The Globe. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1878.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1423, 6 September 1878, Page 2

The Globe. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1878.

Thk cabnien of our good City of Christchurch have long cherished a whole string of grievances; and, whether right or wrong, there is no doubt but that they have found considerable comfort in the nursing process. The City Council has been accused by the fraternity of dealing somewhat harshly with their merits and privileges, and we believe that, were a council of our friends of the whip and screws to bo asked to give an opinion as to the fairness of the bye-laws affecting their trade, those praiseworthy efforts of the Municipal Fathers would be condemned as too vigorous, by something like a majority. And it must be said that there has been not unfrequently, pressure brought to bear so that " the wind might be tempered to the shorn lambs." Goodnatured and forgiving ratepayers, anxious to soe that every possible rope be furnished to the licensed Jehus wherewith to be dragged into wider paths of rectitude, have even remonstrated with the civic authoriea for the red-tapeistic folds with which the " rolling element" was lassoed at every step. But what will bo said by the cabmen and their friends when they hear how—tramways or no tramways—they do these things in Now Zealand's capital city P The lately amended byelaw, promulgated a few days ago by tho Wellington City Council, and, referring to hackney-carriages, are replete with circumlocutory provisions which only emulate in practical stringency those licensed rules of the road which are found in some of tho largest cities in Europe. And so the Wellington confreres of our local cabbies soem to have found to their cost and disgust. Having considered the position of affairs, they framed a memorial to tho Municipality, containing a prayer that some of those clauses, which they thought were distasteful and obnoxious to their trade, be amended or expunged. In it wo find a petition that a certain clause bo altered so " so as to allow a driver sitting on the box-seat to smoke." Another part of the bye-laws enjoined that every cabman should wear a distinguishing badge, duly numbered and stamped. From this socalled indignity tho memorialists also prayed to bo saved, on the ground that " in a small town like Wellington there was no difficulty in identifying a driver when required, and that they had a strong objection to be marked out from the rest of the public in so conspicuous a manner." Then came what they termed "the check-string" grievance. They begged—m other words —for tho abolition of those ruthless implements of torture, Avhich in then estimation, no doubt, mado them look ridiculous. re . minding ono that thore is more than one kind of boast which is controlled with "ribbons." Finally, objections were raised to its being mado compulsory for any cabman to take a fare who might offer at any time, and for any distance, as sometimes, owing to the nature of tho road, or tho distauco proposed to bo gone, " the horses might not bo ablo to perform the journey." It seoms that at tho mooting in question, there was considerable division of opinion as to tlio " antismoking" clause. Somo of those present urged that it was not " good form" for a driver to smoke on Ids box, while others argued contra that "when you wore engaged with au open carriage, it only showed your ignorance to sit there with a thundering big pipe in your mouth; but when driving a ' shut-up ' cab, a man ought to bo allowed to smoke." This rcmaik, wo are told by a local organ, met with approval, "and finally another speaker administered a 'clincher' by observing that thore wore some drivers who night fiiiditbcuoficiid to their health

to smoke." Finally, and after a somewhat stormy discussion, it "was agreed to lot the City Council have its own way on tho "anti-smoking" clause; but protests wore entered against tho action of tho " Fathers ' in every other particular which wo have stated. Talk of grievances after that, and of civic patience! Wo might indeed have headed our remarks with the words, " A pica for tho Christchurch cabmen," but it is not our desire to assist in spoiling them—that operation, some looseminded people will have it, has long ago been performed; and, if wo may go back to past attompts at demolishing bye-laws stupidly worded by the Council's officials, tho rod perhaps has boon a good deal too much spared.