LICENSE OPPOSED

Taranaki Daily News, 17 August 1935, Page 8

LICENSE OPPOSED

NEW STRATFORD CARRIER. AUTHORITY QUASHES OBJECTION. An interesting position again arose regarding the lodging of objections to the granting of transport licenses at the Stratford sitting of the No. 5 District Transport Licensing Authority yesterday, when an objection was finally overruled because it had not been lodged the required 24 hours in advance. The applicant was Mr. H. Moor, Stratford, who applied for a continuous goods service license for the carriage of calves and pigs and general merchandise. He was represented by Mr. R. R. Tyrer. In the morning Messrs. S. A. Tubby and A. W. Close appeared to ask leave to object on the grounds that there were already sufficient licensed carriers in the district to cover the work available, and in the afternoon, when the case was heard, Mr. Close, accompanied by Mr. G. A. Carter, appeared. Immediately the objections were announced Mr. Tyrer rose to protest, referring to the section of the regulations insisting on the lodging of objections in advance, and stressing that in a similar position the previous day his objections had been ruled out of order.

The present case was not quite “on all fours” with that previous case, said Mr. P. Thomson, chairman of the authority. In the earlier case the application had been first heard, then stood down for two days to allow further evidence to be called by the applicant. The objections were lodged after the hearing had been opened. He had considered that there might be objections lodged, said Mr. Tyrer, and he therefore made inquiries late on the day before his client was to be heard. No objections had been lodged, yet when he arrived before the authority that morning he was informed that there were objectors. The rule was definite on the point, he said; it was quite clearly stated that objections must be lodged not later than 24 hours before the day of hearing. Late objections did not give the applicant and his counsel a fair opportunity to prepare a case. Mr. Thomson: Of course this is an entirely new application' and the applicant will no doubt be prepared to show that his service is necessary. The fact that there are or are not objections to the license being granted is not a primary factor to the authority.

It was, of course, competent for the authority to call the evidence of other carriers of the district in connection with the case, continued Mr. Thomson. The evidence of Moor and his counsel would be taken, and the authority would then decide what was to be done.

The position was that Moor had a small farm of 30 acres, said Mr. Tyfdr, and he required something more to earn a livelihood. He had been carrying the milk of his neighbours to the Midhirst Dairy Company and had been doing a little general carrying for them. He had now been approached to collect calves and pigs over a route including Salisbury, Croydon, Rutland, York, Denbigh, Radnor, Monmouth,. Cardiff and Waingongoro roads, the Opunake Road as far as Brecon Road, along Brecon Road and Brookes Road to Climie Road and down Climie Road to Eltham. There was no one collecting for the particular companies who had approached him over this district.

Regarding general carrying in the Stratford district, there were certain roads not subject to a license and some that were, so that he had to work out his route very carefully. The transport of stock for sales was increasing all the time, and Moor had been asked on several occasions to cart livestock and had had to refuse. The cartage of general merchandise was secondary to the other, said Mr. Tyrer, and the area asked for was bounded on the north and south by the boundaries of the Stratford county, on the east by Gordon Road and on the west by Hastings Road. For livestock the area asked for was the Stratford county. Giving evidence himself, Moor said that he had had to turn down at least one job a week through being unable to work outside the five miles of main highway. He had seen several other carriers before he approached Moor about the collecting, said Clarence Till, buyer for a Taranaki company, and they all declined the work. He had in fact’ approached every carrier at Stratford who was not carrying for another company. The chairman announced that decision would be deferred until Tuesday, pending the submission of a balance-sheet by Moor. He also upheld Mr. Tyrer’s contention that the protest was not in order. If that were the case would the objectors be able to speak on the Tuesday? asked Mr. Carter. The position would be exactly the same as in another case earlier in' the sitting, said the chairman; the objection would'not be allowed. He again pointed out, however, that Stratford carriers might be called by the authority to give evidence. DEATH OF MRS. E. M. HIRD. OLD RESIDENT OF TARANAKI. The death occurred at Eltham on Thursday of Mrs. Eugenie Marie Hird, an old and highly respected resident of Taranaki. Bom at Nelson 79 years ago, Mrs. Hird came to Taranaki after her marriage and settled at Manaia where her husband was in business. Mrs. Hird was a member of an old Huegenot family and was a lover of music. She was an excellent accompanist and, despite failing health, took an interest in affairs around her until the end. She was a keen worker for the Anglican Church. On the death of her husband, in 1920 Mrs. Hird moved to New Plymouth, but about a year ago went to Eltham to live. Mrs. Hird is survived by four sons, Messrs. Edward (Norfolk Island), Sydney (Patea), Reginald (Karamea) and Con(Raglan), and three daughters, Mrs. F. Silver (Rawhitiroa), Mrs. A. Reardon (Inglewood) and Miss Hird (Wellington).