What the Associations are Doing
Page 92
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CASE LAW SYSTEM PROVIDES A CHARTER.
Mr. Henry Backhouse, junr., in an address to the Liverpool C.M.U.A. Luncheon Club, on Thursday of last week, discussed " Case law and the carrier," and contended that the decisions which had been given by the Appeal Tribunal were of such value to , the haulier as to constitute a charter for the industry.
The first most important appeal, that in the Enston case, caused an outcry which even yet had not died down. By the decisions which had already been given, it was possible for the operator at his desk to work out his likelihood of getting another vehicle.
There were three main questions he had to ask-himself :—
" Have my receipts gone up so much, that, if they were divided out between the number of vehicles I have, I could prove the need for an additional vehicle, compared with the period when the licences were originally granted?"
" Is this increase due to an increase in the volume of customers' traffic, the opening of new factories and increased demand for service?"
" Are my customers being inconvenienced by lack of transport?"
If the operator could answer each of these in the affirmative, then there was little doubt he would get an extra vehicle. Mr. Backhouse informed the meeting that he was in course of compiling a summary of the cases which had already been decided by the Appeal Tribunal. It comprised six volumes, each containing 20 to 30 cases. Each one of them pointed out a weakness in the original Act and applied a corrective for the guidance of the industry.
B.R.F. Inspires Another Good Resolution.
Following an address by a representative of the British Road. Federation, Staines Round Table has passed the following resolution:— " That this Table considers that if the railway companies' claim for freedom in rate-fixing be granted without the licensing restrictions imposed on the commercial road-transport industry being simultaneously modified very considerably, then there will be a grave danger of road-haulage operators having their services seriously curtailed in favour of railway-transport services.
" This meeting, therefore, urges H.M. Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that " (1) Traders shall continue to have a freedom of choice of the form of goods transport which is most suitable for them.
" (2) That the licences of existing road-transport operators should, on B56 application, be automatically renewed, provided that it can be shown that the applicant has been carrying on his business in accordance both with the law and the conditions of his licence."
Copies of this resolution have been sent:to the Minister of Transport, to the Member of Parliament for the Spelthorne Division of Middlesex, and to the headquarters of the National Association of Round Tables of Great Britain and Ireland.
Road Exhibitions Do Good Work.
Now displayed in an inner office of the B.R.F., in Pall Mall, is a map of the country, on which miniature flags represent the locations of the Federation's exhibitions, past, present and future. Sight of it brings home to one the excellent propaganda which this body spreads throughout England and Scotland.
A.R.P. Overloads Official's Activities.
It was mentioned, at a meeting of A.R.O.'s Devon and Cornwall Area Committee, last week, that Alderman Solomon Stephens found that his chairmanship of the Plymouth air-raid precautions committee occupied so much of his time that he would be glad to relinquish the chairmanship of the West of England C-Licence Holders' Association.
"Group Apathy "Still Too Great.
Speaking at the recent annual supper of Colchester Sub-area of A.R.O., Major Eric Long, political adviser to the Association, appealed to all members to fill in their forms for the emergency scheme. Although he was delighted to hear that plans for the scheme were working fairly satisfactorily, taking the country as a whole, there were thousands of operators who had not yet responded.
GROUPING OF PRIVATE-CUMBUSINESS VEHICLES.
The hundreds of grocers' associations, up and down the country, which are affiliated to the National Federation of Grocers' and Provision Merchants' Associations, are now busy making arrangements for the emergency grouping of their trade vehicles in the respective areas, and reports that these arrangements are now in the process of completion come from many centres.
One of the difficulties that are, apparently, being experienced, is the position of members who use private cars for their business purposes, including the delivery of goods. The subject was raised at the last monthly meeting of the Spalding (Lines) and District Association, when the opinion was expressed that vehicles of this class would be formed into separate groups. No information being available, the secretary is to make inquiries.
Chesterfield A.R.O. Appointments.
We learn that Mr. Ernest White has been re-elected chairman of the Chesterfield Sub-area of A.R.O., and Mr. B. R. Mills has been re-appointed vice-chairman of that sub-area.