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AUTOMOBILISM-Historical. - It is difficult to deal with the whole history of automobilism-a word compounded from the Greek auto (self) and the Latin mobilis (moving)-within the limits of this section, but I have endeavoured to give a general idea of its inception, progress, difficulties, development, and principal events up to the present time.
The exact date at which the history of automobilism, using that term in the sense of self-propelled road vehicles, began cannot definitely be fixed. The invention of the locomotive by Robert Stephenson in 1829 naturally led others to imitate him on the road, and throughout the years from 1825 to 1840 road vehicles propelled by steam became common enough, and had it not been for the unfortunate interference of Parliament in 1832 and 1861, probably England would have been the first in the field as regards automobilism, and certainly by this time the development of motor-cars would be even more remarkable than it is at present.
Early History. Throughout the eighteenth century there were many inventions dealing with the means of propelling road carriages by mechanical power, especially after the principle of Watt's steam engine had become known. It appears that as far back as 1769 a patent was taken out by a man named Moore for a horseless carriage made of wood, iron, brass, or any other metal, and so much faith must the inventor have had in his scheme that it is stated that he, like many early automobilists of our own day, sold all his own and his neighbours' horses, for fear of a fall in their value. In the same year a M. Cugnot, a Frenchman, invented and placed upon the steam-driven vehicle, which, mounted on three wheels, proved too unstable for the rough French roads of that time, for they had not in those days attained the reputation they now enjoy, and the vehicle eventually overturned. It is interesting to note that even in those days the military authorities realised the immense utility of mechanical propulsion for transport purposes, and the Minister of War instructed Cugnot to construct a machine capable of drawing artillery; but, unfortunately, his efforts do not seem to have met with much success. roads a One of the most prominent names amongst the early pioneers of mechanical locomotion is that of Trevithick, who built the first passenger-carrying locomotive for the roads in 1800. Trevithick made his first run at Camborne, in Cornwall, where he had his workshop, and he carried as his first passengers some of his workmen, the total weight amounting to 30 cwt. To show how efficient for that time was his machine, he ascended a hill of a fairly steep gradient at 4 miles per hour, while he travelled on the level at speeds up to 8 and 9 miles per hour. Three years later Trevithick was running a steam coach on the London streets, 106 years before motor-'buses were running as we know them to-day, but his experiment came to an end for want of funds. A few years later a tubular steam boiler was fitted to a coach by a mechanical engineer named James, and carried 15 persons at a speed of IO to I2 miles an hour through the roads of Epping Forest.
In this instance also lack of funds retarded James's progress, but by this time public interest in mechanical locomotion was aroused, and many are the cartoons, pro- [AUTOMOBILES phetic and otherwise, which appeared about this period, 1800-1820. At the same time, too, mechanical road locomotion received an impetus through the efforts of Sir Goldsworth Gurney, whose name will always be associated with the early encouragement of steam carriages, for though he did not, perhaps, invent any startling novelty or method of propulsion, by his untiring efforts he certainly did a great deal to popularise mechanical locomotion. About 1823 Gurney constructed a small gas propelled engine, which was satisfactorily worked by ammoniacal gas. In the early stages of his experiment we find from various old prints that Gurney tried to abandon the use of RICHARD TREVITHICK.
The pioneer of the motor-car movement. wheels, and provided his first vehicle with levers or legs with which to grip the road surface when ascending inclines. The famous coach, which made the record drive up Highgate Hill towards Edgware, was constructed in 1826, and was fitted with a special boiler planned by Gurney himself to produce about 12 horse-power. From the various illustrations of this coach, it may be noticed that the gripping legs have later on been replaced by the more practical wheels. Two years later Gurney built an improved coach which ran long distances on the road. One journey is on record of IO hours' duration, when over 84 miles were covered, and 1831 saw a public service of steam coaches built on Gurney's principles running between Cheltenham and AUTOMOBILES] Gloucester, a distance of 9 miles. In view of the obstructive legislation which came later on, it is interesting to note that in 1831, before a Committee of the House of Commons, it was stated with a directness and truth which is equally appreciated today, "Obstacles are always thrown in the way of a new invention, particularly if it is likely to produce important results, by those who expect their interests will be affected by its success." In the particular case under consideration the horse-dealers and the horse-breeding interests were terrified that they would lose their livelihood if these mechanically propelled vehicles came into general use, and eventually they won the day. This same Committee which sat to investigate the opposition to steam coaches advised Parliament, nevertheless, to repeal the old Turnpike Act, and a Bill entitled the Steam Carriages Bill was passed through the House of Commons, but eventually thrown out by the Lords, who were particularly identified with the horseloving community at that time. The Commons also recommended that a grant should be made to Gurney for his past services, but the Chancellor of the Exchequer refused to pay this grant, thus proving no exception to the general rule that the State is always very unwilling to recognise merit or to reward it. As regards the taxes in vogue during Gurney's experimental running, a charge of £2 8s. was made as toll charges on the steam carriage on the Liverpool route, while a loaded horse-drawn coach paid only 4s. for a similar distance.
Another name connected with steam carriage construction is that of Walter Hancock, who at one time seemed likely to achieve considerable success. Owing to Hancock's efforts several services of public steam carriages were placed on the London roads, and vehicles carrying 22 passengers apiece ran regularly for some time. Had Hancock's business capabilities been on a par with his engineering knowledge, these vehicles would no doubt have proved a paying concern, and led to the encouragement of further mechanical traction. Hancock's public service steam carriages, and also the Gurney coaches, ran intermittently till about 1840, when they seem to have been gradually withdrawn, probably because they did not pay sufficiently well. Many interesting prints and cartoons are still in existence which illustrate these ponderouslooking steam coaches which were placed on the roads.
The dawn of the railway era, which began about 1840, transferred public interest and inventive genius to railed locomotion, and although several isolated cases of road 'locomotion are recorded, no further advance was made at the time. In 1861 Parliament discussed and passed a Bill which still further retarded any progress being made in mechanical locomotion, and four years later-1865-the so-called "Red Flag Act" was passed, requiring an attendant to precede each road engine bearing a red flag, while the speed was reduced to a maximum of four miles an hour. This deliberate and intentional attempt to prevent the monopoly of the horse being interfered with killed for the time being any further efforts to popularise self-propelled traffic. Thus, though England had been in the forefront as regards mechanical traction and inventions dealing with this subject in the earlier and middle part of the nineteenth century, it was left to the Continent, and more particularly to France, to follow her lead after our short-sighted legislation had damped down all ardour for progress in this country. In 1875 M. Amédée Bollée, an engineer connected with the engineering and iron works of the Dietrich Co. at Luneville, ran a steam carriage on the road between Paris and Le Mans, a distance of 230 kilos. Various experiments continued to be made by Continental engineers from this year onwards, and, naturally enough, slow but distinct progress was made year by year. With the rise of Gottlieb Daimler, however, really began the present automobile movement. Gottlieb Daimler was born at Schorndorf, in the province of