THE CABMAN'S LAMENT.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13942, 30 June 1909, Page 2

THE CABMAN'S LAMENT.

TWO SIDES TO A QUESTION.

(By "Box Scat.")

It was a cold, drab tiay on the cabstand, one of those days when Nat" *e seems to say that joy should be banished and in its stead, a .solemn silence reign or, if perchance, it became necessary to say something, that something should be said in an -iindei cone. The quiet horses, witli loin" vavtrns on, munched disconsolately, the ..tray oats which they fossicked out of a plentiful supply of chaff in the no.-.ebags. They too, seemed to have ent.red into the spirit of the day, una to know also that something had happened. Truly something had happened —something which cast a. black pall over the spirits of the erstwhile cheerful cabby and all his belongings. What was it? This was the query to which "'Box Seat"' addressed himself with all the sympathy at his command. No energy was required in the pursuit; that was evident- from the lack of animation and the doleful quiet which had settled down upon the drivers at the stand, so the inquisitive" one simply adopted the "don't care- 1 -nothing matters" attitude of those he would fain help back to a brighter: view of things; and hestrolled idly past the stand hoping to pick up some little cue to the mysterious silence that enveloped the driver::.

The sum and substance of the trouble came cut in a conversation which was carried on in horsey parlance. A councillor had spoken. This was the whole b.urden of the complaint, because in speaking, he had done an irreparable wrong to the cab-drivers had in fact arraigned them on" a count which was tantamount to robbery or obtaining money by false pretences. Naturaliv such an; imputation against a class ol men who strive to earn their living honestly, was keenly resented, and how to have. justice done was the problem now to "be solved. " I deny absolutely that I have ever overcharged anyone," the first speaker said, and his companions said '* Hear, hear." '-'The truth is," he continued, "the cabmen of Timaru are as respectable a -lot of men, and as reasonable in their charges as any cabmen in any part of the Dominion, and we will defy Councillor or any other councillor to prove the contrary. They make charges against us, have done so off and on, for a long time, but tne Council never gives us a chance to state our side of the case, though they know well-enough that there are two sides to every case. 1 reckon wi tlidn't : get -as decent a hearing as we should ..-Ve done, on 'Monday night. If I had been given a little more time I cfoiild have flattened some of them out ;• all rigOit.", ("Hear, hear " said they all again). Delving still more deeply into the details of a cabman's life, the drivers coneertedly complained that the borough by-laws governing licensed vehicKs had a distinct flavour of the Ark about them, having been framed before the borough was enlarged, and never altered since. They fixed fares at 1< and 2s 6d, with no intermediary charge—which was not at all in keeping with the vaunted 'wisdom of a Borough Council. The drivers only wanted a fair thing, and the scale oi fares they now proposed would include an eightcen-penny fare, so that charges would be reduced to some of those who were now charged 2s, and increased to some who now got off with the payment of a shilling. In this, they considered, they showed more wisdom than the Borough Council, and would prove it if given the opportunity. People talked about high fares without taking into consideration the hours a cabby had to be about, the rough weather he had- to be out in, the upkeep of his vehicle, the cost of horse feed, shoeing, etc. A little calculation was made, which showed that to keep and shoe a horse cost 10s per week, and while some had only . one horse to keep, others had four. Then a picture was drawn of the cosy feeling generated when, on a cold an-J frosty morning, the cabman has to turn out arid with hands and arms in a bucket of cold water, wash his vehicle to make it presentable for the cab stand by 9 o'clock. But this was not all. -There was the initial cost of their turn-outs. A landau and team of four horses was set down at £l5O at a low valuation, and after this there was the liability to accident, and the possibility of the loss by death of one or more of the horses. Then the owner had to be out ten hours a day, and altogether, the life was not one which, anyone need envy. "Has any cabmen ever been known to make a ' pile '?' " was an interrogation which was brusquely put forth. To this there was no reply, but silence in this case was not meant to imply consent. The looks of disdain on the faces of the speakers gave the negative answer ouite plainly.

•" Look at the luggage we carry tor nothing," said one of the speakers.

•• We are only supposed to carry i?Blbs of luggage, but often we carry up to a hundred weight of it, with, perhaps, a pram in the front, thrown in. If we stuck strictly to the card this luggage would have to be carried by an express and another Is paid for it." Summed up, the drivers considered that whenever a compiaint was made as to their charges, they should be liiven an opporcunity to state their side of tlie case. \ ery often j person who complained would be founu, on enquiry, to have been driven, perhaps, only a short distance, but to have kept the cabman waiting an unconscionable time, during which he was losing other business. Hut there would be no hint of this when the complaint was made, and the public: never got to know it, as the Council did not give tin- drivers a chance to explain. •" We don't want to get into disrepute with the public. "We want to give them a fair thing, and in return, get enough ourselves to keep a little butter on the bread — and what is more, we mean to do it without having these base insinuations thrown out against us " Having thus delivered themselves, the whistle of an approaching express train sounded, the caucus broke up, and the vehicles each went their way. but the wheels still had a funereal sound, and it was plain that there is not "likely to be a complete recovery to the old and happy order of things until the trouble has been threshed out and all wrongs righted at the special meetins: of the Council to be held on next Friday night.