The Globe. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1874.

Globe, Volume II, Issue 124, 23 October 1874, Page 2

The Globe. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1874.

The question of the cab fares, which has so long agitated the municipal mind, seems to be as tar from a satisfactory solution as ever. The Council has now come to a distinct and positive issue—viz., that Is within the belts should bo the charge, the cabmen, on the contrary, declining to take less than Is 6d per mile and no back fare. It is therefore likely that for some time longer the present state of muddle will continue, and that, instead of having cabs running under proper supei vision, we shall be left to the tender mercies of the cabmen for some months, because though the actual making of the bye-law does not take a

great deal of time, the legal proceedings which are bound to follow will be both tedious and expensive If we are again going to carry on an expensive suit, carried from court to court, with no eartlily end in view but to swell the costs, we consider it quite lime that the ratepayers protested against such a waste of money. We have done it before; costs toalarge amount have been paid, and what has been the result P why that despite the legal acumen of (he gentlemen of the long robe the position ol the City Council is, if anything worse than when they began, and we will give onr reason for saying so. When the Council made the byelaw" against which the cabmen effectually protested, and thus divested themselves of all advantage to be derived by holding licenses under the City Council, two courses were open to the latter body; one to have at once closed the public stands and refused permission to any cabs to stand there; or to have granted the concession asked by the cabmen, viz, Is Gd per mile. There was no middle course open to them. As it is what have they done? The cabmen refuse to be licensed under the Council, but still occupy the public stands so that really they suffer nothing from not being licensed; on the contrary, they are positive gainers, because they have no license fee to pay. It may be said that it would bn a hardship to compel them by this means to come into the views of the Council; hub surely, if they do uot pay anything to the Council they cannot expect to receive the advantages conferred on licensees b\ r the use ot the stands, and therefore the closing of them, except to licensed cabmen, is only a matter of right. In saying this it must be clearly understood that we are advocating no harsh measures ; hut there can be no question that, it the Council takes up tho position of enforcing the bye-law, they are bound to make it effective, and not what, in legal phraseology, is called a mere b>'utum fulmen. The whole affair has been a muddle from beginning to end, and. the only result that has accrued has been the expenditure of a large sum of money in legal expenses with not the slightest result.

The Rev Mr Edwards’ statement in the Synod has drawn forth a most emphatic denial on the part of the headmaster of the West Christchurch school, and the present aspect of the question fully bears out the necessity of our demand on the part of the public for a full, searching, and public enquiry. From enquiries made of the committee, we find that the subject has never been brought officially before them; that no complaint in writing, as should have been, was made by Mr Edwards, and therefore the committee were unable to ajudicate upon it. Mr Edwards states that the matter was before the committee, and we believe it was mentioned, in course of conversation, but surely sucflt a grave departure from the inOrdinance if it occurred, such a manifest violation of a fundamental principle laid down by the Board of Education, was of sufficient importance to justify the whole facts being laid before the proper authorities in writing, so that the matter might lie fairly investigated. Though perhaps not brought before the board officially, we hope that at its weekly meeting, the Board of Education, as the chief cxecu tive body under the Ordinance, will take some notice of the matter and see that an inquiry by the committee is made.