LATE OBJECTIONS

Taranaki Daily News, 16 August 1935, Page 7

LATE OBJECTIONS

TRANSPORT LICENSING HEARING. EXPLANATION BY AUTHORITY. Following strongly worded protests by Mr. S. Macalister at the sitting of the No' 5 District Licensing Authority at Stratford yesterday, objections, to the granting of a goods service license to Mr. A. J. Stockley, Kiore, were withdrawn. The objectors, Messrs. D. P. Mouat, Te Wera, and A. R. Shewry, Tahora, were represented by Mr. R. R. Tyrer. Mr. Macalister, appearing for Mr. Stockley, put forward again the opinion he had expressed before the authority on the previous day in another case,, that objections lodged at the last minute should not be considered. He was not notified of the objections until late the previous day, Mr. Macalister said, and it had been impossible for him to communicate with his client then. Mr. Tyrer was. about to call the evidence of the objectors, when the chairman of the authority, Mr. P. Thomson, asked Mr. Macalister if he desired an adjournment to enable his client to attend. Mr. Macalister protested, against the principle of the late objection and was upheld by Mr. Thomson.. Mr. Tyrer then withdrew his objections. Decision regarding the application was reserved. The application with which was connected an application for renewal by Mrs. K. G. Stockley, was heard in part on Tuesday, and the hearing was adjourned to enable Mr. Macalister to call the evidence of Mr. R. B. Townley, assistant road engineer to the Public Works Department. When the hearing was resumed yesterday Mr. Townley was called as the first witness. Evidence concerning the carriers and the work available in the Whangamomona county was given by Mr. Townley. In his opinion Mr. Stockley should have a license, he said. To Mr. Macalister he admitted that it was in the interests of the public and the department that the carriage of metal should not be confined to a few carriers, who might well agree on a higher scale of charges. When cross-examined by Mr. Tyrer Mr. Townley said he would receive about five tenders for each contract. Mr. Tyrer: Is that not a sufficient number to give you a fair price? Mr. Townley: Yes, provided the number is kept up. When Mr. Shewry’s application was made yesterday he stated that he was trying to sell one of his lorries because there was not enough work for it, and Mr. Mouat has not found it worth while to license his second lorry. Would you say those statements were incorrect?— I do not know.

To Mr. J. C. Rolleston Mr. Townley said the position was that most of the work was available for a short period of the year, and contractors had to remain partly idle for the rest of the year. To Mr. Macalister’s request for the grounds of the objection Mr. Tyrer stated that his clients objected to the granting of a new license because there were already sufficient licensed carriers in the Whangamomona county. The present carriers were not working full time. Why was not the objection lodged earlier, asked Mr. Macalister. The application was advertised, it was heard on Tuesday and yet no notice was given of the objection till Wednesday night. He objected to the whole procedure. Though he would continue with the case, it was under protest. It was a procedure not adopted in any court in New Zealand and was unfair to the applicant. This view was supported by the chairman. Mr. Tyrer: I do not want to take any undue advantage. I thought I made it clear when I lodged the objection that it was lodged provided that it was not too late. Mr. Tyrer criticised the method of advertising the new applications; it did not give sufficient information, he said. Mr. Thomson pointed out that as stated in the advertisements all particulars were obtainable from the secretary. Mr. Macalister: If the authority says tile procedure is in order I shall instruct my client to adopt the same procedure. I shall object to every new license from now on. The objections were withdrawn and the chairman announced that a decision in the case would be announced later. The position regarding the lodging of objections was afterwards explained by the chairman, Mr. Thomson. It was de-