DESTRUCTION OF SHALL BIRDS.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 71, 6 November 1862, Page 6 (Supplement)

DESTRUCTION OF SHALL BIRDS.

{From The Field.) The readers of The Field —happily no inconsiderable portion of the country gentlemen of England —will have been tolerably convinced by this time that it is a mistake to destroy small birds on account ol the supposed depredations on the field crops and garden seeds. The amusing letter W. A. R. though a declaration of war against the feathered tribe, does not settle the verdict against- them inasmuch as he neither admits the extenuated circumstances of their good actions, nor makes allowance for the temptations placed in their way. If I leave ray ily-book about, in a country house in Northumberland or elsewhere, I may be pretty sure that it will be overhauled before morning and the best flics carefully weeded out; or if A\ . A. R. leaves his tea or sugar or his “particular vanities" to (ho tender mercy of his domestics, the chances are very much in favour of a fall in groceries, and a considerable evaporation of alchoal taking place within twenty-four hours. So, if he leaves his crop of onions, or peas, or other seeds without protection, much as I should regret the absence of those vegetables when ducks arc in season, and I might be honored with an invitation to his festive board, 1 should not lay the blame so much upon the sparrows as upon the oversight of my host. Small birds need not be killed, but they ought to be frightened almost to death ; and surely VV. A. R, can make up a “guy” out of his wardrobe, or get one of his neighbour’s cat’s-skins or a dead hawk, and stick it up in ierrorem, after the manner of the ancients. As for poisoned wheat, I had a nice lesson only yesterday. One of my olive branches was observed busily munching something in the garden, and when I told it to spit it out, what-should the comestible bo but some grains of wheat which the young rodent- had found “in darden." Being referred to the source

of her pickings, I found a quantity of wheat scattered about, which I found was poisoned wheat put down by my friend’s gardener to exterminate the sparrow, which had been “playing old vengeance” with the peas. Now I have a largo family it is true, but I entertain a strong objection to this sort of “provision for the younger branches,” so there will be no more poisoned wheat, or mantraps or bird-traps, or other sweetmeats on ray premises, if 1 know it. Sparrows, no doubt will cat peas, “for it is their nature to,” as the sacred poet has it; but children will also pick up anything eatable, lor “tis their nature, too and valuable as sparrows may be at the rate of two for a farthing children are stilliurequest “at previous currencies.” The quotation of the value reminds me that sparrows have no small influence upon Church matters. In many parishes their exists a time-honoured custom of paying a premium for sparrows’ heads to the idle urchins who play truant from schools in order to go birds’-nesting. Now this money, amounting sometimes to several pounds, is paid out of the church rates, and the Dissenters complain, not without a show of reason, that this is a tax which has no right to ho collected on the score of religious purposes, and they make a fine case out of it whenever they get the chance. I happened to be chairmen at a vestry in a midland county when the question of Church-rates was on the tapis. The Dissenters were in a decided minority, but wore not the less violent or uproarious. The dissenting minister came on purpose to oppose the Church-rate armed with a few technicalities and a legal opinion from the Liberation Society. On my reading out the list of expenses, when I came to the item “vermin,” np jumped the “ village Hampden.” “I purtest agin the wavmint! 1 purtest agin it; and 1 dare you to pass'a Church-rate in the face of my purtest!” And then he went off into an irrelevant speech for half an hour, notwithstanding thejeers of his fellow tradesmen, and being requested not to make a fool of himself. Dut as his was the only dissent voice, the Church-rate was carried, “warmint” and all; and a full, and of course voracious account of the affair appeared iu the Eadieal paper, and I honoured witli a column of abuse in the Liberator , and even by some questions being put in the House of Commons ; and all because churchwardens encourage the slaughterofsparrows and pay for it out of money collected |for religious purposes. Vestry meetings would he very tame if there were not a little excitement of this kind to keep them going ; but I think I should be inclined, if I were a Dissenter, to “purtest agin the warmint” being put down in the account, from religious motives, as I now protest against the indiscriminate slaughter on secular andmundan principles. —J. 11.