Road Transport Activities
Page 40
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IN PARLIAMENT
By Our Special Parliamentary Correspondent
COAL INDUSTRY'S DEPUTATION TO MINISTER OF MINES.
A DEPUTATION from the Coal CI. Utilization Council met Mr. E. Brown, Secretary to the Mines Department, last week and made representations regarding the favourable effect on the coal industry of taxation on fuel oil. A memorandum was submitted which not only urged the continuance of the tax on heavy oils, but also the reconsideration of the licence duties and restrictions on road vehicles propelled by steam or compressed gas.
COMPRESSED GAS FOR ROAD TRANSPORT.
EXPERIMENTS carried out both with coke-oven gas and town's gas, it was declared, had been so successful as tq encourage the hope of a considerable new market for British coal. It was estimated that gas could be supplied compressed at a price equivalent to petrol at 7.9d. per gallon. As, however, compressed gas must be carried in steelcylinders; and since taxation was levied on unladen weight, gas-propelled vehicles are penalized.
The deputation therefore urged that the weight for taxation purposes should be the. weight of the vehicle less the weight of gas cylinders and connections, and pointed out that lueh a concession would be in accordance with the precedent set in the case of electrically driven vehicles, which were allowed to deduct the weight of their batteries. These were treated as fuel and appeared to be strictly comparable with compressed-gas cylinders.
STEAM ROAD VEHICLES.
THE deputation submitted that the present restrictions upon the weight and speed of steam road vehicles had had the effect of driving off the road many useful vehicles long before they were worn out. Here was a market for 950,000 tons per annum of British coal —a market equal to that of Norway, with which this country had recently made a trade agreement—that was in grave danger of being lost. Consumption was going down and licences for steam vehicles were not being renewed.
The deputation asked that the licence duties thould be reconsidered to permit a higher pay-load, and that restrictions on speed should be no more onerous than those imposed on vehicles of similar carrying capacity driven by other fuels. A request was also put forward for assurance that there was no official bias against steamers.
Mr. Brown thanked the deputation for its interesting memorandum and B30 promised to consider it thoroughly and report to the proper quarters. Other aspects of this matter are discussed at length on page 179.
OILS PRODUCTION BILL;
AST week the British Hydrocarbon
Oils Production Bill was considered in the House of Commons and read a third time. The discussion resembled that which took place in committee, several Labour members supporting an amendment with the object of bringing the new enterprises under state ownership and control, This proposal was defeated by 162 votes to 29.
Another amendment sought to include in 'the information given to the Board of Trade the average price per ton of coal purchased in connection with the manufacture. This was again opposed. by the Government and rejected by 165 to 33 votes.
WEAK BRIDES AND TRANSPORT.
SIR GIFFORD FOX asked whether, in view of the fact that it had been demonstrated by those of the County Conferences on weak bridges which had already taken place that the operation of Section 30 of the Road and Rail Traffic Act would inconvenience road transport, especially in the industrial areas of the kingdom, and that even the most expeditious programme of reconstruction of weak bridges on main roads would take at least two or three years to execute, he would state what action he proposed to take in the meanwhile to prevent public inconvenience.
Mr. Stanley said that any restrictions were bound to cause a certain amount of inconvenience, but by means of the conferences which had been held by local authorities and his own discussions with bridge authorities, he was taking steps to reduce inconvenience to a minimum.
ARMY MECHANIZATION.
IN the War Secretary's memorandum to the Army Estimates, it is stated that extended trials are to be made of a light tractor selected to replace the horse in infantry first-line transport; also that tests are being continued with oil engines for wheeled vehicles and armoured fighting vehicles.
ROAD VEHICLES AND DOCK PREMISES.
CAPT. STRICKLAND asked if the Minister was aware that under the Hull Dock Act of 50 years ago the Hull Dock authorities were preventing roadtransport vehicles from entering the dock premises for the purpose of loading up ; that a similar attempt to restrict road transport from using Lowestoft harbour had beeu prevented by a unanimous judgment on appeal to the House of Lords; and whether, in the public interest, he would take steps to put a stop to this discrimination against road transport.
Mr. Stanley said: "I understand that the High Court decided in 1932 that the action taken by the railway company at Hull Docks, to which my hon. friend refers, did not constitute a breach of the provisions under which traders are entitled to access to the docks. In the circumstances, I do not see that I can usefully take any action."
EMERGENCY TREATMENT BILL.
AT a meeting of medical members of the House of Commons, Lord Moynihan explained the provisions of the Road Traffic Emergency Treatment Bill which has been passed by the House of Lords. The meeting agreed that, as there was very little chance of the Bill being passed by the House of Commons this session, the provisions should be inserted in the new Road Traffic Bill, which the Minister of Transport has promised to introduce.
Meanwhile a deputation, including Lord Moynihan and Lord Dawson of Penn, is to interview Mr. Stanley for the purpose of submitting the case of the hospitals and medical practitioners in favour of payment for treatment in motor accidents.
RED REFLECTORS ON BICYCLES. QIR WILLIAM BRASS called atten
tion to the inefficiency of red reflectors fitted to bicycles and suggested the issue of an Order permitting only types of reflectors passed as efficient by the Ministry of Transport. Colonel Headlam said a specification was laid down in the Regulations under the Road Transport Lighting Act, 1927. Many representations had been made to the Minister about failures to comply with the specification and the matter was engaging his attention. .
Sir W. Brass said that a large number of manufacturers submitted reflectors to the National Physical Laboratory to see whether they were efficient, and he asked why the Ministry could not see that all reflectors were so sub rnitted.