MAILS AND GOODS

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 December 1934, Page 5

MAILS AND GOODS

TRANSPORT LICENSE JUDGMENT [PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.] CHRISTCHURCH, December 21. An important principle, concerned with the issuing of goods’ licenses for country districts, as affecting mail carrying contracts let by the Post and Telegraph Department, has been decided by a reserved judgment announced to-day by the No. 8 Transport Licensing Authority. 'The effect of the judgment is that the Licensing Authority maintains its right to over-rule the Postal Department by refusing to license mail contractors. The judgment states: "In considering these cases, a principle that we I feel should be adopted is that, if the mail contract far outweighs any other part of the carrying business, then, prime facie, if a new’ operator is the lotver tenderer, he should be entitled to a license, and the unsuccessful tenderer should give way to him. the rest of the business in that case clearly following the mail contract. If. on the other hand, the mail subsidy is a. small thing compared with the rest of the licensee’s business, then we think it would be wrong, in face of Section 26, to bring in a new man, but that, in such a case, if the licensee cannot, agree with Postal authorities, as to the amount of subsidy to be paid, it might be referred to the Licensing Authority to fix. Consideration would be given in this case to the other elements such as, for example, how much of the outside business is due wholly or in part to the licensee’s own exertions, and how much necessarily follows his having i the Post Office contract. Some consideration must be given also to the length of time the applicant has held the contract as having a bearing on this aspect of the case. The longer he has held it, the greater the consideration to which he is entitled. I Other considerations apply too, but in • our view', these are the basic, ones.” 1