New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-02-02
LONDON IN DESPAIR.
,.p.yyzrn nv A FOOT OF SNOW.

~
rvpou THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF ThE rRIRUNk'I
IoNpoN. Jan. 2O.-The state of the barometer has
rompetely diverted public attention from the state
of Ireland Mr. Parneil, who but yesterday was I'll e
arbiter of a nations destiny. is toiay delosed bY
the clerk of tho weather am not sure that great
many people in England would not hear with egda-
nimty that Mr.. Iarntli had been whirled away III
the hurricane that sweeps down Whitehali' ana
buried III one of the snowdrifts that I'll falacs yard
For light and forty hours a storm has been raging
40 violent and so various that the powerful stit OIL
descriptive writer's on the more sensational papers
have exhausted their stock of atjectives. FOR the
first time within tine memory of tEis gei.eratl"h'
what the reporters call the evil gcnii OF the upper
air have been let loose all together Nlna' colh'
snow seet ice and overiiowlg river caiho Al the
same moment, and they certainly succeeded III ell
fect,pg a singular change in the conGlt.o1 of this
city, Similar phenomena have occurred throughout
Great Britain though Ireland has escaped the worst
furv of the elements Railwayr blocked up streets
BILE houses flooded. the telcgraphs and posts
impeded. the plying Of cabs. Onnhusts, tram-cars
and vehicles of every sort snspendcd--iI wOri.
the traffic and communications of great CITY all
but para yzed-that is what one hal to say of Lon
don yesterday and the day before.
Well, bat how and by WHAT BY the snow, I'M
doubtedy. for neither the cold nor the wind nor
both together would have empted the streets The
snow has done 1.-THE unprecedented mass AID depth
of snow the wind and cold merely helping to
make things more unpleasant. But if y0u ask Tue
to say how much therein been, and if tell you
the real truth you will not easily believe that such
vast effects have been produced by so slight cdu>e
The snowstorm has not been one that wond have
been thought important In Boston, or even in Now
York No account that have seen ate hpts al
~,
The Kew meteorological report, which describes
the snowfall as one of the most severe hnOwa t1
have occurred. declares it impossible to get amy
idea of the average depth of 1T as owing to the ev-
IRENE violence of the wind. the exposed places are
comparatively clear, while the drifts from fur
to five feet deep. II may presume to have ala Opt
ion where great an authority is at fault, Shond
say the fall did not exceed twelve inches c"ncu'
SION which reach from inspecting the lower leads III
the rear of my house, which are protected Oh All
slices by walls and though shall not defend NV
opinion against any more scientific measurement.
ON confident that my estimate is liberal one and
that the average depth in the streets Was 10y reason
of drifts much less than this. As SAID, you would
have laughed at a snowstorm of tins magnitude.
aud rejoiced over it, and got ont slcghs, aud PIT
drays OH runners, and everything would have gone
as merrily as bells could make It,
The secret of the distress and impotence of London
in similar circumstances is due in part to the nire
quency of the fall of i'll considerable quaiiti-
ties 1t is due, Also in part to the class ncapacy OF
the municipal bodies which. under the nsiEe IL
vestrics pretend to govern tie various pa.lS.rs al
London; TO their want of foresight and OF honesty
and of any real ability whatever for the work tnrv
are appointed 10 do. The streets. though vastly
better kept than the streets of Newlork. neN-r
really good condition not to be & impaired IN
point of cleanliness. TOR example. with the streets of
Paris 1t is true that tie quantity OF th, week
is unusual, bat il is equally true that little snow
comes every winter. aud that the Loudncr,
whether vestryman mere citizen, shows indselt
equally and painfully and ludicronSy un1n!c to
deal with that litte. The Engs;mau III such iIdt-
ters is curousy unready, and his conservatism and
awe of prece1ents take the awkward term OF re-
luctauCe to improve the methods which answered
for his father and grandfather. Ii there IS not snow
there is ice and when there is nj ich the traffic
comes almost to a standstlll aud t.;is wear AIT
year. Tie vast circulation of city # to"r IL l'"n>
of people u.s. if not absolutely and wholly stopped.
embarrassed and delayed. The REASON If tine
block is simply that they Will not Shoe
tLer horses properly; and for want o
such shoes are in use everywhere
in America the pool 1rutes 90 statsc.i"g IA!
stumbling abOnt and slipping AID id .nE, AMI
hardly getting out Of walk. Wren the Nn""
arrives the iinbecIlity is still rOe marked SncE
thing as sleigh or sedgc OF vehicle %; any sort on
runners is unknown; or Is about Il: irqlrntlY ar'n
in the streets of London gonioln ls seen ON the
Thames. suppose it wOad take a gene. ati"n 10
accistoln people TO the Of them II they existed
What tie Brton calls rnghng" hi horse he
resort, 70 with reluctance, and tire thing which, done
is done in a clumsy and incltertnll way.
d, not at all mear to underrate the gravity Of
iess of the miseries endured bv the poor, Or the
general arrangement of business. 1t would be
dill icult to exagGerats the annoyance and sun 'rng
wlch are the direct result of the weather. but II
is permissible, hope. to- point out how mncE of ali
this is due indirectly to tie sufferers Themselves
all bat the poorer classes. who. poor sonis, ia vc
enough to do to keep body and soul together IN
ordinary times. Let me describe briefly my own ex-
periencc, which has been, suppose, very much like
that OF everybody else.
A TYPICAL EXPERIENCE.
1t was on Tuesday afternoon and evening that the
storm reached its height. Tuesday morning there
was no difficulty in getting cabs. AT O'clock set
out from club, near the top of celebrated
emineDce" known to everybody except Lord
Beaconsfeld as st. Jainessst to go to the HOUSE OF
Commons. 1t was blowing hard and showing. and
1t was cold, but there was not then much snow III
the streets. Yet ST. JaneSS-St, WHICH at ihai hour u
commonly thronged with carriages and pedestrians.
looked very much as it looks by moonlight at
o'clock In the morning. A foot passenger here anu
there, cab or q carriage dimly visible az The bot
tom. and that was all. Getting into Pail Mail.
found things much the same No cab was tObe had.
Three or four passed with no fares inside, but their
drivers either took 10 notice of your hail. or an
swered that they wore gong home. walked o. to
Whitehall. and to the House. The storm had not
Kept members nor strangers away, though the num-
Der of each was less than usual. But 1t was t" DC
observed that everybody congratulated everybody
else on his coming and this in tone of surprise as