"A Final Tilt"
To the Editor of the "Norru-Ciusa Dancy News"
Su,—Permit me to don my shining. tin armour, to mount my prancing war-horse and to take one final tilt Im the lists of your valued columns, for the cause in which, according to my own lights, I have put up a fair and gallant fight.
At the risk of repeating myself, Permit me to point out, that I never opposed the anti-rabies or muzzling campaign. "My point was, that the uses and the efforts made to deal with these, were not properly rec-agnized and that a beginning should have been made, as' has since been done, by eradicating the danger of strays and works and not by enforcing the muzzling order in the Settlements.
"Your interpretation of my suggestion, that the Council should design Jo muzzle which would prevent a dog. from biting and/or its saliva coming into' contact with other animals of persons and, at the same time, permitting the animal to breath and to drink, is not quite fair to me. Why should not the Council assist dog-owners in the manner suggested—it the idea is a possibility? It is not the first time that T have, in connection with dogs, made a suggestion to the Council, for the present form of Heence-tag, in place of the former clumsy plates, was also adopted sub-Jsequent to my placing the idea before the authorities.
My defence of the police dog, as a breed is, as I firmly believe, quite justified." "The Wolated instances, where these dogs have caused injury, are surely outweighed by the Useful and even eminent services which they have rendered to hu-
The "red herring" is not a pet of mine. I keep dogs and canaries. I have never felt the urge or the necessity of drawing "red herrings" across the path of my arguments for the simple reason, that I say that which T have te say, out of conviction and not merely to' get the better of opponent in a controversy. Tt was not I who introduced the korait into the picture. T still think that stretching things rather too far, to compare a venomous breed of reptile with a friend of humanity such as a dog is. If you, Sir, in order to illustrate your point, were justified in in-traducing the korait into the argument was, T think, equally permissible for me to follow in. your footsteps and to take the simile a little further "in order to demonstrate my point. Asa matter of fact, I took jour Karait for a common of garden "red herring" but was too polite to say so and, had I not considered your snake' to be just a red fish, I would never, even in imagination, exposed you, Sir, and your imaginary. dog, to that horrible experience 1 wrote about. Some other less dangerous adventure would have served as: well accept the label of "intellectual dishonesty" and the other qualifications which you have had so neatly printed for me, with equanimity, for the simple reason that these labels can never be gummed in a way that they will stick to the armour I have mentioned at the beginning of this T do not know, Sir, whether you have enjoyed this controversy. 1 make bold to say that I have. Be-Sides, T do think that it has all served the propaganda purposes of the antirabies and muzzling campaign.
Shanghai, June 24.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.