, 1874-08-02
Boulder and stons blocks. IT. miles

Tptal receipts. ..s6, o. 242. g
E1FENDrIUREa.
Water fnnd. ..
Sewerage ta1 fund. l.................. 731 G09.o .;
Appropriation fund. 1,s2s aao !:
RTer Improvement fund. 316 81
City BEideWell fund. tA'aSo.8'
Total expendtues ues,.......,...... 81, ,es3 ol3 ot
LONDON AND PARIS CABS.
History of the Metropolitan Cab sys-
tc1a-
From tie Lo,ldon Echo.
There are cabs and cabs There is the gay and
dashiDg Hanson, with horse Of good family,
thriving especially upon the ,ieunosse dorce,
with driver, marvel Of skill and audacity,
really, with equal address, to do battle for his
fare or to plunge into the maze Of London traffic,
and to steer careful Way through densely-
crowded streets. Tho pace OF the London
cab of this sort generally appears absolutely
terrific to q Partisan, whose iacre, though,
as We Hhall Bec, It has merits Of lts own, usually
travels ut something less than the speed Of Il
London four wheeler. We arc not, however.
about to speak OF the best cAbs Of London, but
rathor OF the average vehicle, and on this ground
it must be- admitted that, in point Of comfort,
though not OF safety, the London cab il &c
knowiedgcd to stand just above tlo whcclbar-
row. The cab-horse bus been adopted by all art
lists, whether conic or serious, as the symbol Of
all that is miserable in horse1esh. Tho cabman
il lopg- suffering mortal, WHO zercnses his suf-
fcrings, whenever lie can, upon the public, charg-
ing over some OF them and overcharging others,
but, nevertheless, ore of ''onr own flesh and
blood, and man, We hardly ventu.e to Say
more, but we may say ns much Tor nearly, sinned
against as SHINING. OF the laws which have at
various times been passed with reference to
cabs, the cahman has dlsobeyed or Graded most,
until he has got them altered. Tho only law
which ha has at all consistently obcyoa il tho
shall eyer obtain or that it would be
reasonable for us to expect to obtain. better
class OF cabmon, though their hcen-
sing regulations are susceptible of in
proyement. The cabman is not, By any means,
as black the fare-who often, By the way,
are the almost necessary product of tile life OF
exposure, hardship, aud uncertainty which he
leads. But it may he that the cab will improve,
and in order that it should do so, we are vi
opinion that what is chiefly necessary il that tho
cab-busineas SHOULD be taken up By capitalists
upon a somewhat larger scale. IN fact, that sou1o
association should arise to do for our cabs
what the General Omnibus Company has done
for our omnibuses. The chief reason Why tho
ordinary cab is vehicle 80 mfortless, go ugly,
and usually, 10 dirty IL that it. II that there is
wanting In the oab-businesa that energy, system.
hnd eatetpr1se which capital a1one can give.
Take the following description OF the Gacro OF
Paris, which Ve quote from the current lumber
Of a monthly magazine, aud WHICH every ono
qualified to pronounce an opinion will L: o;,ce
acknowledge to be true: 1.-The dEc-1 Ut Ito
Parisiau public is always clean, both "ltl.it aud
without the panels are polished. tho l:ass is
bright, the sides are softly padded, and tha
seats have springs; the glasses arc bllning.
the movement ia easy. and there IL about hait as
much room again in it as III one OF ours lnteuded
to accommodate the same number" Now, what
is the main cause Of the difference between the
London cab aud the Paris Gacre, 80 greatly to
the advantage OF the latter? That cause Is, we
affirm, to bo found mainly in the fact that Paris
'cabbcd "-lf We may ooin d wo1d-on large
scale. and London upon q small scale. Tho Lou
dou cab usually belongs to All individual OF some,
but not very extensive, means, who let's several
out to drivers, or drives his cab himself. We
believe the terms usually are tina: the driver OF
four-wheeler shall BRING BACK los . day, and the
caro- beyond this be keeps II his earnings for
the day fall short OF this, he has next morning
to make up the required sum before he takes
ont his cab. 1t ia lis interest to make as much
out Of the cab and horse or horses during tue
dar rs possible. Provided he brings back tho
one on four legs and the other on two or four
wheels, as the case may be, and his eos
or LIS, he is held to hare performed
tho whole duty Of cabman. Tho condi~
ton OF things is, therefore. this: The cub was
il be falls, can mostly get up agaiG. But there
is not, aud there cannot be, that careful man
agement of horse and vehicle which il practicel
for example, by the General Omnibus Company
With Ms, or By the Compasnlo Generate. to
whom 1900 of the 1872 fac-es Of Paris belong,
This Association turns out yearly from its work
shops from 400 to 900 cabs, or facrcs. as the
French suy, anu owns, or did i'll September, 1873,
8, 600 horses Of an average value Of 932 each. Be-
fore one of these lacres IS allowed to go out in the
RI ut },0cf trim helt
amined every screw, looked to the springs. the
axies, the locks, aud the hinges OF the doors.
Meanwhile, q veterinary surgeon has looked to
the horse. whose shoes have likewise been ex-
amined b. blacksmith, and whose harness has
also passed through careful review. AL this
is over and doue Before tho driver makes his ap-
pea1ance iu the morning. At 63o O'Clock, when
ha arrives, le finds q thoroughly -oyerhau1ed
horse put to ti1oroughy-oferhauled vehicle,
and he has nothing to do but to taxa the relus
bill: upon which he is bound to enter all the de-
tails OF his day's work. He ia paid 3 shlt1inss
q day as wages aud, Of course, he keeps the
pour 6oires Franch for drivers money!
which may have beon given to him. The horse
which he drives is chosen wlth considerable care,
will hnVe to 70 through with much patience:
Looked after with great care, well stabbed and
well fed, the animal Is found to last in sufficient
strength and viaor for from three to fire
Years. AlteI tiEt ut iS EOlu ECpeTAlJ lQ
ono Of tho smaller proprietors Of tiacres.
In fact, when horse leaves the service OF tho
Paris Company, he is, We should say, in about
the condition ct health and vieor III which lie
would begin his career between the Eh:fts of the
London four-wheeled cab. The Compagnie
Generate OF Paris happens at the present tl.no to
be exceptionally well horaed, owing to its old
horses hnsing been Ill eaten OF killed in battle
during tue war, aud its having consequently
been compelled to purchase complete new stud.
But at ordinary times, we take it that the stables
OF the Compagnio Generale are about on
tho same footing Of efficiency with those
Of the London General Omnibus Company. In
the state Of London cabs. NO have
only incidentally mentioned tho Hanson cab.
The Hanson cab is, In certain respects, i'm
menBely better than four-w1eeler. Il is drawn
By horse that can generally go, and it is
neither go noisy nor 90 dirty as the four-vhee1er
But then it must bo remembered that the
Hanson cab is. after all, very inferior
vehicle considering the cost OF hiring 1t.
Both sorts Of cabs would. unquestionably be
greatly improved By the bringing of more capi-
tai, which Is only another, way Of saying more
system and more intelligence, into the cab-busi-
ness, and when London shall have-if that time
should ever cotne-a General Cab Company, we
shall, but not ne fear before, possess better
cabs, not merely as an exception, but rather as
. general rule.