HEAVY ROAD TRAFFIC.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 243, 19 November 1909, Page 4

HEAVY ROAD TRAFFIC.

COUJiTI COUNCIL PKOSEOUTION Ji'AILS. lu the Magistrate's Court yea'terday morning the Taranaki County Council proceeded against James Tarry, co 1tractor, of lnglewood, for conducting lieavy trulfic on tlie Mountain road by causing gravel to be carted, without first complying willi the by-laws. Mr. .1. 11. Roy, county solicitor, appealed for the prosecution, and Jlr. it. Spenec for the defence.

Formal evidence of the passing and gazetting of the by-law was given by Hubert Kllis, county clerk, Jl. J. Jones, county foreman on the county roads in the Tariki district, gave evidence that defendant had been using three-horse teams' constantly on the .Mountain roan, in September and October, carting material for his contract at the lnglewood baths, the loads consisting of river shingle, etc. The defendant had declined to'sign ml undertaking to j repair any damage done to the road.; The trall'ic could not fail to damage th ■ '■ road. To give a specilic date, the wit- j ness slated that on October list he had seen one of Tarn's teams carting shin gle, and the loads consisted of about two yards of it, weighing about three tons. Cross-examined: The tyres were fourinch tvres, he thought, hut thev miglil be live-inch. Such load* would'damage the roads whelher in winter or summer. A load of bricks of equal weight would !,e e.piallv damaging. II would be unfair . to tax loads of one commodity without | the other. It was a filet that bricks | were exempt, lie would be .surprised I to learn that he broke the by-law cadi time he wheeled a bairowload of metal.

Mr. Spencc said that this was a tact, nevertheless. Tlie by-law was merely a copy of a section of the Act, and according to it the bv-law was broken every time a man wheeled a barrow-load of grand or timber along tile county road. The by-law was unite unreasonable, '.or it forbade any trallic in the commodities named under it.

Mr. Spenee, in opening his ease, said the heads of his defence were that tlie I words of the by-law were not specilical-1 ly disclosed, for whilst every man was | presumed to have knowledge of the j statutes, it was necessary to set out bylaws; (b) that the summons referred to a by-law passed on 22ud December, a date when no by-law was passed. The third ground of defence npo-i I which be asked that the information I bad been sworn by .Mr. J. R. Hill, aj Justice of the Peace, who was also a 1 biassed park as a member of the Co'inlv Council, and who had, lie believe.l, actually supported the resolution i;;Uioiising the chairman to take or i;j;u'Mgs. Mr. Mill, of course, was virtii'ly a piosecutor in this case, and as 'ie was 1 a ilfcqualilicd 'person there was no in formation before the Court, .11: cited English cases. His Worship held that Mr. S,vr.c- .1 objection was fatal, anil 'lie information would be dismissed.

Mr. Spencc, in applviu" lor costs, expressed the opinion thai more than the usual guinea should :.e . Unwed -c.ing that the information could hive 1., en issued from luglewool for the grca'er convenience of the de'e lint. His Worship said Cut ne would eresider the point, but lie -Vi lit favor al lowing costs against Ic.'il I. 'dv- in cases of this kind.