In his early days Mr. Willing was a man of many businesses. Among other things he was the owner of several toll-gates, the proprietor of many omnibuses, and an advertising contractor. One day he would be found standing at a toll-gate, collecting money from passing vehicles, and the following one he would be seen driving an omnibus. While acting as a ’bus driver he was able to keep a sharp eye on his advertising business, and was frequently annoyed to see that his bills, which were being posted as he drove Citywards, were covered by other people’s bills when he returned an hour or two later. To put a stop to that annoyance he started the protected hoardings, which are now so numerous throughout the land. At the present time there are only two French directors of the London General Omnibus Company, the number of shareholders resident in France having decreased to seven hundred. The office in Paris is still maintained. The number of English shareholders is seventeen hundred. From the day that the London General Omnibus Company became an English concern, it has enjoyed almost unbroken prosperity. During the half-year ending June 30, 1901, 101,109,572 passengers were carried by its 1373 omnibuses, which ran 15,965,602 miles. The number of horses which it possessed was 16,714. The oats, maize, beans, and peas consumed by the company’s horses in six months weighed 25,299 tons. The Company builds its own omnibuses at its works at Highbury. Its stables are dotted all over London, and some of the newly erected ones are enormous places. Those at Dollis Hill, which accommodate over six hundred horses, are at present surrounded by fields, and so far away from public-houses and other delights of London civilization, that the ’busmen, in disgust, have named it “Klondyke.” From “Klondyke” and many other omnibus stables, a large number of horses have been sent to the seat of war in South Africa. Some time ago the Government made an arrangement with various omnibus companies for the purchase of a certain number of horses in time of war. For each horse the Government pays, in time of peace, 10_s._ per annum. The average price paid for each horse claimed for active service was £60. The horses taken were well seasoned and accustomed to hard work. The sudden requisitioning of many hundreds of their best animals caused the various omnibus companies considerable inconvenience. The daily journeys of many of their omnibuses were reduced in number, and coachmen and conductors were consequently unable to earn their usual wages. [Illustration: RICHMOND CONVEYANCE COMPANY OMNIBUS.]