OUT FOR REFORM

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 23, 27 January 1934, Page 18

OUT FOR REFORM

•Within barely a year of. the publication of "No Boats on the River," by Mr. A. P. Herbert and Mr. J. H. O. Bunge, in which the.authors advocated the establishment of the Thames waterbus service, plans have .been completed for tho building -of suitable .boats and landing-stage sites have been surveyed. The London Passenger Transport Board first considered the ■proposals, in July, when ono of.its members made;a tour of the Thames, and a'revision of the plan set out in "No Boats oh the River" was submitted to the authorities for a decision to be made before Christmas. The.revised plan provides for a less than a penny-a-mile service by a fleet of 50 .vessels of three types with! a capacity of 94, 150, and 200 passengers respectively; resembling, underground railway carriages in. interior construction, and having a door at each end. They will be capable of a maximum 'speed of. 17 miles ah hour., The estimated cost of the. scheme -is ■& 500,000.- The third volume of Mr.yHerbert's diverting "Misleading Cases" has just been published. The author is a determined reformer.

"The Life of Philip "Wirth" is an interesting sketch of the early career of Wirths' Circus, the narrative' going back, fifty years or more. It details various tours round the world, and records some early visits, to New Zealand as long ago as 1889. The story throws much light on life behind the scenes in a big circus,