The Star. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1928. PROTECTING THE CITIZEN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18578, 28 September 1928, Page 8

The Star. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1928. PROTECTING THE CITIZEN.

/COMPULSORY third-party insurance is right in principle, 1 1 and the Bill that has been introduced by the AttorneyGeneral will prove a useful beginning for a universal scheme that will protect the lives* and limbs of citizens by adequate insurance. By arrangement with the insurance companies of New Zealand, the Government will collect a premium of 15/- for motor-cycles, £1 for private cars, and a rising scale for other vehicles, and thereafter everything that goes on rubber tyres in New Zealand will be insured. It is calculated that there are 180,000 motor vehicles to be insured, and the premiums will yield substantially more than £IBO,OOO, which is regarded as more than enough to meet all the claims that may be made on the fund. It will probably be found that the premium is excessive, and reductions may be made from year to year. We cannot agree with the Minister that motor-car accidents can be reduced more effectively by insurance than by the stricter regulation of traflic, but there is one aspect of the compulsory insurance scheme that will have an important bearing on this subject. Every motorist will pay the same premium, so that the careful drivers will really be carrying the careless drivers. This is wrong in principle where there is a flat rate, and it will be imperative for Magistrates in cases of negligence to exercise the power of cancelling licenses more freely. This will be an effective deterrent if uniformity is agreed upon among the Magistrates.

Many interesting developments may take place in connection with the new scheme, which is bound, we think, to lead to substantial reductions in the premiums charged for all of the ordinary risks of motoring. In this respect the Bill may confer very great and unsuspected benefits on the whole motoring community, but, whether or not, compulsory insurance is right in principle. It is very gratifying to find the Attorney-General endorsing an opinion that the “ Star ” was criticised for expressing, namely, that insured persons at present are those who have something to lose, while the uninsured persons generally are those with no assets, or those -whose record is such that no company would insure them.

TILE unexpected vacancy on the City Council, caused by the resignation of Councillor Hunter, who has committed a technical breach of the Municipal Corporations Act, will necessitate a by-election at the end of October. We think that this would be a very good opportunity to test the feelings of the citizens in regard to the proposed remodelling of the Square. We suggest, not that the candidates should be. asked for their views on this subject, but that a simple ballot paper for and against the proposals should be made available for every elector. The opportunity is one, indeed, that the Mayor should welcome with open arms, because he has been telling his supporters that such a vote should not be limited to ratepayers, as on a loan proposal, but should be taken among the whole of the people who are eligible to vote, whether ratepayers or not. Here, then, is a fair field and no favours. Will the Mayor he same enough to put his convictions to the test?

THE Southern Cross will spread its wings for Blenheim to-day, in preparation for the return flight of the Tasman Sea, and it will carry with it the very warmest wishes of the people of New Zealand for the success of a venture that is even more dangerous and daring than that which landed it safely in New Zealand on the outward journey from Sydney. Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith, Flight-Lieutenant Ulm, Mr Litchfield and Mr M’Williams have made a very good impression on the public of New Zealand by their personal good qualities, apart from the merits of their great achievement. The leaders, above all, have been admired for their devotion to the cause of aviation, and the service they have rendered to New Zealand is infinitely greater than it would be possible to assess in terms of pounds, shillings and pence, even if that were attempted. These men have risked their lives over ten thousand miles of ocean in an effort to forward the interests of commercial aviation, and we are bound to say that their efforts have been crowned with success as far as New Zealand is concerned. No event in the history of the country has made such an appeal to the popular imagination as the arrival of this happily-named monoplane, and its smiling crew, and the air-sense of the people has been greatly stimulated not only by the Tasman flight, but also by the aerial itinerary of the aviators in New Zealand. It is appropriate that the Commander-in-Chief of tlie Air Services of Great Britain (Sir John Salniond) should have arrived in Christchurch to-day to join in wishing Kingsford Smith and his companions Godspeed on their return journey. It is a wish in which the people of Canterbury will join whole-heartedly.