THE TURNPIKES. 57 



had been staying with Lord Fitzwilham, when his 

 coach capsized in a narrow part of the road ; it rolled 

 down a bank, turned over three or four times, and 

 landed in a field, where it was smashed to pieces ; it is 

 said that the Prince escaped unhurt. This, like the 

 circumstance of a railway director being injured in 

 a railway accident, did more than anything else to 

 improve the condition of the roads. 



When the turnpike system was first established, it 

 met with violent opposition ; bodies of armed men used 

 to meet and burn down the toll-houses, take the gates 

 off their hinges, and blow up the gate-posts with gun- 

 powder. The greatest resistance was experienced in 

 Yorkshire ; soldiers were assembled to protect the 

 turnpikes, but when one was left unprotected it was 

 immediately destroyed. Petitions were presented to 

 Parliament against the extension of the turnpike system, 

 but without avail. From 1760 to 1774, 452 Acts were 

 passed for making and maintaining highways. 



As regards turnpikes, they are an intolerable 

 nuisance to any one who journeys on the high-road ; 

 at the same time there is a certain amount of rough 

 justice in the imposition of turnpike tolls, since those 

 who use the roads should assuredly pay for them, 

 and it is rather hard to ask those who only walk along 

 a country road, and never ride or drive, to contribute 

 to their maintenance. 



One of the most remarkable road-makers who ever 

 lived was the blind man, John Metcalf. He was born 

 at Knaresborough, a market-town in the West Riding 

 of Yorkshire. The town is beautifully situated on the 

 north-east side of the River Nidd, the waters of which 

 are made to turn the wheels in connection with linen 

 factories. About a mile down the river are the 



