VEHICLES' TAX

Taranaki Daily News, 8 July 1919, Page 6

VEHICLES' TAX

Local Bodies' Conference. A Representative Gathering. TJig conference of local body representatives convened by the New Plymouth Borough Council to consider the matter of the vehicles licensing by-law passed by the Taranaki County Council, which took place yesterday was one of the most representative gatherings held in Taranaki, as will be seen from the following list of repffesentatives who attended: Crs. Green and Sinclair (Egmont County), Crs, Campbell and Nairn (Eltham Borough), *Crs. Belcher and McGuinness (Eltham County), Messrs Cutfield anil Foote (Fi.tzroy Ratepayers' Association), Messrs A. Lister and J. H. Freethy (Frankleigh Park Settlers' Association), Mr. E. Dixon and Cr. Hay ton (Hawera Borough), Cr. R. J. Linn (Hawera County), Messrs Cumming and Lyskey (Hawera Chamber of Commerce), Mr. J. Sutherland and Cr. Spurdle (Inglewood Borough), Messrs Corkill and Lyons (Moa Road Board), Messrs T. A. Bridge and L. G. Neilson (Manaia Town Board), Mr. C. H. Burgess, Crs. Hill, Collis, Brooker, Clarke, Parkin, Griffiths (New Plymouth Borough), Crs. Pigott and McKenzie (Clifton Coun,ty), Messrs C. Carter and R. C. Hughes (New Plymouth Ratepayers' Association), Mr. T. C. list (New Plymouth Tourist and Expansion League), Mr. A. W. Hewitt (Stratford Chamber of Commerce), Crs. Walter and Anderson (Stratford County Council), Mr. J. W. McMillan and Cr. Cameron (Stratford Borough), Messrs Pi J. H. White and C. Baker (Taranaki Employers' -Association), Messrs E. P. Webster and J. MeLeod (Taranaki Jockey Club), Mr. T. C. McPhillips (Waimate West County), Mr. R. Morgan 1 (Waitara_ Borough), Mr. Thompson (Taranaki Motor Garage Proprietors' Association), Mr. J. Quin (Taranaki Farmers' Meat Company), and Mr. B. Luxton (Farmers' Union), Messrs AGoldwater and W. J. Penn (Taranaki Chamber of Commerce). Several bodies which were unrepresented had eommuni eated their oposition to the by-law ana their readiness to join in ,the protest against the by-law. Mr. C. H. Burgess, as Mayor of New Plymouth, welcomed the delegates and expreased his appreciation of the response made to the circular sent out by his council on' the mat,ter. The object of ,the conference was to discuss the proposed by-law and then interview the County Council on the matter. Although the Blatter affected New Plymouth, it was a provincial question, and he invited the meeting to elect a chairman.

It was unanimously agreed that Mr. Burgessi should be chairman.'

Continuing, Mr. Burgess said, in order to haVe something definite ,to place before the . conference the town clerk had prepared 'some resolutions which could be discussed with a view to coming to a decision. He then moved the following resolution, which was adopted without discussion: That this conference, representing practically the whole of the local bodies, chambers of commerce, and kindred societies throughout the Taranaki Province earnestly urges upon the Taranaki County Council to refrain from confirming the proposed new by-law termed "The Taranaki County Vehicles Licensing By-law, 1919," and in support of its request sets out the following objections to the by-law in question: (a) The by-law is a most reactionary and retrogressive measure, calculated to cause injustice and hardship upon all owners of vehicles throughout the Province of Taranaki; (b) that, as admitted by the chairman of the Taranaki County Council, the by-law is unfair in its operation and, in the opinion of the conference, being in addition to existing license fees and tolls, is all the more oppressive and unreasonable: (c) that the by-law, being unreasonable and unjust, is calculated to cause bitter resentment between the Taranaki County Council and all other local bodies in Taranaki; (d) that New Plymouth being the port of Taranaki, it is undesirable that unnecessary restrictions should be imposed upon communication between the rest of Taranaki and its port. Any restriction which has a detrimental effect upon the port will inevitably have a detrimental effect upon the whole provincial-district; (e) that i the by-law : iR especially oppressive upon | the coastal districts of Egmont and Opunake, which have no railway communieaI Jjj on an d whose only outlet is through the Taranaki County to the port, and the residents of which now pay substantial tolls to the Taranaki County Council for the privilege of passing over its roads; (f) that the power to make such a bylaw having been granted to 16 county councils in New Zealand cannot with justice be withheld from all other counties and, in the event of such powers being acquired and exercised, an intolerable and. oppressive state of affairs throughI out the Dominion will be created.

Mr. Burgess then moved, and Mr. Morgan seconded, the following resolution: That, in the event of ,the Taranaki County Council refraining from confirming the by-laws and concentrating its efforts to induce the Government to impose an equitable and general tax upon motor .traffic, distributing the proceeds amongst the various local bodies for the improvement and upkeep * of arterial roads, this conference pledges itself to support such proposal, and will exert every possible pressure to induce the Government to give effect .thereto. Mr. Burgess said the resolution was a farreaehmg one and opened up a wide subject, and he hoped it would be freely discussed.

Mr. McPhillips said he could not sup~ port the resolution, as it appeared that motor traffic was going to be taxed unduly. It must be recognised that motors had come to stay, and they would probably be the mode of conveyance of milk to the factories in the near future. To get the necessary revenue for road maintenance they should advocate that the Government should subsidise on the full amount of the rate struct;. By that means, more revenue would be raised' with much less friction- Toll-gates and> wheel taxes were relics of barbarism—they were not indicative of progress, but of a step backward, and he hoped both would be. abolished.

Mr. Nairn said he was in sympathy with Mr. McPhillips to a degree. If the Government gave a subsidy, as he suggested, it would have to be on a differI ential basis, as some local bodies had i been making good roads for some time and it would not be fair to allocate an [equal amount to those districts which jhad been "back pedalling" all the time. Mr. McMillan said he would like ,to know why some local bodies had not supported the movement initiated at Stratford about a year ago with a view to the adoption of uniform by-laws, and hoped the representatives of those bodies which had ''pulled out" tr<m tha «&em« would «qwa why.

Mr; Bejcner said that undoubtedly the best way to collect revenue for road maintenance was by way of a be,tter subsidy on the rates.

Mr. Quin said the people of the province were under a debt to the Taranaki County Council for opening up such a. big question, lie then proceeded to state that the question also opened up the matter of county boundaries, which, ho contended, were badly drawn. There were counties which had 110 outlet to a port except through othere counties, and he did not think that was right. The boundary of the Kgmont County should come right up to the port of New Plymouth, and that of Waimate should have nceess to the port of I'atea without having to traverse other counties- 'l'he matter had been brought up at the last conlerence of the Counties' Association, but political influence had prevented anything being done. He also said that town boards should never be allowed to control main roads —they should have a repiesentative 011 the county council, which should be the only body'to control' arterial roadways. The first necessity in dealing with the question was the alteration of county boundaries and the next the alteration of the system of subsidising on rates. Mr. Quin concluded by stating .that the settlers were vsrv largely to blame for the present system in vogue.

Mr. Walter said lie had a good deal of sympathy with the Taranaki Countv Council ill their difficulty in the matter of making maintaining good roads. It was no good the conference going to the county condemning its -by-law unless they were prepared with some remedy for the trouble. He thought the resolution was fair. To take the money, by way of subsidy, from the consolidated revenue was not fair to the people who had not much use for the roads. He thought the conference should be unanimous in Us wish to help the Taranaki Council in the- getting of its revenue, or it would be no use going as a deputation. His own council had tried to put on a motor tax some years ago, but had come to .the toll-gate system of raising money. Mr. Jas- Clarke agreed that the conference should go with some sort of remedy to take the place of the tax they were condemning. Everyone agreed that the coufcty had a long length of road to keep up and only a very narrow strip of country from which to collect rates in respect to the coast road. The motorist should be taxed, and no doubt would be perfectly*, willing ,to pay, if only he was sure of getting good roads. He thought perhaps a committee of the conference should consider ways and means of collecting such a tax. The question of the maintenance of the roads then arose, and he was of opinion that the charges on them should be pooled and administered by a special board. He estimated roughly that there would be at least 4000 cars in the province, which, at £5 per annum, would yield about £20,000 in relief of rates. It might be that the ( Taranaki Council could be the collecting body for such a tax. He did not think it was any use depending on the Government to take action, and advocated the local bodies taking powers which he believed they already possessed and keeping the matter in their own hands. He thought some such scheme might be presented to the council in place of their parochial by-law. Mr. Quin said Mr. Clarke's proposal was only a little wider than that of the Taranaki Council. In order to be a succes& any tax on motors must he applicable over the whole Dominion.

Mr. Corkill said he thought the remedy, so far as the Taranaki County Council was concerned, was better management. They had been running a large county for years now without an engineer. Such a policy could only lead to bankruptcy, and that was wha,t was the matter.

Mr. Hewitt said he had had a good deal to do with the toll-gate commission, and the conclusion that body had come to was that the fairest me.thod of dealing with the coat of yoad toainten- 1 ance was by means of a tyre tax. The man who used the most tyifta .nould then pay most for the upIiTM? die roads At present i>inti up with baa roads and mm, ITn<rw , , ence In time the tyre-U, itself by the improved roada ", be provided The speed of travelling had j a big bearing on the question, and the | man who travelled fast would, by a tax on tyres, have to pay more than the man who drove reasonably. Mr. Cameron approved the idea of .1 tyre tax which would be pooled for the whole of Taranaki and distributed in proportion to themileaga of roadway to be maintained. The tax would be 'collected by the Customs Department, and should be levied on the soiling price of fthe tyre. That would prevent merchants from collecting a profit on the tax. Mr. Hewitt pointed ou,t that the tai should be collected before delivery of the tyre was given.

Mr. McPhillips said he thought there might be some difficulty in the matter of the distribution of the amount collected.

Mr. Burgesg said it was apparent there was agreement that something should be done for the upkeep of the main roads, Mr. Dixon expressed sympathy with the Taranaki County Council in its difficulty in connection with the road maintenance, and he thought if they would refrain from confirming the by-law all the other local bodies would join with them in a movement for a proper tax on motor traffic, but they were opposed to the unfair and iniquitous by-law proposed. He wished the Taranaki councillors could have been present to hear the discussion that had token place, and thought something could be done in the direction of combined representations to the Government.

Mr. Pigott said his council waa in [ sympathy with the Taranaki Council and ■their difficulty, but did not approve of , the wheel tax because it was most inI'iquitous. They would support a tyre 1 tax.

Mr. McPhillips said they could get over the difficulty of the motor traffic by putting down roads that would carry the traffic. The old method of road construction was no good for the new motor vehicles, and that had to be recognised by every local body. Mr. Morgan supported the resolution, •advocating that the Government should collect and distribute the tax.

Mr. Lyons; supported a tax on vehicles, but urged the adoption of the Victorian Bystem, under which the roads were managed by a board of competent engineers, who apportioned the tax between the different local bodies, the roads being heavily subsidised by the Government. That would prevent motors coming into areas where there were good roads without paying anything towards: their upkeep. He moved as an amendment that the conference pledges itself to support any national system of main road maintenance (preferably the Victorian) for the upkeep of arterial roads. , Mr. Corkill seconded the amendment. The chairdman suggested that the Amendment should be taken as & separate motion at a later stage, Aftec, Mne forttar dugUMton, hamvvu ft wm

withdrawn. Mr. Burgess further suggested that it might meet the caso if there was added to the motion a proviso for the setting up of a committee, including representatives of the Taranaki County Council, to consider the whole question, and he asked that that addition to the motion be allowed.

Mr. Dixon moved: That, in the event of the Taranaki County Council refraining from confirming' the by-law a conference of local bodies, including the Taranaki County Council, bu called for the purpose of evolving some satisfactory proposals to be placed before the Government for the providing of the necessary funds for the improvement ami upkeep of arterial roads. Mr. W. J. Penn seconded Hie amendment, which was carried.

Arrangements were then completed for the deputation to wait on the council, and the conference decided to re-assemble after meeting the County Council.

DEPUTATION TO COUNCIL. At two o'clock the members of the conference, together with other members of some of the bodies represented, waited on the County Council, In receiving the delegates, ,the chairman of the council (Mr. J. S. Connett) said that no doubt the deputation was actuated by the best mo.tives and thought that their ideas of the position were right, and the council thought their attitude was right. From reports of the various county meetings which had appeared in the, press, he believed there was some direct antagonism ,to the council's proposal, but he hoped the council's point of view would be looked at. The council would hear what the deputation had to say and give their views every consideration. Up to the present the council did feel disposed to change its opinion. He knew all had the interests of the people at heart, and only by an exchange of views could they come to the best conclusion. He referred to these things in order to guard against misrepresentation.

Mr. Burgess, who was chief spokesman for the deputation, detailed the various bodies represented. He assured the council that they were present in 110 unfriendly or hostile attitude. (Hear, hear!) He said he accepted the full responsibility for issuing the circular to other local bodies, aa he felt that the paragraphs intimating the council's decision might have escaped the notice of other councils. The power to levy the tail was admitted, but the deputation, which represented practically the whole of Taranaki, was there to ask the council to favorably consider the request to refrain from confirming the by-law. The trouble of road maintenance was common to all local bodies, and all had the greatest sympathy with the Taranaki Council in their effort to raise revenue' for the upkeep of their roads, and recognised the strain there was to find the money required. The deputation, however, felt that the council was about to adopt a position that would causa deep resentment. There were only two counties that had the power to adopt such a by-law. He knew Clifton did not intend to take advantage of such power. If the by-law was adopted other bodies would ask for the same powers and would retaliate, and that would be disastrous for Taranaki. It had been said that New Plymouth had selfish motives in connection with their opposition, but lie thought that they were all prone to look after their own interests, and in such a matter he thought they were entitled to bo selfish The by-law struck at the very heart of New Plymouth. The town was the commercial and civil centre of the province, and the port was the port for the. whole province. That was shown by the action of the ratepayers in the recent loan poll. The objects of the town and country were identical in that they sought the good of tile whole of Taranaki. The by-law would obstruct progress. The. interests of the province were the interests of New Plymouth, which was the capital, and in time would have a large population. The town was endeavoring to cater for the province, by the development of its clectrieal power supply, and also . the petroleum and ironsand indusi tries. Population depended largely on the means of communication, which was i chiefly by the arterial roads, and any restriction on the use of them must retard the progress of the district. Any restriction upon the free intercourse between the various parts of the province must be avoided. The idea that part should take powers that penalised others was not right, Then; should be some other way out of tho diltleulty. The deputation were agreed that motor traffic should pay a shaye of the upkeep of good roads, but they believed the tux should be provided by statute in order to be fail'. If the council would drop its present proposal the other bodies were prepared to join in a movement with a view to finding an equitable settlement of tho difficulty. If the bylaw was passed, then the Taranaki County Council would stand alone, and there would be an estrangement between it and other bodies. In conclusion, Mr. Burgess appealed to the council to look at the matter, not merely as a county council, but in a broad spirit and as reasonable and business-like men. If the council took the power to tax vehicles, then they could not object if other bodies did the same, and if they took the same powers, then the roads would merely become the means of collecting revenue, and could no longer be looked upon as free highways. Mr.' Burgess then read the resolution passed by the conference. Mr. Belcher thought the by-law was arbitrary and inequitable. His district had recognised that motor traffic had come to stay, and had made roads to suit the traffic. He thought that instead of trying to put on a wheel-tax all should combine and get an enlarged subsidy on rates. He hoped the by-law would not be confirmed, and that the Taranaki .County Council would come back and help to get uniform by-laws adopted. Mr. MaPhillips referred to what had been done by his county, and said the Toads were put down out of loan, and were kept in good condition without any tax or tollgate. The proposed by-law was unjust, and Parliament should never have given the power to any county to make such a law. He assured the council that the members of the deputation were anxious to help in framing a scheme that would be fair and equitable.

Mr. Dixon reiterated that the conference had a great deal of sympathy with the position of the Taranaki County Council. He said tirfeen he read the report of the meeting at .which the by-law was explained he wondered whether or not something was at the back of the proposal in the direction £t" getting all the local bodies in Taranaki to take up the matter. If the conference was the means of inducing the council to stay its hand for a little an<4 brining in with others to see that thty maJter was thought out on broad lines, then a lead might be given, not only„xA Taranaki, but to the whole Dominion. The Ha<n .ggg» 7.^