STREET BARROWS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 101, 23 January 1935, Page 6

STREET BARROWS

Renewed Activity in City COUNCILLOR’S OBJECTION At the last meeting of the City Council, Or. W. Dltilcan drew the attention of the council to the renewed activities of barrow men in the streets of Wellington. Up till some two years ago a great proportion of the retail fruit trade of Wellington was done through the medium of fruit hawkers who had barrows at different points in the city, for which they paid u quarterly rental to the council. This mode of trade was seriously objected to by the shopkeepers, who said they lost a great deal of business through these barrow men (mostly Hindus), and that as they paid rent and rates they were entitled to some protection. After considerable discussion the council at length decided that all fruit barrowmen bad to be off the streets by a certain date, and after that the sites'or pitches were not submitted to auction. It was a ease of exi£ the barrowmen. This did not prevent these men taking out hawking licenses and selling their goods as they trundled their barrows round the town, for which privilege they had to pay an annual license fee. It seems that some have taken out such licenses, but the point emphasised by Or. Duncan was that the barrowmen in some cases were not: ‘•moving on.” They remained station-

“I say that it is not a fair thing to the shopkeepers of the city tiuit these breaches of the ■ by-law should be tolerated,’’ said Or. Duncan. “These shopkeepers who pay high rents, mostly because the rates are so high since the change in the system, have all they can do to make ends meet, yet for a paltry annual license fee these men are once more beginning to make a practice of standing in the one place all day. On Monday morning at 11 o’clock I went up Cuba Street and saw a barrow man selling tomatoes from a covered barrow outside Woolworth’s. He was still there at 5 o’clock in the evening. This Is a complete defiance of the council resolution, and should be stopped at once. Then there are fishsellers with barrows who take up positions on certain days of the week. I do not know If they have licenses, but they have no right to stay In one position more than a minute or two while actually selling their goods. According to the law they should have their fish protected by a glass covering, if it is only to project them from the flies. “Such is the position that I intend to give notice to the council at its first meeting this year to absolutely prevent hawking of any kind in certain streets of the city- which I shall name. It is not a fair thing for those who are battling for a crust in the shops, and who lit Didst cases do take reasonable precautions l against the fly nuisance.”