[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Sut,—In your issue of February 7th appears a letter from Miss Juliet Gardner on the subject of pit ponies in which the definite statement is made that " thousands of ponies are worked continuously for sixteen hours on end, persistently for weeks, and these same ponies never really rest at all."
Has Miss Gardner any evidence in support of this statement, and, if so, has she communicated it to the Mines Department ? I fully appreciate the feelings of an animal lover in this matter—especially since it is obviously impossible for her to have had first hand experience of the life and treatment of ponies in mines. But I submit that before making such very sweeping charges, which are, in effect, an indictment of a whole industry, correspondents should not only be sure of their facts, but be in a position to supply details of definite cases for investigation.
And I make this statement for two particular reasons. A few months ago somewhat similar charges were made in a weekly journal and upon investigation , of the alleged occurrences by the Mines Department were found, in the words of that Department, to be " grossly untrue." Moreover, the Royal Commission of 1911 reported statements by the then retary of the Equine Defence League that, " as he himself admitted he had greatly overstated his case " ; that some of his statements were " conventional exaggeration " ; and that his evidence " largely consisted of letters from persons whom it was not practicable to cross-examine, and of hearsay statements made in those letters by persons who were not even named."
I do not think that a calm and unbiased scrutiny of the evidence or of the Inspectors' reports will bear out the generality of Miss Gardner's accusations. I will only add that the Mining Association has recently written to the Mines Department requesting that, if and when the Secretary for Mines receives a deputation from certain bodies interesting themselves in the subject of pit ponies, he will insist on the production of definite particulars of cases on which the allegations as to the bad treatment of pit ponies purport to be based ; and that he will then meet representatives of the Association and furnish them with the information in question in order that they may be placed in a position to refute the unfair statements with which the public is being constantly misled as to the treatment ofponies in mines.—.Lam, Sir, &c., 5 New Court, Lincoln Inn, W.C. 2. PHILIP GEE.
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