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"No Concern to Authority"

12th July 1957, Page 35
12th July 1957
Page 35
Page 35, 12th July 1957 — "No Concern to Authority"
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

WHETHER criminal proceedings could be taken as the result of hearings before a Licensing Authority was of no concern to him. This was stated by Mr. H. Hull, president of the Transport Tribunal in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

The Tribunal allowed in part an appeal made by Percy Finnic, 25 Low Street, New Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire, against a decision of the Scottish Deputy Licensing Authority. The respondents were the British Transport Commission, and three hauliers.

Delivering judgment, Mr. Hull said that the Tribunal had decided with some reluctance not to exercise their power to call available witnesses to elucidate previous testimony.

This appeal was one of the sort becoming increasingly familiar, namely, one arising out of an application by a haulier who had, in the past, made money by hiring out somebody's vehicles as chattels and leaving it to the customers to find drivers for them.

The present appellant said that he had, for the past 18 or 19 months, been meeting the needs of five companies by allowing them, for a suitable payment, to use four of his vehicles.

The appellant said he wished now to serve these five companies under an ordinary licence. The Tribunal were satisfied on the whole that, in the case of two of the companies (the Tribunal, Mr. Hull said, had no knowledge of the intentions of the other three) they would continue to give Mr. Finnie their custom if he were empowered to carry their goods.

One of the points that arose was whether the Tribunal were satisfied that the arrangements under which the traffic had been carried in the past were legal or not. The question was whether the drivers had been the customers' servants.

The Authority, said the president, stated that though he was suspicious he had not found affirmatively that the agency arrangement was illegal.

The president said the Tribunal would order that an A licence be granted for two vehicles of 74 tons unladen weight, subject to the condition that Mr. Finnic undertook that he would not hire out vehicles for the use of any of the five companies concerned.

Upon this undertaking being given on behalf of Mr. Finnie, the president said that the Authority would be ordered to issue an A licence for two vehicles.


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