40 History of Inland Transport 



Mischiefs that hath happened of late Years to the Kingdom, 

 mischievous to the Publick, destructive to Trade, and preju- 

 judicial to Lands : 



" First, By destroying the Breed of good Horses, the 

 Strength of the Nation, and making Men careless of attaining 

 a good Horsemanship, a Thing so useful and commendable 

 in a Gentleman. 



" Secondly, By hindering the Breed of Watermen, who are 

 the Nursery for Seamen, and they the Bulwark of the Kingdom. 



" Thirdly, By lessening his Majesty's Revenues." 



Alluding to the effect of coach-riding on the individual, he 

 says : 



" Stage-coaches . . . effeminate his Majesty's Subjects 

 who, having used themselves to travel in them, have neither 

 attained Skill themselves nor bred up their Children to good 

 Horsemanship, whereby they are rendered incapable of serving 

 their Country on Horseback, if Occasion should require and 

 call for the same ; for hereby they become weary and listless 

 when they ride a few Miles, and unwilling to get on Horseback ; 

 not able to endure Frost, Snow, or Rain, or to lodge in the 

 Fields." 



These last-mentioned words, "or to lodge in the fields," 

 are especially suggestive of what might happen in those days 

 to travellers on horseback. The writer goes on to say : 



" There is such a lazy Habit of Body upon Men, that they, 

 to indulge themselves, save their fine clothes, and keep them- 

 selves clean and dry, will ride lolling in one of them, and endure 

 all the Inconveniences of that Manner of Travelling rather than 

 ride on Horseback." 



He grieves over the fact that there were not " near so many 

 coach-horses either bred or kept in England " as there were 

 saddle-horses formerly, and he mentions the interesting fact 

 that the York, Chester and Exeter stage-coaches, with 40 

 horses a-piece, carried eighteen passengers a week to each of 

 those three places from London, and brought the same 

 number back a total of 1872 for the year. His plea that, 

 but for the coaches, this number of travellers would have 

 required, with their servants, " at least 500 horses," instead of 

 the 120 which sufficed for the coaches, no longer concerns us ; 

 but his figures as to the extent of the travel in 1673 between 

 London and cities of such importance even in those days 



