The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-04 00:00:00

BTANCO.NrS CARS.

In the section of Economic Science, at the meet•
ing of the British Association in Dublin, Mr. O.
Bianconi read the following communication on
Bianconi's Cars :

Referring to the synopsis of my establishment,
submitted in a cmcise form to your association at
its session in Cork, in 1843, I now take the liberty
of stibmit:ing some further paxtieulars, embracing
its origin, with its present condition, and the ex-
tent of its operations. My est abli-htnent ortinated
immediately after the pe tee of 1815, having then
had the a,dvan•age of a supply of,first-cla4s hors( s,
intended for the army, and raing in price from ttn
to twenty pounds eacn, one of which drew a car and
j six persons with ease 7 miles an hour. Th- demand
for such horsrs having ceased, the breeding of them
naturally diminished, and after some time, I found
it necessary to put two inferior horses to do the
work of one. Findiit I thus had extra horse
power, I increased the size of the car, which held
six passengers—!hree on each side—to one capable
of carrying eight, and in proportion as the breed of
horses improved I continued to increase the size
of the cars for summer work, and to, add to the
number of horses in winter for the conveyance of
the sam3 number of passengers, until I converted
the two-wheeled two-horse corn into four-
wheeled cars, drawn by two, three, or four
horses, according to the tr.,ffic on the reseective
roads and the wants of the public. This freedom
of communication has greatly added to the eleva-
tion of the lower classes ; for, in proportion as they
found -.hat travelling by car, with a saving of time,
was cheaper ?kin walking with a loss of it, they be-
gan to appreciate the value of speedy et mrnunica-
t ion, and hence have been, to an almost incalculable
extent, travellers by my cars, wheremixing with the
better orders of Aociety,•their own moral elevation
has been of a decided charm er. As the estatlish-
ment extended I was surpr sad and deligh•ed at its
commercial and moral importance. I found, as soon
as I had opened communication with the interior,
the consumption of manufactured goods has greatly
increased. The competition of parties availing
themselves of the facilities of travelling was so
g eat, that insiead of buying at second hand, after
many profits, they were enabled to obtain the sup-
plies nearer the manufacturer—in the more remote
parts of Ireland. For instance, on my opening the
communication from Tralee b Cahireivoen in the
south, Galway to Clifden in the west, and Balliea
Bohnullet, in the northwest purchasers were
obligel to give Bd. or • 9cl. a yard for calico for
shirts subsequently sold for 3d; and 4d , thus en-
abling that portion of the population who could
previously bully afford only one shirt each, to
have two for a less price than was paid for one,
and in the same ratio other commodities came into
general use at reduced prices. Tue formation of my
first car, conveying passengers back to back, on
the principle of the outside car—now so much
used in Dublin—was admirably adapted to
its purposes, and it frequently happened that, whilst
on one side were sitting some of the higher classes,
persons as opposite in pOsition were seated,on the
other. Not only was this unacoropariied with any
inconvenience, but its effects were salutary, as many
who hail no status were, by coming into casual
communication with the educated classes, inspired
with the importance of, and respect for, social posi-
tion. The growth of railways neessarily affected
my establishweut, and diminished its opera:jolts,
by withdrawing from it 10 two-wheelel cars, tra-
velling daily 450 miles ; 22 four-wheeled ears, tra-
velling daily 1,620 miles; 5 coaches, travelling daily
376 miles—making a total failing off of 37 vehicle',
travelling daily 2,452 miles. Notwithstanding this
falling off, the consequent result of the extension of
railway., I still have over 900 horses, working 35
two-wheeled cars, travelling daily 1,75:2 miles; 22
four-wheeled cars, travelling daily 1,500 miles ; 10
coaches, travelling daily 992 miles—making 67 con-
veyances travelling daily 4,244 miles, and extending
over portions of 22 counties, viz., Cork, Clare Car-
low, Civan, Donegal, Fermanagh, Galway, Clare,
Kilkenny, Kerry, Limerick, Longford, Roscommon,
Leitrim, Mayo, Queen's County, Sligo, Tipperary,
Tyrone, Waterford, Wexford, and Westmeath.
Anxious to aid as well as I could the resources of
the country, many of which lay so long unproduc-
tive, I u,ed this establishment, as far as possible;
to effect so desirable au object. For instance, I,
enabled fishermen on the western coast to avail

themselves of a rapid transit fur their fresh fish,
which, being a very perishable article, would be
comparatively profitless unless its conveyance to
Dublin and of er suitalie markets could be insured
within a given time, so that those engaged at the
fisheries at Clifleu, Westport, and other places,
sending their produce by my conveyances in one
day could rely on its reaching its destination on the
following morning, additional horses and special
conveyances being provided and put on in the .pro-
per seasons. The amount realised by this valuable
traffic is almost incredible, and has largely contri-
buted to the comfort and indeper dance now so hap-
pily contrasting with the lamentable condition the
west of Ireland presented a few years since. I shall
conclude by two observations, which, I think,- illus-
trate the increasing prosperity of the c iuntry and
the progress of the people. First, although the
population has so considerably decreased by emi-
gration and other causes, the proportion of travel-
lers by my conveyance is greater—thus demonstrat-
ing that t':e r er)ple appreciate not only the money-
value of time, but also the advantages of an estab-
lishment designed and worked t r their particular
use and development, now 42 years in operation.
Secondly, the peaceable and high moral
,bearing
of the Irish people, which can only be known and
duly appreciated by those who live amongst them,
and who have, as I have had, long and constant in-
terceurse with them. I have therrfore been equally
surprised wad pained to observe in portions of the
respectable press, both in England and Ireland, re-
pealed attacks on the morality of our population,
charging them with a proneness to violate the law and
with a disregard of private property ; but as one fact
is worth a thousand assertions, I offer, in contradic-
tion of these statements this indisputable fact :—My
conveyances, many of them c it rying vety important
mai's, have I:),en travelliue during all hours of tee
day as d night, often in lonely and unfrequented
places, and during the long period of forty
two years that my estabishmeut is now in exist-
ence, the slightest injury has never been done by
the people to my property, or that entrusted t.i my
care; and this fact gives me greater pleasure than
any pride I might feel in reflecting upon the o:her
rewards of my life's labour.
Mr. NEWMARCH observed that since the intro-
duction of railways, the dt.mand for cars t) convey
persons short distances had been greatly increased,
and as a ,consequeace the nurnler of persons em-
ployed as drivers and ostlers was much greater
than before, as was also the extent of land brought
under cultivation for the purpose of meeting an in-
creased demand for oats.
Mr. W. PARR asked Mr. Bianconi whether, ac-
cording to 1).;s experience, the working of a horse
more than ten miles a d .y for each day in the week
would be injurious to it ?

•Mr. BIANCONI said he found by experience that
he could work a horse eight miles a day, for six
days in the week, much better than six miles a day
for seven days in the week ; so that by not work-
ing on Sundays he effected a saving of 7 per cent.