54 THE COACHING ERA 



joy would trash their enemy, duck him in the nearest 

 pond, or otherwise pay out old scores in whatever manner 

 their ingenuity suggested. 



The most notorious informer was a man named Byers^ 

 who harassed the coachmen on the Brighton road to 

 their great infuriation. In 1825 he transferred his 

 attention to the Bath Road, where in the space of a 

 fortnight he laid thirty-four informations involving 

 penalties amounting to ^^500, of which a large proportion 

 went into his own pocket. 



Hearing that an eleftion was in progress at Oxford, 

 he rightly judged it to be a propitious time for catching 

 university coachmen tripping. Accompanied by a friend 

 he therefore paid a surprise visit to the Oxford road, 

 where he instantly began to lay information against 

 coachmen for carrying excess passengers during the 

 eleftion. 



The day came for the hearing of the cases, but the two 

 chief witnesses did not appear. The reason for their 

 absence was soon apparent, for the city was in an uproar, 

 caused by the fads that as the two informers were on 

 the way to the hall they suddenly came face to face 

 with a seleft deputation of Oxford coachmen. The 

 informers gave one look and fled. The coachmen 

 halloed and pursued, the crowd joined in, and Oxford 

 enjoyed the thrilling and novel experience of a man hunt. 

 The informers provided a good run, but were eventu- 



1 In "A Lay of St. Nicholas" (Ingoldshy Legends) Byers is 

 represented as carrying on his trade of informer: "The accusing 

 Byers flew up to Heaven's Chancery." 



