PUBLIC WEIGHBRIDGE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5161, 24 August 1878, Page 3

PUBLIC WEIGHBRIDGE.

Sic, — Allow me to draw the attention of the authorities to the want of a public weighbridge at the Spit. The town is supplied in thiß respect by the weighbridges at both tollgates, where the bulk of the country produce can be weighed ; but at the Spit, where the principal coal yards are, there is only a private weighbridge, the property of one of the coal merchants, Mr Vautier, who kindly undertakes to weigh coal and other bulky goods, subject to charges similar to those made at the weighbridges at the toll-gates. That he thereby finds his account, I have no doubt, and this little business must have paid him pretty well, without reckoning the weighing of the coals from his own yard. The public, on the other hand, do not look so complacently upon the matter. We want means of checking the weight of ceals, no matter from which yard they may come. The price charged here is so high that a hundredweight more or less is a matter of consideration to most of us. I have no doubt that Mr Vautier has attended to the weighbridge conscientiously, but errors will happen ; and I am astonished that, for his own sake, in his place in the Municipal Council he has not moved long before now in this matter. To every honest trader such a check must be welcome. I am aware that some 10 years ago the Provincial Government had some difficulty in getting a suitable man to take charge of the weighbridge, and the Spit policeman had to act as weighbridge-keeper, but this is all changed now. I can point out several trustworthy old men who would very gladly take charge of the weighbridge for the fees, and the public could then feel satisfied that they get Full Weight.