So Shines A Good Dog – National Canine Defence League

A wonderfully designed postcard from the National Canine Defence League (NCDL) – circa 1930. A much loved item in the Ernest Bell Library.

So Shines A Good Dog In A Naughty World

……quoting Shakespeare – ……’maybe’ quoting the Bible.

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William Shakespeare – The Merchant of Venice, Act 5, Scene I – circa 1598

Portia:

That light we see is burning in my hall.

  How far that little candle throws his beams!

  So shines a good deed in a naughty world.

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Matthew 5:16 – Aramaic Bible in Plain English

Thus your light will shine before the children of men that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father who is in Heaven.

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The following links take you to multiple examples of humanitarians / animal lovers / vegans / vegetarians / diet reformers etc., cooperating deeply – from 120+ years ago – right up to today.

The NCDL was supported by a strong group of writers, artists, theatrical performers, business people. Today, as Dogs Trust, the organization still works with a strong team of very able / very well qualified supporters – details from their Wikipedia Page.

NCDL 1905/15 era celebrity supporters – here.

NCDL 1909 postcards & more on Ernest Bell’s involvement – here. This post also details several of the pioneering animal groups which Ernest Bell & his friends started. Most of the groups are still ‘alive & well & very active’ today.

NCDL 1914 – rehoming ‘Choclat’, an abused dog – here. A ground-breaking legal case.

NCDL 1926/7 – opposing vivisection of animals – here. The cases got wide media coverage & were discussed in the UKs Parliament.

More about NCDL from Wikipedia –

The National Canine Defence League (NCDL) was founded in 1891 at a meeting during the first Crufts show chaired by Lady Gertrude Stock. The NCDL campaigned against vivisection, unnecessary muzzling and prolonged chaining, as well as providing care for stray dogs. It also campaigned against cruel treatment of dogs by railway companies, who often refused to provide water for dogs. More unusually, in the 1920s, it provided AA wardens with pistols. This was because dogs and other animals were often involved in car accidents, and the pistols were provided to allow the wardens to euthanize the animal as a last resort in the worst cases. In 1957, the NCDL campaigned against the use of the Russian space dogs in space flight, organising a minute’s silence in honour of Laika, who died in orbit from overheating and stress. In 2003, the NCDL was rebranded as Dogs Trust.

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The back of the postcard.

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Our Projects

The Henry Salt Archive is one of our, almost completed, projects.

The Humanitarian League is our Hong Kong registered charity. It cares for The Ernest Bell Library, which was conceived in 1934.

The library is still strong & very active eighty years later –  its primary objectives are to: –

• Collect all of Ernest Bell’s book & non-book works and make them easily accessible to everyone.

• Collect the literature of vegetarianism and all the other humanitarian movements in which Ernest Bell was so deeply involved.

• Assist students and scholars in their research.

• Introduce all aspects of Ernest Bell’s life, including his writings, campaign work, influences and his circle of friends.

• Undertake our own research into missing aspects of Ernest Bell’s life and work.

We already have more than 300 pieces of Ernest Bell’s own writings.

We are also actively building a collection of examples of promotional material, campaign material, fundraising & marketing activities etc. – related to: –

1. veg(etari)an products.

2. veg(etari)an books & other publications.

3. veg(etari)an organisations.

4. veg(etari)an businesses.

5. animal rights organisations.

6. animal rights publications.

7. humanitarian organisations.

8. humanitarian publications.

9. rambling clubs run by members of the above groups & related publications.

10. the work of Richard St. Barbe Baker & the ‘Men of the Trees’ organization & its many sub-branches.

11. the history of Democratic Socialism.

12. pre-WW2 Trade Union badges / pins / ephemera.

There are currently more than 2,000 items in the Ernest Bell Library. We will complete the cataloging of the collection as & when adequate funds are available.

 “I have little doubt that the proposal for the establishment of an Ernest Bell Library, which would specialize in humanitarian and progressive literature, and so form a sort of centre for students, will meet with a wide response.” 

Henry S. Salt – writing in September 1934

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