CHAPTER III 



MASTERS AND PRIVILEGES 



The rights of fox-hunting, as they are now acknow- 

 ledged, have necessarily been adopted, altered, and 

 extended to meet the exigencies of the times and the 

 customs which have been introduced : they are strictly 

 conventional. Forest laws and those appertaining to 

 the preservation of game are of very ancient date, 

 having been introduced, it is supposed, by the Saxons ; 

 and they have been variously treated upon by authors 

 who wrote concerning them ; but they were exclusively 

 confined to the laws of the land, and in force only for 

 the purpose of protecting forest rights and privileges, 

 including, among other items, the preservation of 

 beasts of venery and game, in which class the fox was 

 not enrolled. 



Before fox-hunting was modelled into an established 

 form for the sake of amusement, it follows, as a matter 

 of course, that no rules were required. In those days, 

 when foxes were regarded as mischevious animals, 

 whose speedy destruction only was contemplated, it was 

 considered perfectly justifiable to annihilate them under 

 any circumstances, by digging, trapping, or other 

 devices; indignities from which they are now secure. 

 When fox-hunting assumed ^ degree of importance, 

 and masters of hounds became more numerous 

 throughout the kingdom, it became necessary to intro- 

 duce rules and regulations for their guidance, founded 

 upKDn reasonable principles and good sense, although 

 unconnected with common law. In fact, when legal 

 measures are put in force, they are in some measure 

 opposed to it ; yet the rights of country or the usages 



