Petition to HM the King by George Vella on Behalf of Cabmen
09-08-1904 (Malta)
3 Pages, manuscript on paper, 20,4 × 33 cm
National Archives of Malta
NAM/CSG02/879/1904
The Malta tramway was inaugurated on 23 February1905, with Mgr Pietro Pace, the bishop of Malta, blessing all sixteen new trams as three of them made the inaugural trip to Valletta. Newspapers reported that an enthusiastic population were keen to ride on the new trams, and the profits of the first two days (£50) were donated to charity. The new trams were in direct competition with the cabs, boats and railway.
However, six months later, on 9 August, George Vella submitted a petition to the King denouncing the “dreadful calamity” that had fallen on the 1,800 cabmen, “the majority of whom have from 5 to 10 children, besides their wives, to keep.”
The petition was eventually submitted to the King and on 7 September and the local authorities were informed that “the King has not been pleased to give any directions.”
Twenty five years later, the tramway had to face the cab’s fate. Unable to compete with buses and the car, the Malta Tramway shut down on 15 December 1929. Several of its employees petitioned the Prime Minister, asking for jobs, compensation and free instruction in car driving, similar to that offered to cabmen who had suffered from bus competition.