MOTORIST FINED

Evening Star, Issue 23325, 22 July 1939, Page 26

MOTORIST FINED

DRIVING WITHOUT LICENSE CITY TRAFFIC INSPECTOR'S POWERS In the Police Court yesterday afternoon the hearing of the charges against Thomas Landreth of being an unlicensed motor driver and of refusing to give informatoin to an inspector was concluded. With him Angus Alfred MacKay was charged with refusing to give informatoin to an inspector and with assisting in the commission of an offence. Mr J. C. Robertson appeared for the City Corporation, and the defendants were represented respectively by Mr W. .1. Meade and Mr J. G. Warrington .

Further evidence on behalf of Landreth was given by Thomas Irvine and William Cad/.ow.

The magistrate (Mr H. W. Bundle) said that after hearing the evidence, particularly that of Cadzow, who lived in the neighbourhood, there was considerable doubt in his mind whether the defendant’s car could have been within the city boundary. The charge of refusing to give information would therefore be dismissed on the technical ground that it had not been proved that the offence occurred within the confines of the city.

With legard to the other charge against Landreth, Mr Bobertson mentioned that the defendant had been convicted of being drunk while in charge of a motor car in October last, when his license was cancelled. That cancellation was still in operation. Remarking that a man who drove a car while his license was suspended deserved no consideration, the Magistrate imposed a fine of £lO, £o to ho paid within seven days and the balance within a month.

The hearing of the charges against Mac Kay was adjourned until Thursday next.

rectify tills some day, ’ If the Opposition got into power again the hanks would again dictate their policy.

Sir A. Hansom: Did the banks dictate the policy which reduced interest? Mr Munro agreed that the interjector was a member of the Government which lowered interest rates during the depression, but he asked if they would have stuck to their guns to-day had they retained power. Sir Alfred: Yes.

Mr Massey (National, Franklin): Did they make you increase the interest rate?

Mr Munro admitted that there had been some difficulty, but lie declined to state the interest rate payable on the export credits arranged by the Minister of Finance. “ You will get that in due time,” he remarked, adding that the interest rate went up because the banks kept their clients’ money in hiding. Possibly the Opposition did not remember that the Governor of the Reserve Bank put up the discount rate from 2 to 4 per cent, in order to farm out Treasury Bills to the banks, which it had done. “ I hope the Government will never allow that to occur again,” declared Mr Munro, who could not understand why any intelligent business man or farmer would allow these financial institutions to dictate the rate of interest they must pay for their own securities. “ I want,” lie added, “to see the Government not only controlling the Reserve Bank, but owning and operating a trading bank. Only then will the farmers be able to get tho financial accommodation which is duo to them.” .

He would like to go into the raiding of the sterling funds by those who got their money out of the country, but he would not have time. The Government now realised that it was a bit overtrusting. It thought organisations which made money in the Dominion would invest it here, but it would not make the same mistake again. It had to put a fence around the Dominion. It was deplorable that the Government should have to take this precaution to prevent the draining away of capital overseas.

Mr Massey (Franklin), commented that Mr Munro’s remark proved the accuracy of the Opposition suggestion that New Zealanders were now prisoners in their own country.