AUCTIONEERS' LICENSES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 512, 20 May 1909, Page 8

AUCTIONEERS' LICENSES.

DEPUTATION TO THE HON. D. BUDDO. 7 . A FAVOURABLE RECEPTION. A, deputation of auctioncors was introduced to the Hon. D. Bnddo (Minister for Internal Affairs) ,by Mr. A. L. Herdman,' M.P., yesterday afternoon.. The object of tho do[)utaiion was to ask for certain amendments in tho law relating to auctioneers' licenses ,as set out in The Dominion, of last l Tuesday. •' .' ' _ ■ Mr; Leigh Hunt (Farmers' Distributing Company) said tho main point was concerned with the transfer of licenses. Tho local body had to issue tho license in tho name of an ■ individual, and wlicu that.individual was employed by a company thor.o was nothing to prevent him leaving and taking away his l;liconse with him. _ He could then set up for bhiiriself-in'opposition to:, the firm.' Tho Act would hot permit him to transfer his license . when; leaving, even if he wished to do'so, 'unless ho was either ill or leaving tho district. Another, defect in the Act was that •it only held the individual licensee responsible. • for the prompt rendering of account sales and ■tho'keepirig of, trust-accounts, and thus.an !employee ; of a company was held responsible for-'matters which wore attended to by other employees, and over which ho had no control. The penalty for failing to render account sales-promptly was £100. Thus from, the 'standpointiof tho employee thoro was a good deal to complain of. They also thought that every auctioneer should pay the whole year's ;ljcenso fee, and not bo able to come into a 'dictrict at. tho beginning of December and take ..out .a ..licenso for, ono month at £10. They did not sco the necessity for tho restriction under'which tho transfer of a lie-: 'ensoion ,tW sickness'or absence, of -the 'holder., does not hold good for more than six months, and they did not think: ten days' notice should be required 1, on the transfer of. a lieonse from an employee to a principal. Tho action taken by,th'o'promoters of tho deputation was endorsed by auctioneers; all over the Dominion. Tho Minister, in reply, .said tho subject waa familiar to him as a country, settler. • He thought there were in the present law. some 1 slight anomalies that could bo remedied, wiWi advantage. Thei niain contention",of tho deputation seemed to' be opposed to tho princontrol by local bodies and.WouM.probably .be opposed by them if:it; meant that.a, company, could. tako ■ o,ut ■ licenses'; from * one local-body and utilise them means of transfers, in all/parts of. tho Dominion.; To'overcomer this difficulty, '>,■/& field - of operations would have to be specified when the license was; applied. for;; There. might well bodegislation in regard, to undesirable applicants, and' ho thought that':when a licenso was refused by one local body, the other local bodies in the neighbourhood should bp informed of the reasons. "He favoured tho idea that auctioneering firms should .be'the applicants for licenses,*, and.should declare who was to operate under themi',and;, in the case of the individual leaving, the licenso should revert, to the company. • He. did not think this would bei : opposed by, local bodies, if it was. under-; stood 1 that the number of licenses (and, there-' fore,'tho local bodies', revenue) would not bo decreased.: He agreed .that no 1 auctioneering license should bo granted foe- less than 1 one year, but he thought the year should . commence at. any:'time when, the license, was granted. Ho would: have .the. proposals - that had been :ma<3e 'put into,: proper form, - and submitted to Cabiriet with a, view to .action being taken during the ooming session of Parliament... : i ■,■;■;..-y