TAXI-DRIVERS' FEDERATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 November 1920, Page 5

TAXI-DRIVERS' FEDERATION.

RESOLUTIONS CARRIED. By Telegraph.—Press Associatlpn. Wellington, Nov. 4. At the conference of the Taxi-owners' Federation the officers were elected as follows:—President, Mr. G. A. Wardle (Wellington); vice-president*;, Messrs A. E. Fitzgerald (Wellington), and A. Jones, junr. (Wellington); treasurer, .Mr. Leo de Earneste; auditor, Mi'. Ivory; secretary, Mr. .J. J. McCormisky; delegates to executive, Messrs 0. Wood (Christchurch), J£. Gibson (Otego), S. J. Williams (Napier), R. S. Andrews (Marlborough), F. Mumford (Southland), J. A. Waddle (Wellington). Regarding the use of mirrors on motor lorries, it was decided to recommend that the width of the load on lorries be limited to 10 feet, and that the deflecting mirror extend beyond the load to show the lorry driver any traffic desirous of passing from behind. It was also a recommendation to the Government that all classes of vehicular traffic,, including bicycles, be compelled to parry visible lights. Furthermore, the conference considered the Government should brinj; down legislation to protect traffic against the driving of stock and other animals after sundown. It was further recommended that taxis awaiting engagement on a taxi stand shall be exempt from being lighted, owing to the great strain on their storage batteries, which means repeated loss of time and also expense. This to be contingent on taxi-stands being properly lighted.

DEPUTATION TO MINISTER. QUESTION OF LICENSES. Wellington, Nov. 4. A deputation, from the Taxi) Proprietors' conference interviewed the Minister of Public Works to-day and put before him the resolutions passed by the conference. Regarding the recommendation that every person driving a ear should be licensed annually, and be at least IS yea is of age, the JTmister suggested that if the deputation urged that the police be made responsible for collection of license fees they might be up against the local bodies. The Minister pointed out the difficulties in the way of carrying out the proposal for not allowing private cars to carry passengers to races, especially in country districts. Respecting the driving of cattle along roads at night, the Minister said that, often special circumstances made it necessary that drovers should be piven permission to move stock. lie would see what could be done for safety. Concerning the proposed tyre tax, the deputation suggested a weight tax an more equitable. The Minister said he knew the difficulty in taxation of this sort of doing justice all round. Personally, he had always been in favor of a tax 011 tyres as being the quickest and fairest way of collecting from men who' used the road most. That was firmly fixed in his mind. However, he would go carefully into the matter with hi* Bollangucj^