a vehicle for commodious travelling, suspended on leathers, and moved on wheels. In Britain, and throughout Europe, the coaches are drawn by horses, except in Spain, where they use mules. In a part of the east, especially the dominions of the great Mogul, their coaches are drawn by oxen. In Denmark they sometimes yoke rein-deer in their coaches; though rather for curiosity than use. The coachman is ordinarily placed on a seat raised before the body of the coach. But the Spanish policy has displaced him in that country by a royal ordonnance; on occasion of the Duke d'Olivares, who found that a very important secret, whereon 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 postilion, viz. on the first horse on the left.
The invention of coaches is owing to the French; yet coaches are not of any great antiquity, even in France, scarce reaching beyond the reign of their Francis I. Their use, at their first rise, was only for the country; and authors observe, as a thing very singular, that there were at first no more than two coaches in Paris; the one that of the queen, and the other that of Diana natural daughter of Henry II. The first courtier who had one was Jean de Laval de Bois Dauphin; whose enormous bulk disfabled him from travelling on horseback. One may hence judge how much variety, luxury, and idleness, have grown upon our hands in later days; there being now computed in that same city no less than 15,000 coaches.
Coaches have had the fate of all other inventions, to be brought by degrees to their perfection; at present they seem to want nothing, either with regard to ease or magnificence. Louis XIV. of France made several sumptuary laws for restraining the excessive richness of coaches, prohibiting the use of gold, silver, &c., therein; but they have had the fate to be neglected.
By the act 25 Geo. III. c. 47, former duties on coaches, &c. are repealed, and the following charged in lieu thereof, namely: For every coach, berlin, landau, chariot, calash, with four wheels, chairle marine, chairle with four wheels, and caravan, or by whatever name such carriages may be called, kept by any person for his own use, or to be let out to hire (except hackney coaches), shall be paid the yearly sum of £. 7. And for every calash, chairle, chair, gig, or whilkey, or by whatever name they are known or called, having two or three wheels, to be drawn by one or more horses, that shall be kept by any person for his own use, or to be let out to hire, the yearly sum of £. 3, 10s.
Every maker of coaches, chairle, chariots, &c. must, from and after the fifth day of July 1785, take out at the excise office in London, or of their agents in the country, a licence to be renewed annually at least ten days before the expiration of the former, for which they must pay 20s. They must also pay 20s. duty for every four-wheeled carriage newly built for sale, and 10s. for every two-wheel carriage. These duties are also payable to the commissioners of the excise in town, or their agents in the country.
Coach-makers in Scotland are to take out their licences and pay the duties to the commissioners of excise in Edinburgh, or their agents in the country of that part of Great Britain.
Every coach-maker neglecting to take out a licence, and renewing the same annually, forfeits £. 10; and neglecting or refusing to settle every six weeks, in the manner particularly directed by the act, is a forfeiture of £. 20.
Hackney-Coach, those exposed to hire, in the streets of London, and some other great cities, at rates fixed by authority.
One thousand hackney-coaches are allowed in London and Westminster; which are to be licensed by commissioners, and to pay a duty to the crown. They are all numbered, having their numbers engraved on tin plates fixed on the coach-doors. Their fares or rates are fixed by act of parliament; and by a late act have been increased in consequence of a new weekly tax.
Stage-Coaches, are those appointed for the conveyance of travellers from one city or town to another. The masters of stage-coaches are not liable to an action for things lost by their coachmen, who have money given them to carry the goods, unless where such matter takes a price for the same.
Persons keeping any coach, berlin, landau, or other carriage with four wheels, or any calash, chairle, chair, or other carriage with two wheels, to be employed as public stage coaches or carriages, for the purpose of conveying passengers for hire to and from different places, shall pay annually 5s. for a licence; and no person so licensed shall by virtue of one licence keep more than one carriage, under the penalty of £. 10.
Mail-Coaches, are stage-coaches of a particular construction to prevent overturns; and for a certain consideration carry his Majesty's mails, which are protected by a guard, and subject to the regulations of the post-office. They are pointed as to their time of arrival and departure, are restricted to four inside passengers, and from experience have proved very beneficial to the commerce and correspondence of this country. John Palmer, Esq., who has the merit of the invention, and been indefatigable in bringing the establishment to a permanent footing, has been greatly patronised by government; and got, as the reward of his service, a handsome appointment in the general post-office London.
Couch, is also a sort of chamber or apartment in a large ship of war near the stern. The floor of it is formed by the aftmost part of the quarter-deck, and the roof of it by the poop; it is generally the habitation of the captain.