COACH

COACH. Few things have been more often or more unsuccessfully defined than this well-known and useful vehicle. Of the descriptions which have been given of it, many might with as much propriety be applied to various other machines of conveyance, which it would be a violation of language to dignify with the name of coach. The nearest approximation to a definition appears to be, that it is a vehicle for commodious travelling, the body of which is covered in, and suspended by means of springs upon the frame-work to which the wheels are attached, the latter being sometimes two, and sometimes four in number. It does not appear that the ancients were acquainted with carriages of this description, although chariots and wagons, both open and covered, were employed in very remote ages.

In Britain, and throughout Europe, coaches are drawn by horses, except in Spain, where mules are used for the purpose. In a part of the East, especially the dominions of the Great Mogul, coaches are commonly drawn by oxen. In Denmark, rein-deer are sometimes harnessed in coaches, though rather for curiosity than use. The coachman is ordinarily placed on a seat raised before the body of the coach; but in Spain policy displaced him from that position by a royal ordinance, on occasion when the Duke d'Olivares discovered that a very important secret, respecting which he had conferred in his coach, had been overheard and revealed by his coachman. Since that time the place of the Spanish coachman is the same with that of the French stage coachman and our postillion, namely, on the first horse on the left.

According to Professor Beckmann (History of Inventions and Discoveries), coaches of some kind were known

Coach. about the beginning of the sixteenth century; but the use of them was limited to women of the highest rank, it being accounted disgraceful in men to ride in them. It appears, from the history of that period, that the electors and princes of the empire, when they did not choose to attend the meetings of the states, excused themselves to the emperor by informing him that their health would not permit them to travel on horseback; and it was considered as unbecoming to ride in carriages like women. But it seems also pretty certain that, about the end of the fifteenth century, the emperor, kings, and some princes, travelled in covered carriages, and also employed them in public solemnities.

The nuptial carriage of the first wife of Leopold, a Spanish princess, cost, including the harness, 35,000 florins. The coaches used by that emperor are thus described:— In the imperial coaches no great magnificence was to be seen, being covered over with red cloth and black nails. The harness was black, and no gold was to be seen in the whole work. They had glass panells, for which reason they were called imperial coaches. The harness was ornamented with fringes of red silk on days of festivity. The imperial coaches were only distinguished by having leather traces, whilst the ladies in the emperor's suite were contented with traces made of ropes. Fifty gilt coaches, having six horses each, were to be seen, in 1681, at the court of Ernest Augustus of Hanover. The first time that plenipotentiaries appeared in coaches was at the imperial commission held at Erfurt in 1613.

We meet with ample proof in the history of France, that

in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and even sixteenth centuries, the monarchs rode on horses, the servants on mules, and ladies of distinction occasionally on asses. Yet carriages of some kind seem to have been used in France at an early period, since there is still preserved a statute of Philip the Fair, issued in 1294, for the suppression of luxury, in which the wives of citizens are prohibited the use of carriages.

The oldest coaches used by the ladies of England were denominated whirlicotes, a name which has now sunk into oblivion. About the end of the fourteenth century, when Richard II. was forced to fly before his rebellious subjects, he and all his attendants travelled on horseback, his mother alone riding in a coach, because she was indisposed. But this became afterwards unfashionable, the daughter of Charles IV. having showed the ladies of England how conveniently she could ride on a side-saddle.

According to Stowe, coaches first came to be used in England about the middle of the sixteenth century, having been introduced from Germany by the Earl of Arundel. The English plenipotentiary travelled to Scotland in a coach in the year 1598, and these vehicles were generally used about the year 1605.

Duties on Carriages.—It is long since duties were imposed on carriages, and these have varied considerably at different periods. The following table exhibits the number of four-wheeled and other carriages, exclusive of hackney coaches, upon which duty was charged in 1828; the rates of duty on each kind of carriage; and the produce of the duties.

By 1 Will. IV. c. 35, it is enacted, that for every carriage with four wheels, each being of less diameter than thirty inches, drawn by a pony or ponies, mule or mules, above twelve but not exceeding thirteen hands high, an annual duty of L. 3. 5s. shall be charged. Carriages with four wheels, drawn by one horse, &c. and no more, are to pay

L. 4. 10s. Every carriage with four wheels used by any common carrier in the carriage of goods, where such carriage is only occasionally used for the conveyance of passengers for hire, and in such manner that the stamp-office duty, or any composition for the same, is not payable under any license from the commissioners of stamps, is charged

L.2. 10s. per annum; and where such carriage has less than four wheels, it is only charged L.1. 5s. per annum. Any carriage with less than four wheels, each of which is of less diameter than thirty inches, and not let for hire, drawn by a pony or mule not exceeding twelve hands high, is exempt from duty.

Hackney Coaches are coaches stationed in the streets or other public places, and bound to carry those who require them at certain fixed rates of hire, according to the distance travelled. Vehicles of this description were first established in London in 1625, and in Edinburgh in 1773. The number of hackney coaches, chariots, and cabriolets licensed in the metropolis on the 1st of January 1830 was 1265. The rates of duty were L.2 per lunar month for each carriage; and the produce of the duties, including fines, was L.32,908. 18s. 6d. The fares, &c. are regulated conformably to the act 48 Geo. III. c. 87.

Stage Coaches, as defined in the act of parliament, 3 Geo. IV. c. 95, sect. 6, are carriages or vehicles used, employed, or let out for the purpose of carrying passengers for hire, and travelling at the rate of three or more miles in the hour, without regard to the number of wheels, horses, or passengers, or whether the same be open or close, provided each passenger be charged a separate and distinct fare. The above definition applies to carriages either drawn by horses or propelled by steam. The latter species of vehicles are as yet exempt from taxation, but the following duties have been imposed upon the former:—Any carriage or vehicle, with two or more wheels, without springs, and drawn by one horse only, for every mile which it shall be licensed to travel, one penny. Any carriage, &c. without springs, and drawn by two horses only, for every mile, &c. two pence. Any carriage, &c. having springs, and drawn by one horse only, for every mile three half pence. Any carriage, &c. drawn by two horses only, having springs, not distinguishing between inside and outside passengers, per mile three pence. And any carriage, &c. as last mentioned, drawn by three or more horses, for every mile four pence half-penny. A duty of L.5. 5s. a year is also imposed upon every stage coach. For various statutes and regulations relating both to stage and hackney coaches, and which make provision for the safety and convenience of the passenger, see McCulloch's Commercial Dictionary, p. 264-5.

Mail Coaches are stage-coaches of a particular construction, which, for a certain consideration, carry his majesty's mails, are protected by a guard, and subject to the regulations of the post-office.