GENERAL VIEW OF THE FIELD. 15 



to be a nuisance. Consequently the legislative authority passed 

 an act in 1748 for the suppression of "Running, Pacing and 

 Trotting Races. " This was in strict harmony with the well-known 

 condition of things in Philadelphia and vicinity very early in 

 the century. If there had been no pacing races there would 

 have been no legislation suppressing them. 



The horses of the colony of Maryland would necessarily partake 

 of the characteristics of Virginia and Pennsylvania, from which 

 she probably received her supply. There seems to be no evidence 

 of direct importation. This colony was really the first, in point 

 of time, to legislate for the suppression of pacing races. In 1747, 

 one year before New Jersey, an act was passed forbidding pacing 

 races in certain locations at certain times, and the avowed object 

 was the protection of the Friends in holding their yearly meetings. 

 Here, then, we have historic evidence that the three colonies of 

 Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Virginia had frequent pacing 

 races, and legislative evidence that Maryland and New Jersey 

 had quite too many pacing races, early in the last century. It 

 follows, then, that the other colonies indulged their sporting 

 fancies in pacing races also. 



The colonies of North and South Carolina obtained their supply 

 of horses from Virginia, and they possessed the same character- 

 istics as the parent stock. The first permanent settlement in 

 North Carolina was in 1653, but before this it had become the 

 refuge of Quakers and others fleeing from the proscriptions that 

 prevailed in Virginia against all who did not conform to the 

 English church. South Carolina received her charter in 1663, at 

 a time when horses were beginning to run wild in Virginia. In 

 1747 thirty horses were advertised in which the size was given, 

 and the average is within a small fraction of thirteen and a half 

 hands high, and in this number two were given as fifteen hands, 

 which was a very large horse for that day. The gait is given in 

 only twelve cases ten of which were pacers, one paced and trotted, 

 and one trotted only. 



The chapter on the "Early Horse History of Canada" is very 

 brief. It was not till the year 1665 that the first horses were 

 brought over from France, and as they came from ancient Picardy, 

 right across the Channel from England, it is reasonable to assume 

 that they partook of the same characteristics as the English horses, 

 and that many of them were pacers. Another theory of the 

 origin of the Canadian pacer is the probability of clandestine trad- 



