Some Excellent Thoughts

Editor of the Courier : The protest in your Jast issue agaiust the indiscriminate killing of harmless and useful creatures, was timely. The passion that seems to have taken possession of men and boys to kill, uuder the name of "sport," threatens harrn in more ways than one. It has seemed to some of us that the rapid spread in the last few years, among the youth of our communities of the idea that success in killing wild animáis and birds and fish was highly commendable, and its pursuit higbly enjoyable, was a deplorable thing; and where yon declare that "the person who lawlessly or uselessly kills a bird commits a crime against the human family," it might be well to place considerable emphasis on the word, "uselessly." Much killing which is not lawless, according to the statutes of Michigan, is useless. The küling of any animal, bird or fish, that is not souglit for lood or other use, and that does not need to be destroyed for the welfare of the eommunity, is useless killiug, which you well declare is a crime. If it be "sport," if a Christian people can find pleasure iu mere killin-g, and enjoy the pursuit and torture and destruction of innocent creatures with which God has so richly beautified this world, and which he has endowed with capacity for enjoyment and for suffering like ourselves, is it not a poor reeommendation for our boasted Christian enlightenment? The slaughter of quail, and deer, and bass, and duck, may be necessary for our food supply, and for that supply it may be necessary that our fields and forests and lakes and streams should swarm with men and boys and dogs and guns and boats and rods and Unes, and all the cruel paraphernalia of the chase ; but let that belts justiflcatiou. It cannot be justifled as a recreation or pastime, without saying that it is right to find pleasure in the infliction of distress. That many do so find pleasure, we well know ; but it may be hoped that few would defend it, and doubtless fewer would be capable of it if there were more wholesome teaching in the press. All of these men and boys might still find time from their ordinary occupations to go out thus in search of food - they might- but it would notbe a pleasure to all of them, and they would be sorry for the necessity of causing pain. If they were. sorry in all cases, would they not be kinder in their natures because of that ? Would not the community be the ganier, a gain in which all would share? Every kind motive in any heart is a gain to the community, and the want of it a loss ; and the sum of them inakes up the measure of the happiness and the misery of the community, and of its individual lives. So there may be aspects in which the crime of needlessly killing a bird involves a deeper penalty than the increase of bugs and worms, and a. penalty from which neither the individual nor the community can escape. So it is true here, as your article said, that "Xo crime ever goes unpunished." It carries its punishment with it, and needs not an avenger. Lausmg, JSov. lo, 1897.