You and whose army?

So that's it then. Or is it? It's certainly not the democracy we learnt about at school. What the Government is doing is misusing the Parliament Act, which predates devolution and Blair's emasculation of the second chamber, on an issue that was not even in the last Queen's Speech, to steamroller the two pillars of our constitution that defend our liberties, the House of Lords and the Monarchy.

If the fourth pillar, the judiciary, does not come to the rescue there will be all the makings of a civil war. History will know it as the hunting revolution but be in no doubt the real battle is for the British constitution as we have known it. Just as for Mr Prescott it is not about hunting but about the final triumph of the labour movement over the old order.

Wars always start with lucrative opportunities for retired officers to appear as the armchair general on Newsnight so I have been preparing my pundit's notes just in case.

"Well Jeremy, on the government's side we have all the forces of law and order that you would expect and on the rebel side we have, er, well we appear to have rather a lot of the armed forces as well, a million or so people in the countryside, magistrates, a brace of bishops, just about everyone I know really. At this stage I'd say it's too close to call."

Now I'm not saying that all those thunderflashes being thrown in Parliament Square had been smuggled off Salisbury Plain for the purpose but I don't suppose they had been bought over the counter in Woolworths either. And I did bump into enough of my former colleagues that day to have organised a half decent coup. In fact in nearly every parish there are people with a deep understanding of rural insurgency, gained in a bitter struggle in the bogs and blackthorn banks of South Armagh while Tony Blair and his chums were handing out CND leaflets in the high street.

As our party, mostly pensioners, women and children, queued to get past the phalanxes of riot police into Parliament Square I noticed an important looking chap getting visibly angry that a bunch of yokels dared to block his way into the Palace of Westminster.

Then I remembered who he was. Many readers will remember the noble Lord Whitty as the Agriculture Minister who cheered us up so much with his pronouncements on British agriculture during the foot and mouth crisis. Since then he has looked after the countryside by steering horse passports through the upper house and now the hunting ban.

As I counted the cost of a day out of the office and my coach fare I consoled myself with wondering how many miles of red tape we may have prevented by keeping Lord Whitty from his desk for a few hours.

If fuel blockades, tax strikes and pylon demolitions are not to your taste then you can always pray to St Hubert, whose feast day is on November 3, or log on at www.saint-hubert.org. Good hunting.

Jamie Blackett

Hectic start to the hunting season for the West of Yore

By Tim Easby MFH

THE autumn has been hectic, not only because of the start of Autumn Hunting but also because of a number social and fundraising events.

The hounds have been paraded at more local shows than in previous years and the support from the public has been absolutely fantastic.

The Puppy Show was held at the end of August at Oak Stile Farm. A small entry of 51/2 couple was judged by Charles Gundry MFH, the new Joint Master and amateur huntsman of the Middleton and David Jukes the huntsman of the Zetland.

The champion and winning Doghound was Merit walked by the Stead family at Hudswell and the best bitch was Peewit walked by the Frankland family from Low Bramley.

The puppy walkers, judges, helpers and a few retired hunt staff were entertained to supper afterwards. The evening was a cameo of country life where all walks of country life seem to be represented and enjoying each others company.

The one day event was held in early September by kind permission of Michael Abrahams at Mickley with record entries.

The Farmers' Party followed a week later at Bolton Castle, this biannual event is organised by the hunt members by kind permission of Lord Bolton. The hunt supporters club, not to be outdone, organised a thoroughly enjoyable fun ride and attracted more riders than ever before.

Hunting started in early September and hounds have been out three mornings a week. For those of us trying to harvest or make hay the weather has been very frustrating, but for the scenting conditions it has been a great help. The young hounds have entered well but equally important the second season hounds (last year's young entry) have reinforced what they learned last year.

To date hounds have accounted for seven brace of foxes. The best mornings have been at Gatenby, Downholme and Winksley. A large field including many children spent a very memorable morning below Galphay village where hounds and horses enjoyed nearly three hours of hunting in beautiful countryside.

Following hunting Kate Bailey entertained all to a magnificent breakfast in aid of the Countryside Alliance. It was one of those special mornings enjoyed by everyone young and old alike.

The prospects for the season seem to be encouraging, but for the future uncertain. It is vital not only for hunting but for the future of the countryside that we do not let theanti hunting bill reach the statute book.

They wouldn't stand for it here

The news fell like a guillotine blade, sending shudders through the ranks of France's hunting community. Although reports have circulated for years that English hunting was under severe pressure, few French people seem to have believed that it could actually happen in England. The French can be very disdainful about the British, but hunting is one area in which they do not normally claim precedence. The possible demise of this venerable sport has caused consternation in France's hunting community.

Philippe Dulac, president of the French hunting association, wrote a special two-page "Open letter to hunting people" in France's specialist hunting publication. In the letter, Mr Dulac said "No-one is better placed than us to understand the distress of our British counterparts at this time. This sad example, on our own doorstep, forces us to reflect on the future of our own tradition."

Shock, consternation, bewilderment, concern are adjectives that have been used repeatedly in pro-hunting publications in recent weeks. However, it would be an exaggeration to say that the French fear a similar ban may now be imposed in France. Both countries have populations of roughly 60 million, but a much larger proportion of France's population lives in the countryside and depend upon it for a living. As such, France is still quite a rural society, and the number of people who truly understand hunting runs into millions.

Furthermore, France's rural community (to the exasperation of her European neighbours) knows how to defend itself in ways that are as selfish as they are effective. Any threat to its interests is met with immediate and extremely disruptive action: airports and motorways are blocked by tractors, herds of farm animals converge on city centres, trailer loads of rotten fruit and vegetables are dumped in front of public buildings. Successive French governments have learned to avoid provoking the wrath of the rural community.

Moreover, the hunting/fishing/shooting lobby has its own political party, Chasse, Peche, Nature, Tradition which wields considerable influence at local government level, and whose presidential candidate, Jean Saint-Josse, won roughly 5pc of votes in the 2002 elections. France's pro-hunting lobby thus has the political clout to respond to 'green' politicians who presume to meddle in matters they do not understand.

Although ecologists are regularly elected to the French parliament and granted minor government portfolios, their influence is largely confined to waste recycling projects and anti-pollution measures. Mainstream French politicians are astounded that Westminister can spend endless hours debating a ban on hunting, at a time when their country was instrumental in igniting a conflict that has de-stabilised the whole Middle East.

They tend to assume that it is a ploy to distract attention from the fact that French President Jacques Chirac has now been proven right about the extent of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein and his supposed 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'. Another major difference with the UK is that the animal rights movement remains very marginal in France. In fact, the main proponent of animal-rights in France is Brigitte Bardot, the sensual starlet of the 1960s. But Madame Bardot is not perceived as even a vague threat to French hunting. Indeed, her occasional outbursts are a source of amusement to the vast majority of French people

Dennis Breen Paris - Mr Breen is an Irishman who has lived and hunted in France for many year

Published: 29/10/2004