The Sun.
London, England, 1870-03-16 00:00:00

EDUCATION.

Mr. HIBBERT gave notice that in the event of the
amendment of the hon. member for Birmingham not being
carried, he should, in committee, move the insertion of a
clause providing that any schools established by local
boards and supported by local rates should be conducted
on the same system as that adopted by the Irish National
Education Board.
GAME LAWS AMENDMENT BILL.

Mr. W. MARTIN, in moving the second reading of this
bill, said he had been informed by the right hon. gentle-
man, the Secretary for the Home Department, that the
second clause in that bill was an interference with the
rights of property, and that it went further than many
hon. members considered necessary. He there-
:ore proposed that the House should read the
a second time on the clear understanding
hat the Government would prepare a clause instead of
the one which now stood second in the bill, which would
put the tenant in a more satisfactory position than he
occupied at present. He wished it to be clearly under-
stood that in voting for the second reading no member
would be pledged to anything but the admission that the
evils at present existing required a remedy. He was quite
sure his remedy was not the best, but he hoped with the
assistance of his right hon. friend the Secretary for the
Home Department to produce a provision that would be
satisfactory to most persons. If his suggestion was
adopted, he should fix the committee for a distant period,
namely, the 29th of June. He then endeavoured to
solve the rabbit ,• question; but he confessed he
had found it to be a matter of the utmost
difficulty, and those who fait disposed to think on the
matter would find it so, if they endeavoured to discover a
remedy for the damage done to the crops by them. With
respect to the bill for the total abolition of the• Game
Laws, he thought that would be a positive injury to the
farmer. It had been suggested that rabbits should be
treated as vermin, but that was a proposition le thought
objectionable, because rabbits formed an important article

of food to thela,bouring class, and the consumption of them
amounted to no less than one million and a half a year,
and he had it from a good source that a
rabbit costing is 2d. gave more nourishment than the
'quantity of beef and mutton he could get for the same
amount of money, and therefore it was a question which
required a great amount of consideration before any-
thing was ultimately fixed upon. He believed the danger
done by hares and rabbits to cultivated land could scarcely
be estimated, as they nibbled off the tops of the young
corn, and that spoiled the whole sample. The

question had been dealt with by Lord Leigh, who had
given up the rabbits and hares to the tenants, and the
result had been • most favourable, as a better day's sport
was to be had nowhere than on the estates of his lordship:
He thought after all it would Ye found that the remedy
proposed in this bill was the best under the circumstances,
and, therefore, hehoped the House would adopt the course
he had suggested.

Alderman SALOMONS seconded the second reading. He
was, as was well known, no sportsman, but he was induced to
support the present bill, with a view of putting an end to
the fearful scenes that now took place on the occasion of
prosecutions under the Game Laws, more particularly for
stealing rabbits, which many thought were not game, and
the property of any person.

Mr. KNIGHT thought the tenants always got a quid pro
quo for da-mage done by rabbits. He thought the bill
objectionable, and in committee he should move an amend-
ment to the effect that the game should belong either to
the landlord or the tenant, or in other words to abolish
double tenantcies.

Mr. PEASE was opinion of that the present, although but
a little bill, did not go far enough, and that which it
proposed to do it did badly. It did not seem to touch the
hares, which in his opinion did quite as much damage to
the growing crops as rabbits, and the course he should fell
most inclined to adopt was to legislate strongly in favour
of the tenant farmers with respect to hares. He should
not oppose the second reading of the bill, but he should
move certain amendments in committee if he thought
it necessary to do so.

Colonel PRICE strongly objected to the further progress
of the bill, which he thought entirely useless in itself, and
insufficient for the puipoEes intended.
Sir GEORGE GREY wanted to know, before he could con-
cur in the second reading of the bill, what the House was
asked to agree to, and what was the real remedy proposed.
He asked whether 'the bill would make any difference at
all in the existing laws. Any tenant farmer might now,
on land in his own occupation, kill rabbits, provided there
was no agreement which deprived him of the right of doing
so, and not only that,buthemight do the same with regard
to hares.

Mr. BRUCE could not see why the principles .which
Government had adopted with regard to Scotland could
not be adopted in dealing with England. He believed
there was a strong desire that the tenant farmer should be
placed in a better position.
Mr. Locx and Mr. HENLEY having made a few obser-

vations,

Mr. TAYLOR expressed a hope that if the Government
were disposed to deal with the Game Laws, they would
deal with them in a manner which should besatisfactory to
the country. He reminded the House that there were in
the Cabinet men who were as strongly pledged against
the Game Laws as it was possible-for men to be.
Mr. MARTIN withdrew his motion.