On the Road with Professor Wilson

I AM grateful to Prof. Wilson for opportunity to clarify certain points in my article which, on evidence of his comments, are source of some confusion. Apart from pointing to one or two proof-reading errors, for which I happily apologize to readers of Review, his criticisms fall into six categories: my sketch of historiography of subject; my emphasis on traffic rather than road surfaces; interpretation of figures in my tables; reality of published carrying schedules; selection of some literary evidences against others; and, finally, my apparent confusion over stage-coaches. I propose to deal with these points in same order. The historiographical issues are probably most interesting, since they involve conflict between established views and proposed revisions. I may have been unduly severe on some of the most widely read cited by Prof. Wilson: all were more circumspect on subject than he was himself. G. N. Clark commented on great growth of road traffic in later seventeenth century, though without citing any authorities.' J. U. Nef, too, acknowledged importance of road carriage: by end of seventeenth century the population of at least fifth of all territory of Great Britain was in position to receive coal by land carriage at lower-generally at very much lower-price than that paid for water-borne coal at London. But this comment does not reflect overall balance of Nef's assessment of transport, which quite properly stressed importance of water carriage in coal trade. Fay's comments on subject related principally to second half of eighteenth century, but, where they can be identified with our period, tended to accept existence of road carriage, while stressing its inefficiency.3 In so far as Prof. Wilson's authorities support his views, they do so only in showing that his use of them was somewhat incautious. Of several shades of meaning attached by dictionary to word myth, purest definition, a purely fictitious narrative, is undoubtedly harsh on such views and was not intended.4 I employed word figuratively to characterize historical interpretations which had been based on partial use of narrow range of materials and which had gained currency as beliefs about this historical phenomenon. Used in this sense, word adequately suggests teaching of many historians who, while not denying existence of road traffic, do nowhere acknowledge that road carriage was often faster, cheaper (in real terms), and safer than water carriage, and was frequently preferred to it. 1 G. N. Clark, The Later Stuarts, i660-I714 (2nd edn. Oxford, 1955), pp. 51-2. 2J. U. Nef, The Rise of British Coal Industry (I932), I, 104. 3 C. R. Fay, Great Britain from Adam Smith to Present Day: An Economic and Social Survey (I 928), pp. I 74-6. 4 The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (3rd edn. Oxford, repr. I 966), p. 1306

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