310 FOX-HUNTING IN THE SHIRES 



hunting lasts, the farmer is a man of influence out of 

 proportion to his wealth. Without hunting he would 

 be nobody, of less importance socially than the well- 

 to-do tradesman, of smaller influence politically than 

 the labourers who work in his fields. This is not the 

 place to discuss politics, but at all events the particular 

 class of politicians who gird at sport are not the least 

 likely to be of the smallest use to the farmer in any- 

 thing he wants. The farmers have an instinctive feeling 

 that from his sympathy with country life a sports- 

 man is their best representative. " I shall always 



vote for Mr. L while he rides as straight as he 



do," was the view of a farmer, who perhaps only dimly 

 perceived the very real connection between the value 

 of his vote and the existence of sport. 



Hunting is more important now to the farmer even 

 than it was thirty or forty years ago, because then 

 the great majority of country gentlemen were resident 

 on their estates and the farmer was naturally on friendly 

 and neighbourly terms with them, and thus exercised 

 his influence through them and found sympathetic 

 counsellors and advocates in men whose interests were 

 identical with his own. The country gentlemen rested 

 their influence on the farmers, who in their turn could 

 make their opinions felt through the " country party," 

 then powerful in Parliament. But when in course 

 of time the country gentlemen decayed in wealth 

 and influence, the link between the farmer and the 

 governing classes was broken, and we constantly see 

 how Governments, Tory or Radical, feel that they 

 can afford to neglect the wishes and interests of 

 agricultural folk. 



To a very great extent hunting, particularly in the 

 grass countries, has been a compensation to the farmers 

 for this loss of power. Sometimes they complain that 



