Sir John Macdonald's Paper.
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There is rin closer observer of contemporary events than Sir Joint Macdonald, K.U.B., Lord Justice-Clerk of Scotland, anti President of the Scottish Automobile Club. As befitted the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the 1,000mile trial, his paper before the Royal Automobile Club, last week, was devoted, to the extent of considerably more than half, to the progress on the private-car side of the movement: for that reason, we have not to deal with the whole of it. Sir John's particular references to the heavy side of the movement, with which ‘se are primarily concerned, have been extracted and abridged in this issue (pages 157 and 158). and we have been unable to resist the temptation, in joint conspiracy with Mr. Rene Bull, the well-known artist and war correspondent, to portray Sir John decrying against one of the evils of faulty road construction. We hope he will forgive the exaggeration, but tine evils which follow upon the use of large pieces (if metal, instead of the proper sizing and consolidation of modern road engineers, must be our excuse. It is well known to readers of this journal that Sir John has for several years past made it his practice frequently to take traffic censuses on the Thames Embankment, and in other parts of London. Ha presented synopses of his records to the meeting, both in statistical and diagrammatic forms. In 1909, on figures concerning 10,071 vehicles, of all kinds, spread over three distinct. sets; of observations, there was only a difference of 15 units in favour of motor vehicles, compared with horses, counting vehicles of all types and sizes. By 1910, at corresponding points, in a total of 8,374 vehicles, there was a clear majority for the motor of 3,176. Sir John also quoted data to show how taxicabs were ousting hansoms, but we have already published such figures in detail. He expressed his surprise that horse.vans were still enormously predomi nt : on the 23rd March, 1910, for example, he stated, he counted 170 horse-vans, and only eight motorvans, in a particular London thoroughfare. The explanation, of course, is that the attack upon the problem of the onehorse van, so far as concerns its replacement by the motorvan, has only come to be regarded as a commercial proposition within the past six months, for many trades and purposes. Owners of horse-vans, too, cannot suddenly discard them, or write them off in their books, as too many of them have not been depreciated in past years. The change, as Sir John will be the first to admit, must be, gradual, but we are sure that it has now been initiated on sound lines. Recent departures, by leading railway companies, large carriers, stores and the managements of other undertakings whose transport departments are considerable, have shown that there is a general feeling of confidence in the ability of the van for loads between 10 and 15 cwt., to work, even on mileages which may not exceed 1.00 per week, at least as cheaply as the one-horse van, and to prove greatly superior for all greater mileages.
One other point remains for mention. Sir John quoted a coroner who had stated that: " Cod made horses for the service of mankind, and man made motors for the destruction of mankind." Seeing that horses maintain and renew Themselves by natural processes, and that c-ommercial motors require adjustment, and renewal at the bands a engineers and mechanics, we strongly controvert the view in question, and unhesitatingly assert that motors were clearly made for the " maintenance " of mankind.