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THE CHARBOROUGH COUNTRY.

AN ADDRESS TO THE SPORTSMEN OF ENGLAND, BUT MORE PARTICULARLY THOSE OF THE COUNTIES OF DORSET AND SOMERSET, BY J. S. W. S. E. DRAX, ESQ.

UNDER this Title a pamphlet has been put into our hands by Mr. Drax, containing a fair and lucid statement of the question now at issue between himself and Mr. Farquharson, relative to their respective claims to the Charborough country.

To this "Address" is appended a mass of correspondence far too voluminous for our pages; but this is of little moment, since Mr. Drax has given us ample "facts" for the formation of a clear and candid opinion.

Every true lover of sport must grieve for such discussions as the one under consideration; since they invariably distract and injure the country which is the subject of dispute; whilst the belligerents themselves gain neither honour nor goodwill in the conduct of a cause which in the summing up, almost invariably amounts to "Blame on both sides."

A simple statement of the facts, will show this case to furnish no exception to the general rule.

The document on which the whole affair hinges is the following Agreement signed by Mr. Farquharson and Mr. Drax Grosvenor.

"Mr. Drax Grosvenor agrees to put Mr. Farquharson in possession of the Charborough Country, which consists of all the covers of Mr. Drax Grosvenor, Mr. Churchill, Mr. Trenchard, Mr. Willett, Mr. Pickard, and others thereto belonging; the boundaries of which country extend from Christchurch to Blandford, south of the river Stour; then from Blandford, by Collwood, to Bere, to Woolbridge, to Parkstone, and so on to complete the circle to Christchurch again, as well as any cover heretofore understood to have belonged to the Charborough country, on the following conditions, viz.-That if at any future period Mr. Drax Grosvenor, or his son, Richard Edward Grosvenor, shall choose to resume the Charborough country, Mr. Farquharson shall relinquish it upon Mr. Drax Grosvenor's or his son's application to him for that purpose.

(Signed) JAMES JOHN FARQUHARSON, R. E. DRAX GROSVENOR."

Charborough Park, June 28th, 1808.

This agreement, says Mr. Drax, evidently gives me a right to hunt the Charborough country; since no one will assert "that Mr. Grosvenor, by framing that document, intended to exclude any man from the country who should form an alliance with his own daughter."

Here then, at starting, we come to the first check, for we think that

Mr. Drax is begging the question by a supposition as to whom Mr Grosvenor meant to exclude, when, upon the face of the document, not one word about ،، exclusion” occurs. 66 If Mr. Drax means to maintain that because he is Mr. Grosvenor's son-in-law, the rights appertaining to Mr. Grosvenor's son, should pass to him; is such a position tenable by common sense, setting aside law? Could a legacy left, to use the words of the agreement, to Mr. Drax Grosvenor, or his son, Richard Edward Grosvenor," be claimed by Mr. Drax, as Mr. Grosvenor's son-in-law ?

Mr. Drax, then, under the impression that his marriage entitled him to the Charborough country, demanded its restitution from Mr. Farquharson, who replied (in a letter, dated March 27, 1833.)

"I am inclined to believe that you look upon the agreement which I entered into with the late Mr. Drax Grosvenor in a different view to what I do myself : if, however, you are desirous, after the present season to take your own covers, I canuot but give them up; with respect to those of your neighbours, Mr. Pickard, Mrs. Trenchard, Mr. Brickdale, Mr. Coventry, Sir H. Digby, and the other proprietors at Lytchett and the adjoining parishes, including Mr. Doughty, Mr. Ponsonby, and Mr. Willett's Trustees, I can say nothing more than that, when I know their wishes, I shall endeavour to comply with them. Under any arrangement which may be made, I must mention that I could not give up Coles Furze, Whitchurch, or any of the country west of the rive from Bere to Wareham, including Hyde."

In the month of October, 1834, the subject was again renewed by Mr. Drax, who complained to Mr. Farquharson of his being subject to annoyance in consequence of the Charborough country not having been publicly renounced to him." To which complaint Mr. Farquharson replied

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"Although your ideas and mine are still at variance as to the document between Mr. Grosvenor and myself, I have no wish to let it be a cause of hostility from others to your sport; and if I can, by any arrangement, prevent the evil of which you complain, I shall be very happy to do so, for which purpose perhaps it would save much time if you would allow the friend mentioned by you in a former letter (Mr. H. B. Munro), to call upon me. I assure you that I have every wish to promote your sport."

Mr. Munro accordingly drew up an agreement which however proved mere waste paper, Mr. Drax requiring an alteration which Mr. Farquharson would not allow.

We now let Mr. Drax speak again for himself-he says in his "Address." "Having been harassed in this manner for several years and having applied in vain for the restoration of the Charborough country, I came to the resolution to wrest from Mr. Farquharson, not only what I

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