Early in 1899 the Home Secretary, Sir Matthew White Ridley, brought in a Bill for the better regulation of the street traffic of London, which proposed to confer upon the police the power to relieve the congested thoroughfares by diverting omnibuses from them. The Bill was a very unpopular one, and Metropolitan members of the House of Commons were bombarded with letters from their constituents urging them to vote against it. In June Sir J. Blundell Maple, M.P., presented to the Home Secretary a petition signed by over one hundred thousand regular riders praying that the Street Traffic Bill, then before Parliament, should be altered to preclude the possibility of omnibuses being diverted from the main thoroughfares. Many thousands of signatures were received too late to be included in the monster petition, which was presented in the form of a huge volume. This unpopular Bill was withdrawn and, on October 14, as a compliment to Sir J. Blundell Maple, who had worked hard to obtain such a result, the ’busmen displayed his racing colours on their whips and bell-cords. These favours they exhibited for three days. In July of the same year the London County Council issued an order that on and after September 1, every omnibus should carry an outside front lamp on the offside. Red, green, blue, and yellow lamps had for many years been displayed by omnibuses running to the more distant suburbs, but these had to be changed for white ones. When September 1 arrived, very few of the omnibuses were provided with the necessary lamps, the demand for which was greater than the supply. Some days’ grace was allowed, and eventually every omnibus carried an outside lamp. CHAPTER X The Motor Traction Company’s omnibus--An electric omnibus--The Central London Railway--The London County Council omnibuses--The “corridor ’bus”--The latest omnibus struggle--Present omnibus routes On October 9, 1899, the Motor Traction Company, Limited, placed an oil-motor omnibus on the roads. No horseless omnibus had been licensed in London for over sixty years, and, naturally, considerable interest was taken in the new venture. A trial run over the course, from Kennington Park to Victoria Station, _viâ_ Westminster Bridge, had been made a week earlier. On that occasion the weather was very unpropitious, but the passengers were cheerful and drank success to the trip in a glass of wine. Then, midst cheers and blowing of trumpets, the motor omnibus started on its journey. It was a successful run, and, as already stated, on October 9, the omnibus began to earn money.