MOTORS AND MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2210, 24 July 1914, Page 11

MOTORS AND MOTORING

[By Cmtoh.]

The Motor Bill. Tliu Motor liill does not appear, likely to have a rapid passage through Parliament.. 'Tlie second reading has . been put off. for a month and objections to tho. liill are coming in from various parts of tho Dominion. The local bodies so far do not appear to have made up their minds, , what basis they prefer, for the Municipal .Association, after affirming the, principle of taxation, left its executive to confer with 'the Counties' Association' as to the nature of the tax. The Wellington district local bodies' conference, 'held earlier in tho month, favoured a'tax on tires. Tho Automobile Union favours one on weight. The' Auckland Automobile Association, an. influential body not affiliated to the Union, is against any special tax on motorists at all. It is difficult to understand why so much exception is being taken to the Bill in'some quarters. '1 lie tax proposed is not a 'heavy oile, and on private cars compareswith tho'English rates as. follows:— ■ ■ ! .- English . N.Z. ■ Act. : Bill.

£ .s. d. . £ ,s. d. Under 6J li.p. ... 2 2 0 '•. — Under 12 li.p. ...... 3 3 0 2 0 0 12-16'h.p. - i 4 0 3 0 0 16-26 h.p; ......... 6 6 0: i 0. 0 26-33 h.p. 8 8 0 7 0 0 33-40 h.p. 10 10 0 10 : 0 0 40-60 h.p. ..... .21 0 0 15 0 0 Over 60 h.p. ...... 42 0 0 20 0 0 Motor-cycles 1,0-0 010 0

The Bill; ajiopts tho English practice of taxing the'private cars at tlie. maximum ana letting off vehicles used for business • purposes very 'ligtitly.; • The only real ground of complaint against the Bill, is that as. a'contribution to the road improvement 1 problem it does not, and can not, frora. the nature of the circumstances, amount to much. Aa previously pointed oiit' in The . .Dominion the yield would run somewhere in .the neighbourhood of, £30,000, out of wluch the costs of administration would have to be deducted. Assumo, for the sake of argument, that half the motors are in the''four- chief : centres,' and that half the proceeds of "the tax is spent on the main -roads leading, out from- 'thorn.' This would , give, something over £3700 .for expenditure' on tho. main' .roads from each, of the four centres. Most of the cities liave a number of different, main' roads fading out to their, country district's; and when this amount' ■is distributed over them it will not. suffice for .much., more -than tho easing off of a few corners and minor" work- of that nature...' ■ ■ .

; A Comnarifion With Britain. . • - motor tax is: a , real contributibh to improvement work, and though wo may follow. Eiißhsh precedents iii our Motor Bill it is neces-' sary to., remember that our conditions' aro .rerjr dilferent; .The ,'rurql. jroads of the United Kingdom; coS\oii! SJ" millions a year to mkm '''i iaccordiiiK to tholvß.A.C.' Year Bby ■; 'and the. motor spirit duties and' carriage liberises. (which include the motor taxes),.bring, ill a surri of. byer two millions -'anmially.' In' New VZealhnd tho, county councils spend two millions on public works, ..-mostly road, maintenance,- and' our jnidtibr 'tax will bring in a mero : Mifloi.4j;ffi.3o;ooo 0r.'56,.?.'1t.-'.is. ary to,''tilame the motor for the increasing cost, of road maintenance in the ~hui, if tlia ,inotor 0 has iljh a can.' Be other.'traffiq'has hee'ii steadily increasing also. . The' public is constantlj-,.beinp; told how..,the Dpmin- • ion's- exports' are soaring'up, and nil. this extra-produce has had to-be carted over the,; roads.'. The motor certainly-, ; h^s'a destructive effect pn-vfch'e old style of road,.but in-any'attempt to grapple • with; the- roads problem a Motor Bill is merely an incident. -

Sbpie Provisions Reviewed. ~ . . ' the -Bill' is divided .'into four .'parts: I.Part. with .tho registration .and annual, licensing; of;'cars'; Part 11, of' drivers; Part' 111, apportionment of fees ; and Part.'lV, general. 'I'he h'rst three'parts, are all' new, but tho' last part unfortunately contains a good, many provisions 'of-'-tho old Act J'or the purpose of administering the Act. a Registrar- 6f Motors will- be appointed with a Deputy-Registrar ineach province: It is with these offioials that the owners of private cars will be entirely concerned in the. registration .of their-cars and tho payment;of--the Annual tax. ' Their licenses to drive they will, however,--have to obtain from their borough council, comity council, or town board. ,The owners of commercial- motors will have to. register them with tho Deputy-Registrars, but will pay their tax to tho local councils. Under'tho English Act the whole of the registration and' licensing is done by the county councils, and the annual tax, which goes to the general Government, may be paid in at any post'-office just as most people pay. in-their income tax'w New Zealand. The New Zealand Bill follows English practice closely,, and presumably this, departure in the method ;of administration-has been made with a view to economy. An estimate of .the. expenses of administration would ,be interesting. - '• ' .•■•/ , 'Provision is made for cancellini; the registration of a motor that is destroyed, useless, or removed from the country. .Notice must also he' given when a;motor. is permanently removed;from one. district te 'another.No notice, hijwever, seems to ■be necessary of a change of ownership in "the event of a .sale. This seems .: a serious ..omission, aild failure, to 'notice sales of. .cars is .one of-the greatest defects under t'he' present, system." The English law is specific on the point, and gives the purchaser . of a car tho right to. retain . the existing; • registration • if:' lie ,so . desires. . Andther point is that a visitor to New Zealand . who'brings a car, with hiin for a tour through t'he country will be called upon pay, besides the registration and driver's license fees, a full year's tax. Not many such visitors do', come, but it; does not seem good policy to go out of- our way to discourage tliem . Speed and Lights.

The provisions in the present-Act as to speed and lights are incorporated in the Bill. Local bodies may fix definite 'speed limits 011 any Riven road provided v tiiey erect sign-posts denoting tno. limit. As for lamps, only one light showing ahead is required, and a red light must ho shown to the rear. Provision is to lie mado by regulation for the illumination of number plates. Lamps must be. lighted, from sunset until'an hour beforo sunrise. It was generally expected tliat the whole questioti of lights oii vehicles would be dealt ivith either in a special Bill or as an amendment to tjje Police Oifences Act. Tlie provisions in the present Bill hardly meet the case. A Correspondent's Views, Mr. C. Churchill Jackson writes from Kopnaraliga as follows:—"I have read with interest the letter written by 'Talbot,' re taxing motor-enrs through the wear on tyroa, and, as mover of the remit that 'was carried at the conference of local bodies and Chambers'of Commerce recently held in Wellington, I should, like to. make: a few. remarks, in re|ilv. "Thn motor industry lias passed the "stage of one of'luxury, and has became one of commercial necessity. In :tije country the motor-car is of the same commercial value to the country settlers as the electric tramway is to suburban

resident; therefore "until it. is superseded in utility , by sOmo other conveyance, it will remain with' us, and the extra wear on the highways will have to be faced. The tax, I take it, is not intended as a direct one on motor-cars, but rather as a proportionate compensation by tho owner for the . damage done to the'roads. This can only . be. arrived at by'a tax on the value of the tyres worn out on the roads—as the ■wear 011 tho tyres is l a reflex of the wear ont' the roads. A tax based on ■weight or horse-power would bo manifestly unfair, for the reason that a 40 li.p. car paying an annual tax of £10 may be used only 011 week-ends' (or through accident may bo laid up for months), whilst a 20'h.p. car paying a £4 tax may be used every day in the week. It is evident that the latter car. is doing far'more damage to the roads than the former. Let it be assumed that 5 per •cent, of.ithe tax imposed on the value of tyres, then a car wearing Out one set of tyres costing', say, £20 in twelve months would pajr'ai 'tax of £l; r two; sets, £2 ; three sets, £3. And so a car wearing out one''set" of tyres,, costing l say i SO, in twelr) months would pay a tax of £2 10s;'; two sets, £5; three' sets, £7 10s.-, and so on. It is apparenttho car that wears Out the most tyres in twelve months .is doing tho greatest amount of damage to the roads, irrespective of weight .Or horse-pewor, and-under the. tyre tax is incidentally paying the greater tax.- • •> • _ "I cannot agree with the idea that the tax on tyres would be an incentivo to local bodies to put unsuitable metal on roads'. During my long connection with local bodies 1 have always found' them composed of reasonable men—the majority of ivhom are to-day motorists. When the matter of tyre tax was under' consideration by the New Zealand Motor ■Union 1 recently, the • president (Mr.McLean) doubted the feasibility' of the. I tax. on tyres on the score of tho difficulty in distributing the revenue thus raised proportionately amongst the local bodies. There should be- no difficulty i in this respect; revenue could be distributed . (added to the annual subsidy to' each local body) iii proportion :■ (1) To the mileage of maiii road in each local'body; or (2) to the number of cars registered, in each local "body. Every effort should be made'by local bodies and by every ratepayer to op-' .pose the proposition to .hand over the main, arterial roads to tho Government for maintenance. Borough and County Councils' are - endowed - with sufficient, power under the Eating Act to enable tlierri to carry out all necessary repairs. If : the Roads -Department- undertakes this work of road. maintenance, it simply-means that, all local rates will be doubled at least.. Taxpayers should bear in mind what happened a few years' back when the Hutt Road was .'handed over unconditionally to'the Government to .put in order." ( .' ,

Dazzling Headlights.. j' The complaint, of the motormen once!more directs attention to the dazzling headlights problem.; lights .on some cars - how, going about the country .are positively bonding;. hnd constitute a serious danger to other road, users. .The writer was coming through Lower ;Hutt the other evening' when a car with \phat seemed like a couple of' battleship ■ searchlights came round a bend about a third of .a, mile away! Tho lights .were so dazzling that until the car passed it . was impossible _to ;soe .what; other traffic was on tho 'Tod'd.J ,»Unlighted vehicles, are , notoriously; common in -. the Lower: Hutt,.' and for _ safety's sake the best thing to avoid the unknown,dangers..pp.;tljs side oFthe road seemed to be to steer straight for ' the headlights.. Any in-: torvening objects could then be seen, and*the only chance, of an. accident lay* iu tlie driver of the oncoming car being drunk or asleep. A« the owner of the powerfully-lit car usually takes advantage of his lights to travel, at speed at iiight, the risk run . by. other traffic is often, serious. Some remedy is badly needed. It ■ shoiild be possible to. direct' the' rays' of' the lamps -so that ihey will .fall on. the road, and not in the oyes of persons approaching along.it. It is stated that if the top half of the 1 glass is frosted there is no interference with the light on the road,, arid no blinding of approaching traffic. . Owners of cars with powerful headlights would certainly be doing a courteous act if they shut their lights off .or turned them down-when passing ,other trdffic at night.

Motor Service for Nelson. .. Nelson some years. ago had . a private motor-bus servico and it is now recommended by a committee of the City Council that a municipal motor . service should be established., The committee reported-to last Friday's meeting of, the ; council that- it considered a "bus .service would be mucn more suited for Nelson than rail ■ trams,, owing to the' scattered area to be served, and rccommended that a poll bo taken on a proposal to raiso a special loan of £7500 for tho purchase'.of an up-to-date plant. The council referred- the report back, to the committee for, more intormation.

A Point for Purchasers. "From a standpoint of safety, -probably'; the first consideration should bo tho design, character,, and size of brakes," says Chief Engineer George A. Weidely, of- the American Premier Company. "The : braking system is one of the features frequently overlooked by prospective purchasers; the, chassis' and the. general appoarancc of the car are all'carefully, looked into, but-'thb brakes, in' iriaiiy respects,.the ihost important feature of a'car, are not always examined." •. . *•'.

Wellington Automobile Club. .. .The committee oif' the WMling'ton' Automobile Club' held a meeting on Tuesday. It was decided to request the local bodies in the district not to begin their winter road metalling until after" the Easter holidays.; The secretary was instructed"to arrange a data' for a joint. deputation with the Wellington Motor-Cycling C/lub 'with a- view 1o Urging.: the early completion of the Akataran-.a-Reikoraiigi Bond; giving a liow through route to \Vaikanae. ' Jt was stated.that there was every prospect of an amicable arrangement with the Petone Borough Council with regard to the motor hurdles .on.(ho main : road. : A meeting is to be held at an early date to consider the provisions of the Motor Bill. It is stated that members of the club appear to favour a tax on': tires ' rather. .than one on weight. Mr. H. Dillon-Kelly, secretary of the club, states that , the position with regard to the danger posts is that (he donor • of- the posts undertook -their erection, and this work 'has been delayed ponding a final varnishing.'"', Motor-Cycling Notes. The. Wellington M.C.C. is holding a spoed trial on Miitai Road, Miramar, this afternoon at 2.15.- This is the last competition of the season in the Sutherland and Ruahine Cup series. The win of N. Irvine (A.J.S.) in lnat Saturday's' Side-car competition was a very creditable performance as the course was an exceptionally severe one, with extreme grades, ' and was -rendered " doubly 'difficult' by tho heavy coating of metal tin the road. A. Barber (Matchless) was in second place. • The llangitikei M.C.C. held its third run on Saturday last, tho. route being from Marion to- Tnrqkina, via 'the "Bridlo Track" and back by. Bonny Glen. J. .Griffin, on a T.T, Triumph,' won the hill-climb held en route on the Turakina J till, A reliability trial for

light-weights, (for which Mr. A. H. liill lias donated a challenge cup. will bo hold shortly. Hints and Tips. The chain nail catchcr is a comparatively old dodgo to prevent puncturo trouble's, but there arc many who may not lmro heard of it. The attachment consists of a loop of chain secured by two small eye-bolts and nuts to the underside of the mudguard. The chain should have, small steel links, and it requires to bo eufHciently long to trail over the tyro tread. In this position it intercepts nails, etc., which usually take more than a single revolution of the wheel before passing completely through the tread to the inner tube. A very small amount of emery paste should be smcered on the bevolled edge of the valve, considerable pressure used oil the grinding tool, and the valve turned only half-way. round. Caro should be used to return each valve to tho opening from which it was taiicn, and the space between the valve stem arid cam-shaft should ,1101 be over the thickness of a visiting-card. A cure for leaky -back- axles is. given by a correspondent of tho "Auto-car," und may be useful.to owners who aro troubled with oil and grease coming out on to their, brake drums/ falling 'on to the tiros, and creating 0 general mess, ■ The direction taken by tho leaking grease was along the axle casing, •and then back through, the slight space separating the- shell Irub of tho detachable wheel from the fixed hub, because the majority of the tyre markings were on the inside. Thus, if the open end of tho casing, could bo closed up then the leakage would cease. The hub-cap \ i :as filled with the stiff est grease procurable,'and all trouble ceased.- . ■It is'an unwritten law of the road that any vehicle descending a liill must give way to any. vehicle ascending, even as a steam ship must always give way to a sailing ship. The reasons are obvious, but'the beginner has yet to find out how' much easier it is to stop a car going dowiihill than to set one going up that same hill, particularly in the case of small power 'engines. Many cars are turned out without any means of the silent chain driving the cam-shaft'. Tho slack in these can, however, frequently be taken, up at small expense by having an adjustable jockey _ pulloy covered with raw hide fitted inside the timing-case,'so as to press down on the smooth side of tho chain'. : TJIO treatment of exceptionally fierce clutches :with glycerine is recommended by tho "Motor/ 1 and the mixing of a little graphite with- the glycerine is . stated to pe an Improvement. If there is any easing of a leather clutch possible at all, this treatment,.should be as "effective as any, as the graphite renders gripping or seizure impossible. Of course, a clutch may be structurally defective, such as.bein'g made to the wrong - angle, and in that case no treatment other than reconstruction will avail.;

Hare and There. . Legal lighting-up time for motor-cars and motor-cycles: To-day, 4.49- p.m. Next Friday, ,4.56 p.m. .. ■ 'An appeal- to motorists to join the Canterbury Automobile Association; was made by' Mr. J. Sea-Gowing in tho Christc'hurch "Press" on the appcar:ance of the Motor Bill. It was pointed out that the club had' the. best head-' quarters in New Zealaud, and as- evidence* of its work that ; the roads are' being sign-posted, dangerous corners are •being marked off and' hundreds 1 of pounds, .have otherwise been, laid out such as on bridge.and road improvements.

The Automobile Club of Australia is arranging a 1000 miles' trial, to bo Held in September. '.. • : .' • ! More motor-oars were licensed .in New York State during the first four ii onths Of .this year than in the wholo of last year. . •' . The 1 ongaroa "Mail" says: Motorcars < aro, becoming in this 'district/ several settlers 'already having them. A few more are expected & arrive as soon as the roads are in a little better order. '

A Read Committee has been set up by tlie Otago Motor Club, and is-col-lecting data regarding road'improvement work. ■

TO CORRESPONDENTS. J.S.— I The duty on ; ,motor-cyqles is 20 • per cent, ad valorem, with' an, addi/tional 10 pe,r ; cent, on those from countries outside the British Empire. Light cars are charged the same' duty as full-sized motors, viz'.J 20 per cent. 1 ad valorem on the' valuo of tho body ■Work; while the chassis is admitted free; The Customs revenue on motorcar'and motor-cycle imports in 1912 was £38,000, and'tho value ot the im'ports was over £660,000.