CORRESPONDENCE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1897, 19 July 1888, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents.

BY-LAWS FOR TRAOTION ENGINES.

TO THE EDITOR. \ Sir, — With your pormlßslon I would like to oall attention to the framing of the bylaws regulating the traffic of traction engines m the Ashbnrton county. The first thing I wlbli to point ont is, that a traction engiue meeting a horso on the road haß to stop within Gve ohalns of the said horse, and ttiero Is to be no steam blowing off while tho horse Is within that distance, under a penalty of five pouuds. Now, sir, we have an Inspector of Maohlnery, who gives a certificate for a certain pressnra of steam, and sots and fixes tho valve to blow off at that pressure, and any one tampering with that valvo is liable to two years Imprisonment nnder the Machinery Act. What is tho p )sltion between the two ? When a trootlon engine is travelling along tho road it needs alraoat Its full preesnro of steam, bo that when the driver stop five chains f rom a horse, and before the horse gets ovor half that diatanoe the steam is blowing off at the Government valve, and no one dare stop It unless they want to get into Government servioe for two years at tha leant. I would aßk, has any of the wiflo heads of our County Council over read the Maohnery Ao>, for If so thoy must surely have forgotten all about it, and I always notloe whenever we begin to get any of our legal frlendß Into such positions the more of a muddle do things get Into. I suppose It pays them best. The more muddle the more law cases, and never mind the ratepayers. I will just take a case undor this by law: A trao'ion engine, vie will say, Is going towards Tinwald, and It comes within fivo chains of a horse, but the horse is standing Btlll. How aro wo to get along. Is there any bylaw to make that horse move on if It has a legitimate excuse for standing there 1 Why, a couple of carters with their horses, one m front and one behind, might keep a traotlon engine standing between them for a month. As for going ovor culverts at the r.Uo of one mile an hour, there are a great many of these that a driver cannot possibly see unless there Is a notice put up to mark them, Some of the Councillors In thoir respective Road Boards tried this on last year, bnt they saw they were going beyond their functions. Now when thoy bavo gut Into the Council thoy must signalise their elevation by some sublime act of wisdom, even if It be at the expense of the traotion engine owner?, who have at large expense brought the best maohlnery into tho district. Before there were any traotion engines In the oounty farmers paid nearly double for their threshing, and had all the maohlnery to shift with thoir horses, and yet all that we get I torn our Oounty Councillors, because a few plan,ka of the traffic bridge wore broken, is to be termed a lot of d— — «d scoundrels (nice language for a man m a position whore he is supposed to be a gentleman.)

As to the clause making it eompnlsory to have the neme of the owner painted on the onglnes, why not make It also compulsory on the carters as well, who aro jjaflt 8(i often In fault on tho road as engine ownerr, We have plenty of accidents with badly managed horsos, but I defy the Council to point out a single acoldent that has oeourred through the nogllgonoe of a traction engine driver. There Is another clauso making It oomj pulsory to carry lamps to show red both m front and behind. I really think tho Oonnoil ought to take ont a patent for a new code of dangor signals. Blow Is anyone at a distance to know If tho engine Is advancing toward^ or tKayelllug from the m. X hope the Qjunc.ll will Bupply oa with lamps free of obarge, otherwise I doubt we will stlok to the laoapß we get with the engines, which appears to answer tho purpose In England, and I should think are good enough for Now Zealand. As for this White Elephant tho traflio bridge, 1. think the CoodoU mean to make tho englno owners keop up the whole 'lot of repairs. The oharges fori crossing and the hues under the by-laws ought to be sufficient to cover all expenso of maintenance Tho Council might keep a painter to wrlto tho names on tho ! engines ; also they might make a small | profit oat of that and when repairs are wanted co the bridge they might try some oubbapo trees, Thoy might be an improvement on some of the timber that was put into It. Before tho Council begin to w»«,te the ratopjyers money over tjjo by-lawa they had better see something more lqto them, lor although I am not a lawyer I will give them this advloe (nnd 1 will not charge Ga 8d for It), To got their byIs ws tented as soon as posslole tot thty will lind thas they are vlim -vires. 1 am, etc, Smosbbobe-