else to interfere with what he considered his prerogative. He died about a fortnight since at Market Deeping, from carbuncle, in his seventy-fifth year. We were not able, when in Yorkshire, to go to the late Sir George Cholmley's sale, which we regretted, because we should have seen a remarkable show, and, as regarded prices, a remarkable sale. There were some wonderfully good-looking young horses there, and we hear Sir George Wombwell secured a very handsome one in Pollux, a three-year-old by Theobald, for which he gave 470 guineas. This was a high figure, but we are told the horse is worth it, and looks all over like taking the prizes for the best four-yearold next summer. The accident to the Box Hill coach-an accident which no one could foresee-gave the papers, sporting and otherwise, something to talk about, and as much was made out of it, certainly, as could be manufactured. It was an unfortunate affair, but not even Mr. Cooper's coachmanship could have prevented the inevitable spill. We are only thankful that matters were no worse. Though much bruised, one broken collar-bone was the only casualty among the eleven passengers. It was stated at first that there were sixteen,' and that, the weather being fine, they were all outsides. Now, as Mr. Cooper has steadfastly set his face against the knifeboard' business, this was hard. Where would they have been, we wonder, if there had been any extras on the roof when the crash came? Mr. Cooper's escape was almost miraculous, for he was under the coach. The latter, by-the-way, was not 'smashed to pieces,' as some vivacious scribes averred. One broken window, and the bending of a step were all the injuries she received; but as she wanted painting, &c., she is now being touched up, and will soon be on the road again. Mr. Cooper is now driving one of the Tunbridge coaches, which he sent for directly the proprietors had done with them; and we may mention that Mrs. Richards, the lady who had her collar-bone broken, came up on the coach from Burford Bridge on the 24th of last month, so the upset has not shaken her nerves. has been insinuated, in a letter in a weekly sporting paper, that Mr. Cooper drives dangerous horses, unfit for any other purpose. Now, we acquit the writer of malice, but he must be a very ignorant person, and know nothing about Mr. Cooper, who-we appeal fearlessly to the coaching world for confirmation is the very last person in the world to do such a thing. Noted for his steadiness as well as his skill, the idea of William Henry Cooper driving anything vicious or dangerous would make most coaching men smile. We are happy to say that he has quite recovered from the shaking, and that the Box Hill coach leaves Hatchett's each morning at II, and returns from Burford Bridge every afternoon at 3, and will continue to do so until further notice. It - Old John Andrews, who was Master of the Cleveland Hounds for fifty years, once gave the following singular advice to a legal supporter of the hunt :— Never you write a letter, Mr. T-; the beggar always has it to show up against you.' This to a man to whom six and eightpence was as the breath of his nostrils, was an untoward remark. A bishop somewhere in partibus infidelium was once on board a big steamer in a great storm, and on the captain telling him that they were in danger, the reverend father said to his chaplain, Let us pray.' After a while the captain informed him that the storm was getting worse, whereupon the bishop was much troubled, but again repeated the formula, Let us pray.' The captain came a third time with the intelligence that there was no hope, and that they must prepare themselves for another world. God forbid,' said the bishop, let us pray.' BAILY'S MONTHLY MAGAZINE ОР SPORTS AND PASTIMES. MR. R. HARCOURT CAPPER. THE Master of the Craven is the latest addition to our gallery. Mr. Harcourt Capper is the only son of the Rev. D. Capper of Lyston Court, Herefordshire, and, born in 1841, completed his education at Christ Church, Oxford, where an early liking for hound and horn developed into a passion for the noble sport. Mr. Capper's first essay as an M.F.H. was in 1869, when the Herefordshire country was divided into North and South; he taking the latter division and hunting it for one season. In 1872, upon Mr. Franklin giving up the Craven country, Mr. Capper succeeded him, and though he has laboured under some disadvantages up to the present time, in having to form a good pack of hounds, he has at last succeeded, and has got together, from the best bloods-the Belvoir, Grafton, Fitzwilliam, &c.-one second to none. On first taking the Craven, Mr. Capper found only part of a pack that had been lent to the Committee, and which were sold at the end of two years to Sir Reginald Graham. The new Master spared neither trouble nor expense in getting together his present one, and has been able to show very good sport with them since his tenure of office. Mr. Capper is well supported by the landowners and farmers, with whom he is popular. He goes well to hounds, is very keen, is a good judge of a horse, and fond of his kennel. He married, in 1861, Julia, the eldest daughter of Henry Forde, Esq., of Abbeyfield Sandbach, Cheshire, by whom he has a numerous family. Mr. Capper, who formerly held a Captain's commission in the Herefordshire Volunteers, is a Deputy Lieutenant for that county, and a J.P. for Gloucestershire, Durham, and Northumberland. VOL. XXVII.-NO. 189. 2 C 2 FRIENDS IN COUNCIL. FOR Some time past it has become apparent that a thorough revision and subsequent reconstruction of the laws of racing were urgently needed, and that it was incumbent upon the supreme Council of the Turf to set their house in order, garnishing it more in accordance with the spirit of the times, and relaxing the Median conservatism of its policy. No system of legislation can be finite or unalterable, and circumstances are continually springing up to modify old ideas and customs, and to break the barriers which lie on either side of the beaten track. Hence, by frequent alterations, codes and digests become mere patchwork systems, and utterly beyond recognition by their original framers and founders. It is better, then, that the entire edifice should be demolished, its foundations renewed, and the old material worked in with the new, so that the fabric should be restored at length to its original completeness. Accordingly, when it was unanimously decided by a large and very influential assemblage of the Jockey Club that the time had arrived for the work of revision to commence, their determination commanded the hearty approval of that large body of our countrymen of sporting proclivities having at heart the best interests of the Turf, whose applause found an echo in the hearts of the million who cling warmly to what some writer has designated the pastime of a great ' and free people.' Nor was satisfaction at the announcement of impending measures of reform in any degree lessened by the further intimation of the work having been placed in the hands of the Stewards of the Club, who, by reason of their position and experience, were clearly the men best qualified to carry out the scheme to be submitted to the Club at one of their earliest meetings 'next year.' We have greater faith in a small practical working body representing the august assemblage of the Turf Senate than in that multitude of counsellors which too often distracts, confounds, and retards, marring the smooth course of calm deliberation, and, with the best possible intentions, indulging in all sorts of vagaries and conceits. Almost every one has his pet hobby to air, and legislation, consequently, is wearily protracted, if the attempt to reduce it to shape be not altogether abandoned as a hopeless task. The Stewards will enter upon their arduous undertaking with the best wishes of the racing world for a happy consummation of their labours, and during the recess a good opportunity will be afforded for dispassionate consideration of topics which lose half their importance when attempted to be handled during the bustle and whirl of the racing season. A number of minor alterations will suggest themselves at once to the merest casual student of racing law, but these petty reforms and small matters of detail need not be specified here. The rule with regard to the nomination of foreign horses cannot be too strictly framed, as, in these days of so-called 'international sport,' many opportunities might present themselves to the crafty and designing of foisting upon us old lamps for new, and of ringing the changes by means of constant transmigrations and transfigurations of horses of the Trout' class. It is also very highly desirable that the whole subject of Fraudulent Entries' should be placed in a clearer light than that by which we now read the 18th rule and its riders. At present its construction is not so intelligible as it might be made, and though it may not be possible to drive the proverbial coach and six through it, there is considerable doubt as to the exact interpretation it should bear. Some distinction should be drawn. between fraudulent entry and false description, for at present they are hopelessly jumbled together by the wording of the rule, and the latter source of perpetual disqualification cannot be said invariably to include the former. As regards the vexata quæstio of nominations becoming void through the death of a subscriber, we must confess that, having viewed it in every possible aspect, we can come to no other conclusion upon it, than that the safest and wisest course to adopt is embodied in the maxim quieta ne movere. We fully admit the hardships attendant upon purchasers of animals liable to disqualification through the death of their original owners; but then, on the other hand, we are countered by the reasonable objection entertained by executors, ad'ministrators, and assigns' to accept the burden of responsibility attaching to matters of business, which cannot be settled with the same ease and despatch as the affairs of most persons after their decease. Imagine the incubus of the proverbial pyramid of forfeits ' upon the breasts of those succeeding to such heritages of woe as a string of deeply engaged racehorses, especially in the case of heirs or successors who may chance to entertain widely different views as to the sport of kings from the dear departed. Would it be considered out of the way to suggest that some such sort of transaction as a 'fine' should take place between vendor and purchaser at the time of sale to enfranchise the latter with full power over his newly-acquired property, and that the particulars of such a transaction should be duly registered, and a small sum paid, let us say, to the Bentinck Benevo Fund? One effect of the relaxation of the present rule as regards the voidance of nominations would be to deter large breeders who sell at Doncaster from making posterity responsible for long strings of Derby, Oaks, St. Leger, produce stakes, and other nominations; and although this risk might be obviated by postponing the date of entries for the above races until October, there are many reasons for retaining the old rule of closing lists of subscribers in July; not the least among them being that the omne ignotum promagnifico sentiment which prompts owners to engage their youngsters so deeply, is too apt to grow cold in proportion as greater opportunities are allowed for ascertaining their merits by the enlargement of the time for sending in their nominations to Messrs. Weatherby. On the other hand, let it be fully understood that in no manner do we underrate the difficul ties, perplexities, and annoyances attendant upon the present practice of voidance; and we fully sympathise with Lord Rosebery in his efforts to abate a grievance of which we have had more than one instance of late years. The consideration of his Lordship's proposal, made previously to the,' revision' being undertaken by his colleagues in the Jockey Club, must necessarily form a subject for anxious deliberation among the Stewards delegated to advise and report upon a new code of racing law. There are so many arguments of 'abstract 'justice' to be advanced by both those anxious to retain and those willing to repeal the existing rule, that we do not wonder that the same number of the Calendar which records the result of the debate at Newmarket announces the election of Sir Samuel Martin as an honorary member of the august body of the Supreme Council of the Turf. The judiciai mind' will clearly be required in the solution of more than one question affecting the future prosperity of racing; but this particular nodus strikes us as one which will involve still more hopeless entanglement the moment we attempt to unravel it, while it defies the precipitate action of a Gordius. We have encountered many, like ourselves deeply interested in the question, who have marched with forlorn hopes round the fortifications of 'the position' without finding any negotiable key to the stronghold short of the absolute destruction they would hesitate to compass. And we venture to predict that the Admiral and his assessors, however smooth they may find the sailing up to Rule 24, are likely enough to involve themselves in such a fog as led to the loss of the 'Vanguard,' and with much the same chance of a collision in the midchannel of their revision' labours. As closely connected with nominations, the nomenclature of our coursers of high pedigree must necessarily engross attention during such a discussion on the new code as seems likely to engage the triumvirs during the racing recess. With the Field,' in its denunciation of the many shortcomings of owners in omitting to name their horses, in repeating worn-out ones, and in conferring absurd and inappropriate titles, recently fulminated in a very timely article, we entirely agree, and much real good may be expected to result from the adoption of a few simple rules and regulations, whereby confusion may be rendered less confounded than at present. It cannot, of course, be dictated to owners what appellations they shall confer upon the animals destined to carry their colours, for the classical taste of the lower grades of Turf society cannot be expected to be of the same refined order as that which suggested names to a Derby, or which, in these present days, abides with Falmouth, Peel, and Strafford in their sponsorial capacities. And although such outrageously eccentric fancies of former times as 'Bloody Buttocks,' and Here-I-go-with-my-eye-out,' do not find expression in our day even among the canaille of the Turf, we have many examples of low taste and vulgarity which we can neither suppress nor reprove. But if the predilections of owners in naming their horses are bound to be respected, the Jockey Club can, at any rate, reasonably insist, |