80 
TJrdahl—Historical Survey of Fee Systems. 
his home parish and two reputable residents. As the peddler 
became of less and less importance, the charge was reduced to 
2>£ for license to peddle on foot, and 4£ to peddle with a beast 
of burden. 
C. ' HACKNEY-COACHES. 
Another occupation which early came under the direct legis¬ 
lative control of parliament, was that of running hackney- 
coaches. After the custom of standing them for hire had be¬ 
come firmly established, these vehicles became so numerous as 
to seriously endanger the passenger and impede the cart-traffic 
in the narrow streets of London. 1 To remedy this an order was 
issued by the council limiting the number which might be al¬ 
lowed, and in 1637 a license was required to be obtained from 
the king’s master-of-horse. No toll was required until the act 
of 1694 was passed, regulating the fees which might be collected, 
and requiring the owner of each hackney-coach to pay 50£ for a 
license for twenty-one years. The total number was limited to 
seven hundred, which practically created a monopoly of the 
business. Subsequently annual rentals were imposed and the 
number increased until there were one thousand licenses in force 
in 1777. This continued up to 1831, when free-trade in hack¬ 
ney-coaches was introduced. High licenses were however soon 
re-introduced and remained in force until the act of 1869 was 
passed, which charged 2£ 2s for four wheeled and 15s for two- 
weeeled vehicles. 2 
D. OTHER LICENSES. 
Most of the other English license charges are comparatively 
modern, 3 having been introduced either by Pitt or his success¬ 
ors. Many of them were imposed for the purpose of obtaining 
revenue rather than for regulation. Of the latter may be men¬ 
tioned the dog-license, as distinguished from early dog-taxes. 
This regulation was the result of the hydrophobia panic in Lon- 
1 Dowell, III, 42. 
2 Dowell, III, 45. 
3 Some early licenses were granted by the crown, and fees collected there¬ 
for. Hall, History of Customs Revenue in England , pp. 25 and 26. 
