Page:Report from the Select Committee on Steam Carriages.pdf/224



Mr. John Macneil. 6 September, 1831. Coaches drawn by horses; it may, however. I think be safely assumed, that the injury done to a road by a Steam Carriage would not be greater than that occasioned by a Stage Coach drawn by horses, the weight of the Engine and its load being supposed not to weigh more than the Stage Coach, together with its load and horses; if this be granted, and an Act passed limiting the width of wheel in a certain proportion to the weight carried, there would not be much difficulty in arranging a scale of tolls applicable to Steam Carriages, which would put them on an equitable footing with Carriages drawn by horses; if, for instance, a proportion, such I have already mentioned be adopted, viz., that a wheel should be an inch in width for every 5 cwt, it has to support, and a toll charged for each inch equal to the amount charged for a horse drawing in a Carriage which travels with the velocity of the Engine, it would, in my opinion, be a fair and equitable toll at least for some years, or until a correct proportion of injury was ascertained by experience and observation, when it might be altered or amended according to circumstances.—This mode of charging toll would be extremely simple, and not likely to be misunderstood by toll-collectors, or to occasion any disputes; but there should be a heavy penalty attached to the proprietors of Steam Carriages if they put a greater weight on the Carriage than the wheels were intended to carry. If the Engine, instead of carrying the load draws one or more Carriages after it, the toil should be collected and charged on each Carriage, in a similar manner as it is charged on the Engine, that is in proportion to its wheels. An example will illustrate my meaning more clearly; suppose an Engine, together with its load, to weigh nine tons (which is about the average weight of two Stage Coaches, including the weight of the horses which draw them) to pass through a toll-gate where horses drawing Coaches are charged 6d, each, the toll on the two Coaches would be 4s., and of the Steam Carriage 4s. 6d. Suppose that the Engine, instead of carrying the load draws a Carriage after it, and that the weight of the Engine is five tons, with