172 DEER-STALKING 



proper or expedient to put an end to the latter for the 

 benefit of the former by legislative enactment. In a 

 free country, and especially in a country where free 

 trade is established, such a proposition would appear 

 to be inadmissible. If it could be entertained for a 

 moment, a much stronger case has since arisen, where 

 the principle might, on grounds of national as well as 

 private interests, be more appropriately applied. At 

 the present time, owing to the low price of corn, more 

 and more arable land is being converted into pasture, 

 with the result that agricultural labour is less required, 

 and those who used to earn a living in connection 

 with the raising of crops are being gradually driven 

 into the towns ; and thus our rural population is 

 steadily decreasing. A comparison of the two cases 

 is striking. In the first you have the grazing of deer 

 substituted for the grazing of sheep ; in the latter, 

 the grazing of sheep or cattle for the raising of crops. 

 So far the similarity holds good. But it goes no 

 further. Whether we regard the number of those 

 whose interests are adversely affected, or the impor- 

 tance of those interests from a national point of view 

 as regards the well-being of a large portion of our 

 population, or in respect of our food supplies, it 

 seems placed beyond the region of doubt that if it is 

 desirable to interfere by special legislation with the 



