advantage do they get from it? in his place in the House of Com. Surely a random shot or two, even mons, and are too generally adif they can procure a gun

without mitted to be made the subject of paying for one, will not compen- discussion. The only question is, sate in their minds for the risk they how shall they be amended. run. The regular poacher indeed, Give power to all proprietors of by constantly following his lawless land, wlio have a certain extent of trade, makes a profit, which he landed property, to pursue game considers to indemnify him against as they please, says one set; but these consequences; but to the what extent of land is to be repoor man, who is not an habitual quired, and for what purpose ? poacher, they form an insurmount- If that extent is to be fixed by able prohibition against shooting, having regard to the means of supeven without regarding the feelings port, an acre of land must be a quacreated towards him in the minds sification to the man who has amof those from whom he derives ple income from other sources. If the employment that supports him, it is to be such an extent as to af. and upon whose grounds he must ford reasonable presumption that be known to trespass, if he be he can sport upon his own grounds known to shoot.

without trespassing upon others, But, supposing for a moment, who can settle an extent dependthough I by no means think it ing so much on the situation of likely, that out of the numerous the land, the quantity of game ranks of society now prevented upon it, and the feelings of the from shooting, a few more indivi- owner as to what will content him? duals should be induced by the If it is to be such an extent as change of the law to commit a will not lead him to entice game trespass ; is it just, on account of from the preserves of larger landthe offences of a few individuals, owners, how again is so uncertain to impose restrictions upon whole a question to be ascertained ? But classes ? or is it equitable, because if the smaller proprietor attempt B or perhaps C also, in the exer- to entice game from the greater, cise of a right, which they have in how can he do it, unless by better common with the other letters of feeding and more cautiously prethe alphabet, outstep propriety, and serving? and why may not the commit an offence which they great proprietor, by the same means, might have, and ought to have secure his stock ? Surely he has avoided, and for which they ought the better chance of the two. to be punished—is it equitable, I Give the privilege then to all say, that the vowels only should proprietors of land, says another for the future be permitted to en- set; they have a property in the joy that heretofore common right, game on their land, and why should and that all the consonants should they not kill it? But if they have be excluded from the enjoyment? a right to kill it themselves, exAnd yet, such is the effect of the claims a third set, they must hare present state of the law as to qua- an equal right to privilege others lifications--a more absurd system to kill it on their grounds, if they than which could scarcely be de- think proper. Why may not all vised.

their sons, many of whom have po Its anomalies have been well and land of their own, be permitted to humoroụsly exposed by Mr, Peel, shoot over the grounds of their father? Why must they wait, till, the proprietors of land, but to all by his death, they acquire land who have the permission of any for the permission? And why proprietor. We must not, as the may not those fathers occasionally law now does, make the possession give a day's shooting to their land- of land the sine quâ non of the less friends, when they receive them privilege to kill game. at their country seats? If it is To such an extension several obsaid, that the moneyed man who jections have been started, to which wishes to indulge occasionally in some weight has been attached in the sport, may by purchase qualify the minds of many, who have not himself, it may be asked in answer, given much consideration to the why should he be condemned to subject. But it is perhaps high buy land to the extent of a hun- time that I should pause for the dred pounds a year or more, in present. Before this letter goes order to privilege him to indulge to the press, you will probably have in a day's shooting at a friend's received the third and last commuhouse in the country, some two or nication with which you will be three times in the course of a troubled upon the subject of the year? In justice then, we must Game Laws, by, go a step farther, and extend the Yours, &c. No POACHER. privilege of shooting not only to

THE OAKLEY HUNT.

SIR, I Should be gratified by seeing the following. Song inserted in your

Miscellany, which was dedicated by the writer to the Marquis of Tavistock and the Members of the Hunt. The only merit (if any) to which it pretends, is that of being a tolerably accurate description of one out of the many fine runs enjoyed this season with one of the best conducted pack of fox-hounds in the kingdom. Should any resemblance to the “ Lambton Hounds," inserted in your April Number, p. 385, be discovered in any of the lines, I must state, to rescue it from the imputation of plagiarism, which it might possibly incur, that it was written carly in the month of February. I am, Sir, yours, &c.

A SPORTSMAN.

Tune" Heigh-ho! Dobbin !"

If stag-hunting is reckoned a sport fit for Kings,
"Tis a pity they ever should follow such things ;
It may do well for Cockneys, or other shy cocks,
But give me

“ The Oakley" and hunting the fox !
Chorus—Tally' ho! gone away ! gone away, tally ho !

Tallý ho ! tally ho! gone away!
'Tis the noblest of all noble science below,
And, thank Heaven ! there are many good packs that can go ;

But « The Oakley,” I swear, is the best of them all ;
If you doubt me-I beg to appeal to Tom Ball*.

Tally ho! &c.
Let all who would judge of a pack by their sport,
To Chichley,—to Melchbourne, -or Bletsoe resort ;
If you ride a superior sort of a horse,
You may see something brilliant from famed Shelton Gorse.

Tally ho! &c.
They have found-he delays not a moment he's gone,
“ Hark, holloa! get to him, lads--hark to the horn !"
See, quicker than lightning, comes Georget on his grey,
“Yoicks, forward”-hey! wind him, boys-forward, away!

Tally ho! &e.
Ye may ride now who will, for through Stanwick they push,
Just as if they were tied, or belonged to his brush :
Here the critic is planted ; cries Tom, “ Are you done?
“ Come along—now's the time for a fine slanting runt.".

Tally ho! &c.
See, the Marquis is gallantly charging the stile,
You may guess what a burst it will be by his smile ;
And Whitbread is riding right desperate hard,
Tho' he well knows the country all round to a yard.

Tally ho ! &c.
Like a flight of wild birds o'er the open they went,
Heads up and sterns down, for breast-high was the scent ;
And for forty-two minutes they held it along
Without check-so I cannot here finish my songs

Tally ho! &c.
For they ran through the best part of Huntingdonshire,
Not a wood or appearance of covert was near,

Till he gained a known haunt—which I fain would suppose is
A place which you all must have heard of-Hunt's Closes.

Tally ho ! &c.
There on a fit spot for a good fox to die,
Such a fox as all hounds but such hounds would defy,
To his staunch persecutors he gave up his breath,
And, though vanquished, he still looked a hero in death.

Tally ho! &c.
Oh! would I could celebrate each man by name,
Whose performance that day is entitled to fame;
Many went well the whole of it nevertheless,
Not a few were obliged to pull up in distress.

Tally ho ! &c.
They all rode like devils, yet no one, they say,
Not even Fred Hogg beat the Marquis that day;
So severe was the pace, that Lord Gardner, they tell me,
Was all the way neck and neck racing with Delmè,

Tally ho! &c. First whipper-in-perfect in his profession, and a great wag in his way. + The huntsman.

See Sporting Magazine for June 1827, towards the end of the first article.

Parson Crofts* pushed along, of course anxious to know
Every turn which his pupil intended to go;
And 'Squire Peter Payne very justly may brag
Of the fight he kept up on hís tight little nag.

Tally ho! &c.
There was cramming, and bruising, and falling-in short,
All the fun that is usual on days of this sort ;
But to be too particular would not be fair-
For if all were not up-othey all tried to be there.

Tally ho! &c.
Let us hope that old Bedfordshire never may lack
Such a true British sportsman to lead such a pack !
Let us hope that such runs he may oft see again,
And, oh ! may he never draw Shelton in vain !

Tally ho ! &c.
Now I'll drink to his health, for I think it is time
That I pulled up, and gave a "whoo-whoop” to my rhyme,
Having chaunted ten minutes by Higgins'st clocks, -
So here's to the Marquis and hunting the fox !

Tally ho! gone away! gone away, tally bo!
Tally hol tally ho! gone away.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE,

THE
HE interest which Sporting ex« The Roe-buck Hounds of E. M.

cites throughout the Continent Pleydell, Esq. of Whatcombe House, is continually on the advance. We Dorsetshire, closed the season with a perceive a periodical Journal an- brilliant day's sport on Saturday the nounced for publication in Paris, pe- 5th of April

. They threw off at culiarly devoted to Hunting, Racing, Elcombe Wood, and in about ten the Science of Breeding, and also pro- minutes, a fine buck was viewed going fessing to give an account of the varie over the opposite hill in gallant style ous Studs throughout Europe. Sucha for Escomb, through which he passed, Work, if well got up, will naturally and made for Turnwood; here he excite considerable interest even in remained a few minutes, and then this country, and we shall not be una broke over the Downs into the Vale mindful of profiting by information of Blackmoor to Ibberton, where being to be gleaned from such a source. headed by some labourers he ascended

the hill, and skirting Ibberton Park

ran to Houghton Wood; passed through The Chase.

that extensive covert, and turned Fox-hunting may be now said to through the inclosures of M. Davis, have completely closed for the season, Esq. to a coppice at some distance there being but few masters of hounds near Durwestone. Thence he made ambitious of killing a May fox.- for Elcombe, and again attempted the Throughout the country the season hill; but his strength failing, he has proved one of unusual success, turned back into covert, and passing and the oldest friends to the sport directly through, broke on the other never remember a better one for scent. side, and the whole pack (with the Most of the crack clubs have had their exception of one couple of hounds) wind-up dinners, and everything ran into him in view, in a short furze augurs well for the next year. brake on the Down, after a run of one

* Rector of Shelton, Chaplain to the Oakley Hunt, and tutelar Saint of Shelton Gorse. + Higgins, landlord of the Swan Inn, Bedford.

COCKING

SALES OF RACERS.

pion.

HINE.

M. B.

PHILLIPS. M. B

...

hour and forty minutes without a Mr. Calvert's Topper, out of a Brati single check, and the greater part, bitch. particularly in the open country, at

Watchman, at the same place :-by speed.

Mr. Hassall's Hercules, out of Mr.
Burgess's Jig, the dam of Beppo,

Bashful, Horatio, &c.
The Enre.
Second October Meeting.-Match, A main of cocks was fought on the
Thursday : Lord Tavistock's b. c. by 1st, 2d, and 3d of April, at the New
Tiresias, out of The Governess, agst Pit, Milbank, between Middlesex
Gen. Grosvenor's ch. c. by Phantom, (Fleming feeder) and Suffolk (Hard-
out of Moonshine, T. Y. C. 50, h. ft. wick feeder), for 10 sovs. a battle and

200 the odd, which was won by the Lord Sefton has purchased Lord former by four battles on the mainWharncliffe's Pastime; Lord Wilton, the numbers being, Fleming 19, HardMr. Stonehewer's Goshawk; Lord

wick 15. Suffolk was four a-head on Tavistock, Mr. Ridsdale's Sharpset, the byes. since named Lepanto ; and Lord

A

great main of cocks was fought Southampton, Mr. Theakston's Gram- at Wolverhampton, between Shrop

shire (Phillips feeder) and Worcester At the close of the Newmarket (Iline feeder), on the 7th, 8th, and Craven Meeting, 4000 guineas were

9th of April, which terminated as offered by a Noble Lord to Mr. Gully

follows: for Mameluke, and refused.

First day

5 1 Maria, by North Star, dam by Go

Second day 4 2

6 2 hanna, entered for the Gold Cup at Third day...... 8 1 Liverpool, was burnt to death at Newcastle on the evening of the 11th of Total....... 17 4

.12 6 April, owing to a spark from a candle Hine winning by five mains a-head ; having ignited her litter. The poor Phillips two a-head in the byes. animal was literally roasted alive. During the Anson Hunt Meeting, COURSING.

a main of cocks was fought between A Correspondent informs us that the Gentlemen of Warwickshire (Gilthere is in our last Number an error

liver feeder), and those of Staffordin the pedigree of Milo, the winner of shire (Potter feeder), for 500 sovs. the Cups at the Ashdown and Altcar the main, and 25 the bye. It was won Coursing Meetings. He is there said by the former as follows: to be got by Medlar; whereas Milo and

Tuesday, 7 1

4 2 Medlar were both out of one bitch

Wednesday... 7 1

5 1 Mr. Bellyse's Gaudy-Medlar, as Thursday...

8 0 stated, by Leveller, and Milo, by Lord Stradbroke's Garrick.

Total 18 4

.17 3 We understand that the leading Members of the West Country Coursing Clubs, viz. Ashdown Park, Ames- Sirm' The mail bags between bury, and Deptford, purpose dining Ross and Hereford are carried by a together at the Thatched House Tavern man who had originally two horses to on the Monday previous to the ensu- perform the work, that they might ing Derby. They are desirous of be- take it alternate days the distance ing joined by the Members of the twenty-eight miles per day. On the Swaffham, Newmarket, Malton, and 19th last September one of the horses Louth Clubs.

died; and the other, ten years old,

blind, poor, and in anything but NinWoodman, 4 yrs old, at Castle Hill, ROD's condition, a good 'un to go, near Aberystwith. He is the winner though a rum ’un to look at, continued of two pieces of Plate and several to do it till the 13th of February last, Sweepstakes :- got by Topper, son of when the old chesnut fell at the Cala

GILLIVER. M. B.

POTTER. M. B.

4

2

AN OLD POSTER.

STALLION GREYHOUNDS.