[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—The article under the
above title by Miss Frances Pitt, which appears in your issue of December 12th, does not seem to solve the problem of Christian conscience with regard to field sports or " these so-called blood sports." One fails to find in the article any reference to Christ or to the problem of Christian conscience in regard to any of these matters. The writer believes the support of field or blood sports to be " the duty of the true nature lover and to be compatible with the highest sense of duty towards animals," but the point at issue appears to be " Is the support of field blood sports the duty of a true Christ lover and compatible with the highest sense of Christian duty towards animal and bird life ? "
Can one, by any stretch of the imagination, visualize our Lord taking part, for instance, in an organized coursing match where live hares are literally torn asunder by a brace of dogs ? Can one see Him as a M.F.H. hunting the fox to its lair, digging it out, throwing the weary creature to the dogs, smearing the face of fair children with its blood, and handing the " brush " to a woman at His side ? Can one think of our Lord harrying a stag to death over the cliffs or following it out to sea, lassoing it and dragging it exhausted to the hounds waiting on the shore ? Is it possible that " every man's hand would be against these beautiful wild creatures," and would they really be " harried and persecuted to the point of extinction " if we—the people of the British Isles—were truly Christian ? Is Miss Pitt really convinced that the exquisite nature scenes which she so delightfully paints in words at the beginning of her article are dependent for their beauty and their preservation upon man's cruelty and lust, and not upon God's love as the Giver of all life ? Does she really think that they owe their all to man ? Could man give life to one of the least of these beautiful creatures which he calls " vermin " and which Miss Pitt says would, in the absence of these sports, be " harried and persecuted to the point of extinction " ?
These, and other questions, trouble the conscience of many of your readers. This article does not answer them satis- factorily.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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