HIGH WATER AT NELSON. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1905. MOTOR CAR TRAFFIC.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XL, Issue 34, 10 February 1905, Page 2

HIGH WATER AT NELSON. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1905. MOTOR CAR TRAFFIC.

THE PROPOSED COUNTY BY-LAWS. THE Waimea County Council has just adopted provisionally various by-laws regulating motor car traffic on the country roads of the district. The by-laws have been forwarded to the Colonial Secretary for consideration, and yesterday the local motorists held a meeting with the object jpf putting forward their views; Some of the proposed by-laws were accepted without .question, but o t her a;*, relating- to the limit of, speed, aipw-. ing _ of horns, whistles, etc., w6re regarded as reasonably subject to 4 considerable modification. So far as the public are concerned, that is to say, the non-motoring public, the new carriage encounters a measure of hostility, because the present generation of horse is not accUstonuKl to it. In the course of a few years the training of young horses will profonibiy include familiarity with the motor car and the lat'tor's sounds, just as in the case of 'the locomotive and railway train. But it cannot be denied that, for the present at least, perhaps more in sparsely populated districts than in the larger centres, the horse does not like the car at all. Yet it is' a Question whether locnl bodies would be doing wisely to place hindrances in the way of a new meafrs of. locomotion. • » • • • I» regulating the speed of motor cars on country roads the Waimea County Council has placed the limit at 15 miles an hour, with a a special limit of ten miles an hour on the Rocks Road and the Wakapuaka road from Nelson to Rai Saddle. In the first place, writing as laymen and subject to expert correction of course, we are inclined to think that till the Act of Parliament relating to motor cars is amended the definition of limits of speed by local body regulatio»s or by-laws is ultra viros. Whether by accident or design, Piarlistment has not chosen to define a speed limit, and has con--te-ntod itself' with requiring " a reasonable speed," such reasonableness * to be judged presumably by witnesses. Assuming that Parliament k«c\v what it was doing and what it meant to do, it does not seoni feasible that local or other bodies can supply what they may regard as a deficiency in the Act, bwt which tte framers of the Act might not have considered as such. This is an issue which the Crown Law Officers may deal with er not. Probably the power conferred by other measures enabling local bodies to regulate the speed of traffic is not taken away by tho Act. But, assuming that the term " reasonable speed " does not debar the Council from defining a maximum of speed, it is a question whether a limitation to 15 miles an hour as a hard-and-fast rule is either fair or expedient. Under existing conditions, whereby "reasonable speed" has to be maintained, there is more chance of conviction o» proof that the speed of a car was unreasonable under conditions then and there ruling, say on the occasion, of an accident, than if a motorist insisted on his right to the 15-mile limit under conditions when he should probably be travelling absolutely slowly. For instance, at present, say on Show Day, when the road to Richmond is crowded with vehicles and horses, if a motorist dared to travel at 15 miles an hour he would be exceeding the "reasonable speed" required by the Act, an4 he would bo liable to punishment. Under a defined speed limit 6f 15 miles, however, he might seed Tiis car past scores pi traps and frighten dozens of horses., and yet be beyond reach of punishment', having probably travelled o«iy 14* miles an hour all the wav. • • « « But if it be necessary to fix a speed limit at all, then 15 miles an hour is too slow for cars on a lonely stretch of road, and too fast when the road is encumbered by horse traffic. The question fs beset by difficulties, and it is impossible to define where harm or good may be done by laying down very hard-and-fast rules. The local bodies in a district such as Nelson, where the settlement of men of means and! leisure is encouraged, must not drive away wealth by means of their regulations. The motor car has been accepted in localities much more crowded than Nelson, both in the town and in the country, and there is no reasos *hy, with the exercise of a proper spirit of "give and take," horse traffic should not accommodate itself in due time to horseless traffic. For their own sake motorists are not disposed to incur hostility and opposition by aggressiveness. At the same time, trie public must be safeguarded against the careless and the thoughtless and the reckless, ever) if such individuals be extremely few • m m ■ It is hoped that when the motorists of the city and district meet the Waimea County Council. the spirit of "give and take" will govern the discussion, and that •thereby regulations just to all may 'ultimately be framed. The motor car has come to stay. In a few years every horse not an incorrigible shier will be as used to the car as it has become used to the bicycle and the railway train. The problem to be solved by both the local bodies and motorists is. how to bridge over the 'gulf between the immediate present. and the near future without doing injustice lo the former.

Mi Prank Jones, agent for Fitzgerald Bros. Circus, Menagerie and Japanese Wrestling Combine is now in town ar>» ranging for the forthcoming season. Mr H. Tinker, a horse, dentist frcm Sjdney, _wh<f studied under Professor Miller, of the American Institute, is at present on a professional visit to Nelson; Horses suffer as raiieh as human beinga from toothache and' cental malformation, and hence Mr Tinker's services should bs useful to many in the district. All communicatioflft,should be addressed to Mr F. N. Jones' Tattersall's Stablea To-mprnow morning-, nt 10.30, at the' Exchange saleyards, Messrs Bisley Bros, and Co. sell merchandise, cart and harness, etc. ; Wednesday " next, at 1 sharp, at the Ferry yards, Motueka Valley, 800 ! fat and store sheep. 25 cattle ; Friday 24th, annual ram and ewe lair at the Richmond stockyards. Ihe pubh> and friends of temperance are reminded oApa Lpya., Nelson Lodge anni■vemarj£4o r be l^lAUti3 evening, at 8 o'clook, at the Forester? 1 Hqifl.. " On Wednesday". 22nd Febraai/, at the White Bart yaids, Messrs T. J. Lynch i Co. will sell, under Jll.e auspices of the Nelson ! Sheepfarmwß' Association, LSCO fat and ' store sheep, particulars of which will appear in a fntnie issue. Further entries will be received by Mr H. D. Pa ton, Hope, Mr P. Uittgine, Gelgrce- and the auctioneer-). I Mr Arthur, stationmaster at the Port, i ro3umod hia duf.es to-day after being on I holiday lvo.ro. Mr McEachen, who has baea relieving Mr Arthur, will proceed to WakefieM, taking Mr Wilson's place wbilo the latter is a-way, also on holiday leave. A. Press Association telegram from Wellington received to-day says : — The "Gazette notifies that red stags and fallow doer bucks may be taken or killed in the Nelson district from 18th February to 17fch April. Dr. Ntfaa Foil, ton of Mr C. Y. Fell, who has.beoo spending a holiday in Nol;on, left by the Penguin this morning on hia return to England, where he will take up a position at tho Fever Ilispital at Edinburgh. Mr C. Y. Fell waa a passes ger by the same boat, and will acconipsny his eon aa far as Sydaoy. whero the latter will catch the Btoamor Ortona. Tho scow Bnmblor arrived from Auckland List evening, and remained at the outer anchorage until this morning. She was 15 daya oa the jouruoy, and had good woatlior uutii reaching tho Straits The Bftmblor brings a full cargo, uoatlj timbor, which it is underjtood will he used in the construction of works al Totiga Bay. Ihe barometrical reading for Nelson as recorded at tho Poet Office for 9 a.m. to-day was 30.25}. The highest reading was at Chrribtchurh, 30.50 ; the lowest reading at-Greymouth 29.26. Telegraphic communication in North Auckland is interrupted, and no reading came through from many of Iho Auckland stations. Mr A. Daly, so long and favourably known in Nelson as a first-class tailor, begs to notify the public that he may be found at his private residence, corner ©f Halifax and Colling-wood-streets.* Mr Greenwood, Dentist. New Surgery opposite M. M, Webster, Traialgai'-street. Motueka, Jan. 30 i and 31st. ■ Collingwood, February, 6th, 7th, and Bth. , In Christmas Presents C. A. Ripper offers the best value in Nelson. All goods uiarkc din plain figures, llardy-stroet. -