66 



with the matter ; but nothing was done 

 in the direction indicated. 



In May, 1870, Mr. Thomas Hughes, the 

 member for Frome, brought in a bill to 

 amend the laws relating to racing. This 

 bill proposed to make it unlawful to race 

 any horse or mare under three years old, 

 and to make the Queen's Plates open only 

 to horses four years old and upwards. 

 Mr. Hughes, in introducing his measure, 

 said that between 1843 an d 1868 the 

 number of two-year-olds running had in- 

 creased fourfold, while the number of races 

 of a mile and upwards had decreased, and 

 urged that the system which had grown 

 up tended to cause deterioration in the 

 breed of horses. As was well known at 

 the time, Mr. Hughes was indebted for his 

 facts and figures to Sir Joseph Hawley. 

 This bill was read a first time by 132 

 votes to 44, but was withdrawn in the 

 following July. 



Great and radical changes had come over 

 the Turf during the twenty-five years men- 

 tioned by Mr. Hughes, but they were only 

 incidental to the general process of Turf 

 development which has been going on since 

 the advent of the railway. 



In 1836 the travelling van was first 



