502 Mr. Hutchinson on the permanent Improvement of Roads. [Jan. 1, 
When the great comfort and luxury 
of good roads are taken into account, 
how trifling will the expense appear 
of altering the widths of wheels as 
proposed! But it will be impossible to 
carry the improvement which I have 
suggested into effect without a legis- 
lative enactment. To me there is one 
part of the Act of Parliament, re- 
quiring the weighing of carriages, 
which appears to want amendment. 
in the winter scason, when the roads 
are the most subject to abuse from 
wear, a narrow-wheeled waggon, 
which moves at a slow pace, ona tire 
of three inches wide, is allowed by the 
Act, including its load, to be three 
tons weight; whilst a stage-coach, 
moving with great velocity on tires of 
iwo inches wide, frequently weighs as 
follows :—The coach 21 cwt., the pas- 
sengers 28 cwt., and the luggage 12 
ewt., togeticr three tors,—as much as 
the waggon and its loading! Yet 
this instrument of destruction (the 
coach) is allowed to pass the weighing 
engines unnoticed. 
The Act forbids the owner of the 
waggen to draw the horses double; 
but, if they were compelled to do so, 
it would be of advantage to the driver, 
the horses, and the roads. It should 
also be remarked, that the coach 
(having no restriction to number) is 
frequently drawn by six horses, whilst 
the waggon, drawn by five, is fined, 
and doubly so if drawn by six, as the 
coach is permitted to be. 
Tt wiil afford me great pleasure to 
reply to any communication on this 
important subject, when, by drawings, 
instrumental experiments, and expla- 
nations, I will engage to prove the 
accuracy of my positions. 
Tam confident that a few gentlemen 
who have studicd this most interest- 
ing subject, will find no difficulty in 
Iaying down such a plan as will enable 
the legislature to act securely upon ; 
and, when brought into practice, it 
cannot fail to prove perfectly satisfac- 
tory to all travellers and owners of 
carriages whatever. A few months’ 
trial will entirely remove the inconve- 
niences now felt, and the ruts and 
prominences on the roads will gradu- 
ally disappear. : 
A few years ago Mr. Deacon wrote 
much to the purpose on this head, but 
the neglect or rejection of his advice 
has hitherto discouraged any attempt 
to revive the subject. Prejudice is a 
powerful enemy to every species of 
improvement, and I am _ perfectly 
aware that my suggestions will en- 
counter the opposition of coachmen 
and waggoners in general. They have, 
indeed, so long wallowed in the mire, 
and the poor honest animals under 
their care have so frequently their 
burihens to lift over furrows of consi- 
derable depth, from quarter to quar- 
ter, that they will probably choose 
rather to pursue their old beaten 
tracks as a guide on their journey, 
than believe these observations to be 
of any value, or the plan which I re- 
commend practicable. 
I now beg to offer a suggestion, 
whether, on public roads, a small 
house at the end of every mile, suffi- 
cient for the residence of a labourer, 
and to serve as a mile-mark, might 
not frequently be found an accommo- 
dation to travellers, as they would 
never be more than half a mile from 
assistance, if wanted. 
The roads in general are subject to 
various abuses, which are in no way 
connected with the wheel system, 
consequently not in my proyince to 
enlarge upon,—such as high fences, 
materials improperly placed by the 
sides of narrow roads, Kc. 
Sheffield ; Joun Hutcuinson. 
July 2, 1822. 
** The writer of the foregoing obser- 
vations has been a builder of carriages for 
half a century, and in the habit of using 
the greatest variety of them fepé by any 
one person during forty years. 
—__——— 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
WN the autumn of the year 1780, the 
writer of this article was in the 
employment of Mr. Watt as a 
draughtsman, and was generally oc- 
cupied in the same room and at ihe 
same table with Mr. Watt. At that 
time the ingenious Mr. Rae was at 
Mr. Boulton’s, who was partner with 
Mr. Watt. He had gone down from 
London for a few weeks to execute an 
order for silk-reels for the East India 
Company, and took with him a mo- 
del of a boat in tin, propelled by a 
spring in the inside of the boat, on the 
same principle that the steam-engine 
acts; for all mechanical men know, 
that whether the moving power be a 
spring of steel, or a steam-engine, or 
men, or horses, the effect is the same. 
That boat had indeed machinery 
different 
