In connexion with the Municipal Council's decision to reduce the number of public riesha licences 10,000 it was explained last week at it had become evident that permission for an almost unlimited number of rieshas to use the streets was neither of benefit to the riesha people themselves nor to the public large number of rieshas in poor, dilapidated condition were brough' ato use, and there was diffeulty in obtaining a sufficient number of pullers, 45,000 men being required, working on eight-hour shifts, three men per day for each ricsha, the result being that a number of old men and quite young boys came to be employed. Now, of course there are two sides to every question and though the above may be considered fair explanation of the reason: for the change of policy it does mean that it has been accepted wit satisfaction by all, As a matter' of fact, a number of riesha owners consider that they have been very hardly dealt with and they assert that the Council has not behaved very honourably. It was the original idea that, if an unlimited number of rieshas were allowed to ply foe hire, the law of supply and demand eventually would afford the aute-adjustment. The—riesha owners perfectly well understood that for a time many of them would suffer, but each hoped that it would rot he his trouble, and all were prepared to take the risk, as was shown by the fact that many hundreds of new rieshas were ordered and put into service. Of a sudden came the objection to the increased fleets of rieshas, a conference and the decision to reduce the number. The result is that many men now are left with a large number of useless rieshas on their hands and it is a jon whether they are not even off than they engaged in the strug! the others. No one really wants to nee unlimited rieshax on the streets, but it does seem a Jittle unfair for the Municipal Council to change its mind 50 very suddenly, The Trams The most important part of "The Devil's Advocate's" letter in day"s issue—we refrain from saying the signature—is his admission that it would be possible, by better reulation of the service, for the Tramway Company to put more the rails and thereby considerably relieve the congestion. That is the very thing we have deen driving at all the time, but hitherto the company's only ' ides.
been to cram the cars to a uncomfortable and dangerous de. gree. When requested or ordered by. the Municipal Council to do something or other it has been the company's invariable practice to argue and quibble and, on the ground that the matter still is under bate, to postpone compliance. It for that reason we recently made determined attempt to ge set right, We have s0 eri methods of the company that finally they did more than make a showing with their very excellent foreign inspectors, who are a capable and conscientious set of men only too willing to put things right. Now the Chinese drivers and conductors, obviously acting under very definite orilers, are enforcing the police and company's rules and the condition of the trams in the past few day: hus shown that they can do it with very little trouble when they know Uhat they have got to. All this could have been done years ago and with the gradual growth of Shang-bai we should not have noticed the inconvenience <9 much as we d> when suddenly it is thrust upon us. The question as to whether mafoos taking up an extra passenger ar? prosecuted for cruelty to animals
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.