26 SEPTEMBER 1908, Page 3

In this context we may note that Mr. Joynsou-Hicks, M.P.,

speaking at a dinner held at Oxford on Saturday last in con- nexion with the meeting of the Motor Union, stated that that body had no responsibility for the " Four-inch" race in the Isle of Man, adding that he personally entirely deprecated the race, and believed that it had gone far to exasperate the public, which saw no reason for it. The growth and tendency of public opinion against road-racing are further admitted in the letter addressed to Wednesday's Times by Mr. S. F. Edge, in which he states that, "as one who has been responsible for most of the racing in this country, I think it may perhaps be my duty in deference to public feeling to be the first manufacturer to publicly announce my intention of withdrawing Napier cars from all dangerous competitions." The significance of Mr. Edge's declaration, however, is con- siderably modified by the fact that the winning car in the "Four-inch," road-race, in which a speed of eighty miles an hour was at times attained, was entered in his name.