HIGHER FEES

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 55, 6 March 1937, Page 10

HIGHER FEES

HAWKERS AND TRADERS

A LEGAL OPINION

Attached to the order paper of the annual conference of the New Zealand Municipal Association is an opinion from Mr. J. O'Shea, City Solicitor and legal adviser to the association, upon the questions of licences issued and fees imposed by local authorities for hawkers and itinerant traders, the control of whose operations presents difficulties which so far have not been solved, though they have been^ many times discussed by the association and by individual local bodies. Mr. O'Shea points out that fishermen, or persons on their behalf, may sell or hawk fish ; or shellfish without a licence, but in his opinion the fees for other hawkers are not high enough; and he suggests that power should be given to local authorities in the larger centres to fix the fees at £5 per annum (instead of 10s for perishable goods and £1 for other articles at present) and that power should also be sought for the fixing of higher fees for the central portions of cities and boroughs. The authority given'to local bodies to licence itinerant purchasers, Mr. O'Shea remarks, is intended to stop persons of bad character going from house to house under the guise of buying bottles and house refuse. The fee is not fixed, but he thinks that most of these people would find it difficult to pay a fee of £1 a year.

"In my opinion," Mr. O'Shea continued, referring to the licensing of itinerant traders (who take premises for a week or a few months and then pass on) "the maximum fee could be increased to £50. The period after which a fee should be refunded should, I think, be extended to twelve months.

"The authority to make bylaws permitting hawkers, pedlars, and keepers of stalls in streets should be accompanied by express power to charge rent for these stands."