As the population of London in 1831 (taking the area as now) was only about a million and a half, it stands to reason that there would be but about a quarter of the traffic. The first omnibus started from the Yorkshire Stingo, Paddington, to the Bank, on July 4, 1829, and, becoming popular, these vehicles were very soon multiplied, and, in 1831, there seem to have been ninety running; for, at a meeting of omnibus proprietors on September 10th of that year, it was proposed, in consequence of the danger which arose from competitive racing, to stop thirty-three of them, and, as the chairman observed, "this diminution would leave fifty-seven of them to run, so that the public would have a regular conveyance every three minutes from Paddington to the Bank, from eight in the morning till ten at night."
As a specimen of omnibus amenities about this time I may mention a police case at Marylebone, on August 14, 1830. It was for an assault, but that was of very little moment; it related more to the convenience and safety of the public, especially the female portion; for it came out that by some of the cads (as the conductors were then called) it was considered fair play to take a lady forcibly from the steps of an omnibus she was inclined to enter and push her into another, and that the previous week, two ladies had been so mauled by four strong fellows, that they would not ride at all.
The royal assent was given on September 22, 1831, to "An Act to amend the laws relating to Hackney Carriages," etc., by which it was enacted that, up to January 5, 1833, they should be limited to twelve hundred, and, after that date, there was to be no limitation to their number, except that caused by the law of demand and supply. The hackney coach was a cumbrous vehicle with two horses, and, in 1823, one-horsed vehicles were introduced, called cabriolets, speedily shortened into cabs. They began modestly with twelve, and in 1831 had increased to one hundred and sixty-five. They were somewhat peculiar, as the driver sat by the side of his fare, although not with him, and the possibility of the coachman seeing the amount he was to be given, and the chance of his upsetting his passenger in case it did not meet his expectations, is humorously described in Pickwick.
On December 23, 1834, Joseph Aloysius Hansom, an architect, took out a patent, No. 6733, for "a vehicle for conveying loads, etc.," and from that time to this his name has been inseparably connected in England with cabs. Not that his cab was like the present "hansom," which is a product of much evolution. There was no back seat for the driver, and its "safety" consisted in its cranked axle. He sold his rights to a company for £10,000, but never got a penny piece of it. The only money he ever got out of it was £300, which, when the company had got into a muddle, was paid him to take temporary management and put things straight again.
Thanks to Mr. John Macadam, whose system of using broken stones is still adopted, the country roads were very much improved. He, unlike Hansom, received £10,000 from Parliament, and was appointed Surveyor-General of the Metropolitan roads in 1827. He died in 1836.
In describing travelling in England during this reign, I cannot do better than quote from Baron d'Haussez, because a foreigner looks upon things with a far more critical eye than a native, who is always used to them. Says he—
"The taste for travelling, an expensive taste in any country, is truly a ruinous one in England. If the means of satisfying it are numerous, and accompanied by all that can promote pleasure, one is steeled against this seductive consolation by the perpetual warning of a speedily drained purse.
