Hackney-Coach Question.
The Times, 1824-02-06T00:00:00

A difference ef opinionhas for-some time past existe amqvgottte msgislrgcy, .repe.cting the constrticdon'of the clausc dlotgbac'.. fare to hacuney.ceaehmen under certMai circauistanes` wbielj was the more unfnrtunate,ffom the-fadt:tbitthe-s,t had made their decision final, and without appeal. W'it$a view to settitig the.ques- tion at rest, a case was submitted by th6 Commissi6 stori 1 ma6liney. coaches to the Attorney and Solictor-d;neral,. to .whli. aiL answer has iu3t been retuned, and which, byfi !W4ffAlr. lonne, ofthe Nlew.inn, the solicitor of tl-e coamissiWners, we-are enableda to Jsa before our readera. "'he case commences by reciting the 40th of G(o-. IIL cap, 87, section 4, which enacts, " that for every baclme.conac or chariot, hired in any part of the ciics of London and lfestminster, or the suburbs thereof, the. bofough of Soutbwairk, or any place ahjoidiag thereto, where there is a regular continuati9n of carriage-way pave. ment, and discharked after the honr of five. in the evenin g, between the periods of Nillchaelmat and ltAdy d'y" and a'flet the hour of eiglht o'clock in the evening, between the 3iriods of Lady-day and l1ichaelmas, at any place w here there is not a regular continuation of carriagesay pavement, there shi.ll or rnay be demandable and dernanded,anci payable and paid, over and above the ordinary esta- blished fare, accorling to the annexed schteule. For the hire of erery such coach, over ail above the ordinary es- tablished fare, the full rate or fate allowed by this act, back to the nearest extremity of continued carriage-war paversent. Or where such hackney coach shall have been hired cr takes, at any standing for hackney coaches, beyond any such continuation of carriage-way pavements, there shall be paid over and sbove the ordinary esta- blished fare as aforesaid, the ftil rate or fare back dlther to such standing, or to the nearest extremity of continued carriageway pave- ment, at tbe option of the person disc}arging such coach. It then proceeds to cite the 55th of George III., cap. 159, which, after reciting that by the act before quotet, hackney coachmen were authorized to duemand certain fares over anl above ihe ardinary asnd establislied fares under the cases t.herein tpecified, states, that it is expedient cucl. additional fares should be repealed, and others sub- stitutetl in lieu thereof; and goes on, in section the 5th, to enact-- " That from and after the pasting of this bct, such additional fares shall be, and the same are hereby repealed; and that from hence- forth the several additional fares after mentioned shaU be payable and paid; that is to sav, in case any hackney-coach orchariotshall be hired in any part of tle cities of Londo a-nd Westminster ot the' suburbs thereof, the borough of Southwark, or any place adjoin- ing thereto, where there is a regular continuation of carriase.way- pavement, or at any standing for hackneiy.coasces or chariots be- yond any such regular continuatioii of cairiage.way-pavement, and discharged after the hour of seven in the evening, between the periods of Michaelmas and Lady-day, and after tiie heur ot nine in the evening between the periods of Liady-day and Mlichlelinas, at any place where there is not a Tegular continuation of carriage- way-pavement as aforesaid, there shaU or may be demanded over 3Dtl above the ordinary and established fare, the full rate or fare al- lowed by the said recited act to the nearest extremity of continued carriage-way-pavement; or to any starding for hackney-coaches or chariots beyond any such regular continuation of cnrriage-way ,avement, where such coach or chariot shaU have been hired, at the option of the perron discharging such coach or chariot." After giving thle above extracts, the case proceeds thus I-" On pe- rusal of the above two extracts, it will he seen that the latter ope- rated, as was intended, to the repeal of thr former. It had Deen found that the hours for commencenment of night back-fares for coacbes discharged in the country specified in the 4th section of the 48th af Geo. IfI., chap. 87,(viz. S and 8 in the eveniig,) were too early, and tlierefore, and solely for that reason it was,that the 4th sectionr was repealed by the 55tht of Geo. IIl, cap. 159, section the fifth, extending the hours to 7 and 9. In other respects, the law of the 48rh of Geo. III., cap. S7, section the fourth, was intended to be re-enacted, and continued by the 55th of Gee. IlI., chap 152. That law seems, however, to htave been more cleaTly defined and express- ed by the repealed clause than bv the re-enacting clause. It was intended tbereby, that for a coach or chariot hired en any part of the continued carriage-way pavement after the specified hotirs, there should be paid the full fare back. according to the distance, to the nearest extremity of continued carnage-way-pavement, over and above the ordinarv fare to the spot where discharged; and for every coach or chariothired at anv out- stand b-yond the continued carriave-.aypavement, and dischiarged after the specified l:ours, there shoul= be paid like back-fare, either to the nearest extremity of continued carriage-way-pavement, or to the identical stand where hired. tt the option of the person discharging the coach. This being the dedign of the framers of tie clause, doubts are niow entertaineit by the magistrates of some of the police-offices whether sueh is the effect of the clause a? drawn, some magistrates coniceiving that-the clause gives the op- tion to the person discharging the coath or chariot, in both case.s either of paying back-fare to tie niearest extremity of the continued carriage-way.pavement, or to the nearest ouL-stil1d to the spot whtre the coacli or chariot shall be disceharged. The following are the eircumstances of a case on which the cues- lion has arisen latelh, at the Hatten-garden police olfice:-A coacl was hired, on the 16th of November, at the statid in Snmithfield, (whicli is oni the stones), anti was driven to and discharged at tlte regtular standing for hackney-coaches in the City-road1, Is. litngton, (which stand is beyond the continued carriage.wav. pavement) ; and the driver demanded and receivedl one shilling for listanceout, and oneshilling for back-fare to the nearest extrntmit. of continueti carriage-way-pavement; and having been summnoned for exacting one shilling back-fare, being, as urged by the complaitiant, entitled to no back fare at all,the Magistrates' entertained doubts as to the properjctiigrnent to hr giveis in this case, and their fiDal de- cision thereosn stands adjourned for the benefit of your opinion. Y'our opinion is desire;> whlether the coachman so charged witl ex- ortlon wvas, or waS not, entitled to one shilling back-fare to the nearest extremity of continued carriage-way-pavement. To the above case the following answer has been returned " Alltlough section o of the statute 55ith o' Geo. WI., cap. .if), is nI t so distinctly framed as tie clause In the prior act of the 48th of ('sco. III., eap. 87, Whiclh lenteS to this subject, we nevertheless think that the co21imras had a right5 unAper tbeabqye circumstances, to the one shilling back fare to the nearest'exitreilty of continued caSrlage-.way-yavenent. (Signed) ",J. S. COPLEY' " CIIAS. WET1IRELL." Tthe case .vas heard before Mr. I.aing. IIACRWR.c040HQU.9Stl!oN.