Reasons Humbly offered for the suppressing all Hackney Stage-Coaches and Caravans, and for inducing Gentlemen to live upon their Estates in the Country, and Wear the Manufactures of England, and to restrain Servants from wearing any other.  


1. THey spoil the Roads, put the Country to vast Charge to keep them in Repair, are often the occasion of great Mischiefs to Gentlemen that travel on Horseback, by frequent putting them out of the way, and forcing them into dangerous Holes and Ruts.  
2. They spoil all Inns on the Roads, render the Masters of them incapable of making necessary provisions for Travelers, or to pay their Landlords their Rents, or to give the Relief they were wont to do to the Poor, or to pay Taxes, or quarter Soldiers.  
3. They are the occasion of the fall of Rents all over England, by hindering the consumption of all sorts of Provision both for Man and Beast.  
4. They have occasioned the breeding of good Horses to be neglected, and create in mankind a slothful and Lazy habit and disposition of body, make them take no care to attain to good Horsemanship, a thing so necessary for all men to understand in order to their own and their Country's services.  
5. They have been, and are highly prejudicial to the Watermen, and have hindered the breeding of many thousands, who otherwise might at this time have been fit for the service of the King and Kingdom.  
6. They greatly hinder the consumption of the , and Leather Manufactures of the Kingdom, and thereby (together with the Transportation of Leather) have already Ruined above one hundred thousand of Families, in the City and Country; such as, Combers, Carders, Spinners, Knitters, and Weavers of Woollen; Fuller's, Clothiers, Clothworkers, Drapers, Tailors, Cloth-drawers, cordwainers, Saddlers, Trunkmakers, Girdlers, Sword Cutlers, Loriners, Inholders, Curryers', Tanners, Feltmakers, Gunsmiths, Graziers, Butchers, Poulterers, and Farmers of Land: and if not prevented, will quickly ruin many thousands more, whose families do, and must lie upon the several Parishes wherein they live to be kept; and in the mean time those who should maintain them, are by the fall of their Rents (occasioned by the means aforesaid) reduced to so small a yearly income as that they can hardly defray the necessary expenses of their own family.  
7. They are the occasion of many great Robberies being committed, two or three men being able at pleasure to surprise and Rob a Coach or Caravan, whereas if travellers were not shut up in Coaches and Caravans, but were on horseback, they could neither be surprised nor rob without greater force.  
8. They prevent the Consumption of Beer and Ale upon the Roads, and thereby greatly lessen his Majesty's revenue of Excise, and by carrying multitudes of Letters, abate very much the yearly value of the Post Office, to the great prejudice of his Highness the Duke of York.    

For Demonstration, It is Humbly Offered. 
 THat a Coach with four horses carries six passengers, a Caravan with six horses carries 20 or 25 Passengers, the Coach always hath one wheel in the horse path, the Caravan horses always go in that path, whereby horsemen when ever they meet them are put out of their way, and frequently forced into Holes and Ruts, into which they with their horses do fall and get hurts; These Coaches and Caravans carry their passengers all to one Inn, where usually they sup together, have not above two or three dishes of meat, yet make use of 6. 8. or 10. beds. They are carried to those Inns, though the worst on the Roads, where the Coach or Caravan men can agree for horsemeat at the lowest price, and have their own victuals for nothing, and get the greatest credit to run furthest in debt, which when they have done, (if demanded and the payment thereof pressed) they leave the Inn, whereby the Master of it is undone, not able to pay the Farmer for his Hay, Straw, or Corn; consequently the Farmer breaks, and the Landlord loseth his Rent. However by this means all other Inns, except where the said Stage-Coaches and Caravans do lie, are without any Trade, not able to pay half the Rent they formerly paid, nor to make necessary provisions for Guests, nor to pay the Taxes, quarter Soldiers, or give such relief to the poor as formerly they used to do.  
But if these were put down, the Consequences as is humbly conceived, would be.  
1. THe Roads would be better, the Country's charge in repairing of them lessened, and Travellers less incommoded.  
2. Every of these Passengers who travel in these Coaches would have a Horse upon the road, many of them would without doubt ride with a servant, some with two or three, which now travel either without men, or with a boy only behind the Coach; by this means there would be thirty at least, if not forty or fifty horses on the road, instead of the ten which draws the Coach or Caravan.  
3. These Travellers would disperse themselves into the several Inns on the Roads, each man where he could find best Accommodations, and thereby Trade would be defused, Inholders encouraged to provide Accommodations for their Guests, and to pay their ancient Rents unto their Landlords.  
4. Most of these Horses would go to grass in Summer time, which would greatly raise the Rents of Pasture Lands about great towns, which though formerly bore a great price, yet since these Coaches were set up, are but of little value.  
5. It would occasion the consumption of at least ten times as much hay, Straw and Corn, that now is consumed, whereby Farmers would have a vent for their Commodities and raise money to pay their Rents, and this appears very plain if it be considered.  
That not only will there be four times as many Horses travelling upon the Roads as are now, but then in the City of London, and in all great Towns in England, there would be great numbers of good Horses kept, not only by Merchants and other Tradesmen and Gentlemen for their own uses, but several, as formerly, would keep Stables of good horses to Let, which men may hire cheaper than they pay for their passage in Coaches, and by this means would a vast quantity of horse-meat be consumed.  
6. These Travellers on the Roads would have twenty dishes of meat at least, some of them two or three, and by this means would be consumed Ten times the quantity of Beef, Veal, Mutton Lamb, and all sorts of Fish, Foule, Poultry; and other Provisions that is now consumed, which will raise the price of them, and gentlemen's servants would drink Beer and Ale upon the Roads, which will help off with the Country Barley, and increase the Revenue of Excise.  
7. All these Travellers (if men) must have Boots, Spurs, Saddles, Bridles, Saddle and horse ; most of them would have Swords and Belts, Pormantues, many of them Pistols and Holsters, and all of them good Cloaks, Coats, riding Stockings and Hats, to keep out the weather. If women, they would have side Saddles, or Pillions, Bridles, Safeguards and Hoods, and many other Accoutrements Laced or Embroidered whereby the makers of all these things (above one hundred thousand whereof, who lived well, consumed four or five joints of meat every week in each of their Families, and releived others, but now are reduced to beggary) would be set at work again and provide as formerly for their Families, and help consume the Manufacturies and Provisions of the Kingdom, and prevent Foreigners growing Rich by Manufacturing Leather, one of our Staple Commodities, which till within these few years was Felony to Transport; and then Foreigners, who could not be without Boots, Shoes, Saddles, Portmanteaus, Holsters, Hatcases, Trunks, and many other things made of Leather, had them from hence Manufactured, by the making whereof, above fourscore thousand Handicraft Tradesmen get livelyhoods; nor had there been any need of passing an Act to Transport Leather unmanfactured, if it had not been that these Coaches prevented the consumption that formerly was, of Boots, Saddles, Portmanteaus, Hat-cases, etc. But for want of the consumption that formerly was, before these Coaches were set up, Hides bare so small a price that it was thought fit to transport Leather. The sad consequence whereof is, that all our Handicraft Tradesmen are undone, for now Foreigners buy up the best of our Leather, transport it and manufacture it abroad, whereby they grow Rich, and will carry out nothing that is Manufactured here, so that we are impoverished, for now instead of carrying out five hundred pounds worth of Leather as we did formerly, when it was Manufactured here, they now carry out but one hundred pounds worth unmanufactured and manufacture it themselves, whereby they get four hundred pounds, which our Tradesmen not only lose, but for want of getting are ready to starve.  
And if it be true, as most certainly it is, that we do carry out but one hundred pounds instead of five hundred pounds formerly exported, and yet import five hundred pounds worth of Foreign Goods as we used to do, when we carried out our Leather Manufactured as aforesaid; then must it needs follow, that we pay four hundred pounds in ready money, which formerly we paid in work, and that not only impoverisheth our Tradesmen, but exhausts the Treasure of the Kingdom, and makes not only Foreign Manufactures rich, by getting what we might earn here, but foreign Kingdoms Rich by having so much of our money to pay their Manufactures with. Now if these Coaches were down, Leather should not need to be Transported unmanufactured, and then must Foreigners have all from England manufactured as formerly they had, insomuch that till of late, all our old Boots, and Shoes were bought up, mended and sent beyond Seas; but now the quite contrary, for foreigners transport Leather unmanufactured, Manufacture it there, and import it back when Manufactured, to almost the total destruction of the trade of our English Manufacturers.  
8. If these Coaches were down, all Gentlemen would be encouraged to breed good Horses for the service of the Kingdom, which may (if not in time taken care of) be wanting, great numbers being of late years transported beyond the Seas, and little care taken for breeding of others, because Gentlemen ride little themselves; but if they had not this effeminate kind of travelling to trust unto, they would use themselves unto riding, and take care to breed good horses for their own use, and be fit and able for to serve His Majesty and the Kingdom, if occasion require the same.  
And it would prevent their so frequent travelling from home, whereby they would be more in the Country amongst their Tenants, live and spend their Rents amongst them, take off their Provisions, we are their Manufactures, sit at work and relieve the Poor, keep the money in the country circulating amongst their Tenants, that now is drawn up to London and spent here in gay clothes and Treats; and by this means their affairs would be more carefully managed, great expenses prevented, the provision in the Country consumed, and their Rents increased and be well paid.  
9 If these were down, then would many thousands of Watermen be bred, which have been hindered by Stage-Coaches, which go to every town between Graves End and Hendly, on both sides the River, and carry those Passengers (that before they set up) were Oar or S●uller fares, and so discourage the Watermen that are bred, and been the occasion of laying aside Barges, by bringing and carrying the Passengers bundles and small parcels that they used to bring and carry.  
10. If these Coaches were down, then would those Letters they carry, go by Post, which by computation, may raise that part of his Highness the Duke of York's Revenue 5000 l. per annum.  
11. If these were down, Travellers would ride on horseback, and thereby prevent many Robberies now committed by reason of there being shut up into Coaches and Caravans, so that two or three men may surprise a Coach at pleasure.  
12. It would prevent the Ruin of the four hundred Hackney Coachmen about the town, who are Licenced, pay five pound per annum a piece for their Licences, are under Rules, liable to punishment for breach of the Law made for their government, yet are undone by those who keep Stage-Coaches, they coming out in the night and taking their work from them, eat the bread out of their mouths, and yet are not Licenced, nor pay any thing towards the breaking up the Streets, by which means the streets are more broken and annoyed then before the Act for settling the number of 400. was made, when as if these were down, Hackney Caoches would be often hired into the Country, and so the streets would be emptier of them, and not so much broken by them.  
To conclude, there is hardly a Trade or Tradesman that is not one way or other hurt by these Coaches, nor is there a Gentleman, if he truly and seriously consider his interest, but is prejudiced infinitely beyond the advantage he pleaseth himself with the having by travelling in these Coaches, considering that if he save five pound a journey once or twice a year, he by the lowering the prices of commodities, hindering the consumption of them, destroying the many trades and tradesmen aforesaid, hath brought down his Rents a third penny already, and if some remedy be not found out must speedily abate more, and yet have his charge increased upon him by expenses in London and maintaining, the poor tradesmen and their families who are ruined by means as aforesaid, when as if these things were remedied, Stage-Coaches put down, and Gentlemen would live upon their Estates, and encourage the poor by wearing the Manufacturyes of the Kingdom, and keeping good houses, commodities would be consumed, Rents raised, the charge of maintaining the poor taken off, the Handicrafts Tradesmen be employed, and all poor set at work and enriched, and Foreigners growing rich by Manufacturing our Staple commodities be prevented, the King's revenue would be increased, and the safety of the King and Kingdom provided for; Watermen and horses would be bred, and the Subjects would be in a capacity not only to live handsomely, but cheerfully to contribute towards raising money to pay the debts and defray the charge of the Kingdom, and the Gentry will endear themselves with their tenants and Countrymen.