444 GAME LAWS. 



acres, and yet has no means of obtaining game from 

 that very estate on which the game is bred, unless he 

 is a sportsman himself, or invites others to come and 

 shoot for him. 



Thus the man of ONE thousand acres, if he is not 

 the lord of a manor, is to be left dependent for ONE 

 BRACE of birds ; while the lord paramount, with his 

 FIVE thousand acres, could perhaps command his FIVE 

 THOUSAND head of game in a season ! And, what is 

 even harder again on the former, while the occupier of 

 not so much as one hundred acres has a right to ap- 

 point a keeper, because he happens to be the lord of a 

 manor ! All this may be thought very clever and very 

 proper ! but, unfortunately for me, I am so blind as not 

 to be able to discover the propriety of such a law, 

 though it requires but little penetration to perceive its 

 monopoly and injustice. 



Have licensed dealers subject only to the magistrates. 



Every person should have the power of legally ob- 

 taining game ; by which means it would be thought 

 the less of; and there could be no excuse for dealing 

 with a poacher, or other unlawful vender. It is very 

 hard, that not only a respectable tradesman, but even a 

 gentleman, perhaps with high rank and immense funded 

 property, cannot command a brace of birds for his table 

 without being liable to a penalty. The unjust severity 

 of such a prohibition, therefore, induces many opulent 

 persons to encourage this illegal traffic. It does not 

 follow, however, that the gentleman is to turn game- 

 poulterer, or that game must be made private property, 

 for the purpose in question. For if it was, the farmer 

 might possibly spoil the gentleman's sport, by making 



