TJ1 



STAGE CARRIAGE. 



STAIRCASE. 



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fifty vehicle* each ; most of them own a few only : and in certain 

 the f*Kmn U the owner of the vehicle which be drive*. The patent 

 or ' Hansom ' cab*, peculiar for their construction and their high *peed, 

 are well-honed ; and there U observable a gradual improvement in the 

 general condition of the hone* employed in the London cab*. 



In Paris, the hackney carriage* are under strict regulation. The 

 general custom ha* been to charge so much for a eor$e, or journey, 

 whether long or short, provided it be within the limits of Paris. This 

 charge used to be one franc ; but practically, a fee to the driver raised 

 it to a few sous more. A few years ago this system was changed ; 

 every vehicle was provided by the authorities with a timepiece or 

 watch, and fares were charged by the hour. For some reason this 

 system was abandoned after a trial, and the old method of paying for 

 the course resumed. The pernicious custom of allowing the driver 

 to demand a foe or " pour boire," without denning its amount, con- 

 tinue*. 



Stayt Carriagtt. We have next to notice those public carriages 

 which run regular stages or routes, and which charge by the journey, 

 not by the mile or the hour. 



Stage-ooaches were first used in England soon after the introduction 

 of hired carriages. In Scotland, in 1678, Provost Campbell established 

 a coach to run from Glasgow to Edinburgh, " drawn by sax able 

 hones, to leave Edinboro' ilk Monday morning, and return again (God 

 willing) ilk Saturday night." The first mail coach travelled from 

 London to Edinburgh about 1785, and to Glasgow in 1788. Springs 

 were the first means towards better travelling ; since then- invention, 

 the increased speed and better appointment of English stage-coaches 

 have been caused by the improvement of roads, in conjunction with the 

 great demand for rapid travelling. In this country the best stage- 

 coaches were very perfect machines, and the arrangements by which 

 they were conducted were well-planned, but some deterioration has 

 taken place since their very general displacement by railways. The 

 expense of hurting a four-horse coach, running at the speed of from nine 

 to ten miles an hour was reckoned at 3/. a double mile for 28 days (a 

 lunar month),; so that a person horsing ten miles of a coach passing 

 backwards and forwards each day, required to earn or receive by way of 

 remuneration 13 times 30i or 390J. a year for his work. Mails are 

 exempt from turnpike tolls, but a tax is paid for them to the govern- 

 ment, and mileage to the contractor for the use of the coach. The 

 Post-office allows them a certain sum, determined by circumstances, 

 per mile for carrying the letters ; in consideration of this, it claims a 

 right to limit their number of passengers, and regulate their speed and 

 time of starting : the guard is the servant of the Post-office. 



Short-stage-coaches, plying in the neighbourhood of towns, have 

 been nearly superseded by omnibuses. 



Until about the year 1830, in the metropolis a few slow and un- 

 punctual stages were the only means of transit provided for the 

 citizens to convey them to their suburban residences. A little earlier, 

 only one stage plied from Paddington to the Bank ; and this single 

 vehicle, going in the morning and returning at night, was not always 

 full. Its fares were two shillings inside, and eighteen-pence outside. 

 The old stage-coachea could only carry four, or at most six, inside 

 passengers ; and when an attempt was made, about the year 1800, to 

 introduce a more commodious kind of vehicle, resembling an omnibus, 

 the project failed, in consequence of a general prejudice against the 

 hearse-like appearance of the carriage. The long-bodied carriage then 

 tried was drawn by four horses, and had six wheels. When re- 

 introduced from Paris, the omnibus had four wheels, but was much 

 longer and heavier than at present, and was drawn by three horses 

 abreast. The first successful omnibus in London was started by a 

 coach-builder named Shiflibeer, in 1829, to run between Greenwich 

 and Charing-Cross, at fares considerably less than those of the old 

 short stages ; in addition to which advantage, the greater part of the 

 passengers were sheltered from the weather. Success in the first 

 experiment led Shillibeer to establish omnibuses between Paddington 

 and the Bank. After opposing the innovation most violently for a 

 time, the old coach-proprietors followed his example, started omnibuses 

 of their own, and by combined opposition succeeded in driving him 

 entirely off the road ; not, however, before the new system of travelling 

 was fully established. 



A few notices concerning the omnibus system of the present day 

 may be added; but we must first speak of the legislation on the 

 subject of stage-carriages. 



In 1799 the Act of Parliament was passed (19 Geo. III., c. 51) 

 which first imposed a duty on hired carriages of any description. This 

 duty has at times been variously regulated. By an Act passed in 

 1833, the duty on stage-coaches was made to depend on the number of 

 miles such carriage is authorised by the licence to travel in the day, 

 week, or month, as the case may be. This duty might be compounded 

 for. Every stage-carriage is to have a numbered plate affixed to it ; a 

 licence is necessary for every pair of plates, and the number of 

 passengers each carriage is allowed to carry is stated in the licence. 

 These regulations are applicable to all such carriages throughout the 

 country, and include the more recently introduced omnibut, a word in 

 no way recognised by the legislature. The conduct of the stage- 

 carriages which are employed in London and within ten mili-s of the 

 General Post-office, is further regulated by an Act passed in 1838, in 

 which they are directed to be called " metropolitan stage-carriages," 



and by which, beside* the rule* applicable by previous act* to these 

 conveyance* as stage-carriages, other enactments are made as to the 

 Stamp-Office plates, &c. It also empowers the Secretary of State to 

 appoint a Registrar of Metropolitan Stage-Carriages, whose duty it is to 

 issue the licence which the Commissioners of Stamps are authorised to 

 grant to driver* and conductors. These licences the registrar may 

 grant to any person above 16 year* of age who can produce certificate* 

 of his ability to drive, and of good character. The licence is renewable 

 yearly, and with it is given an abstract of the laws and penalties to 

 whii-h the receiver is amenable, and a numbered ticket, the latter of 

 which he is to wear conspicuously on his person, and not to transfer 

 or lend. The duty is calculated iu the proportion of so much per mile 

 according to the number of passengers the carriage may be licensed to 

 . UTV. 



Another regulative Act was passed in 1843. Proprietors are, as 

 before, to fix their own fares ; but the list of fares is to be painted 

 within-side the coach or omnibus. A further Act, passed in 1855, 

 contained two or three clauses relating to stage-carriages. The mileage 

 duty is reduced from \^d. to Id. per mile. The charge for a supple- 

 mentary licence is reduced from 5s. to If. On the other hand, the 

 liberty to compound for stage-carriage duties is withdrawn. 



In 1836, a joint-stock association called the " London Conveyance 

 Company" was established, which proposed to run omnibuses 

 along the principal lines of traffic, starting at short and regular in- 

 tervals, and conducted by men of sober and respectable character. 

 The result of this experiment was so successful, that other owners 

 formed themselves into bodies of similar character. In the course 

 of a few years the association system was almost universally adopted 

 in the metropolis. For some years the traffic from Paddington to the 

 Bank through Holborn was managed by the London Conveyance Com- 

 pany, with more than eighty omnibuses, and not less than a thousand 

 horses. Each of the omnibuses performed upon an average six double 

 journeys per day, and required at least ten horses to work it, inde- 

 pendent of casualties. These horses were selected for strength and 

 activity, and an experienced veterinary surgeon, with a staff of assistants 

 and farriers, was employed to attend to them. The annual receipts 

 of this company alone were roughly estimated at 80,000?. to 100,000?. 

 About the year 1844 it was found that, out of 1400 metropolitan 

 omnibuses, 200 were engaged on various routes to Paddington. In 

 1855 a "London General Omnibus Company" was established. It 

 was of French origin, as a Sociftt en Conimmulite, but was afterwards 

 transformed into an English Company with limited liability. A capital 

 was raised by shares; and the company proceeded, not to establish 

 new omnibuses and omnibus routes, but to purchase those already 

 existing. The sets of omnibuses known as the " Wellington," " Atlas," 

 " Waterloo," " Favourite," &c., were one by one bought up. On an 

 average the company purchased eleven horses with each omnibus. In 

 order to propitiate the public the company promised new and superior 

 vehicles. They offered a prize of 1001. for a design for an improved 

 omnibus; but though the prize was awarded, the company have nut 

 adopted that or any other particular model in the build of their 

 omnibuses. The operations gradually extended until the company 

 became possessed of more than 600 omnibuses : each omnibus, with 

 its stud of horses, harness, and " goodwill " of the business already 

 established, cost on an average about 700?. The horses exceed 6000 

 in number. It has been found that these metropolitan omnibuses, one 

 with another, run more than 20,000 miles a year each. In renewing 

 the stock the average expenditure has been about 120?. per omnibus, 

 30/. per horse, and 121. harness. Each horse, under average prices, 

 coats 26. per week for food, litter, medicine, shoeing, attendance, &c. 

 The " wear and tear " of omnibus and harness per week is about 24s. 

 The horses run about 12 miles per day each on an average. 



The transactions of this company during the year 1860 present a 

 strange result in a financial point of view : 40,000,000 passengers had 

 been conveyed, and had paid about 589,0001. to the company for that 

 service; but the expense incurred in rendering the servii < 

 591,000?., showing a small but actual loss on the whole year's opera- 

 tions, and leaving no dividend whatever for the invested capital. The 

 receipts show an average of about SJe?. per passenger. 



The omnibuses in Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, and several other 

 towns, are in most respects superior to those of London. Projects 

 have been formed for running omnibuses on tramways in the public 

 streets ; this plan was commenced at Birkenhead in 1860. 



The mileage duty paid to the government for the metropolitan 

 omnibuses amounts to about 70,000?. a year ; to which is added about 

 15,000?, a year for stamp-duty, and drivers' and conductors' licences. 

 Stage-coaches and omnibuses are not so severely taxed in other parts 

 of the kingdom. In Ireland the road traffic is mostly conducted by 

 means of Bianconi's stage cars a remarkable example of successful and 

 effective private enterprise. 



STAINING, [DYKING; GLASS MA>TFA( inn: ; PAI-KD HAN. -.IN.;.") 



STAIKCASK. This is an indispensable part of the interior of 

 buildings which consist of more than a ground-floor, and stairs of some 

 sort must have always been employed wherever there were tijipiT 

 rooms, and even to obtain access to the terraced roofs which are used in 

 the East. But we are altogether ignorant of the character of ancient 

 staircases. Vitruvius -who touches upon so many matters that arc 

 very remotely connected with his subject gives no information about 



