198 THE COACHING AGE. 



over his proper number, the common informer, who 

 was somewhere on the road looking out, would count 

 the passengers, and, seeing the number the coach was 

 licensed for, would lay an information before a magis- 

 trate against the proprietor, and obtain a share of the 

 penalty inflicted on him for carrying more than his 

 number. It must by no means be supposed that the 

 common informer confined his attentions to the coach- 

 proprietor, as he was ready to pounce down upon 

 traveller, post-boy, or driver of waggon, cart, or any 

 other vehicle whom he found infringing the laws of 

 the road or the Turnpike Act. A turnpike-gate 

 keeper also might afford him occasionally a slight 

 increase in his income by some breach of the provisions 

 of the Turnpike Act — neglecting to have his name 

 or table of tolls up over the turnpike-house, demand- 

 ing too much toll, omitting to give a ticket, etc. 



There was yet another item of expenditure in the 

 coach-proprietor's account, which, like the duty, was 

 payable according to the number of miles the coach 

 ran, but was in no way dependent upon the number 

 of passengers which the coach was licensed to carry. 

 The mileage for the hire of the coach was, as now, 

 purely a matter of arrangement between the coach- 

 proprietor and the builder, varying but little in the 

 scale — from twopence to threepence a mile would 

 probably cover the highest and lowest charge, and 



