128 THE OLD BERKS HUNT 



at Abingdon in 1835. The result was the 

 establishment of the South Oxfordshire Hunt 

 with Lord Macclesfield as master. It was 

 indeed an age of change. Masters no longer 

 moved their hounds to distant neighbourhoods 

 to hunt for a time. The movement of the 

 formation of the present conveniently-sized 

 countries was in full swing. It was demanded 

 by the increased interest taken in hunting ; 

 and had been rendered possible by the better 

 preservation of foxes. The natural result of 

 the process of change was, that boundary dis- 

 putes and differences as to country became 

 very numerous ; so much so that a serious pro- 

 posal was made by a writer in the Sporting 

 Magazine, for the formation of a tribunal on 

 the lines of the Jockey Club for their settle- 

 ment. In the Duke of Beaufort's country a dis- 

 pute arose between the Duke and Mr. Horlock 

 in 1838 as to the right to draw certain coverts. 

 Mr. Horlock had purchased, in 1826, a mag- 

 nificent pack of hounds from his friend, Mr. 

 John Warde, with which he hunted the Wilt- 

 shire country. By arrangement with the Duke 

 he hunted a considerable country, which had 

 undoubtedly once been hunted by the Bad- 

 minton hounds. In 1838 the Duke wanted 

 the country back ; the reply was that it had 

 been given up as useless and devoid of foxes. 



