THE SUNDAY TRAMS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12400, 13 October 1903, Page 3

THE SUNDAY TRAMS.

THE SUBURBAN" SERVICES. '

At the meeting of the Grey Lynn Borough Council last evening, Mr. Hansen, managing director of the Tramways Company, forwarded a copy of the proposed Sunday timetable on the Grey Lynn-Archhill line.

.The Mayor (Mr. J. W. Shackelford) said the time-table was practically a twenty-five minutes service.

Mr. T. Cotter, the borough solicitor, forwarded an opinion, which was generally to the effect that the Council had no power to •prevent the running of the trams on Sunday. •

The Mayor said he was sorry that the Grey Lynn people did not have any say in regard to the Sunday trams. He thought that the Tramways # Company might have submitted their time-table before the late poll in the city, but he did not. think the Council had any power to object to the running of Sunday trams within the borough. The right of the people of Grey Lynn to vote in the matter had been signed away in the deed of delegation, arid he presumed that the cars would henceforth run on Sundays with: in the boroughs. He was glad, however, to notice that Mr. Hansen was keeping his promise not to run during church hours. He moved that the time-table lie on the table.

Mr. W. S. Smith moved that the timetable be adopted, it being, he considered, a reasonable one for a Sunday service. He had voted for the Sunday trams, but he was also sorry that the Grey Lynn people had had no voice in the matter. The cars did not*"run during church hours. . Mr. S. Thomas : What about Sundayschool .'! Will they not be disturbed by the trams 'I '

Mr. Smith: The Salvation Army and other organisations ma)' also disturb the Sun-day-schools. Mr. W. A. Donald seconded. He said he was opposed to Sunday trams, but the pell had been in favour of the Sunday service, and therefore the cars must run.

Mr. J. R. Lundon said the Council should be cautious before adopting any time-table, as they did not yet know what the public requirements were. He said that on Sunday night last people on coming out of church had no chance of getting into the Parnell cars as they were filled to overflowing before the churches were out. A great many people were thus prevented from making .use of the cars on Sunday evening. He also thought the Grey Lyim-Archhill cars should run to Cornwall Park on Sundays. The motion for the adoption of the timetable was lost, and the Mayor's resolution that it lie on the table was carried.

At the meeting of the Onehunga Borough Council Last night, Mr. Hansen forwarded a copy of his proposed time-table for Sunday trams, .but stated that it was only intended for two or three Sundays, when a final time-table would be submitted for the Council's approval. The Mayor said he thought the trams ought to run on Sunday mornings as well as in the afternoons, and he moved that the time-table be referred to a committee. The Mayor also stated that the opinion of the borough solicitors was to the effect that the Council could not prevent the running of the cars on Sundays, but the time-table must be approved by the Council. Mr. Rishworth spoke strongly against the action of Mr. Hansen in submitting a timetable to the Council and running to it on Sundays without first getting the approval of the Council. He thought the Council should draw up a Sunday time-table in conjunction with other districts, and forward it to Mr. Hansen with instructions to abide by it.

Mr. Stonpe also expressed the opinion that a. limited number of cars should run on Sundays, commencing in the morning and not at mid-day. The Mayor's motion was agreed to.

At the meeting of the Newmarket Borough Council last night a communication similar to that sent to the Grey Lynn Council, was received from Mr. Hansen, enclosing a temporary Sunday tramway time-table. The company, he stated, was unable to submit a. permanent time-table until the requirements of .the travelling public on Sunday were ascertained. The letter was received.

PROTEST FROM EDEN TERRACE. i In reply to a recent communication from the Eden Ten-ace Road Board questioning the powers of the company to run Sunday trams through the district under that Board's jurisdiction, Mr. P. M. Hansen, managing director for the Auckland Electric Tramways Company, has written pointing out that paragraph 27 of the Suburban Order-in-Council gives the company the right to run cars daily. He adds that the time-table is subject to the Board's approval, but that the consent of the Board must not be withheld in an unreasonable or arbitrary manner. A somewhat similar letter was sent to. Messrs. Russell and Campbell, solicitors to the Eden Terrace Road Board, who, on behalf of their clients, notified Mr. Hansen that the Board did not approve the Sunday time-table. . In this Mr. Hansen informed the writers that'if the Eden Terrace Road Board would be (rood enough to give the company their reasons why they wished tiny alterations made in the time-table, the company would be prepared to discuss matters and meet the wishes of the Board as far as might be considered reasonable.

To these letters the Board have replied as follows:—"P. M. Hansen, Esq., managing director the Auckland Electric Tramways Company, Limited. Dear sir, The Eden Terrace Road Board herewith acknowledge receipt of your letters dated October sth and 6th. In reply they beg to state that (1) they contend that the word ' daily' as applied to time-tables in Auckland does not- necessarily nor usually include Sunday, and tbey dispute your assumption that it is so intended to apply in the Order-in-Council. (2) if the word ' daily' does include Sundays, as you contend, then your company have been committing breaches of the Order-in Council (paragraph 27) by not running Sunday trips on the Eden Terrace and other suburban lines from the time that the tramway was * open for public traffic' You state that your company were 'unable' to rim Sunday trips on the Eden Terrace line prior to last Sunday, October 4. But, how about the Onehunga. line? You* company were running cars on that line on Sundays for five or six weeks prior to having permission to run cars through the city on Sundays. It was not impossible for you to do the same on the Eden Terrace line. (3) If your company are bound by the word ' daily' to run cars on the Eden Terrace line on Sundays, they are equally bound by the same paragraph in the Order-in-Council to run a car on Sundays, ' not later than seven a.m.' on that and all other suburban lines. This, your company have not done, no., do your Sunday timetables provide for such a trip. (4) Seeing that both the Order-in-Council and deed of delegation provide that' every time-table fixed by the promoters shall be subject to the approval of the local authority,' the Board contend that your company have no right whatever to run cars through the Eden Terrace district unless and until the Board have given, such approval, and the company's action in running cars through the district on Sunday last, October 4 (within 24 hours after our receipt of your time-table), in defiance of the local authority, and also in defiance of the exuress provisions of the Order-in-Council and deed of delegation, amounts to a. breach, and is in the highest degree, arbitrary and unreasonable. (5) upon your own assumption that the word ' daily,' as used in the Order-in-Council, does include Sunday, the Board could not legally approve of any Sunday time-table for your ears unless the time-table made provision for a trip ' noWater thau seven a.m.' on Sundays on the Eden Terrace line. (Order-in-Council, paragraph 27.) On these and other grounds the Board maintain that they were perfectly justified both in law and in equity in refusing to approve the Sunday time-table submitted by you, dated October 2, 1803; and the Board would still like to know by what authority you ran cars through this district on Sunday last, October 4, seeing that your time-table had not received the necessary authority. In conclusion, if your interpretation of the word 'daily' be correct, the Board would be glad to learn by what right or authority your company pick out one part of paragraph 27 of the Order-in-Council and attempt to force the Board under it, while your own company are deliberately breaking the other part, viz., the time for ' commencing!' the Sunday trips on'suburban lines —"not later than seven a.m.'— behalf of , the, Board, F. A. Cleveland, Chairman."

Paragraph 27 of the Suburban Order-in-Council referred loin, the above correspondence is as follows:—"So soon as the tramway is'open for public traffic and regularly thereafter the local authority shall run cars thereon daily, commencing not later than seven a.m., and continuing to ab least halfpast, ten p.m.. according to such time-table •as may from time to time be fixed by the local authority, or by the delegate, with the approval of the local authority, and any instrument of delegation by the local authority shall provide that every time-table fixed by' the delegate shall be subject to the approval of the delegating local authority.''