In 1745, shocked by the difficulty caused by bad roads in concentrating the royal army to stop the Scottish invasion, the king began systematically to improve all the roads. There was much road and highway widening and repair, and also river bank and pier repair, going on all over the country. Marsh lands were drained. Harbors were deepened. There were numerous statutes trying to adjust the needs of travel with the condition of the roads. For instance, there must be a pole between the wheel horses or double shafts. Carriages, wagons, or carts drawn by more horses, oxen, or animals or with wheels bound iron tires, or with very heavy loads were observed to cause more damage, so they were restricted or had to pay higher tolls. Then broad and smooth iron tires were observed to not cause the amount of damage as did narrow or irregular iron tires and their use was encouraged. From 1741, weighing machines were kept at toll gates. By 1766, turnpike roads had to be at least 30 feet wide; hedges and fences thereon had to be taken down by their owners. Cartways to markets had to be at least 20 feet wide, and horseways 3 (later 8) feet wide. There were ditches, drains, and gutters to carry off water. Names and abodes of owners were to be put on carriages, wagons, and carts or forfeit 2-5 pounds, except for carriages or coaches of a nobleman or gentleman for his private use or those drawn by only one horse or two oxen, or those with wide wheels and a light load. There were town name signs, direction posts, and milestones. In 1773, the Surveyors and the Commissioners of Turnpikes were given authority to requisition local men, carts and draught animals for compulsory labor, or money instead, in maintaining the roads and making new ditches and drains. They could take any local sand, gravel, chalk, or stone from waste or common land or, if not needed by and satisfaction is made to the owner, from enclosed land. The surveyor was to be chosen locally for a year and could be given an allowance. New roads required the consent of the landowners and a negotiated price.
A driver of a carriage, wagon, or cart on the public highway who by negligence or misbehavior causes any hurt or damage to a person or any other carriage or hinders free passage of any other carriage shall forfeit up to 20s. Anyone leaving an empty cart or other obstruction on a public highway shall forfeit up to 20s. Any cart, wagon, or carriage driven without a person on foot or on horseback leading it shall forfeit up to 20s. Any driver of an empty cart, wagon, or carriage who refuses or neglects to make way for any coach or loaded cart, wagon, or carriage shall forfeit up to 20. Any offender may be apprehended by anyone seeing his offense without warrant, who shall then deliver him to a constable or other peace officer.
By 1719, the mail service was well-regulated. Letter rates within 80 miles of London were 3d. per piece of paper, then 12d. per ounce. Within 60 miles of New York City in America there were 4d. per piece of paper, then 1s.4d. per ounce. Letters were still carried by post horses. From London to New York, they were 1s. per piece of paper for the first three pieces, then 4s. per ounce. In 1765, this rate was extended to all colonial ports.
In 1754, canals began to be constructed linking the main rivers. Horses or men hauled the barges from the land. Now goods of many inland towns cheapened and reached a national instead of just a local market. In 1761 an almost illiterate man called James Brindley cut the first real canal at Worsley for the Duke of Bridgewater, who owned the coal deposits there. He kept the line of the canal at one level to avoid having to make locks. It crossed one river as a forty foot high aqueduct. He refused to use the beds of small rivers, whose sluggish flow gave no adequate security against silting. Coal at the destination point of Manchester fell to half its former price. After Wedgwood headed a campaign to persuade Parliament to construct a certain canal, he bought adjacent land on which he built a great factory.
In 1713, the maximum interest rate that could be charged was reduced to 5% for the advancement of trade and improvement of lands because that rate was the norm in foreign lands. Thus the maximum interest rate fell from 10 to 8 to 6 and then to 5%. When Issac Newton was Master of the Mint, he noted that too restricted a currency caused a high interest rate to prevail, which was bad for commerce and the plans to set the poor to work, but that too large a quantity of money in circulation caused interest rates to fall, which encouraged luxury imports and the export of bullion.
The Bank of England provided a safer deposit and lower interest than goldsmiths or scriveners. It also issued notes for 10 and 15 (since 1759), and 20 pounds. Outside retail trade and wages payments, business was conducted on a credit basis with a paper promise to pay at some future date. Check use was still formal and rare. Tradesmen typically authorized their apprentices to "write off or draw" from their accounts, bringing their bank books. Depositors authorized other people such as certain servants, relatives, cashiers, or company secretaries to make use of their accounts. After 1721, the Bank dividend was about 6% a year.
Promissory notes are assignable and endorsable and the holder may recover against the signer or any endorser as is the case with bills of exchange. In 1775, no more promissory or other notes, bills of exchange, draughts, or undertakings in writing and being negotiable or transferable may be made for under 20s., because it was hard for the poorer sort of manufacturer, artificer, laborer and others to comply with them otherwise than by being subject to great extortion and abuse. (Cash was to be used instead.)
By 1711, government finances had become so chaotic that the Chancellor of the Exchequer sought to re-establish public credit by means of a chartered commercial company, the shares of which were offered in substitution for government stock. This South Sea Company was established in 1711 with a monopoly to trade in South America. The prospects of hugh profits sent the share prices soaring. There was also an increase in the money supply. These factors led to a speculation bubble in 1720 in this stock. Also, many stock-jobbers promoted companies of every description, such as one to extract gold from sea-water. There was an insurance boom with about seventy insurance companies in existence, many virtually gambling in life contingencies. There was speculation in insurance for all types of occurrences, such as house-breaking, highway robbery, death by gin-drinking, and horses becoming disabled. The total capital invested in all these enterprises rose to over five times the cash resources of all Europe. When the bubble burst, 100 pound South Sea stock had gone up to 1050 pounds and back down again to 120. Since the government had in effect bought this stock at a low price and paid off its debt with this stock at a high price, this bubble relieved the government of much of its massive debt. It also redistributed wealth. After the bubble burst, investors took refuge in investing in 3-4% government fixed-interest securities. A result of this bubble burst was the chartering of two corporations for marine insurance and prohibition of such by any partnership or firm. Private persons could continue to write policies, and they chose Lloyd's Coffeehouse as their headquarters; it came to dominate the world of marine insurance after the two chartered companies came to concentrate on fire and life insurance. Lloyd's list became the foundation for a new newspaper. There were speciality boxes at Lloyd's such as on America or the Baltic. Many ships were reported captured by enemies or pirates, but underwriting insurance was a lucrative business for many.
In 1717 the gold guinea was assigned a value of 21s. In 1774, the gold standard was introduced. In 1774, clipped and deficient gold coin was called in to be exchanged for new coin.
Local taxes were collected for the church, the poor, county courts of justice, borough administration, and highways. National taxes included the income, customs, and excise taxes. When the government tried to levy excise taxes on wine, tobacco, and then on cider, there was a public protest with mobs demonstrating against the power given to excise inspectors to search in people's homes. These excise taxes were no longer levied.