The Globe. MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1874.

Globe, Volume II, Issue 120, 19 October 1874, Page 2

The Globe. MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1874.

Fkom what took place at the special meeting of the City Council on Saturday evening last, the long suffering citizens of Christchurcb have apparently a chance of seeing the end of the chronic dispute between the City Council and the cabmen. At last this august body has condescended to do what might have been done long ago, and which would have saved legal expenses and tlio thorough state of muddle into which the Couneil led the ratepayers over this question. The cabmen —whether right or wrong in their action as to fares, we do not now say—offered to meet the Council amicably, and arrange the provisions of a bye-law agreeable to both parties; but the Council, in one of its high and mighty moodß, pooh poohed the idea, and the result was that they went to law, spent a quantity of money, and — got ignominiously defeated. For now some eight or ten months the cabmen have been masters of the field; they have charged what they liked, done as they pleased, and the Council has not been able to exercise one tittle of control over them. This is what has resulted from the Council preferring to fight rather than meet the cabmen, as they have had to do at last, and argue the matter fairly out. There are cabs now running in Christchurch

which are a disgrace to any place, foul and filthy to a degree, ricketty, arid all but broken down, and drawn by miserable specimens of animals, which, by <>nly a stretch of courtesy can be called horses a bag of bones would be nearer the mark—and yet people have to trust their lives, and those perhaps of their families, in such wretched concerns as these, because the Council is powerless to act; utterly unable to prevent such a state of things. While saying this, however, we must do the Jehus the justice to say that there are cabs in Chr'istchurch which for general appointments and cattle are equal, if not superior, to any in the colonies. All this might have been remedied had the conference, asked for time after time, been granted, and the cabmen themselves would, only be too willing to have come under laws that they considered fair and equitable. The Council would then have had the power of inspection, and the disgraceful vehicles which now exist would have been weeded out, or, at any rate, the owners would have been compelled to improve their vehicles so as to be fit for persons to ride in. Now let us see what the cabmen desire, so far as they stated their wants on Saturday night. In the first place it must be noted that they expressed a desire, to meet the Council as far as possible on the question of fares, which after all is the real battle-ground, and it is to be regretted that the Council did not earlier agree to this conference being held. The suggestion as to special arrangements will at once commend itself as being fair and equitable. On any particular occasion the cabmen should be allowed to make a bargain with the hirer as to the price, as it would be impossible to lay down any hard and fast rule on this subject. With regard to the question of 'busses plying through the city, it does not seem fair that they should be allowed a roving commission to go where they of route ; this would be manifestly unjust to others, but still they should have the privilege of taking up and setting down passengers en route, provided they do not deviate from their line. Respecting the fare question, we incline to the belief that the proposition made, viz, Is Gd per mile for the first mile, and Is per mile afterwards, in a fair and equitable one, more particularly when we consider that no back fare is charged. This, we think, is a charge that no one will grumble at, being one which is fair alike to hirer and driver. Some arrangements, however, will have to be made for fixing the distances, or otherwise this will be a continual bone of contention. The other points are mere matters of detail; the fare question being really the one upon which the whole decision rests. We congratulate the ratepayers on the possibility of this troublesome and expensive question being settled, and the only matter for regret is that so much time and money has been wasted which, by a little judicious unbending of Municipal dignity might have been saved.