The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1865-02-14 00:00:00

was clear they did do from the statements made by
several practionl men—encroach upon the food of the
population, it would not behove a landlord to continue a
sys,em which did so, and it was patent that it Was
excessively wrong to encourge any system which
encroached upon the food of the peoplo for the sake of
their pleasure and gratificatiou. (App
Mr. R. N. Howann, who had joined the chill
that evening, was called for, and in rising to the call
said he must apologise for intruding himself upon them
that evening. He must coefess the chairman had put
the matter before him in a now light. For some years
past he bad looked at the questioa of poaching only,
but now the Chairmau had put the queition of game
preservation in a very clear light. As he understood
his argument he intended to show that game
preservation might be a source of pleasure with.
out being a source of evil. The inherept pleasure
of alert, as Mr. Wood had said, existed in
every Englishman, and he (Mr. Howard) hoped
lie day WOlll,l be for distant when it sift.
banished from his heart. (Hear.) When an English-
man joined in sport he joined it for the sake of pleasure,
and it would be a pain to him if in doing so, lie knew
he created an injury to another. If landlomvis could
only feel this, it must be a soumce of p.in to them to
know that in having sport they were injuring their
tenants. Therefore be hoped steps might be taken,
and that landlords might look at the question rightly,
so that they might enjoy sport to the fullest extent
without causing any injury to the tenants who rented
under them. (Applause.) So far as rabbits were eon'
corned lie could speak with some degree of feeling on
the subject; for on some land which he rentd he had
seen 50 rabbits at a time, and he could also speak
feelingly of the injury which they caused. *He hoped
the day would soon come wben landlords would not
consider it to be sport to meet together and kill game in
a nanuner which, recording to his ideas, was like a
slaughter of barn-door fowls. He could not under-
stand how they could' mall that sport, for it was
absolutely ridiculous to his mind. (gear, hear.) All
he could say was that the principle laid down by
their chairman was a very cornet one—that game pre.
serving should be assures of pleasure, and when they
enjoyed a pleasure, not only in game preserving, but
anything else, let them take care that ft did not create
an evil, for if it did, let the evil be got rid of, and then
they would enjoy game preserving better, or any other
pleasure would be more truly and purely enjoyed than
when combined with evil. If landlords allowed game to
be an injury to tenants, the sooner they gave up the
land the better. (applause,)
Mr. DUODALR said be had never had anything to do
with game preserving, and he would take care he never
would. He would not have am-game farm at any price.
Nothing struck him no forcibly as the remarks which
Lord Rivera 'earls at a dinner table on this sub-
ject in that room. He said any man who had
a game farm was a fool, and if a man took
a game farm it served him right if he suffered for it.
Alluding to poachers, Mr. Dugdsle said his neighbour-
hood was somewhat infected by these characters, and
farmers felt more towards them than Mr. Damen did.
He had a man who had been a poacher for years past.
What good was he? When he came in the morning lie
VMS only fit to go to sleep, and if he was put to work he
went and set his traps. He had been obliged to summon
many poachers. He lead a great objection to summon-
ing a man for killing a rabbit, but then there was this
difficulty ; he did not believe a man wont out for the
purpose of killing a rabbit, but Ile did not care whether it
was &rabbit, hare, pheasant, or partridge. They could not
swear that a man was out for the purpose of killing
game; but If they saw him put down a trap they could
say he was trying to catch a rabbit. There was one
evil with regard to poaching; the men began with a
rabbit, then went on to a pheasant or partridge, then to
a sheep, and afterwards became outcasts upon the face
of the earth. There were three of the most notorious
poachers in his neighbourhood who had actually gone
to gaol for stealing a live pig. (Laughter.)
Mr. J. G. HOM6R said this discussion was very
interesting to him; bat his idea on the subject, and
with regerd to rabbits and hares especially, wait this,
that it was a landlord and tenants' question entirely ;
and tenants, if they would take farms when they knew
they were full of rabbits and hares, were the
only men to blame. They Gould not blame
the landlord for letting his farm for the highest
rent he could get if the tenant would keep his
vermin for him. But on the other hand where a farm
was taken, and the landlord would not allow rabbits to
be kiUed by his tenant, but under a verbal agreement
said "the rabbits shall do you no harm," there was the
groat mischief, for the moment the tenant spoke to
the landlord he was down upon him, and said he
was an ill fellow, and on the first opportunity turned him
out of his farm. Therefore he thought every tenant
ought to have • right understanding that rabbits should
be killed by hinm, if the landlord would not kill them
himself. (Hear, hear.) There was one think in regard
to the excessive preservatioa of game, that time com-
munity at large were the sufferers as well as the
tenant. If the tenant went to the expense m f cultiva-
tion, and that produce was destroyed by rabbits he was
the sufferer to the greatest extent, but still the
community were also sufferers, because the produce
of the land was not brought to perfection or the
quantity produced as would be the case except for the
preservation of game. Another thing which struck
him was that marry landlords let their farms at what
was called • game rent, and he knew a pariah where the
farms were assessed to the poor rates, at the rent they
were let at. The farms were let at £2OO or £3OO a-year
for the sake of the game preservation, whereas they
ought to be £lOO or £2OO more if there was no game.
The consequence was that they paid less in proportion
to the county rate of that union than they otherwise
would if there was no game kept on the place. He
did say that if upon these farms • general survey for the
county asd poor rate took place that land would be
assessed at its actual value. If the game was kept
there the tenant would have to pay for it. There
was one evil with regard to keeping game. If
the game was killed the community at large would be
benefitted more than by its being brought to market and
sold. With regard to poaching he thought that was an
evil which they could not get over by their discussion at
all. Ile believed poaching was a great evil, but how to
remedy it was beyond him to say. He did not think
they could discuss that point, but the other was an
open question.

The CHAIRMAN said he must thank them officially for
the kind, full, and attentive consideration they had
given to the subject which had been under considers.
tion. As an individual brioging forward this question
he could not at all agree with the flattering terms
which they had been kind enough to accord him. The
discussion which had arisen out of the introduction of
it had more than shown him that he had very
inadequately dealt with the question. (No, no.)
Many things had been said which had originated in his
mind a train of thought relating to game preservation,
which had put the evil in a stronger light than he had
done in introducing it. He only hoped that those who
were taking notes of the discussion would be careful
in faithfully recording the observations made by gentle-
men who had spoken on the subject, because he was
sure the public would look at the observations that had
been made with great care, attention, and with some
interest. As to the way in which it had been discussed
he had full sympathy with what their Vice-Chairman
had said regarling the preservation of a sufficient
quantity of game to afford sport to the landed pro-
prietors in order that they might live in the country,
and that the country might have some attachment
for them. It was a desirable thing that they
should be pleasantly situated in regard to their pro-
perty, and that they should have a good and kind
feeling towards their tenantry; that they should be
placed in such a position towards one another as to be
able to go down and see them, and converse on any
matter of business which might arise, as they would be
greatly benefitted by the practical observations which
they heard from their tenants, for they had the same
objectlin giving them some method of recreation and
amusement which would sot an an excuse for visiting
their property occasionally. This was desirable, bat at
the same time excessive preservation of game— sup-
posing rabbits were entirely destroyed,or so kept down as
to be innocuous to the tenant, applying the observation
to pheasants, partridges, bares, and the higher class of
game—wan in itself a very great evil. It was an evil to
the community, as had been shown, and it was an evil
in creating that class of people of whom they had been
speaking—the poacher. The destruction of rabbits
would not prevent poaching. There would be poaching
for higher game than rabbits; there were pheasants
and partridges whioh would act as a temptation. tie
thought it was quite possible to have sufficient hares
and partridges without excessive preservation, which
was a temptation beyond resistance to a man who knew
how to kill them and carry them away. As to poachers
they had been treated rather leniently by two or three
gentlemen, rather more tenderly, perhaps, than they
deserved. He had not much mercy upon the poacher,
because he had not cinch mercy upon anyone else.
He looked upon them as a bad class of men. They
might make all the excuse they liked as to their being
offered great temptations, but there were no persons
who had not great temptations of one kind or another,
and be did not think the poacher was to be excused by
the great temptation which was presented before him.
Poaching was a great moral evil ; and once let a man
begin poaching, there was no knowing where it would
end. Poaching had led to manslaughter many a time,
an they had had evidence before them to show. A
poacher was a bad workman—he was not to be trusted.
There weft an appearance about his countenance which
betokened dishonesty, disengenuessness, and duplicity.
As to the injury which a single rabbit would do the
evidence was conflicting. There was a very strong
statement brought forward by Mr. Saunders. It was a
very strong statement to make, but let it be well con-
sidered by gentlemen who had any question about the
damage that rabbits did. Let them understand that
four and • half rabbits would eat up the produce of an
acre of pasture land. They had the evidence of Mr. Crane;
and there was no man that had killed more or knew
better than he did, or could give an estimate of the
damage better than he, and he had said that one rabbit
would eat as much as a sheep; not that it would eat as
much as a sheep, but would eat and destroy sufficient
produce to keep one. He (the chairman) did not dia.
pute that evidence for one moment, for he thought he
was correct in the statement. ft was right that such
statements should go abroad, and that people should
understand the damage which rabbits did on a farm, for
they could not have a cure for an evil without probing
it thoroughly. As to the exaessive game preservation
being a national evil, had been touched upon; it was a
great evil in itself, and stood a great deal in
the way of the science connected with the production
of the support of the population of the country.
He must say he was much struck with the observations
of Mr. Howard on the mention, in which he so properly
and correctly touched on the enjoyments of any recrea-
tion or pleasure. It must be a. 'rest annoyance and a
great alloy to the pleasure which landowners enjoyed to
know that they were inflicting an evil upon others; and
what must be the feeling of • game preserver towards
his tenants, who had made complaints to him when he
had invited his friends from various quarters to shoot
with him at his battne to think that there was his
tenant at home not only dissatisfied and discontented,
and with a painful feeling towards him, whilst he was
shooting this game, but having a sense that he was
doing him a positive injustice. The Chairman con-
cluded by expressing his thanks te the meeting for the
attention and kindness with which they listened to
to him.
Mr. T. H. fiIAtINDIRB proposed, and Mr. Buotrr
.Reonded, a vote of thanks to the Chairman, which was
carted.

I seconded,