158 THE MASTER OF HOUNDS 



afford to hunt, and it is difficult to make him compre- 

 hend the advantages which he derives from a sport 

 which he cannot enjoy. You cannot lecture a farmer 

 upon political economy. If you tell him that indi- 

 vidual prosperity is the result of collective wealth, and 

 that therefore he must prosper through the collective 

 wealth of hunting-people, he will answer, " I do not 

 hunt, and hunting damages my land : why, then, 

 should I allow hounds to cross my farm ? " Now it 

 is the duty of the Master to do everything in his power 

 in order to propitiate the farmers. So, of course, it is 

 the duty of all hunting-people. But when the farmers 

 in a hunting country suddenly assume a hostile attitude 

 towards sport, the Master invariably has to bear the 

 blame. Why should not the Master utilise the columns 

 of the local newspaper in order to express his opinions ? 

 I do not hold any brief for the proprietors and 

 editors of provincial newspapers ; but, where the pro- 

 vincial paper circulates amongst the local agricultural 

 community, I think that it is wiser for the Master of 

 Hounds to publish his views or edicts upon hunting in 

 the columns of the paper than to issue circular letters 

 amongst the members of the Hunt. Within the last 

 three years it has become a custom for Masters of 

 Hounds to issue circular letters. For two reasons I 

 believe this custom to be mischievous. In the first 

 place the letter is not read by the people for whom it 

 is intended to be read ; and, in the second place, it 

 may give offence to genuine sportsmen. A Master of 

 Hounds should publish his regulations so that all his 

 followers may read, mark, learn and inwardly digest 



