The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-29 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

Tffr. Der ---Morning 0 min. after 8 I Evening 29 min.aft.
To-31 mime—Wonting 3 min. after 9 Evening 36 min:aft. 9

THE WE.A.THErt.--Sun Orrtcz, JULY 20.
THERMOMETER, IN THE &JADE.
72hest since noon yesterday.
58—lowest this morning. and during the night.
70--this day at noon.

BAROMETER, 30.
WIND, S.W. to W.—Light, pleasant breeze, and fine
weather.

, 44.
-
.L) • 4444,

-~,
;;~_.

LONDON, FRIDAY, JULY 29, 185/

Anything so disgraceful as the Cab Strike must
not be tolerated by the Legislature. It cannot
be allowed to pass by with impunity. Under any
circumstances, the public may rest confident of
this that Ministers will guard against any possible
repetition of these proceedings. It has already
been announced, indeed, by the Hon. and Learned
Gentleman the Under-Secretary for the Home
Department, that either some additional clause
will forthwith be interpolated in the old bill, or
some entirely new measure will be brought at once
before Parliament. Whichever course be pursued
by him at the present cuier;ency, we mv feel
perfectly satisfied as to the consequence. Mr.
FITZR.O - is altogether too sagacious a ro:oruoer
to overlook the advantages derivable from
the passing opportunity. He will act nei-
ther harshly air timorously. He will neither
yield to this most flagrant attempt at
intimidation, nor permit his judgment to be
warped by the influence of acts so peculiarly pro-
vocative of indignation. Whatever may have
been inadvertently calculated to injure the cab
fraternity in the reformatory enaotment recently
brought into operation will, as a matter of course,
be modified in obedience to the dictates of fair-
play—so soon as the necessity for any such modi-
fication he clearly demonstrated. Beyond which,
however, care will be taken that the inhabitants
of London shall not speedily be subjected to the
repetition of this intolerable display of self-in-
juring spitefulness on the part of those old offend-
ers the Cab Proprietors. Directly, it might be
difficult to subject these men to anything at all ap-
proximating to what would alone be regarded as
adequate punishment. Nevertheless, while
they are unquestionably, to a considerable extent,
beyond the reach of the law, in reference to
the Past—they are, happily, in reference to the
Future, within easy grasp of the violated, or, at
any rate evaded, authority of the Legislature.
Judging from their recent proceedings, it would
actually appear as though the Cab-proprietors had
entirely overlooked this circumstance. They be-
tray an abeolately pitiable ignorance of the weak-
nese of their position, in their extravagant attempt
to struggle against the power po,sessecl by an Act
of Parliament. They forget, apparently, that the
system of licensing may be altered at any moment,
at the pleasure of the national representatives.
That system, in fact, will indubitably, on the
Pressure of the existing grievance, be so adapted
to the emergency as effectually to preclude the
Cabmen and their employers from the chance of
conspiring again with impunity to wreak their
little vulgar spleen upon the community by sud-
denly withdrawing themselves and their vehicles
from the public thoroughfares. It will be thus
perceived, speedily enough, how important in
every respect has been this endeavour of the
Cab-drivers and the Cab-proprietors to gratify the
petty rancour excited amongst them by that
enactment which tardily, but effectually, put an
end the other day to their
most intolerable nui-
gance—a nuisance emanating
from a twofold sys-
tem 04 habitual insolence and organised extortion.
A hope was yesterday expressed by one of our
contemporaries that the. present withdrawal of
London, the cabs from the streets of ,
might
lead to the fattening up of the unfortunate hacks
desirable
itiv
during their holidays, and to the highly
renovation and purification of the ri?
taet
ell
st
vehicles themselves. For our part, we
ac-
knowledge that our hopes in the matter point in
quite an opposite
direction. We trust that, ac-
cordingly as the old licenses expire,- the authori-
ties entrusted with the responsibility of granting
new ones will avail themselves of the opportunity
of weeding out the less respectable members
of the offending fraternity. Meanwhile, the
House of Commons might readily provide., secu-
rity for the good conduct of those by whom these
more flagrant culprits would be speedily replaced.
Licenses could be granted only on the condition
that their acceptance entailed upon the recipient
cent fin easily definable duties. Foremost among
all requisites in the applicant should be that
of a good, sober, and respectable character. It
should be rendered necessary, moreover, both on
the part of the Cab-driver and the Cab-proprie-
tor, that no vehicle during the period for which
it had been licensed as a public conveyance, should
be altogether withdrawn from the streets under
a certain reasonable notice, without causing the
eWees to become liable to the pleasant alterna-
-413.-e*egAin or imprisonment. Protected by such
novel ensl rational regulations as these, the
publie wasild have sem* That less of the ism_
knees. of 'Cab-drivers, and of the petulance of
cab pvLY, being g'tardesl against their corn,
.P 4
Pt.

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