THE STAGE-WAGGONS 125 



In 1773, one James Sharp, of Leadenhall Street, 

 advertised his invention of a " rolling Avaggon," 

 whose rollers (in place of wheels) Avere of this 

 hreadth of sixteen inches, and proceeded to state 

 that " two late Acts of Parliament " allowed all 

 carriages moving upon rollers of that gauge to 

 he draAvn hy any numher of horses or cattle, and 

 further, that they were alloAved to carry eight tons 

 in summer and seven in Avinter, and to pass toll- 

 free for the term of one year from Michaelmas 

 1773, and after that time to pay only half toll. 

 Clearly, then, in the great mass of legislation for 

 roads and traffic there Avas then a limit existing 

 for loads and for teams. It only remained for the 

 wisdom of the time to enact laws giving a honus 

 to every AA^aggon whose Avheels exceeded a hreadth 

 of tAVO feet — thus making every such vehicle its 

 own road-repairer — for the ahsurdity to he com- 

 plete. There had, indeed, already arisen a hright 

 genius Avith a someAvhat similar idea, for in 1763 

 Bourne puhlished his design of a four-Avheeled 

 Avaggon Avhose front axletree Avas to he so much 

 shorter than the hind one that the foremost wheels 

 would make a track inside the hinder. The l^readth 

 of wheel, indeed, Avas not to he more than fifteen 

 inches, hut the comhined hreadth of all four 

 planned thus would flatten out no less than a 

 five-foot Avidth of road, and the heavier the con- 

 tents of the Avaggon, so much better for the 2:>roper 

 rolling of the Avay. But this ingenious person 

 took no account of the extra difficulty of haulage, 

 and the consequently larger teams that Avould be 



