THE MOTOR.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1909, 18 November 1913, Page 11

THE MOTOR.

NOTES, HOME & FOREIGN.. [Bt Chabsjs.] Tha British Speed Limit. - A leading article of more tha-n orilinnry length in tlio Irfndon "Daily Mail" holdjy advocates the abolition of the British legal speed limit of twenty jraloa a«i hour. In it is cited tho position of France, which holds the driver resiponsihlo triien the car is driven to the public danger, whether it is travelling at six or sixt.v miles an hour. In the principle is a good one, but, acetii'dirifj; io tho "Westminster Gazette,-' few wli.o are acquainted with French roads will be inclined to endorse the statement that life on. the highways of tho villages and towns in France is really bettor protected against motor accidents tha.n it is in England, It' is the custom of the country, no doubt, but the French motorist's manners can hardly be described as gentlemanly. The law s as lmich as the fiiie roads, allows him a> degree of latitude which would not be tolerated in England. The average French motorist, now a? always, drives for excitement rather than pleasure, and if, as suggested, there is to be no arfeitraty enforcement of a, maximum and minimum rate of travel, the pablie might insist upon the infliction of a penalties tij>on wrongdoers equivalent to those exercised in France, wliero it is not unusual to confiscate a- mart's ear and his person when he runs amok. That may sound hard and' arbitrary, but is it too high a. sacrifice to ma.lt© for complete emancipation ? ®ho trapping system in England is an -abomination., but it must not be forgotten that in many districts the police seldom convict unless the speed is above twentysix or twenty-seven miles an hour; and sine© Mr. M'Eenna|s letter was sent to magistrates activity has been relaxed, o& many important routes. The point to bear in mind is that motorists are breaking' the law every day; they cannot help themselves; but the Ifflowledgo that they_ are likely to be pounced itpon for committing a technical offencehas a salutary effect in preventing, excessive speed. The idea that accidents are as likely to happen when a ear is proceeding slowly_ as wlien travelling fast is a misleading one. Superior or inconsiderate speed' may occasionally prevent a collision, but more often than not it is tlio cause of trouble, not alone to pedestrians and other road-users, but to the. occupants of the car themselves. Ifj.then, the speed law is to b& modified, it is to be hoped, concludes oiir contemporary, that tho authorities will adopt the happy medium as best far all concerned.

Another Ford Record. . The popularity of the Ford car in Wellington, as elsewberej has boon wonderful, but it will come as a surprise to most people to lean], that- during the month ol June last no fewer, than 22,049 model T cars Were shipped from the factory of the Ford Motor Gar. ComP.any, in Dortoit. This establishes another Ford record, being nine cars in : excess of the former high record of 22,040 ears shipped in the previous April. ' .

How Motorcars Raise Farm Values. That automobiles, are responsible for the recent increase in the price of farm lands has long been appreciated by real estate men, but now even the railroads admit that tho motor-car is doing wonders for the farmer and his land.. "Have you ever considered," said Newman Erbe, president of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad, in discussing the. fabled opposition of the railroad companies to automobiles because ,o'f tto loss of some- short-haul passenger fares, "what tho automobile has dene' for farm values in this country, and indirectly for railroad earnings? I am Sure I underestimate when I say ihatin the past twelve years the automobile has added 2,000,000,000 dollars to the value of farir lands. Not- much more than ten years ago the farm with easy railroad access was worth, say, 75 dollars an acre, where the "farm twenty miles back was hardly worth 10 dollars an iicre. But tho latter nowadays is within an hour's easy automobile run, and its value' has enormously appreciated for that reason. Certainly the 'farmer with • automobile transport twenty miles from the nearest railroad is Quito as well off as the farmer of tho lasts genor:i.t'i6)i whose land Ihy within three or four miles of the shipping point. It is also_ fcfiio that this facilities for getting freight to the railroads have also been enormously iiicreasetl, for good roads have- followed tho automobiles. Nothing could do more to increaso agricultural prosperity and stimulate transportation than tlio more extensive- use of mstpr trucks for carrying farm produce. Even as it Stands the talk of extravagance by the farmer in tho purchase and use of a;n automobile is foolish.- It is one of the most far-sightod economies he ever introduced. I know this is true of tho territory covered by our own road., and if that is so it must lie equally true of all railroads wliero the highways in the surrounding district are oven reasonably practicable fesr automobiles." This is, of cour-so, written of America,, but it appliss equally well undoubtedly in Now Zealand, and when good roads become more- general than they are now in the back-blocks, the value of .these remote lands, will receive a big increment. It is an unquestionable fact that there is nd section of the community which benefits more by the automobile than the farmer.

\ The Motoring Age. Figures showing the rapid growth of tho motor-car and motor-cycle industries in the present year, taken from reports sent to the London "Daily Mail" by niotor-registrat-iTO authorities throughout tho Kingdom, reflect the continued wave of prosperity which the -country is enjoying. They also show that about one thousand more cars and motorcycles invade the roads every month. More money than ever has been spent o.tt pleasure motor-ears and motor* cyclos ; This cannot bo -accounted for by ■ any big reductions in tho price of -cars. The cheap American ear "boom" began in 1012, and since then (hero has' been ■ little reduction in tho. price of -cars. , Trade prophets profess to 6ee leaner years ahead, basing their forecast on reports from mercantile houses of -a slackening in. the nn-mbor of "futuro" contracts and- orders. But factories and mills are humming with industry, and money is flowing freely into tho count-ing-houses, and is being as freely spent. Thousands of people arc now venturing to add a motor-car to their establish' meiit who would not havo indulged in this extravagance a year or so ago, and young men earning good salaries aro buying motorcycles which cost, from £82 to £75 or more. The total in-t-rease in the number of cars and motorcycles registered this fear up to September 29 as compared with the Bame period last- vear is as follow:— In- ■ 1912. 1913. crease. Motor-cars ... 32,9-53 42,288 9,335 Motor-cycles ... 34,878 40,767 5,889