66 
with the matter; but nothing was done 
in the direction indicated. 
In May, 1870, Mr. Thomas Hughes, the 
member for Frome, brought in a bill to 
amend the laws relating to racing. This 
bill proposed to make it unlawful to race 
any horse or mare under three years old, 
and to make the Queen’s Plates open only 
to horses four years old and upwards. 
Mr. Hughes, in introducing his measure, 
said that between 1843 and 1868 the 
number of two-year-olds running had in- 
creased fourfold, while the number of races 
of a mile and upwards had decreased, and 
urged that the system which had grown 
up tended to cause deterioration in the 
breed of horses. As was well known at 
the time, Mr. Hughes was indebted for his 
facts and figures to Sir Joseph Hawley. 
This bill was read a first time by 132 
votes to 44, but was withdrawn in the 
following July. 
Great and radical changes had come over 
the Turf during the twenty-five years men- 
tioned by Mr. Hughes, but they were only 
incidental to the general process of Turf 
development which has been going on since 
the advent of the railway. 
In 1836 the travelling van was first 
