§ COLONEL LOCKW00D (Essex, Epping)To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his attention has been called to the cruelty of continually throwing dogs into the river from the steps in front of St. Thomas's Hospital; and if he will give directions to the police to put a stop to this practice, which is especially prevalent on Sundays.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Akers-Douglas.) The police report to me that dogs are frequently taken to the steps near St. Thomas's Hospital to enter the water, being as a rule enticed to do so by the throwing in of a stick. The police have not hitherto observed any act of cruelty on the part of persons in charge of dogs, and failing this they have no power to take any action.