To the Editor of the New Sin,—Your correspondent INFORMED, whose letter appeared in the issue of the "North-China Daily News" of Monday, April 25. suggests that I am of the opinion that the shipowners are more or less entirely responsible for thè unbelievably bad conditions under which pigs are brought by steamers to the Shanghai market from the small ports in the vicinity of Tungchow, apparently because I am not fully acquainted with the conditions prevailing. He then proceeds to state what those conditions are, saying that the pigs are on the steamers actually less than a day, unless the latter are delayed by fog or for some other cause.
As a matter of fact I have read all the correspondence and reports on the subject that have appeared in your and other local newspapers, and am well aware of the conditions under which pigs are collected together and transported to Shanghai from Yangtze ports. He missed the whole point of my letter in your April 21 issue, which was that if it is impossible to de anything the Chinese dealers in live pi for the Shanghai ma Ket it might be possible for the officials of SS.P.C.A. to get after the shipowners or charterer for failing to provide proper accom modation and water for the wretched animals while they are on their steamers.
The fact, that the pigs are starved and not given water before they are loaded on to the steamers is excuse for not giving them at least water while they are on board during the twelve hours between the Yangtze port and Shanghai. Were this done it is certain that many more would survive the journey than do at present. One would have thought that common "humanity would have prompted the ships' masters to insist on the pigs being given at least this amount of relief, even if they can do nothing about the way they are treated before coming under their care, I have always understood that a captain's word is law on his ship.
Presumably the shipping company or companies engaged in this traffic are making good money out of it, which being the case it is difficult to comprehend how they can fail to do everything in their power to reduce the sufferings of the unfortunate pigs as far as possible, The point is, are the pigs given water while on the steamers and is the accommodation provided for them what it should be? If the shipowners can answer these questions in the affirmative, then one would feel that they are doing all that can reasonably be expected of them. If they cannot, then the shipowners are just as culpable as are the dealers, and should be dealt with accordingly, that is, if there is any way of dealing with them.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.