The Sun.
London, England, 1860-04-19 00:00:00

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

MARKET HARBOROUGH RACES—WEDNESDAY.
The Grand National Hunt Steeplechase, a sweepstakes of
10 soya each, 5 ft, with £5OO added ; the second horse to
receive £5O out of the stakes ; for horses that have never
won before the day of starting, 12st each. Four miles.
Mr. T. B. Angell's Bridegroom, aged (Mr. Barton) 1
Mr. C. Seymour 's The Freshman (Mr. Linton) 2
Mr. Garden's Liberator, aged (Mr. Goodman) 3
The following also ran :—The Nigger, Golden Branch,
Ringleader, Jack Tar, Harborough, Rebellion, Jim, Um-
pire, Erin-go-Bragh, Quickstep, Charley, The Milkman,
Southwold, Knight Templar, The Tailor, Fleur-de-lis,
Bannockburn, Gay Lass, Forester, The Deacon, Selby,
Brulow, Chatterbox, Medora, The Monmouthshire Volun-
teer, Punch, and Brington.
Betting-5 to 1 agst Bridegroom, 6to 1 agat The Nigger,
10 to 1 each agst The Freshman. and The Monmouthshire,
12 to 1 agst Medora, 14 to 1 agst The Milkman, 25 to 1
agst Brington. Won by 20 lengths.
The Farmers' Steeplechase, a sweepstakes of 2 soya each,
with 100 added ; the second horse to receive £lO out of
the stakes. About 4 miles.
Mr. J. Stokes' Bro. to Lady' s Maid, 4 yrs, lOst 71b (Harris) 1
Mr. J. Bennett's Limner, 6 yrs, 12st (Mr. Wright) 2
Mr. J. T. Smith's Peru, 6 yrs, 12st (Dickens) 4
The following also ran :—Whaley, Nimrod, Tom Clink,
Selim, Blemish, Volunteer, Prizefighter, Dragoon, and
Black Tommy.
Betting-4 to 1 agst Blemish, sto 1 agst Selim, 6to 1
agat Black Tommy, 8 to 1 agst any other offered. Won by
a head, bad third.

The Market Harborough Open Steeplecase (Handicap) of
10 soya each, 2 ft, with 7b added. About 4 miles.
Mr. C. Lewis's The Tartar, 9st 61b .... (T. Oliver, jun.) 1
Mr. M. Adams's Joe Maley, aged, list 31b(Waddington) 2
Mr. Hadley's Harry, 9st 71b

The following also ran :—Huntsman, Omar Pacha, Lob-
ster, Marmion, Wee 'Willie, The Unknown, Tamworth.
Betting-5 to 2 agst Joe Maley, 4to 1 agst Huntsman, 6
to 1 agst Harry, 8 to 1 agst The Tartar, 10 to 1 each agst
Wee Willie and Tamworth. Won by four lengths, a very
bad third, and the others beaten off.
The Scurry Steeplechase, a sweepstakes of 2 sous each,

with 50 added. Two miles ; catch weights.
Mr. A. Finnie's Chieftain (Mr. Goodman) 1
Mr. Angell's Borderer, aged (Mr. Baccus) 2
Captain Hunt's The Zouave, aged (Mr. Loton) 3
The following also ran :—Whaley, Cheshunt, Chance,
Gipsy King.
Betting-3 to 1 each aget Young Ragman and Chief-
tain, sto 1 agat any other. Won by two lengths ; a bad
third. Mr. Blake weighed for Young, Ragman, but did
not got to the post in time to start.

LATEST CITY BETTING-LAST NIGHT.

CITY AND SUBURBAN.
4to 1 agst Confectioner
sto 1 agst Chere Arnie
12 to 1 agst Yoicks
100 to 8 agst Danae
100 to 6 agst Homeward Bound
20 to 1 agst Hetman.
25 to 1 agst Theodora
25 to 1 agst Odo
25 to 1 agst Remunerator
30 to 1 agst Apollyon
33 to 1 agst The Andover colt
40 to 1 agst The Nun
50 to 1 agst Harraton

METROPOLITAN.

6to 1 agst Dana.°
7to 1 agst Mouravioff
9to 1 agst Bribery colt
9to 1 agst Simple Simon

TWO TIIOUSAND.
sto 1 agst Lupulus (take 6to 1)
7to 1 agst Traducer
7to 1 agst Brother to Rainbow
10 to 1 agst Tom Bowline
20 to 1 agst The Wizard (offered)
25 to 1 agst Aurora (taken)

2 _LIE G-1211EKEEPER.

However, game or vermin as they may be classi-,
fled, the rabbits naturally bring me on to their
sworn friend and protector, the Game-keeper. One
loathes the very name of such an office. You must
all know the authority he exercises—a power so
much above his proper position in life; and
that, as a rule, he proportionately abuses. To him
the commonest act of husbandry is one of suspicion
and distrust. He unites the invincible curiosity of
our English Paul Pry with the malicious intent of
a spy for the Inquisition. The farmer and his men
are continually under his supervision. There is
nothing they can do, but it is his " duty" to over-
look them. He stands by the mowers to see they
do no harm to his nests. He struts into the reap-
ing field to make sure they don't hurt his birds.
The boy with his scare-crow, the shepherd with his
dog, and the little lass with her kitten, are all alike
the objects of his hatred and his tyranny. He has
been known to wrench a gun from the hand of a far-
mer's son for shooting at a rat ! He has told the
farmer himself he should prefer his not firing at the
birds on the corn, as it was " such a trouble to be
always coming to see what he was after." He has
informed against a tenant, whom of course he was
watching, when his victim got off and picked up a
hare which his horse killed in her form ; and a bench
of magistrates at Newark positively followed this
up with a conviction. To the disgust, however, of
these Solons, the Commissioners of Taxes promptly
reversed the decision. He lays traps for the
labourers, as has been proved over and over
again : and rejoices like another Jonathan Wild, or
somp other scoundrel, only in the downfall of his
fellow-men. He is the very essence of evil-doing.
He whispers characters away in the ear of his em-
ployer. He swears them away more openly in
court. He is incessantly making ill-blood between
man and man, and he is the one great blot on our
fair English landscape. I have the experience of
an old keeper himself to say that such men are
rarely to be believed or trusted; and they are the
greatest enemies to true sport that I know of. The
rabbits are the keeper's perquisites. That is to say,
the vermin which do the farmer the greatest injury
are the animals above all others that the keeper
has a dizect interest in maintaining a stock of. The
vermin which the law declares the tenant has a
right to destroy as vermin, the landlord transfers as
a right to his servant. There is, lam happy to
say, a growing feeling against the fashion of
perquisites, or of paying a servant by any
of her means than by that of his fair wages. If a
gentleman pays his servant fair wages the man has
no claim to perquisites ; and if the employer does
not give him his due hire, he-can certainly with but
little justice look to the farmer to make it up to him.
But we hear still of head keepers clearing
or three hundreds a year by the rabbits ; so much
gain to them being as a rule, so much loss to the
BY -H
tenants.—Our Preservation of Game. -
Corbef, their two