HOOTS AND HISSES

Hokitika Guardian, 16 July 1931, Page 6

HOOTS AND HISSES

R.S.P.C.A. ANNUAL MEETING. s LONDON, July 3. Two hours of pandemonium —groans hisses, and shaking of lists—marked the annual meeting of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, owing to a recrudescence of the long-standing lend regarding the suppression of blood sports, which a number of members, led by Lady Cory, .demand. A crowded assembly at the Hotel Victoria included members of the House of Commons, titled and other prominent people. A ruling by the chairman. Sir Robert Gowers, that the election of the Council was necessary before consideration of the report, resulted in sev oral minutes’ din, with si,'outs of, ‘‘Turn out the vivisectionists and hunting men.” . Lady Cory, declaring that she insisted on being heard, stood at the microphone, in front of Sir Robert Gower, attempting to speak, while the names of candidates for the council were read out. but both voices were drowned by the chairman’s hammer falling monotonously in a five minutes’ effort to secure order. The climax was reached when Sir Robert Gower ordered the removal ot Mr Alasdair Macgregor, secretary to the Chancellor of the Ruby of Lancaster, who desired to move a- resolution for the abolition of hare and otto hunting, and who refused to obey the chairman’s ruling. Respite his struggles, during which lie gripped a chair, he was ejected by four men, amid terrific uproar. Much business remained uncompleted when Sir Robert Gower, after frequent threats, adjourned the meeting, declaring that if the disputants did not leave, they would be put out. Heated discussion continued on the staircase for nearly an hour.