In the last instalment of these notes some of the more barbarous methods of the driver with "bed boods" were indicated—the methods of a man who is devoid of mechanical sympathy and, therefore, without a particle of feeling for the machinery he controls. It is the same the world over, and the really bad Jones among our local motor-boys are probably no worse than their peers io other countries. In a town like Shanghai where so many of the care are weed for basines parprses, carrying their ly bad mechanical manipulation of some of the native drivers is undoly apparent. It is far from being my intention to tar them all with the same brush, how-jover, and it is only fair to say that the really bad ones are in the minority, Daring the last two years a very marked improvement in the driving standard tas taken place, and it is not going too! far to say that there are several motor-boys now driving in town who deserve to be called first-class. The general improvement is partly due to pi of course, bat still more in my opinion to the ever-increasing simplicity of control in the cars they are required to handle. Four cylinder cars, and very modera once, moreover, are no longer the exception in Shanghai; and as I have previously pointed out, modern multi-cylinder machine will help to conceal multitude of deficiencies on the part of ite pilot, Bat take away one of your average good four cylinder men and pat him to drive two or a single and I think you would find him wanting, You may occasion-jolly take liberties with s four which an experienced driver of a two or son would hardly dream of taking—or if be did, he would never try the same periment a second time, Hence the value of learning on a one or two cylinder car: when you eventaslly reach the stage of driving something more advanced, you will realize the limitations of the internal combustion engine, as exemplified by your own early experience, and you will instinctively trest your bigger engine accordingly. But in these days I should say that the UN majority of the motor-boys in Shanghai 000 have never driven anything less easy to handle than a four-cylinder car, with the result, as we have seen, that they seem to fancy that because their particular motor will do certain work at the extreme minimum limit of its powers, therefore it is only fair snd right to demand such work from it on every possible occasion. In this respect the of certain owners towards their paid motor-boys is somewhat astonishing. They appear to think that the iseve of a driving certificate by the police authorities is a guarantee that the issuee is all that be should be. This, however, is far from being the case, as possibly some owners have already discovered. Actually the examination is no more than a driving test through traffic of some fifteen minutes duration, and is conducted entirely from the standpoint of public safety. It is in no sense " test of enginemanship and is, therefore, no guarantee that the candidate can drive the car from the owner's point of view, It is more than likely, indeed, looking at their qualifications in the light of their employers' interests, that a considerable number of the motor-boys to whom driving certificates are issued are quite untilted to drive their ears without farther careful instruction, Taken all round, however, they fill a public want and fill i ly well. Their worst features are their arrogance and their self-satisfied ignorance of many essential details pertaining to their trade, A lad still in his teens who rises to the status of motor-boy, fromthe ranke of the coolie mafoos, at once sets himself on " social plane above that of his former companions. He dresses and acts the part to perfection; he acquires 8 lounging gait, " lackadaisical manner and a taste for pin-head cigarettes; and be spores your offer of any wage less than eighteen dollars s month. Speaking generally, again, be soon becomes dirty and lazy aod takes little interest in his work. Koowiog nothing, he deems it beneath his dignity to acquire knowledge, and when threatened with dismissal he accepts your utterances with equanimity. Eventually you part company and he goes elsewhere. After trying on the ea ing with othe employers with similar results, be finds himself out of work and unable to get any. This has a distinctly chastening effect upon him, for he had hitherto regarded his as indispensable to somebody. Finding by one or two sach experiences that they are not #0, he perceives the error of his former ways boy 1 fair satisfaction to his and finally grows into a decoat enough
master. If he steals his master's petrol, it is only to be expected; if he does so second time, it is entirely his master's Tthas come tobe generally recognized in England that for the medium or small car owner, who is not wholly dependent on his paid driver, the best class of man to engage is not a skilled mechanic bnt an ex-coachman who has been carefully trained in driving ud in the rudiments of mechanics at a YE
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.