refrain from dealing in detail with her other statements—although I am perfectly prepared to do so if challenged—but I should like to add the following statement.

At a meeting of the R.S.P.C.A. in Newcastle in December, 1929, Sybil Lady Eden said, "I do not for a moment think that there is more ill treatment of the pony below than there is above ground. In fact, I would sooner be a pit pony below than a hawker's pony above."

Mr. Austen Kirkup, the agent for the Joicey group of collieries, told the meeting that the average number of miles travelled by a pony a day in Durham was four ;- and Mr. F. Knight, the general secretary of the National Veterinary Medical Association of Great Britain, commenting upon the meeting in the Press afterwards, said that in many cases the natural conditions in different coalfields were such as to render impossible the substitution for the pony of a systeni of conveyors or locomotives, which was what was involved since rope haulage was already in use wherever possible.— I am, Sir, &c., PHILIP GEE, 5 New Court, Lincoln's Inn, W.C. 2.