Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-20
SULTRY IN LONDON
Legislators Anxious to Get
Away From the City.
HAS BEEN A HARD SESSION
Balfour's Speech on Transvaal Called
a Mistake.
THE CAB AND OMNIBUS TRAFFIC
Chamberlain's Precarious Health
May Never Take Part in Politics
Again-Lord Curzon Broken.
THE CAB AND OMNIBUS TRAFFIC
Special Correspondence Of The Star.

With an unusually sultry August OPP
pressing the Inhabitants OF London 1t Is
not surprising that the legislators at West
minister hail with delight the adjournment
of the house this week until October. They
are eager to follow the example Of society
folk. who have already gone to seek fresh
breezes by sea or moor. In the Joy OF this
approaching holiday one of the most active
members Of the house of commons ex-
Claimed to me day or two ago on the ter
race in the language of the schoolboy.
"Hurrah! We break up here on Friday"
1t has been hard session. and Sir Henry
Campbell-Ban by a deft mixture Of
force and Scotch jokes has managed to get
over score of bills through the commons.
en- route for the lords. Some are small
non-contentious measures. but few. such
as the education bill, are provocative of
debate wherever politics enter conversation.
To the non-politicai man these unendipg
bubbles about the teaching Of this dogma
or that seem so unnecessarily irritating
that he Ia more and more inclined to Join
with the labor men for once and advocate
secular education out and out. The lords
will doubtless pass the education bill
through their mill with much destructive
effect. but it remains to be seen how far
they will go. Will they try a fall with the
commons in face of the heavy popular sup
port given to the lower chamber? If so
autumn in England will be Lively and
Christmas will not be time of good Will
to all men," Mr.. Winston Churchill. who
Is the young hopefui of the liberal party.
declares that the government will get their
proposals through even If -the house has to
sit over. the Christmas holidays. but that
is accepted as an exaggeration due to
youthful exuberance.
Mr.. Churchill is, however, overcoming
the enmity his phenomenal progress Great
ed. His ability Is undoubted and his style
improves. His Introduction Of the Trans
wall constitution was the best effort he
has yet made The new constitution has
been received with a much greater degree
Of approval than might have been antici-
pated. Some Of the unionist organs are
critical and doubtful. but very few Of them
treat the matter in the violent spirit dis
played by Mr.. Balfour. One or two. of
them, indeed, go so far as to say that the
plan of the government Is the best that
could be expected in the circumstances.
Both Mr.. Lyttelton and Mr.. 'Balfour ad-
mitted nthe house while opposing the
proposals that the Introduction Of re-
sponsible government could only be delay
ed for few months or few years. and
the longer 1t was put of the more sus-
picious and hostile the Beers would be-
come.
In the new scheme the imperial govern
ment have done so fairly by the Beers that
they will undoubtedly give It a fair, trial.
Those: who are best acquainted with the
Transvaal believe that there Is nothing
w
than their presence and cooperation in the
same legislative assembly No one pretends
that the government Is not running ssonne
risk, but their plan Is; on the whole, the
the difficulty. II the government had -ac-
cepted the Lyttelton constitution they
would themselves have been compelled to
take up the question Of Chinese labor. with
the result that their followers in this coun-
try would have compelled them not merely
To OF Ia nF ynto
the Transvaal, but have insisted ON the
repatriation of the whole of the Chinese
now on the Rand at the end OF their con-
tracts.
The best evidence Of the success with
which the government has handled the
South African problem Is the state Of opin-
ion on the London stock exchange It
would be untrue to say that the new con-
stitution has been received in Throgmor-
ton street with delight or entire satsfac-
ton. The stock brokers are almost to
man imperalists. but they have recognized
for some time that a change In the gov
eminent Of the Transvaal is inevitable. The
proposals Of the government are much bet
ter than they anticipated, and, in conse-
quence. there has been no material fall In
the price of South American stocks. The
likelihood is that when the full effect OF the
new constitution IL recognized both here
and in South Africa 1t will place South
African finance in a sounder position than
1t has been for some years.
TX
I hear that Mr.. Balfour's speech on the
Transvaal constitution is regarded as a
mistake by many Of his supporters. They
think 1t was blunder to put himself into
such direct antagonism to che new settle
ment, and that his speech Is really an en-
couragement to the Beers to try and make
the scheme unavoidable. The government
proposals have been well received in South
Africa. Even Lord Selborne, the high
commissioner. himself a conservative ap-
proves of them. l understand that private
messages have been received from
which state that the consti-
tuition Is more satisfactory than was antic-
ipated, and there seems to be no doubt
that both parties will unite in carrying 1t
out. believe that the promises which the
ing men In the Transvaal with regard to
the working Of the new constitution were
more definite than Is generally supposed
and the men of the nominated second cham
Der will be of unusual all-round ability.
X
Cabs and omnibuses play such an import
ant part in the everyday life of London that
most Americans who visit the metropolis
will take more than a passing interest In
the recommendations just made by a select
committee affecting them. Some of the
recommendations are likely to find little
favor with the cabmen. For instance, the
committee advise the adoption of the tax
ameter system, and suggest scale of fares
starting from a minimum Of sxpence for
half a mile. with one penny for every SUBJ
sequent sixth of a mile. This is an altera-
ton that has long been advocated in tho
interests alike of public and cabmen. but
the latter have persistently opposed 1t, de-
spite increasing competition from tube rail-
ways and motor buses. Many reforners
would desire to see the "four-mile radius
abolished and one scale Of fare made ap-
plicable to the whole Of the metropolis.
Probably. in the interests of cabmen, the
committee are not prepared to go to such
lengths. but they advise certain modifica-
tons in order to do away with some Of tho
glazing anomalies under which the unsus-
pecting fare" may suffer through topo-
graphical ignorance. Most Americans in
London have had some such imposition
forced upon them.
A clause which will commend itself to
people living in purely residential neighbor-
hoods. the quietude of which is threatened
by the motor bus. Is that which recon-
mends that all heavy traffic, including mo-
tor omnibuses. shall be confined to the
main thoroughfares running across London.
Drastic provisions are also suggested for
abating the nuisance arising from the VI
bration. noise. smell. dust and speed of
motor buses. The proposed limit Of speed