another shall be free to choose at the beginning of each season for which of those counties he will play, and shall, during that season, play for that county only.
A further discussion of those rules arose at a meeting of County Secretaries held at Lord's in December, 1881, when Lord Harris moved, "That the Committee of the M.C.C. be requested to consider whether the two years' residential qualification might not be safely reduced to one year;" but the motion was rejected by. 14 votes to 3.
At a largely-attended meeting of County Delegates, held at Lord's on the 12th July, 1887, Lord Harris in the Chair, it was moved and carried:
2.—"That the Council consist of one representative each from the counties of Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Surrey, Kent, Lancashire, Sussex, Gloucestershire, Middlesex, Derbyshire, Essex, Warwickshire, Norfolk, Leicestershire, Staffordshire, Somersetshire, Northamptonshire, Hampshire, Durham, Hertfordshire, and Cheshire.
3.—"That it shall be competent for the Council to alter or amend the rules of County Cricket Qualification.
4.—"That upon all questions raised under the rules of County Cricket Qualification the Committee of the M.C.C. shall adjudicate."That was undoubtedly a step in the right direction; for the birth and residential qualifications had agitated the minds of County Club Committees for many years.