News and Comment.
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This journal fosters, represents, and chronicles commercial motoring in all its branches; it has the largest and best circulation throughout the United Kingdom, the Colonies, India, and foreign countries generally. No part of our exclusive and valuable circulation is due to the forcing of sales in useless quarters.
Complete and official details of the growth of motorcabs in London will be found on pages 148 and 149.
A difficulty having arisen with regard to the contract for horse hire, the Cambridge Fire Brigade Committee is making enquiries as to the cost of a motor escape and hose tender.
Colonel R. E. B. Crompton, CB.,
M.InS , . Mech. F.., etc., Chairman of the Commercial Motor Users' Association, will contribute a special article, to our next issue, on the subject of roads. It will be entitled " Foundations or no foundations? "
Trailer Vans for Refuse Collection.
The Highways Committee of the Westminster City Council has accepted the tender of Messrs. Hazeldine Brothers, of 55, I,ant Street, S.F., for four trailers (dust-vans) at .,70 each. Three other tenders were received, as follow : Bayleys, Limited, ,4:8o per trailer; Bristol Wagon and Carriage Works Company, Limited, .74 13s. per trailer; and Smith, Parfrey and Company, Limited, Lqy per trailer.
Municipal Petrol Vans.
We give two illustrations of the Thornycroft van which has been purchased by the Westminster City Council. It works both night and day, and runs very quietly. A similar vehicle was supplied to the Barrow-in-Furness Corporation about two Years ago, and it continues to give satisfaction. The Thornvcroft Company has been one of the pioneers of petrol dusting and watering vans for municipalities.
London Cab Regulations.
It has been decided by the King's Bench, on a case stated by a Metropolitan police magistrate, that penalties can be imposed for any breach of the regulation of the Chief Commissioner of Police as to the preparedness of the first two motorcabs on any rank to leave that rank, which came into force on the 15th April, 1908 (see this journal for the 23rd April, 1908), under the powers conferred by section 4 of the
Powers Consolidation Act of 1850. It was held that section 19 of the Hackney Carriages (Metropolis) Act, of 1853, gave the power to inflict a fine.
Wages in Munich.
The British Consul in Munich reports that a strike occurred in February last of about 240 Munich cabdrivers and chauffeurs, and that, after lasting three weeks, it ended in the defeat of the men. A Munich cabdriver, who plies for hire about 15 hours per day, earns on an average a daily wage of 3s. 4d., whilst the motorcar drivers earn an average weekly wage of ,4;1. 35, Gd. About 70 MOtOrCabs and )2o ordinary four-wheelers now ply for hire in the Munich streets.
Patent Litigation.
An appeal was heard last week, before the Master of the Rolls and Lords justices Moulton and Farwell, in an infringement suit brought by Mr. Edwin Foden, of Sandbach, Cheshire, against Wallis and Steevens., Limited, of Basing-stoke, being an appeal from an order of Mr. Justice Swinfen Eady. It may be recalled that, as we reported at the time, judgment was given, in the King's Bench Division, for Mr. Foden as regarded the validity of his patent, but for the defendant company so far as it related to any infringement, whilst Mr. Foden was given a certificate of validity. This, in form,
amounted to a judgment for the ciefen. dant company, and, after hearing coun. set for the appellant only, the Lords Justices of Appeal, without calling upon counsel for the respondent, dis. missed the appeal, and affirmed the decision of the Court below.
We are informed that Mr. Jack Dar. wen, of 32, Featherstone Street, E.C. is relinquishing the English agency o: the Frayer-Miller air-cooled vehicles.
Buenos Aires offers scope for the establishment of a motorcab company, and we expect shortly to hear that orders have been placed with that object in view.
Quick Delivery in Dublin.
We are glad to see that the Dublir branch of the Junior Army and Nay) Stores, whose head office is at York House, Regent Street, W., will, from Monday next, the 2nd proximo, insti. tote a service of motor delivery. Twc t6h.p. Lacre vehicles have been sup. plied, from London, for the purpose.
Owing to the fact that the S.M.M.T. dinner will be held on the night of the iith proximo, the Institution of Auto. mobile Engineers has altered the date of its meeting, front the night of the izth to that of the Toth proximo, wher a discussion will take place on horse. power formulw. for petrol engines, s4. as to avoid any clashing.
rAccmuulat or Rating.
The rating of ignition accumulators has recently occupied the attention 01 the " Tyre and Accessory " section 01 the S.M.M.T., which body has recom. mended that all accumulators shal: have printed on their labels their actua' capacity when discharged at a definite rate continuously, this rate beirgone twentieth of the capacity claimed by tht maker. The label may also give tht approximate capacity when discharge( intermittently, and this .figure is to be determined by the doubling of the actual capacity. Where an the condi. tions imposed by the Society are mei by the maker of an accumulator, it ma) he labelled " S.M.M.T. Rating." A Comparison.
The. accompanying illustration shows one of the several Dennis delivery vans which are owned by the Barnsley British Co-operative Society, and, in the foreground, a small motorcar. The photograph from which the block was reproduced was sent to us by the Dennis Company, and we agree that it is of a novel character.
Thornycroft Orders.
During the first half of the present month, the orders received by John I. Thornyeroft and Con ipany, Limited, of Chiswick and Basingstoke, included : a 3o-cwt. box van to Edward Lloyd, Limited, proprietors of the " Daily Chronicle; " a 3o-cwt. van to Messrs. Edwin Jones and Company, of Southampton; and a 4511.p., six. cylinder, two-ton chassis to Tozer, Kemsley and Fisher, Limited, of E'enChurch Street, F..C., for shipment abroad for use in fire-brigade service.
Franco-British Awards,
The Franco-British Exhibition closes its doors to the general public on Saturday next, the 31st instant. The Machinery Hall has attracted a fair share of attention during the past five months, and amongst the recent awards which have been made, the following well-known names of component manufacturers appear :— .1 silver medal has been awarded to Eastntir, 1.1mited, of 6o, Aldermanbury, London, L.C., for its exhibit of Fastnut washers in the railway and tramway seciion at the Franco-British Exhibition. The award, given by a jury of French and British railway engineers, inost be very gratifying to this enterprising young company.
The International Jury has awarded two gold medals to Messrs. Hans Renold, Ltd., for their display of driving chains in the classes, (a) Apparatus for the Transmission of Power, and (b) Machine Appliances and Accessories.
This will not come as a surprise to those who are familiar with the correctness of design and excellency of workmansliip emboclied in Renold chains, which gained for them also the highest a-ward in their class at the Paris Salon last year.
tihrewsbury and Challiner Tyre Conmany, Limited, of Kay Street, Ardwick Green, Manchester, has been awarded a bronze medal, by the jury of the Franco-British Exhibition, for Its patent detachable rim.
Lancashire Bridges.
Amongst the bridges which the Main Roads and Bridges Committee of the T.ancashire County Council have decided to strengthen, we note with interest the inclusion of the Dover Canal Bridge, and the approaches thereto, on the main road from Wigan to Warrington, in the township of Abram. Approach gradients of 1 in zo will be iidopoid, the necessary land haying been given by the Abram Li.D,C, whilstihr. County Council -indetnni5es the Canal Company against oer
cootimeent
London Traffic.
Mr. CalT-CACIITIM, Nl.P., asked the Prime )1 ifli,t(?r, 011 L10 14th instant, whether lie Government would be able to deal with the question of London raffle iiiming the coming winter ; whether the special branch of the Board cif Trade had presented its report on this matter; and whether the tioverinneut would set apart a grant for wideniag the London streets and improving the means of communication in coanection with its proposals for the relief of unemployment.
Mr. Asquith, in reply, stated that he unders000d that the London Traffic Branch of the Board of Trade had presented :Is report to the Board, and that it would shortly he laid upon the table of the House. He could not hold out any hope of immediate legislation dealing with London traffic.
Venetian Projects.
The British consular report on the trade of Venice for 1907, just issued, states that at die time of writing a project had been formed by a Verona committee to start a motorcar service, tor passengers and goods, to connect all the principal centres in the province of Verona with one another, and with the principal rail and train lines. The committee purposes starting-, at first, tS lines, with cars to earn. f1,0111 12 to 24. persons, and wagons of the capacity of about soo kilos. All the mountain lines have for the present been exchided, as being too expensive. The total length would he 64o kilometres.
Increased Cost of Roads.
A writer in the " Contract Journal " points out that, in the course of the last five years, the annual cost of the maintenance of roads in England and Wales is increased by .4:408,805. The writer proceeds to show that this, on the basis of a population of 34,5oo,000, and after allowing one million for paupers Of relieved persons, is only 2.94d. per head per 11111111111. ii e next states that, if we reckon that only one person in ten is really directly benefited by road transport in one way or another, the extra cost is less than 2S. 6d. each per -year. These arguments are instructive, and the figures are not quite in consonance with the repeated cry of county councils and other road authoritito: that the extra cost of maintaining the roads is prohibitive.
Coventry Chain Company.
A " Coventry " noiseless chai_l is employed, in the new Daimler-Knight engine, to drive the eccentric shaft from which the sleeves are ;2ctualed. Two of the same company s chains
been in use, for over 10,000 miles of running, on a 5-ton Daimler lorry.
"Shell" Spirit.
The British Petroleum Compa.i■ . Limited, has issued a pamphlet
its " Shell " Spirit. The title-page :4, ts out the fact that " time has tested .!;:tell motor spirit," and we would add that users are much indebted to this I:..etse for the manner in which its heavy imports of Eastern spirit have steadied prices, which now are practically assured at levels which are not unreasonable. Telling points and illustrations are admirably condensed into a bar:: dozen pages : there is enough to read, but not Lou much. Our advice is --write to the offices in Rood Lam-, E.C., for a copy.
Piccolo Experts.
The Victoria Trading Company, of 47, Lamb's Conduit Street, Theobald's Road, 1V.C., is doing considerable export business with its small " aircooled " Piccolo vans. Evidence that these machines are adaptable to strenuous climatic conditions is the use of over 5o of them in Ceylon. The last of an order for six 8h.p. open-sided floats has this week been despatched to Australia, to the specification of Mr. R. 13. Lawrence, who is a large laundryman, cleaner and dyer, and who has branches ihroughout Queensland and other 01 the Australian Colonies, His vehicles have been ordered with Hat bodies and folding sides, to suit the conditions of freight, hut they will be fitted with light-covered bodies when they arrive in Melbourne. The chassis are of a later type than those which we had occasion fully to describe in our issue of the 25th June last. The principal components of these new machines have been altered in but few instances, though detail improvements have been effected to the inlet-valve fittings, the front axle, the carburetter, and the bonnet fixture. The frame is now firmly trussed, and a new intermediate bearing has been added to the propeller shaft.
"Motoralities" by Motor.
Joseph Lucas, Limited, of Birming. ham, whose business in lamps and other motor accessories grows apace, has recently taken delivery of a Ish.p. Austin delivery van, and the vehicle is doing excellent service in and around Birmingham. The central position of the driver, in the Austin commercial model, as may be seen from the illustration, allows a clear view, rearwards, on either side, and the man is also able to signal to following vehicles with equal facility, also on either side. Access to the engine is readily obtained, as the scat hinges forward until it rests upon the steering wheel, whilst the two side panels can be quickly lifted out of position.
Another Petrol Fire-tender for Edinburgh.
At its last meeting, the Edinburgh Town Council resolved to accept the tender of Humber, Limited, on the recommendation of Firemaster Pordage, for another 1511.p. four-cylinder Coventry chassis, to be equipped as a firetender, for use at the London Road station, at the price of £310. This makes the fourth repeat order. At the same time, the question of providing a fullyequipped pumping engine at the same station was considered, a discussion arising as to whether a steam or petrol vehicle should be adopted. The majority of the councillors having data before them expressed themselves in favour of the latter, declaring that " before the new engine had arrived, they would find themselves possessed of a type that was certainly not the last word,' " while others asserted that " year's experience with the steam-pro. pelted engines at present installed justi. lied the continued use of this very sati.. factory class of vehicle." Eventually, i was agreed to invite tenders for botil types.
Taxicabs in Cambridge.
In the face of considerable opposition, ten toh.p. Charron motorcab› have been introduced into Cambridge by the Provincial Motor Cab Company, Limited. Licenses to ply for hire were granted, at the meetingof the Town Council on the 21st instant. The aimpany's proposals have been a matter of public discussion for the past few weeks, and protest meetings of cabmen have been held. It is said that there are soo people in the town who are connected with the hOrse-cab industry; the number is, of course, exceptionally large owing to the presenre of the University. The town, from the motorcab point of view, is worthy of capture.
In the course of the discussion at the council meeting, the Mayor stated that the Council had no power to prevent the introduction of cabs into the town, or their hiring from a private rank or garage, and the Watch Committee thought it best not to refuse the licenses, in order that efficient control might be exercised. Mr. Isaacs, the managing director of the Provincial Motor Cab Company, assured the Mayor that the horse cabmen would have very little to fear, for it. had been his experience, in every town where the Company was working at present, that the motorcabs created a new, longdistance traffic. [The Company has promised to employ local men, as far as possible, in Cambridge.-En.]
Certain speakers at the meeting, who took up the cudgels on behalf of the ho-sr-cab drivers, declared that three years' notice should he given before mot._)rcabs were licensed, in order that local cab drivers might have an opportunity to prepare themselves to meet the new competition. A lar[2v:. number of ratepayers would be made bankrupt. Ultimately, the licenses were granted by 23 votes to 14.
The cabs are evidently being watched with excited interest, for, on the day after that on which the licenses were granted, a local paper came out with the information, as stop-press news, that one of the cabs, while avoiding a horse tram, had collided with a lamppost, but that "no great damage was done."