WITHOUT A LICENSE.

Grey River Argus, 21 June 1927, Page 8

WITHOUT A LICENSE.

MOTORISTS’ BREACH OF BY-LAW. LIGHT PENALTIES IMPOSED. The usual quota of persons were charged at the Magistrate’s Court yesterday, with failing to produce their motor car licenses when called upon, yesterday’s list including several prominent citizens. The following were charged that on April 18, at Kumara, they failed to produce their driving licenses:—T. E. Y. Seddon, R. F. Smith, F. L. Turley, George Roberts, Silas Martin, Clive Kettle, Phil Janies, D. Houston, John Hartshorn, John W. Greenhill, J. Griffen and J. Banks.

Mr Hannan, who appeared for the 'majority of the defendants, said that the police had acted under the instructions of the Traffic Inspector, and asked the defendants to produce their licenses. Tie understood that at Christchurch, where traffic was much greater /than in Greymouth, 48 hours’ grace was allowed for the production of licenses, but no time was allowed here. In regard to Turley’s case, Mr Hannan explained that defendant owned two cars at the time, and his license was in one car, but he was driving the other. The offences were almost the first of their kind on the Coast. Mr G. A. Revell said that in the case J of James, for whom he appeared, his ' client had been placed in a similar I position to Mr Turley. I Senior Sergeant McCarthy said that ' it was subsequently found that the defendants had already taken out licenses, but they could not produce them nt the time.

The Magistrate said it was quite a different thing, to a man having failed to take out a license; and in the present cases, it might be merely due to inadvertence or carelessness. He thought that, under the circumstances, a warning would be sufficient. No penalty was imposed. The Senior Sergeant suggested that a ruling was desirable, as to what was a reasonable time for the production

of a license—the Act was rather vague lin this respect. Perhaps if 24 hours’ grace were given, it would meet the ease. The Magistrate contended that this would tend to make drivers careless, and thought the law was better left as it. is. Tf they had not been the first cases of their kind, he would have ordered the defendants to pay costs Walter Dunn, John Kaye, James O’Brien, William Parsonage and J. P. Patterson, all of whom were found to he without licenses, when requested to produce same, at Knmar.’i on April 18th, were each convicted and ordered , to pay 10s costs. Patterson was the only defendant to appear, and explained to the Magistrate that his license had run out, and he had had trouble in getting into touch with the Traffic. Inspector about the matter.