No hackney carriage shall ply for hire within the limits of this Act unless under the charge of a driver having a licence from the said Secretary of State, . . . F1. If any hackney . . . F1 carriage plies for hire in contravention of this section, the person driving the same, and also the owner of such carriage, unless he proves . . . F1, that the driver . . . F1, acted without his privity or consent, shall respectively be liable to a penalty not exceeding F2£2.

A licence to the driver . . . F1 of a hackney . . . F1 carriage may be granted . . . F3, on such conditions, be in such form, be subject to revocation or suspension in such events, and generally be dealt with in such manner as the said Secretary of State may by order prescribe, subject to this provision, that any such licence shall, if not revoked or suspended, be in force for F4three years, and there shall be paid in respect thereof to the Receiver of the Metropolitan Police, to be carried to the account of the Metropolitan Police Fund, F5such sum as the person granting the licence may, with the approval of the Secretary of State, determine, and different sums may be so determined with respect to different descriptions of licence. F6. . .