LAWLESS CONDUCT OF THE MASSES. 281 



or the weight he carries, or the course he runs ; or that imme- 

 diately afterwards he is disqualified, and the race given to the 

 second horse : he has won to all intents and purposes. For- 

 tunately the practice was stopped in its infancy through the 

 vigilance of the Jockey Club ; and I only refer to it here as 

 showing the lengths to which the promoters of these meetings 

 would go if they were permitted. 



Such meetings have no attraction for gentlemen ; and in 

 the absence of the restraining example and influence of the 

 upper classes, the crowd, wild with excitement, is prone 

 to excess in every conceivable form. I well remember the 

 Hippodrome races at Bayswater^ and those at Harrow, now 

 most happily done to death by their own inherent viciousness. 

 The scenes witnessed at Harrow would beggar description. 

 The few policemen, utterly powerless to preserve order, con- 

 sulted their own safety in flight. Life itself was endangered ; 

 whilst any one having property was ruthlessly despoiled of it, 

 with little risk on the part of the thieves, of detection, and none 

 of punishment when detected. One visit was my first and last 

 appearance on the scene. The Hippodrome was no better, 

 the difficulty of preserving order, there, being admittedly 

 increased by the number of footpaths across the inclosure. 

 The company was chiefly composed of welshers, prize fighters, 

 and the disreputable beings that always follow in their wake, 

 and the downfall of a meeting reliant on such elements was 

 as certain as it was speedy ; the press of the time^ pointing 

 out that a mob " displaying such brutal coarseness and 

 immorality" must drive away "the stay and props of all 

 race-meetings — the respectable portion of the community." 



I am not so optimist as to suppose that the objectionable 

 frequenters of the race-course can be as summarily removed 



1 Sunday Times. 



