The Sun.
London, England, 1851-07-16 00:00:00

munity. We have known ourselves where, on a very 1
recent occasion, a party was refused to be conveyed
from Sloane-square to the foot of Westminster-bridge,
on the Surrey side, for a less fare than three shil-
lings, being one shilling more than the fare from
Chelsea Hospital to the Waterloo Station, as given,
of course correctly according, to admeasurement, in
the tables published by the South-Western :Railway.
We may be sure that the cases of overcharge which
meet the public eye constitute a very small portion
of the " highway robberies" which actually occur.
Between unwillingness, on the part of some, to lose
time in taking out a summons and appearing against
a delinquent, and timidity on that of others, who
cower before the thundercloud of charioteering
slang, ever prompt to burst in volleys on the
head of him or her who recalcitrates against
" bleeding freely," these pests of the metropolis,
nine times out of ten, get off scot free with the spoils
of their audacity, laughing the unhappy grumbler to
scorn. If the piratical lord of the whip have a smat-
tering of classic lure, he may with much self-com-
placency apply to himself the flattering unction which
the miser in Horace layeth to his soul,
"Populus me Sibiu t, at mihi plaudo,
IpsY comi, aimul ac nuracsoa cuutemplor in arch"
. _

Should any yokel take it into his head, that in a
city enjoying such a large and efficient police as the
capital undoubtedly does, he will be taken per cab
any distance required, with an adherence to the
printed tariff of fares, let him, at the end of his ride,
tender the precise amount, or bold out some larger
coin in the expectation of the accurate balance being
banded over, which, not forthcoming, he may gently
hint at a rightful settlement of accounts ; and if
NEMESIS does not descend upon him in the form of a
shower of courteous and complimentary expressions,
he must assuredly have fallen upon a phenomenon
among the fraternity.
We have seen several suggestions promulgated on
this subject, especially in the culumns of a morning
contemporary, who gave two or three powerful
hits at the system ; but the iniquity is too compact
and mighty to be overthrown by desultory attacks.
One remedy might, in our opinion, be ap-
plied with a considerable degree of advantage,
and that is an alteration of the existing fares. Who
ever dreams of offering " eightpence," or " one-and-
fourpence," or such fractional parts of " the whole
hog ?" Let the fare be simply at the rate of sixpence
a mile, throwing half miles altogether out of account.
Many a person wishing to ride a mile would wil-
lingly take a sixpennyworth where he is now unwil-
ling to spend a shilling for the purpose. The present
shilling fare would be, under this system, a shilling
still ; one-and fourpence would be superseded by a
shilling; one• and- eightpence and two shillings by one
and sixpence; two-and-fourpence and two-and-eight-
pence by two shillings, and so on. Mode-
rate fares, paid thus in what we term
round sums, would increase the number of
cab-patronizers very considerably, and we firmly be-
lieve prove in the long run a source of increased emo•
lument to the proprietors and drivers themselves. We
would not have a man compelled to overweight his
vehicle, or anything like it. The above proposition
does not go beyond the freight of a cargo of two
adults and a child on the knee. Any additional in-
dividual ought to be charged extra, say at the rate of
sixpence not exceeding two miles, and a shilling if
above that distance. Moreover, as those who love
"to fly by night," when other people are in
their quiet beds, should bethink them, that night-work
constitutes a large ingredient in the wear and
tear of man and horse, let midnight revellers,
even as many of them are prone to see double, be
taken as counting double, and a double fare be charge-
able between twelve at night and five or six o'clock
in the morning. If some such sort of regulations
as these we have thrown out were uniformly adopted,
and strictly enforced on the terminal cabstand* at
Euston-square, King's- cross, Shoreditch, London-
bridge, Waterloo-road, and Paddington, by the
several railway companies, the root of the present
crying evil of overcharge would be struck at, and a
substantial convenience and comfort rendered to the
community.