Mr. Chaplin's defence of his muzzling order on Wednesday was
not a very brilliant affair. In the first place, he had evidently not read the letter from " F.R.S." to the Times of Wednesday week as to the statistics of the question. In the next place, he treated muzzling as the only remedy for the prevention of hydrophobia, though he admitted that in the case of packs of hounds, the method of bringing home strictly the responsibility for the dog's state to its owner, is even more effective than muzzling ; and thatis precisely what the Vienna system of registration aims at and effects. Mr. Chaplin ignored the strongest point of the ease against him, and was curiously unhappy when he said that, as for the sufferings inflicted on the dogs, these could easily be remedied by getting the right sort of muzzle and taking proper care. Of course they could ; but who is to secure that, amongst scores of thousands of ignorant and callous dog-owners, even the greater number will get the right sort of muzzle and will take the proper care ? Mr. Chaplin might just as well say that it is all nonsense to compel parents to educate their children, because if parents only care enough for their children, they will themselves see to their education. Yet we are not content to trust so far the ignorance and callousness of millions of parents.
Previous page
