42 AiUomobiles or Horseless Carriages. 



the attention of the local M.P.'s to the importance of the 

 matter, and urged them to take to themselves the credit of 

 getting a Bill passed through the House of Commons legalising 

 this mode of conveyance. This was not a question merely of 

 amusement and recreation, but also one of utility and economy. 

 In fact, automobiles were required chiefly for business purposes, 

 and therefore the restriction on their use in this country placed 

 its inhabitants at a great disadvantage, and at the same time 

 entailed considerable loss. There was, however, a far more 

 serious aspect of the question, and that was the effect upon 

 British industry to which he had already referred. The design 

 and manufacture of these carriages in their own country should 

 have received every encouragement, whereas the very opposite 

 had been the case, and the result of course was that an enormous 

 industry has been built up on the Continent — a proof of which 

 Mr. Brown had given them by the excellent specimen which, 

 he understood, he had imported from France. Even when 

 they got permission from their tardy legislators to use auto- 

 mobiles it would, he feared, take a very long time to make up 

 for the ground they had lost and successfully compete with 

 their Continental friends, who had already attained great 

 perfection with their carriages, and who no doubt would have a 

 tremendous stock ready to pour into the English market. The 

 subject of the lecture was so interesting to him that he feared 

 if he began to go into details he should require Mr. Brown to 

 remain seated while he gave the lecture himself, so he had 

 better ask Mr. Brown to proceed at once, and no doubt he 

 would say a good deal both to interest and instruct them. 



Mr. Brown then proceeded with his lecture, which was 

 listened to throughout with deep interest and was frequently 

 applauded. In introducing his subject, Mr. Brown drew 

 attention to the importance of rapid, convenient, easy, and 

 cheap means of transit as having been recognised by the most 

 important peoples of all ages. The greatest modern nation, our 

 own, had produced, for instance, the steamship, the locomotive, 

 the macadamised road, and the finest breed of horses as motors 



