BIG ISSUE INVOLVED IN BUS REGULATIONS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17756, 28 January 1926, Page 1

BIG ISSUE INVOLVED IN BUS REGULATIONS.

NEED FOR PROTECTION OF PUBLIC SERVICES.

(Special to the “ Star.”) WELLINGTON, January 28. At a meeting of the Council of the ■Wellington Chamber of. Commerce today the proposetl?,motor omnibus regudiStikms were: /referred to -bv the president. Mr D. J. M’Obwan, who said that Mr G. Mitchell had attended various conferences in connection with the regulations. Mr Mitchell was unable to be present, and he proposed that the matter be deferred until a later date when Mr Mitchell would present a report. The chairman read the following letter from the president of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce (Mr W. Machin). “ With reference to the question of motor omnibus regulations, I hope that we. shall not agree to anything which will give these omnibus services (which in many cases are merely pirate services on the established tramway service run by the ratepayers) any advantage over these publicly-owned services. I cannot see us, as commercial men, sanctioning anything which will put this publicly-owned service, in which millions of ratepayers’ money are invested, to a disadvantage which will impose heavy monetary loss on all of the ratepayers in order to get the advantage of bus services, and in order to allow' some ratepayers to make profits out of these services. “ I consider the Employers’ Federation has made a great mistake in uncompromisingly opposing the regulations, and I beg that you will see that the Associated Chambers do not fall in in a similar manner.” The president pointed out that the letter stressed the fact that the ratepayers’ money was at stake. That was a phase of the matter they must not overlook. On the motion of Captain Peterson it was decided to hold over consideration of the regulations until Mr Mitchell had reported on the result of various conferences.