HAWKER PROBLEM.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1724, 15 April 1913, Page 6

HAWKER PROBLEM.

THE BALLOT FOR POSITION, SOME POINTS OF VIEW. (By "Sylvius.") Nino Hindus (from Bombay), four Greeks, and four British men comprised tlio applicants for, street starnls . for tho salo of fruit in Wellington during tho ensuing twelve months at tho ballot conducted at tho Town Hall yesterday aftcrDoylc) C ' ty Ius l )cclor < Ml '- James iho system adopted in giving each licensed hawker a specified location was eminently impartial, liach city stand was given a number, and each number was written on a slip of paper and placed ivi , c ' n y e l°pe., 'i'heso wero then sliultled, and the waiting hawkers were askCTl to select an .envelope, As each disclosed the number which 110 had drawn, tho location it represented was endorsed on his license. > l'lio hawkers pay i!l per annum for a license, which is held to be cheap rent, ill'. Doyle states that ho could Just as easily get <£5 as <£1 for somo of the midcity stands, if it wero pcrmissable to obtain tlio highest .fees possible tor thcni. llns, however, would be contrary to existing municipal conditions. Tho' hawker is a problem. Ho is allowed to stand in a public street, occupying a certain amount of space devoted to traffic, for XI a year, irrespective of whether there are fruit shops in thfc vicinity, tho proprietors of which may IA paying ,£IOO or ,£l5O a year" in rental, the greater number of tlio hawkers are aliens—Greeks and Hindus. ■ When tho stationery hawker camo into existence in Wellington only some five years ago, all the stands were held 1, colonials (New Zealanders , and Australians), but • tho coining of the men from "India's coral strand" and . from the Aegean Sea, has pretty effectually closed the British hawker out of our towii. There are two sections of the community who resent the present position—the British hawkers (who are "up against" the Hindu and the Greek), and the shop-' keepers, who cannot seo. why the City, Council should give hawkers stands in tlw busiest haunts of men for £1 a year. Hobbs's Protest. Hobbs was a typical Britisher—bluff, ruddy-faced, and outspoken. He was a hawker of experience, and he voiced the complaint of his scction in manner characteristic. "This is the sort of thing wo are up against, said ho •to a Dominion representative,, "the Hindu" and- the Greekpretty hot, isn't it—and mo with a wife and tamily. It's not a fair thing, I don't call it! Talk about a whito New ZeaaP- . . -S° w ar e, you going to keep it white' if these others are allowed to come mand hawk with us!" .• _ Hobbs -was not particularly pianissimo in his remarks, nor restrained in his gestures. Akbar and Mahmud, a few yards away, looked, conscious that they wero beuig referred to, but inorely smiled darkly. It was all. right—they all had their new crisp licenses in their hands, and doubtless felt quite independent of Hobbs, or anyono else for that matter. Good Character. As a matter of fact, tho city inspector has little or no power in connection with the issue of licenses to hawkers. All that he can and does demand is that two reputable citizens shall testify to tho applicant's good character. Although, tho Bombay "boys" had only been a very short time ,in Wellington ojid had very little English at their disposal, tliei'r conduct was testified to-by "reputable citizens." It is not the-duty of the inspector to cross-question the citizens testifying to the good conduct of the men, but what is pointed out as a weakness in tho bylaw is that persons without any pmvious knowledge of an applicant for a .\censo may testify as to good conduct with nothing to support him in his testimony. If good conduct is to be made the chief and only qualification for a street fruitstand, in Wellington, should-not -the inquiry bo a stricter one? Should so much be taken for granted? •It appears that there is something to say for both tho British hawker and the shopkeeper, and that something should at least concern tlio by-laws under which hawkers' licenses are issued. If we are to have street hawkers, and tho stands are worth more than the city gets for them, sliculd they not bo sold by public auction? The shopkeeper would say "Yes" to this, and. the .British hawker "No," for tho simplo reason that by paying a decent price for a stand, .1 liawker could not so effectively undersell the shops, whilst the British hawker ("with a wifo and kids") would aiot bo able to outbid Akbar and Mahmud (or the parties behind him).