"Haulage Bill Before Easter"
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ABILL to denationalize road haulage will be presented to Parliament before Easter. This forecast Was made by Mr. Frank F. Fowler, national chairman of the Road Haulage Association, at the East Midland Area's annual luncheon, in Nottingham, last week.
He criticized the Government for not having introduced the Bill earlier. There was, he said, nothing so urgent as the denationalization of road haulage, on which every industry in the country depended. The matter was urgent also because unless they soon received an assurance of freedom, ex-hauliers might not wish to return to the industry.
He had been asked whether a 100mile radius would be acceptable to free hauliers. He had, Mr. Fowler said, replied that it was useless. Only complete denationalization would suit the haulage industry. Existing hauliers had the resources to buy back every asset of the Road Haulage Executive.
Earlier, Mr, Fowler had said that the problem of the railways must be solved. Hauliers ,did not wish to see railway rates rise and the Association had offered to help the Minister of Transport in dealing with the problem. The railways could, he claimed, be run at a profit if they carried less tonnage, instead of more, than to-day.
Aid. H. 0. Emrnony, Deputy Lord Mayor of Nottingham, criticized British
Road Services. Speaking as a confectioner, he said that when goods were . carried by B.R.S., it Was necessary to check cases carefully before a' driver left the premises. The art of rifling cartons without leaving a trace externally had been developed to a high pitch. He was critical also of drivers who refused to deliver goods beyond the customer's door. • Mr. P. D. Cotes-Preedy, East Midland Deputy Licensing Authority, paid tribute to the work of Mr. W. Morton, East Midland Area secretary, in . preparing licence applications. Speaking at a dinner of Yarmouth sub-area of the Association, last week, Mr. Stanley Stimpson, chairman of Norwich sub-area, called on hauliers to be patient, but expressed his conviction that the Government would honour its promises to road transport. .
Mr. S. A. Boardley, chairman of Yarmouth sub-area, referred to an injustice caused by the 25-mile limit. A Yarmouth haulier could not, he said, carry goods toDereham, but a Norwich operator could pick up traffic in Yarmouth for transport 'to Dereham. [Mr. J. Gurney . Braithwaite. Parlia
mentary Secretary, to the Minister Of Transport, suggested at Bristol_ recently that road haulage would be denationalized' in the near future.1