WHEELS OF INDUSTRY.
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"The wheels of wealth will be slowed by all difficulties of transport at whatever points arising, as a carriage is by the roughness of the roads over which it runs."-John Beattie Crozier.
Motor Taxation Returns.
The returns just • issued by the Minister of Transport showing the numbers of motor vehicles of different types licensed between December 1st last and February 28th last indicate a further proportional increase.
The figures for commercial goods vehicles have now risen to 232,482, which is an increase of 25,680 as compared with the figures to February 28th, 1925, which in themselves showed an increase of 22,815 over the figures for a like date in the year 1924. Road locomotives (taking the same dates in each year) fell from 1,492 in 1924 to 1,378 in 1925, but they have 'risen slightly this year, the figure being 1,398. The number of motor tractors, which rose from 1,063 in 1924 to 1,071 in 1925, has now inersased by nearly 100 to 1,170.
There is a further big increase in motor hackney vehicles, the figures being 72,424 in 1924. 75,870 in 1925, and 77,424 in 1926. The number exempted , vehicles, which includes vehicles employed by Departments of the Services, fire-engines, ambulances, etc., now totals 15,277, an increase of 1,164 over last year Motor -ploughs have fallen in number from 12,125 at the end of February, 1925, to 11,828 on February 28th last. The number of cars taxed on horse-power has now reached a total for the first quarter of the year of 498,188. an increase of 72,400 as compared with a year ago. Of those, of course, a proportion, and a number of motorcycle combinations, are employed in commercial work.
The total sum received from motorvehicle licences (after deducting the 'amount received in respect of the licensing of invalids' vehicles, horse-drawn vehicles, and tramcars) is £11,790,423, to which must be added miscellaneous receipts (arrears of duty, driving
licences; etc.), £88,043, bringing the•total received from all sources to
£11,874,466. This figure will probably represent about two-thirds of the total sum received from motor-vehicle taxation during the licensing year which will end on November 30th next.Of the sum mentioned, over five millions sterling has been received in respect of commercial motor vehicles and tractors.
A Bus Difficulty at Darlington.
An unusual situation has arisen at Darlington, which ranks as one of the busiest centres of motorbus traffic in the North of England, as the result of a difference of opinion between the municipality and the United Automobile Services, Ltd., who operate roughly three-quarters of the services radiating from the town. The company normally have upwards of 150 units in service in the Darlington area and, from March 31st, when the cld licences expired, the fleet has been running without sanction from the corporation, the reason, it is gathered, being that the company are not satisfied with the form of undertaking required by the authority from all applicants for licences. This undertaking, which is a written one, embraces requirements with -relation to
C.20 fares, operation to approved time-tables, etc. The dispute is a perfectly goodtempered one, and there is no danger of any interruption of services, which extend to various parts of the North Yorkshire and Durham area. A possible outcome of the situation is an inquiry by the Ministry of Transport.
Concessionnaires Required for an American Chassis.
An old-established American company manufacturing commercial and passenger chassis are anxious to get into touch with responsible distributors in Great Britain. They have a complete
range of heavy vehicles from 20-25-ewt, capacity listed at 1,575 dollars to sixcylinder .chassis of 5-7-ton capacity listed at 4,950 dollars. They also have a range of buses-with seating capacities for from 18 to 38 passengers.
Any communication on this matter addressed to " Chassis Concession," care of The Editor of The Commercial Motor, 7-15, Rosebery Avenue, Loudon, E.C.1, will be forwarded to the proper quarter.
Inst. of T. Dinner Postponed.
The Institute of Transport advises us that circumstances have arisen which necessitate the postponement of the dinner of the Institute which was originally to have been held at the Hotel Cecil, London, on April 21st.
Albion Report.
The report of the directors of the Albion Motor Car Co., Ltd., for the year ended December 31st last shows, after making provision for depreciation on buildings, plant and stock and income tax, and deducting directors' remuneration, interest on debenture stock and bonus to employees, a profit of £115,373, this amount being increased to £127,442 by a EMIL brought in from 3924.
The directors have transferred £60,000 t& the rtserve fund, bringing that up to £110,000, allocated £5,000 to the benevolent fund, as well as £3,000 to a fund for the provision of a reereation ground. A dividend at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum has been paid on the preference shares for the halfyear ended June 30th last. These amounts absorb £72,016, and of the remaining 155,426, £4,016 will be absorbed by the payment of a dividend on the preference shares for the halfyear .ended December last (at the same . rate as that for the first half of the year), and by the payment of a dividend at the rate of • 10 per cent, per annum on the ordinary shares. These dividends will account for £40,816 and leave -114,610to be carried forward.
The past year has witnessed a substantial increase in the turnover of the company, and the demand for Albion vehicles is being steadily maintained. An interesting item in the report is to the effect that the company have purchased and cancelled first mortgage debenture stock to the extent of £31,166.
World Motorbus Development.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has recently drawn up an estimate of the number of motorbuses in use throughout the world at the commencement of the present year. The estimate puts the total at 181,573, of which the United States is credited with 80,000, or 44 per cent. France is given the second place in the list with 35,000 (19 per cent.) and the United Kingdom third position with 18,000 (10 per cent.). A summary of the estimate is as follows, but we question the accuracy of some of the figures:
Honour for Sir William Sleigh. The Senatus Academieus of the Edinburgh University have resolved to confer the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws on Sir William Sleigh, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, who is chairman and managing director of Rossleigh, Ltd., the or well-known motor engineers. The honour is to be conferred at the summer graduation ceremonial.