The spectator, 6eptember It, 1852
Mr. Arnold, the Westminster Magistrate, was occupied for many hours on Tuesday in hearing the charges against the Poitevins and Mr. Simpson, of cruelty to horses which were taken into the air suspended beneath a balloon, a person sitting on the back of either animal. . . . The chief witness for the prosecution was Mr. Daws, a veterinary surgeon. He said the suspension of a horse to a balloon would cause " compression of the abdominal viscera, congestion of the blood-vessels in the hinder extremities, extravasation in the peritoneum lining the abdomen, producing internal bruises, and giving a great deal of pain and suffering to the animal" But when cross-examined, he said he believed the two horses in question were in good health. . . . If it were considered cruel (said Mr. Lewis for the defence), it would be difficult- to conjecture what might not next be deemed cruelty. The fairies and ante's that flitted across the stages of our theatres might be embodied in the catalogue; they were suspended in a far less comfortable manner, by a mere band. Mr. Arnold did not think it gallant to conceive that they came within the act of Parliament. Mr. Lewis said that all domestic animals were protected by this act; and as ladies were highly domestic, they might claim to be included.
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