第33章

Thecrimeforwhichmenweremaimedorkilledbytheseenginesortorn

fromtheirhomesbysummaryandheartlessjusticewas，itmustberemembered，

nocrimeatallintheeyesofthegreatmajorityoftheircountrymen。At

thistimethesaleofgamewasprohibitedundersternpenalties，andyet

everyrichmaninLondon，fromtheLordMayordownwards，entertainedhis

guestswithgamethathehadboughtfromapoulterer。Howhadthepoulterer

boughtit？Therewasnosecretaboutthebusiness。Itwasexplainedtotwo

SelectCommittees，thefirstoftheHouseofCommonsin1823，andthesecond

oftheHouseofLordsin1828，bypoultererswholivedbythesetransactions，

andbypoliceofficerswhodidnothingtointerferewiththem。DanielBishop，

forexample，oneofthechiefBowStreetofficers，describedthearrangements

totheCommitteein1823。(52*)

’CanyoustatetotheCommittee，howtheGameisbroughtfromthepoachers

uptoLondon，orothermarket？……Thepoachersgenerallymeetthecoachman

orguardsofthemailsorvans，anddeliverittothemaftertheyareout

ofatown，theydonotdeliveritinatown；thenitisbroughtuptoLondon，

sometimestotheiragents；butthecoachmenandguardsmostlyhavetheir

friendsinLondonwheretheyknowhowtodisposeofit，andtheyhavetheir

contractsmadeatsomuchabrace……Thereisnointermediatepersonbetween

thepoacherandthecoachmanorguardthatconveysitto。town？……Veryseldom；

generallytheheadofthegangpaystherestofthemen，andhesendsoff

theGame……WhenthegamearrivesinLondon，howisitdisposedof？……They

havetheiragents，thebookkeepersatmostoftheinns，theporterswhogo

outwiththecarts；anypersonstheyknowmaygoandgetwhatquantitythey

like，bysendinganorderadayortwobefore；therearegreatquantities

comeuptoLeadenhallandNewgatemarkets。’NobodyinLondonthoughtthe

worseofapoultererforbuyingpoachedgame；andnobodyinthecountrythought

anytheworseofthepoacherwhosuppliedit。AwitnessbeforetheCommittee

in1823saidthatinonevillagethewholeofthevillagewerepoachers，

’theconstableofthevillage，theshoemakerandotherinhabitantsofthe

village。’AnotherwitnessbeforetheLordsin1828saidthatoccupiersand

unqualifiedproprietorsagreedwiththelabourersinthinkingthatpoaching

wasaninnocentpractice。

ThosewhowishedtoreformtheGameLawsarguedthatifthesaleofgame

werelegalised，andiftheanomalousqualificationswereabolished，thepoacher’s

prizewouldbecomemuchlessvaluable，andthetemptationwouldbecorrespondingly

diminished……ThisviewwascorroboratedbytheevidencegiventotheSelect

Committees。Butallsuchproposalswerebitterlyattackedbythegreatmajority

ofgamepreservers。LordLondonderryurgedagainstthisreformin1827’that

itwoulddeprivethesportsmanofhishighestgratification……thepleasure

offishinghisfriendswithpresentsofgame：nobodywouldcareforapresent

whicheverybodycouldgive！’(53*)Othergamepreserversarguedthatitwas

sportthatmadetheEnglishgentlemensuchgoodofficers，onwhichtheEdinburgh

Reviewremarked：’ThehuntingwhichXenophonandCiceropraiseasthebest

disciplineforforminggreatgeneralsfromitsbeingwarinminiaturemust

havebeenveryunlikepheasantshooting。’(54*)LordDeerhurstdeclared，when

theproposalwasmadefourteenyearsearlier，thatthiswasnotthetime

todisgustresidentgentlemen。TheEnglisharistocracy，liketheFrench，

wouldonlyconsenttoliveinthecountryontheirownterms。Whenthesquires

threatenedtoturné；migré；sifanybodyelsewasallowedtokill

arabbit，orifapoacherwasnotputtoriskoflifeandlimb，SydneySmith

gaveananswerthatwouldhavescandalisedtheHouseofCommons，’Ifgentlemen

cannotbreathefreshairwithoutinjustice，letthemputrefyinCranbourne

Court。’

Butwhataboutthejusticeofthelawsagainstpoachers？Tomostmembers

ofParliamenttherewouldhavebeenanelementofparadoxinsuchaquestion。

FromthediscussionsonthesubjectoftheGameLawsamodernreadermight

supposethatpoacherswerenotmenoffleshandblood，butsomekindofvermin。

Therewereafewexceptions。In1782，whenCokeofNorfolk，actingatthe

instanceofthemagistratesofthatcounty，proposedtomaketheGameLaws

morestringent，Turner，thememberforYork，madeaspiritedreply；he’exclaimed

againsttho

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