HEAVY TRAFFIC FEES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19510, 14 December 1926, Page 16

HEAVY TRAFFIC FEES.

CONTRIBUTiON BY COUNTY.

AMENDING ORDER REFUSED.

[by telegraph. —-own correspondent.] HAMILTON, Monday.

An application was made to Mr. Wyvern Wilson, S.M., in the Hamilton Magistrate's Court to-day to rectify the apportionment of heavy traffic licence fees made by the magistrate at a recent inquiry." The applicant was the t Waipa County Council (Mr. W. J. King), who opposed the order that it should pay the Cambridge Road Board and the Tamahere Road Board the sum of £2O per annum each from- the heavy traffic licence fees collected by it. Ihe application' was preferred on the ground that the order was made in error and was without evidence to support it. The Cambridge and Tamahere Road Boards (Mr. J. F. Strang), the Hamilton Borough Council (Mr. F. A. Swarbrick) and the Piako County Council (Mr, P. Gilchrist) opposed the application. Mr. King said he thought it would be acknowledged that the greater portion of the outside traffic passing through the two road board districts came from the Waikato, Piako and Matamata Counties and that the imposition made on the Waipa County was unjust. He> considered that both the Matamata and Piako County Councils should contribute and that the Waikato County _ Council should pay a larger contribution. The magistrate said that, taking into consideration the counties which bounded the Tamahere and Cambridge Road Districts, the mews of access into the road board districts and the comparative wealth of the contiguous counties, he was satisfied that the apportionment of the fees was equitable. The Waipa County was the wealthiest county, it had the largest frontage aud the greatest number of means of access to the road board districts. He thought, .therefore, that Waipa should contribute its share of the heavy licence fees in common with the Waikato County and# Hamilton Borough to the road boards. Even if he was satisfied that something should be done he did not think he had the power to review his decision. The application was refused,