178 DEER-STALKING 



them ? ' I replied that was so. 'Then,' he went on, 

 ' it seems to me that the man who forms a new forest 

 does actually, by a certain process, attract deer from 

 his neighbour's ground to his own, and thus becomes 

 the owner de facto of animals which were the day 

 before the property of that neighbour.' I could only 

 answer him by saying that the practice was universally 

 recognised as legitimate, though no doubt sometimes 

 annoying, and that I had never heard of any grievance 

 being made of it. 



The result of this inquiry by a Select Committee 

 was a report, unanimously agreed to, completely exone- 

 rating deer forests from the charges brought against 

 them. It narrates that these charges were twofold : 

 first, that deer forests ' tended to the depopulation of 

 the country ; ' secondly, ' that by the displacement of 

 sheep to make way for deer they have diminished the 

 food supply and raised the price of meat to the con- 

 sumer.' The report goes on to say : * Your Committee 

 are of opinion that the evidence does not bear out 

 either of these charges.' 



To those who may have the patience to wade 

 through the evidence on this subject which was 

 brought before the Committee the result cannot be 

 surprising. No feebler case was ever submitted to a 

 tribunal of intelligent men. It broke down at every 



