The Sun.
London, England, 1829-05-12 00:00:00

GAME LAWS.

The Order of the Day was then called on for die
second reading of this Bill.

Lord WaARNCLIFFE then rose. He was
now about to enter upon a subject to which he had
often had occasion to draw the attention of the
House. He confessed, that since he. had last the
honour of addressing their Lordships upon this
important subject, circumstances had occurred
which made it imperative upon the House to adopt
some permanent measure with respect to the Game
Laws. Since 1816 this question had never been al-
lowed to remain quiet. Year after year, the question
had been agitated in the other House. The present
Bill had been sent up to their Lordships without a
dissentient voice. Their Lordships were not to
suppose by this that it had not received great con-
sideration. He would not enter into the Bill
brought forward last year, but it was quite clear,
if circumstances had not occurred, that it would
have been the law of the land. There was no
question that interested the morals of the people
more than this, and yet it was exceedingly difficult
to draw the attention of the House to it. Whenever
the subject was talked of, it was considered beneath
the dignity of statesmen, and only a topic for the
consideration of country gentlemen. The Noble
Lord had already stated that attempts, year after
year, to reform the Game Laws, had been made,
and Bill after Bill, more than one in the course of a
Session, had been introduced with that view. On
the evidence before the House,there were statements
that the existing laws were systematically broken
through. Every body was satisfied that those
laws secured a monopoly to a few individuals, and
every body seemed dissatisfied with that monopoly.
By papers produced a few days ago it appeared that
in the course of last Lent Assizes no less than two
hundred and fourteen persons were committed for
poaching, twenty-nine of whom, being indicted
for offences arising out of those conflicts, such as
shooting or wounding game-keepers, received sen-
tence of death. One was transported for life, up-
wards of 40 for 14 years, 20 for seven years, and the
rest underwent minor punishments. This was a state
of society their Lordships could by no possibility suffer
to continue. The wealthier people of the country
have declared they will have game: they hold out
temptations to the poor to supply them with
that game,—that temptation had, and would con-
tinue to succeed, as long as the restricting laws
existed. The market was open at present only to
the poacher, and the Noble Lord saw no way what-
ever of putting an end to poaching, except by
throwing the market open to other individuals as
well as to poachers. Having established the
sale of game, the next consideration would be, the
qualifications under which the sale should be per-
mitted. In his view, the nearer Ow law could be
brought to the Scotch principle the
nearer they could get to the principle o, matting a
property Of pule, tile, better it NYOO.I he for all
iwew that there wore legal objeco..;-us
to carrying this principle into exintion; which
could not be overcome, and he bud reluctantly given
t this--and
givingand the Bill
up the idea. He was anxious to get as near as pos.
s ibl e o
ohfis
was drawn IR. tin the
principle
the qualificaton to the owners of
land. When the Jill went into a Committee
and he. boppd, it would be allowed to go into a Com-
inietee---he should be willing to make the qualifica-
tion higher. What could be more absurd than that
the owner of land, having sons, coulcl not allow
them to shoot over his land v,iitbokit being subjected
to a penalty -,-I'vcp ;he Illustrious Person sitting on
the cross-bench (the Duke of Cumberland) could
not shoot over his Royal Brother's manors, .with-
out subjecting himself to a penalty. (The pilLe of
Cumberland nodded assent to the doctrine.) If

that Illustrious Person's Royal Brother had a
Scotch Peer or an Irish Peer with him, who owned
no land in this country, he could not give him leave
to shoot over one of his manors without being liable
to a penalty. It was strange, also, that the son
of the Illustrious Personage he had alluded to
might shoot ; but if, by any accident, he were to step
in his father's place, he could not any longer shoot.
There was another hardship under the present law.
Unless the person who owned the land was also the
Lord of the Manor, he could not give any person
power to shoot, and he could not preserve game.
The Lord of the Manor might prevent the land-
owner from enabling his servants to protect his
game. Their Lordships seemed to leek at this mat-
ter like the ancient Barons, who were resolved to
keep all these privileges to themselves. They must
look, however, to present circumstances, and adapt
their laws to the present state of society. The two
principles he had kept in view, therefore, were to
allow game to be sold, and to extend the qualifica-
tion. Before an individual could be authorised to
kill game, he must take out a license, costing three
guineas and a half; and he also wished that those
who sold game in the market should be obliged
to take out a license, and their tide be, carried
on under the authority of the Magistrate. Thine
were the principles of the Bill, anti***efihl
then proceed to notice the objections. The first
objection was, that he was interfering with the
rights of Lords of Manors. But at present, though
they could prevent the owner of land from preserving
game, they could not go on the land. If they did,
they committed a trespass under the present law. If
he took from them this nominal right, he conferred
on them an absolute right over the game on their
land, and a right of qualifying other persons. On
the balance the Lords of Manors would be gainers.
The next objection was on the score of the small
land-owners. He knew there was a great jealousy
on the part of their Lordships, and of gentlemen of
large property, to allow their tenants to shoot. lle
was ready to limit this qualification to a considerable
amount, or he was ready to extend it; but his great
object was to give as many persons on the land as
possible an interest in preserving game, which would
cause it to be preserved at less trouble and less ex-
pence. But there was one class of objectors, whose
opposition he feared more than any other, and that
was the opposition of the fox-hunters, who were ap-
prehensive that the effect of this Bill would be to
interest so many in the preservation of the game,
that it would induce them to destroy the foxes.
But at the same time, it ought to be observed that
fox-preserving was breaking of the law; and in order
to enjoy the sport, the hunters were obliged to con-
ciliate the good wishes of their neighbours. The
truth was, that he would be extremely sorry to do
anything that would materially interfere with their
amusements. But he was persuaded that there was
nothing in this Bill that would materially affect the
amusements of those who were fond of fox-hunting,
arid that it would not lead to the destruction of
foxes. The small landlord, as the law stood at pre-
sent, was doubly annoyed—lst, because he could
not touch the game on his own land ; and next, be-
cause the game destroyed so much of his corn ; and
in one instance he knew a very worthy man who
was so much struck with the annoyance which he
and his neighbours suffered in this way, that lie
poisoned a part of the corn on which the game was
most apt to feed. Grant only that the present state
of the law is an evil, and then it followed that some-
thing ought to be done in order to apply a remedy;
and as to the foxes; he would have no objection that
the law, instead of offering a reward for killing them,
should make their destruction penal, provided he
could carry the Bill now before them into effect.

lhe Earl of MALMESBURY felt himself called
upon to oppose the measure. The Right Hon.
Secretary of State had stated, with reference to his
Police Bill, which might soon be expected to reach
this House, that in this Metropolis, one person out
of every 383 teas annually charged with some crime
or other ; and yet the county of Middlesex was
that in which, of all others, the offence of poaching
prevailed the least. Petty larceny was perhaps the
nearest in its nature to pouching; and that had in-
creased to a very great extent as well as poaching,
but it was not owing to the state of the law, but to
other causes. One cause of the increase of petty
larceny as well as of poaching was the want of em-
ployment for the people—a point on which their
Lordships would probably soon have to legislate.
Another great cause of the increase of poaching was
et re mar
ireknat
ol facility
nebetween
the which
had
different
et
rakenetn
partsplace i n the
of
the
kingdom. Owing to this circumstance, it was
astonishing at what a cheap rate and with what ra-
pidity a basket of game, as well as he who had it
atonndtishepro.se
Aof,hecreo
mu lid be ca
ght
be shot
from one
ortonhis
eNohle
Friend's i
ecndt,oe
ground on Saturday, and be eaten by a London Alder-
man on Monday. Another cause of the increase of
poaching was the increase in the population of the
kingdom, and in its wealth and habits of luxury; and
another cause was the cheapness of spirits. That
cheapness led to drunkenness, drunkenness to idle-
ness, idleness to temporary want, and that to crime.
The haunting of public-houses was, in his opinion,
one great cause of the increase of poaching. He
was aware that some were of opinion that the open
exposure of game to the poacher, with such a tempta-
tion to violate the law as existed at present, and the
open exposure of poached game for sale, bad a ten-
dency to demoralize the people. But the tendency
to demoralization was not greater than that whit
was occasioned by his Noble Friend, when he wgo
up and down St. James's-street with it Dandima
handkerchief hanging out of his pocket, which pre-
sented no small temptation to the pick-pockets to
seize it. Nor was the tendency greater titan that
which was presented in Monmouth-street, where a
man could not walk the foot-path without every
now and then rubbing his nose against a pair of
trowsers. lie rather wondered that his Noble
Friend had not adverted to, the report made by the
magistrates of SouthFoNen, his (Lard Malmes-
bury's) county, on the subject of the Game
Laws; bait that report lied induced him to write to
the clerk of the peace for that county for a list of the
commitments for poaching, and the offences rno:3
nearly resembling it, for live years, from 18,24 to
1828, both inclusive ; and the P,...tyrit was this In W 24, the number committed for offences against
the Game Laws was 122 :. for 4er stca4g, IQ; fol.
fish poaching, fonr;. acid for iQIYI
:tealiciliw'agatt
eight.
1n 182 t, the'numbei; eaott fitted Poe iis
freteaJ
while ef:t.l..thefiesi,-thi. 41
-1 h (W; egt /14
the.
txbibiting a decrease,
mlilttBed for deer-stealing was
three, and for fowl stealing
In the last year the number co=nitted un-
der the Game Laws was 118,, no that there was a
decrease under that },Aead since 1824, while in the
other partieul4rs there was an increase; and yet the
sale of venison, fish, and poultry, was legal, while
that of game was illegal; and in reason;4l fro% these
premises, his conclusion was the, laegalising of
the sale of game would I.3,aye igkeffpect in diminishing
the crime of poac4in; But his great objection to
the Bill was, 'that if passed into a law, it would
of
astmu.
eprnlziodidndreittserk:lii.eitgtitheiliiieitun:lpi
tlrir.ireiely‘s'sisielgtendegl.tivieelovtps,,i,iolm:dfe thedisposed
to country
reside
in the country- for the who'4o yearinffoant:roirsteuheomnfirdeiftr,rTmbylleile;
become
caio mimaster
deprived aonf aa
amusements, would leave their crigatry seats and
cock to town. For dim and other reasoni he felt

Their Lordships then divided upon the question
that the Bill be read a second time--
Contents, present 59
Proxies... 2O-79
Non-Contents, present 42
Proxies 27-09
Majority •• • 10
The Bill was then read a second time, and ordered
to be commited on Friday next.
The House adjourned at Half-past Seven o'clock.