VALIDITY OF BY-LAWS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13532, 29 February 1908, Page 6

VALIDITY OF BY-LAWS.

U'HE SPEED OF MOTORS. The intersection of Stafford and George Stieets has been the scene of many cases of cyclists and motorists travelling at more than four miles an hour, and still another motorist was charged for this offence before Mr C. A. w'ray, S.M., yesterday. The defendant was H. Goodwin. He was represented by Mr W. Shaw and pleaded not guilty. The information was laid under part 12, section 21 of the borough by-law, which prohibited tht driving of vehicles over a crossing at a greater pace than lour miles an hour. Constable McLean said that he taw defendant travelling at 9 or 10 miles an honr along Stafford Street, from the north, and he crossed the intersection of this and George Street without checking the speed. Witness could not have walked at the pace the car was going. The time of the offence- was 6 p.m. on the 21st., when a number of people were about. To Mr Shaw : He was standing at Gabites' Cornvr. Defendant never pulled up on the crossing and witness drew the attention of a bystander to the s|>eej. Defendant did not- blow hies horn when approaching the crossing. J. Skinner corroborated the constable's evidence in the main. Mr Shaw stated that the defence was a technical one. He submitted that the Borough Council had no power to make a by-law regulating motor traffic, and secondly, assuming that they had. tiiev could only do so under section 4 of theMotor Regulation Act. 1906. Sub-Inspector Gnen *.iid he was not prepared to take legal argument until ':>■ had consulted the Borough Council and His Worship cor.t-idered it uas niiicasoa abio to take legal argani nt at thi- i-il ting. Evidence for the d-fence v.a> iriti railed. H. Goodwin, defendant. s:>id th..: hj, left, the garage ; n f,i"r mile-- an lion- ami was not going at more than six iui'cbeforv he readied R»dcliffc\ ionic;, wj. u he slackened down to four miles, allowing th- motor to inn idle with the ( hitch ~|i" and a foot brake mi. He pt : -rivelv re vcr went acio-.s the ciursing at mote t !«-:i« lour iiii'tr, an hour ami blew his hmn Kfoie reaching lic-i.-. To Sub-Inspector Cirri; The j.-|.--- ~n th- cre.--ing was a crawling pare. Miss Sr \(ii-i.ii. \iho v. as «-ii!i .1 fi ndaiii in lie motor car. c.-risiu' icd the car ion:.! ii"! lime gone -lira, r across the and c'licrwise bore out defendant's state-

nuiit. The car was working ™ badly that Coodwin had said li<- did not think the nir would t;iko the hill. 11. Kandrupp deposed that he iirst saw ill-.- i-nr going ii]) Stafford Street hill, when it was travelling at four or five miles an hour. His attention'was drawn by the far:, that the ear was working badly. A ear could negotiate the hill at four miles an hour.

Sub-Inspector Green suggested that a car could not travel at less than four miles to negotiato the hill, but witness thought it could. 'I his closed the evidence. His Worship said that on the facts as given there was no doubt the ear tarvellcd at an excessive .-peed over the crossing, and he woidd take the <-vidence of the constable and a disinterested penson on this point. With regard to the technical d«fencr raised by Mr Shaw ho would hear legal argument on Friday next.