Thecrimeforwhichmenweremaimedorkilledbytheseenginesortorn
fromtheirhomesbysummaryandheartlessjusticewas，itmustberemembered，
nocrimeatallintheeyesofthegreatmajorityoftheircountrymen。At
thistimethesaleofgamewasprohibitedundersternpenalties，andyet
everyrichmaninLondon，fromtheLordMayordownwards，entertainedhis
guestswithgamethathehadboughtfromapoulterer。Howhadthepoulterer
boughtit？Therewasnosecretaboutthebusiness。Itwasexplainedtotwo
SelectCommittees，thefirstoftheHouseofCommonsin1823，andthesecond
oftheHouseofLordsin1828，bypoultererswholivedbythesetransactions，
andbypoliceofficerswhodidnothingtointerferewiththem。DanielBishop，
forexample，oneofthechiefBowStreetofficers，describedthearrangements
totheCommitteein1823。(52*)
’CanyoustatetotheCommittee，howtheGameisbroughtfromthepoachers
uptoLondon，orothermarket？……Thepoachersgenerallymeetthecoachman
orguardsofthemailsorvans，anddeliverittothemaftertheyareout
ofatown，theydonotdeliveritinatown；thenitisbroughtuptoLondon，
sometimestotheiragents；butthecoachmenandguardsmostlyhavetheir
friendsinLondonwheretheyknowhowtodisposeofit，andtheyhavetheir
contractsmadeatsomuchabrace……Thereisnointermediatepersonbetween
thepoacherandthecoachmanorguardthatconveysitto。town？……Veryseldom；
generallytheheadofthegangpaystherestofthemen，andhesendsoff
theGame……WhenthegamearrivesinLondon，howisitdisposedof？……They
havetheiragents，thebookkeepersatmostoftheinns，theporterswhogo
outwiththecarts；anypersonstheyknowmaygoandgetwhatquantitythey
like，bysendinganorderadayortwobefore；therearegreatquantities
comeuptoLeadenhallandNewgatemarkets。’NobodyinLondonthoughtthe
worseofapoultererforbuyingpoachedgame；andnobodyinthecountrythought
anytheworseofthepoacherwhosuppliedit。AwitnessbeforetheCommittee
in1823saidthatinonevillagethewholeofthevillagewerepoachers，
’theconstableofthevillage，theshoemakerandotherinhabitantsofthe
village。’AnotherwitnessbeforetheLordsin1828saidthatoccupiersand
unqualifiedproprietorsagreedwiththelabourersinthinkingthatpoaching
wasaninnocentpractice。
ThosewhowishedtoreformtheGameLawsarguedthatifthesaleofgame
werelegalised，andiftheanomalousqualificationswereabolished，thepoacher’s
prizewouldbecomemuchlessvaluable，andthetemptationwouldbecorrespondingly
diminished……ThisviewwascorroboratedbytheevidencegiventotheSelect
Committees。Butallsuchproposalswerebitterlyattackedbythegreatmajority
ofgamepreservers。LordLondonderryurgedagainstthisreformin1827’that
itwoulddeprivethesportsmanofhishighestgratification……thepleasure
offishinghisfriendswithpresentsofgame：nobodywouldcareforapresent
whicheverybodycouldgive！’(53*)Othergamepreserversarguedthatitwas
sportthatmadetheEnglishgentlemensuchgoodofficers，onwhichtheEdinburgh
Reviewremarked：’ThehuntingwhichXenophonandCiceropraiseasthebest
disciplineforforminggreatgeneralsfromitsbeingwarinminiaturemust
havebeenveryunlikepheasantshooting。’(54*)LordDeerhurstdeclared，when
theproposalwasmadefourteenyearsearlier，thatthiswasnotthetime
todisgustresidentgentlemen。TheEnglisharistocracy，liketheFrench，
wouldonlyconsenttoliveinthecountryontheirownterms。Whenthesquires
threatenedtoturné；migré；sifanybodyelsewasallowedtokill
arabbit，orifapoacherwasnotputtoriskoflifeandlimb，SydneySmith
gaveananswerthatwouldhavescandalisedtheHouseofCommons，’Ifgentlemen
cannotbreathefreshairwithoutinjustice，letthemputrefyinCranbourne
Court。’
Butwhataboutthejusticeofthelawsagainstpoachers？Tomostmembers
ofParliamenttherewouldhavebeenanelementofparadoxinsuchaquestion。
FromthediscussionsonthesubjectoftheGameLawsamodernreadermight
supposethatpoacherswerenotmenoffleshandblood，butsomekindofvermin。
Therewereafewexceptions。In1782，whenCokeofNorfolk，actingatthe
instanceofthemagistratesofthatcounty，proposedtomaketheGameLaws
morestringent，Turner，thememberforYork，madeaspiritedreply；he’exclaimed
againstthoselawsascruelandoppressiveonthepoor：hesaiditwasa
shamethattheHouseshouldalwaysbeenactinglawsforthesafetyofgentlemen；
hewishedtheywouldmakeafewforthegoodofthepoor……Forhisown
part，hewasconvinced，thatifhehadbeenacommonman，hewouldhavebeen
apoacher，inspiteofallthelaws；andhewasequallysurethatthetoo
greatseverityofthelawswasthecausethatthenumberofpoachershad
increasedsomuch。’(55*)Fox(29thApril1796)protestedwithvigouragainst
themoralitythatcondemnedpoacherswithoutmercy，andcondonedallthe
vicesoftherich，buthe，withSheridan，Curwen，Romilly，andafewothers
wereaninfinitesimalminority。
Thearistocracyhadsetupacode，underwhichamanorboywhohadoffended
againstthelaws，buthaddonenothingforwhichanyofhisfellowsimputed
discredittohim，wassnatchedfromhishome，thrownintogaolwiththieves
andcriminals，andperhapsflungtotheothersideoftheworld，leaving
hisfamilyeithertogoupontheratesortopickupalivingbysuchdishonesties
astheycouldcontrive。Thislastpenaltyprobablymeantfinalseparation。
Mr。T。G。B。Estcourt，M。P。，statedinevidencebeforetheSelectCommittee
onSecondaryPunishmentsin1831(56*)thatasmenwhohadbeentransported
werenotbroughtbackatthepublicexpense，theyscarcelyeverreturned，(57*)
thatagriculturallabourersspeciallydreadedtransportation，becauseit
meant’entireseparation’from’formerassociates，relations，andfriends，’
andthatsinceheandhisbrothermagistratesinWiltshirehadtakentotransporting
morefreely，committalshaddecreased。Thespecialmiserythattransportation
inflictedonmenofthisclassisillustratedinMarcusClarke’sfamousnovel，FortheTermofHisNaturalLife。Inthepassagedescribingthebarracoon
onthetransportship，Clarkethrowsonthescreenallthedifferenttypes
ofcharacter——forgers，housebreakers，cracksmen，footpads——pennedup
inthatpoisonousprison。’Thepoachergrimlythinkingofhissickwifeand
childrenwouldstartasthenight-houseruffianclappedhimontheshoulder
andbadehimwithacursetotakegoodheartandbeaman。’ReadersofMr。
Hudson’scharactersketchesofthemodernWiltshirelabourercanimagine
thescene。Totheladwhohadneverbeenoutsidehisownvillagesuchasociety
musthavebeenunspeakablyalienandterrible：aringofcallousandmocking
faces，hardened，bycrimeandwrongandbasepunishment，tomakebitterridicule
ofallthememoriesofhomeandboyhoodandinnocencethatweresurgingand
breakingroundhissimpleheart。
ThegrowingbrutalityoftheGameLaws，ifitisthechief，isnotthe
onlyillustrationoftheextenttowhichthepressureofpovertywasdriving
thelabourerstopressuponlawandorder，andthekindofmeasuresthat
therulingclasstooktoprotectitsproperty。Anotherillustrationisthe
MaliciousTrespassAct。
In1820ParliamentpassedanActwhichprovidedthatanypersonconvicted
beforeasingleJ。P。withinfourmonthsoftheactofdoinganymalicious
injurytoanybuilding，hedge，fence，tree，wood，orunderwoodwastopay
damagenotexceeding£；5，andifhewasunabletopaythesedamageshe
wastobesenttohardlabourinacommongaolorHouseofCorrectionfor
threemonths。ThelawbeforethepassingofthisActwasasitisto-day，
i。e。，theremedylayinanactionatlawagainstthetrespasser，andthe
trespasserundertheActofWilliamandMaryhadtopaydamages。TheAct
of1820waspassedwithoutanydebatethatisreportedinHansard，butit
isnotunreasonabletoassumethatitwasdemandedfortheprotectionof
enclosuresandgamepreserves。(58*)ThisActexemptedonesetofpersons
entirely，’personsengagedinhunting，andqualifiedpersonsinpursuitof
game。’Theseprivilegedgentlemencoulddoasmuchinjuryastheypleased。
Oneclauseprovidedthateverymaleoffenderundersixteenwhodidnot
paydamages，andallcostsandchargesandexpensesforthwith，mightbesent
bythemagistratetohardlabourintheHouseofCorrectionforsixweeks。
Thusachildwhobrokeaboughfromatreebytheroadsidemightbesent
bythemagistrate，whowouldinmanycasesbetheownerofthetree，tothe
HouseofCorrection，theretolearnthewaysofcriminalsatanagewhen
themagistrate’sownchildrenwereabouthalf-waythroughtheirluxurious
education。Thiswasnobrutumfulmen。Childrenweresenttoprisoningreat
numbers。(59*)Broughamsaidin1828：’TherewasaBillintroducedbythe
Rt。Hon。Gentlemanoppositeforextendingthepaymentofexpensesofwitnesses
andprosecutorsoutofthecountyrates。Itisnottobedoubtedthatit
hasgreatlyincreasedthenumberofCommitments，andhasbeenthecauseof
manypersonsbeingbroughttotrial，whooughttohavebeendischargedby
theMagistrates。Thehabitofcommitting，fromthisandothercauses，has
grievouslyincreasedeverywhereoflate，andespeciallyofboys。Eighteen
hundredandodd，manyofthemmerechildren，havebeencommittedintheWarwick
districtduringthelastsevenyears。’(60*)TheGovernoroftheHouseof
CorrectioninColdbathFields，givingevidencebeforetheCommitteeonSecondary
Punishmentsin1831，saidthathehadunderhischargeaboyoftenyears
oldwhohadbeeninprisoneighttimes。Capper，theSuperintendentofthe
ConvictEstablishment，toldthesameCommitteethatsomeoftheboyconvicts
weresoyoungthattheycouldscarcelyputontheirclothes，andthatthey
hadtobedressed。RichardPotter’sdiaryfor1813containsthis。entry。
’Oct。13——Iwasattendingtogiveevidenceagainstaman。Afterwards，
twoboys，JohnandThomasClough，aged12and10years，weretriedandfound
guiltyofstealingsomeIrishlinenoutofJosephThorley’swarehouseduring
thedinnerhour。TheChairmansentencedthemtosevenyears’transportation。
Onitsbeingpronounced，theMotherofthoseunfortunateboyscametothe
Bartoherchildren，andwiththemwasingreatagony，imploringmercyof
theBench。Withdifficultythechildrenwereremoved。Thescenewassohorrifying
Icouldremainnolongerincourt。’(61*)Parliamentputthesetremendous
weaponsintothehandsofmenwhobelievedinusingthem，whoadministered
thelawontheprinciplebywhichSirWilliamDyottregulatedhisconduct
asamagistrate，that’nothingbuttheterrorofhumansufferingcanavail
topreventcrime。’
Theclassthathad，inGoldsmith’swords，hunground’ourpaltriestpossessions
withgibbetts’neverdoubteditspowertodofulljusticetothehelpless
creatureswhotumbledintothenetofthelaw。Until1836amanaccusedof
afelonywasnotallowedtoemploycounseltomakehisdefenceintheCourt。
Hiscounsel(ifhecouldaffordtohaveone)couldexamineandcross-examine
witnesses，andthatwasall；theprisoner，whateverhisconditionofmind，
orhisconditionofbody，hadtoanswerthespeechoftheprosecutingcounsel
himself。Inninecasesoutoftenhewasquiteanunlearnedman；hewasswept
intotheglareoftheCourtblinkingfromlongmonthsofimprisonmentin
darkcells；thecaseagainsthimwaswovenintoacompleteandperfectstory
bytheskilledfingersofalawyer，anditwaslefttothisrudeandilliterate
man，bytheaidofhisownmemoryandhisownimagination，hislifeonthe
razor’sedge，hismindbewilderedbyhisstrangeandterriblesurroundings，
topickthatstorytopieces，toexposewhatwasmereanddoubtfulinference，
toputadifferentcompletiononalongandtangledsetofevents，toshow
howaturnhereoraturnthereinthenarrativewouldchangeblackinto
whiteandapparentguiltintomanifestinnocence。SydneySmith，whoseopinions
ontheimportanceofgivingthepoorafairtrialwereasenlightenedas
hisopinionsontheirpropertreatmentinprisonwerebackward，hasdescribed
thescene。
’ItisamostaffectingmomentinaCourtofJustice，whentheevidencehas
allbeenheard，andtheJudgeaskstheprisonerwhathehastosayinhis
defence。Theprisonerwhohas(bygreatexertions，perhapsofhisfriends)
savedupmoneyenoughtoprocureCounsel，saystotheJudge“thathe
leaveshisdefencetohisCounsel。”WehaveoftenblushedforEnglish
humanitytohearthereply。“YourCounselcannotspeakforyou，you
mustspeakforyourself；“andthisisthereplygiventoapoorgirl
ofeighteen——toaforeigner——toadeafman——toastammerer——tothe
sicktothefeeble——totheold——tothemostabjectandignorantofhuman
beings！……Howoftenhaveweseenapoorwretch，strugglingagainsttheagonies
ofhisspirit，andtherudenessofhisconceptions，andhisaweofbetter-dressed
menandbetter-taughtmen，andtheshamewhichtheaccusationhasbrought
uponhishead，andthesightofhisparentsandchildrengazingathimin
theCourt，forthelasttimeperhaps，andafteralongabsence！’(62*)
