48 History of Inland Transport 



while under 6 Geo. III., c. 43,, turnpike trustees were directed 

 to issue orders to their collectors not to allow any waggon 

 or other four-wheeled carriage having wheels of less than 

 9 inches in breadth to pass through a toll-gate when drawn 

 by more than four horses without seizing one of the horses. 

 By 13 Geo. III., c. 84, the reduced tolls already conceded to 

 9-inch wheels were extended to 6-inch wheels, and it was 

 further provided that waggons with 1 6-inch wheels should pass 

 toll free for a year, and then pay only one-half of the tolls 

 to be paid by 6-inch wheeled waggons. 



In order to give still further encouragement to the use 

 of 1 6-inch wheels, an Act passed in the following year provided 

 that any waggon having wheels of those dimensions should 

 pass toll-free for five years instead of one, and pay only half 

 toll afterwards. 



Among the many other Acts that followed, mention may 

 be made of 55 Geo. III., c.ii9, which gives an especially good 

 idea of the infinite pains taken by the Legislature to adapt 

 the construction of vehicles to the apparently hopeless 

 deficiencies of the roads. The Act authorised road trustees 

 to exempt certain vehicles from tolls for overweight " provided 

 such Waggon, Cart or other such Carriage shall have the Soles or 

 Bottoms of the Fellies of all the Wheels thereof of the Breadth 

 of Six inches, or of Nine Inches, or of Sixteen Inches or upwards, 

 and be cylindrical, that is to say, of the same Diameter on the 

 Inside next the Carriage as on the outside, so that when such 

 Wheels shall be rolling on a flat or level Surface, the whole 

 Breadth thereof shall bear equally on such flat or level Surface ; 

 and provided that the opposite Ends of the Axletrees of such 

 Waggon, Cart or other Carriage, so far as the same shall be 

 inserted in the respective Naves of the Wheels thereof, shall 

 be horizontal and in the continuance of one straight Line, 

 without forming any Angle with each other ; and so that in 

 each pair of Wheels belonging to such Carriage, the lower Parts, 

 when resting on the Ground, shall be at the same distance from 

 each other as the upper Parts of such Pair of Wheels : Pro- 

 vided always," etc. 



Under 3 Geo. IV., c. 126 (1822) no waggon or cart with 

 wheels of less breadth than 3 in. was to be used on any turnpike 

 road from the ist of January, 1826, under a penalty of not 

 exceeding ^5 for the owner and not exceeding forty shillings 



