POLICE SUPERVISION. 197 



and found office, for the recovery of property left in 

 hackney-coaches, was estabHshed by Act 55 Geo. IIL ; 

 in the year 181 5, by an Act 16 and 17 Vict., the 

 control of public vehicles was placed in the hands of 

 the Commissioners of Police; this occurred in June and 

 August, 1853. 



By Act I and 2 Wm. IV., c. 22, it is declared that 

 every carriage with two or more wheels plying for hire 

 in public, within five miles of the General Post Office 

 in London, of whatever form or construction, or what- 

 ever may be the number of persons which it shall be 

 calculated to convey, or the number of horses by which 

 it shall be drawn, it shall be deemed a hackney-carriage. 



The rise and progress of hackney-carriages in 

 London may be distinctly traced from notices in 

 MacPherson's "Annals of Commerce," and Anderson's 

 " History of Commerce." In 1844, 4627 cabs were 

 licensed for hire; besides this, 371 watermen received 

 licenses permitting them to ply for hire. About two 

 hundred years ago the inhabitants of London made 

 use of watermen's boats on the Thames, quite as much 

 as they now make use of cabs. 



According to the laws at present prevailing with 

 regard to hackney-carriages, every such carriage must 

 receive a certificate from the Commissioners of Police, 

 by whose authority the vehicles may be inspected. If 

 upon inspection it be approved of, the Commissioners 

 grant a certificate stating how many persons the 

 vehicle is permitted to carry. On the presentation of 

 this certificate, the Board of Inland Revenue may 

 grant a license. The Police Commissioners are em- 

 powered at any time, deemed by them proper, to order 

 an inspection of metropolitan and hackney-carriages 

 and horses. If any of them are found in improper 



