We never hear of Squire Western that
he hunted the county, or that he went far afield to his meets.
His tenants joined him, and by degrees men came to his hunt from
greater distances around him. As the necessity for space
increased, increasing from increase of hunting ambition, the
richer and more ambitious squires began to undertake the
management of wider areas, and so our hunting districts were
formed. But with such extension of area there came, of course,
necessity of extended expenditure, and so the fashion of
subscription lists arose. There have remained some few great
Nimrods who have chosen to be magnanimous and to pay for
everything, despising the contributions of their followers. Such
a one was the late Earl Fitzhardinge, and after such manner in,
as I believe, the Berkeley hunt still conducted. But it need
hardly be explained, that as hunting is now conducted in England,
such a system is neither fair nor palatable. It is not fair that
so great a cost for the amusement of other men should fall upon
any one man's pocket; nor is it palatable to others that such
unlimited power should be placed in any one man's hands. The
ordinary master of subscription hounds is no doubt autocratic,
but he is not autocratic with all the power of tyranny which
belongs to the despot who rules without taxation.
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