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Annual Register

1826 | "Bear-Baiting Bill, 1826," Annual Register (1826): 91-4; Digitized by Google, Online at Google Books).

Bear-Baiting Bill, 1826

History of Europe-Annual Register

Mr. Martin rose, pursuant to his notice, to ask leave to bring in a bill to prevent bear-baiting, and other cruel practices. He submitted his motion, with perfect confidence of success, to the house, because, in the interval which had elapsed since the last session of parliament and the present time, he had conversed with every alderman of the city of London, with almost every police magistrate in the various districts of the metropolis, and indeed with many magistrates in different parts of the country, and had collected from their conversation, that it was their unanimous opinion that these cruel practices ought to be put down without further delay. He had been told over and over again by them, that nothing was more conductive to crime than such sports—that they lead the lower orders to gambling—that they educated them for thieves—and that they gradually trained them up to bloodshed and murder. The reason…