On Wednesday Mr. Holt moved the second reading of his
Bill, which the Government opposed, on the ground that what they had done last year had really removed all abuses in this country, and that Mr. bolt's Bill goes too far,—as we think it does. It is clearly undesirable and unreasonable to prohibit the inocula- tion of animals with slight diseases which may prove to be complete protections against much more fatal diseases, yet that is what Mr. bolt's Bill would have done. Mr. Holt and his friends, however; were quite right in saying that the beneficial results of last year's Act depend, not so much on anything in the measure itself, as on the humanity of the Home Secretary for the time being, who has in effect the power to license pretty much what he pleases. If a friend of the Vivisectionists were to become Home Secretary to-morrow, the Act of last year would hardly be worth the paper it is printed on. That, how- ever, is no reason for proposing to amend it by a measure which obviously goes too far, and might injure the interests of the very creatures on whose behalf it is proposed. Mr. Holt's "Cruelty to Animals Bill" was rejected by 222 votes against 83.
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