LORD SOUTHAMPTON 139 



venient premises in Leicester was thought by a good 

 many to presage a change, and about midway in the 

 season 1830-31 came the announcement that Lord South- 

 ampton would give up the hounds at the end of the 

 season. Accordingly, on Wednesday the 6th April 1831 

 there was held, at the Three Crowns, Leicester, a meet- 

 ing to take into consideration the future hunting of the 

 country. The Marquis of Hastings presided, and there 

 were present Lord Rancliffe, Sir G. H. Beaumont, the 

 Reverends S. Vere Dashwood and C. J. Bewicke, 

 Messrs. C. Loraine Smith, E. C. and E. B. Hartopp, 

 E. H. Cheney, C. M. Phillipps, C. Nevill, H. Green, 

 J. E. Wescomb, E. B. Farnham, H. and E. Dawson, 

 J. B. Humfrey, C. G. Mundy, W. H. Wilson, C. \\ r . 

 Packe, J. King, M. Babington, T. Walker, J. Cradock, 

 W. Martin, and R. Hames ; while letters of apology 

 were received from Lord Stamford, Sir R. Bromley, Sir 

 John Palmer, Sir Justinian Isham, Sir F. G. Fowke, 

 Messrs. Herrick, and several others, the writers intimat- 

 ing their readiness to fall in with the views of the meeting. 

 Sir Harry Goodricke, who had for some time hunted in 

 Leicestershire, had previously been approached, and had 

 signified his willingness to take over the country, stating 

 that should it be offered to him "by the resident gentry 

 and proprietors of land and coverts," he should "hold 

 himself accountable to those gentlemen alone for his 

 manner of hunting their country. - ' The unanimous resolu- 

 tion of the meeting was that Sir Harry Goodricke's offer 

 be accepted — he had intimated that he would hunt the 

 country at his own cost — and on the Marquis of Hastings 

 conveying to Sir Harry an intimation of what had taken 

 place at the meeting, the master elect wrote a gracious 

 letter saying that nothing could have given him greater 

 pleasure than the knowledge that the country-side had 

 been unanimous in offering him the mastership. He 

 would be happy to accept it, and was determined to give 



