begged him to consult with the judges so as to meet the objections of
tithe-owners. In May he warned him of the general disappointment that
must ensue if no measure of that kind passed in that session. He asked
him whether the Bill, as now amended by the committee, would not answer
its purpose. Pitt gave no encouraging sign. On the contrary, he
gratified the country gentlemen by opposing a Bill for the Reform of the
Game Laws. The proposer, Curwen, sought merely to legalize the killing
of game started on ground farmed by the occupier. But the squires took
alarm, asserting that every small farmer could then pursue hares and
rabbits from his ground into their preserves, and that country life, on
those terms, would be intolerable. Pitt took their side, averring that
sport was a relaxation well suited to the higher Orders of State, but
likely to entice farmers away "from more serious and useful
occupations." Much may be forgiven to a Prime Minister shortly before a
General Election, which, in fact, gave to Pitt a new lease of power.

To Sinclair the election brought defeat and chagrin. He travelled
northward to the Orkneys to seek a seat there, and, writing from
Edinburgh on 6th July, tartly informed Pitt of his rejection after a
journey of nearly a thousand miles. He must (he adds) either obtain a
seat elsewhere, or take no further interest in the Board of
Agriculture. If Pitt approves of his labour at the Board, will he show
it in some way? "If, on the other hand," he continues, "you feel the
least hesitation about giving it support, your candour, I am persuaded,
will induce you to inform me at once, that I may no longer be tempted to
waste so much time and labour in such pursuits.... I still flatter
myself, however, that you will see the object in such a light that you
will give the President of the Board of Agriculture a seat either in the
Upper or the Lower House, that he may be encouraged to carry on the
concerns of that useful institution with redoubled energy." Pitt's
comment on the back of the letter is suggestive: "That he has lost his
election, but flatters himself that a seat will be given him either in
the _Lower_ or Upper House, or he must decline taking further concern in
the proceedings of the Board of Agriculture." A little later Sinclair
renewed his appeal for a seat either at Midhurst, or in Scotland.
Failing that, he hinted that the President of the Board of Agriculture
ought to be a Peer. Is it surprisi