THE "TIMES" ON THE SNOWSTORM.

North Otago Times, Volume VI, Issue 110, 29 March 1866, Page 3

THE " TIMES " ON THE SNOWSTORM.

When all this misery is to a certain extent inevitable, it. is too much that it should bo aggravated by the wilful indolence and stupidity of those who might mitisrato it. Yet this wanton aggravation of our misfortunes is what we experienced last week. We have snid that London went to sleep in October and awoke in January. It might have been said that we went to sleep in the 19th century and awoke in the 16th. We havo often read of tho intolerable state of the streets of London in old times, and, according to our fashion, have been wont to congratulate ourselves on the immeuse advantages we enjoy in that respect over our ancestors. For tho last three days of tho past week, however, such a boast would at least have been inopportune. The streets of London, its best paved and widest thoroughfares, were worse than impassable. Even to our modern vehicles they were as impassable as a country road in Queen Elizabeth's time to an old English coach. The omnibusses crawled painfully along with the assistance of additional horses ; some of those which came from tho West along Oxford-street discharged their luckless passen. ers at the Regent-circus, and refused to struggle any further towards tho City. Four-wheeled cabs found it necessary to attach a second horso to their shafts, and little boys rejoiced in riding postilion on the leader. Even Hansoms were transformed into tandems. For foot passengers matters were even worse than for the vehicles. The pavements, as usual, were ill swept, and where the frost had not completely thawed were dangerously slippery; but when an unfortunate passenger had to cross a thoroughfare the miseries of the day reached their clhnax. The snow had generally been suffered to accumulate at the crossing just as thickly as elsewhere, for the weather for some hours was too much even for the crossing-sweepers, and there was not so much as tho help of their ineffectual brooms to diminish the deep slough of wliat had ceased to be thoroughfares. In short, scarcely an attempt was made, either public or private, to mitigate the infliction of the elements. London was converted into rows of houses separated, not united, by half-congealed streams of muddy snow, and transit, by whatever means, was rendered as nearly as might bo impracticable. Those who ordinarily use carriages were driven to their feet, and found themselves almost unable to walk. Those who tried to escape from walking were either unable to obtain any vehicle, or, if they did, discovered that it was useless. Like the old Briton, between tho barbarians and the sen, we were pushed from the pavement to the streets and from "tho streets to the pavement, and found no rest, nor locomotion, nor comfort anywhere.