APPENDIX TO CHRONICLE. 



355 



though the mere refusal of the 

 ticket was only attended with the 

 loss of the fare, there being no 

 specific penally for such refusal), 

 that if omission to give the re- 

 quired tickets were accompanied 

 by any abusive language or ill 

 behaviour, the Magistrates still 

 had the power of punishing such 

 conduct by penalty, a power vested 

 in them by the 9th Anne. The 

 extraordinary construction that had 

 been put on the new Act, that a 

 Magistrate could not listen to any 

 complaint whatsoever, except 

 where a ticket should be produced 

 astonished him beyond measure ; 

 but it showed that those who had 

 put such construction on it had 

 not read the act through. The 

 misconception of the Act, which 

 appeared to have spread far and 

 wide, reminded him of what he 

 had witnessed at Bow-street fifteen 

 years ago. A hackney coach case 

 under the 9th Anne was before 

 the Magistrates, and the point in 

 argument was, what was the 

 meaning of "abusive language," 

 for the Magistrates had read 

 as far as "abusive language," 

 and no farther ; and after three 

 hours of erudite and logical ar- 

 gument, the remainder of the 

 clause was read, which explained 

 all that had created debate and 

 doubt, for the act said, " abusive 

 language, — or any other rude be- 

 haviour." So it was with this 

 new Hackney Coach Act ; for 

 having read that the tickets to be 

 given by the coachman must be 

 produced before any complaint 

 can be heard, the concluding part 

 of the clause was quite overlooked, 

 which said, that a complainant 

 must produce " some one or more 

 of the said notes or tickets which 

 he shall have received, or might 



and ought to have received by 

 virtue of this Act." The law now 

 stood thus : if a coachman should 

 refuse that ticket which he might 

 and ought to give on its being 

 required, such bare refusal would 

 only be followed by the loss of the 

 fare ; for without a ticket no one 

 was bound to pay : and if that 

 refusal were accompanied with 

 " abusive language, or any other 

 rude behaviour," then the offence 

 was punishable under the 9th 

 Anne, He had not much respect 

 for the Act, but its objects were 

 attainable ; and if every gentle- 

 man in the country would act as 

 Mr. Wilkinson had done, and put 

 his shoulders to the work, the 

 business would be completed in a 

 week. 



The case having been thus de- 

 cided, it was ordered to stand over 

 pro forma to give time for the ap- 

 pearance of the driver. 



Detonating Balls. — Mr. John 

 Cuthbert, of St. Martin's-lane, 

 optician, was summoned on infor- 

 mation, for exposing to sale, on 

 the '26th October, certain fireworks 

 called detonating balls. 



Pace and Lavender, the officers, 

 said that Mr. C. had a bill in his 

 window announcing " chemical 

 detonating balls, &c. to produce 

 the report of a pistol without 

 danger." Pace purchased a dozea 

 for eighteen pence. Some of them 

 were exploded at the Office, each 

 emitting flame. 



Mr. Cooper, chemist, of Drury- 

 lane, convicted on a former day 

 of having sold detonating balls,^ 

 admitted, on the part of Mr. Cuth- 

 bert, that they threw out a flash, 

 but denied their containing fire. 

 It was a flash similar to what wat 



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