Unfair Treatment for C-licensees?
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THE time has come for C-licensees to make a firm stand for liberty, said Aid, Solomon Stephens, at a wellattended A.R.O. meeting at Plymouth, last week.
The meeting was the ups-hot of a case which came before the Plymouth magistrates, a few weeks ago, when Messrs. Solomon .Stephens and Risdon, one of the city's largest bakery and confectionery firms, and a number of the van drivers, answered charges concerning the hours regulations.
Those present, said Aid. Stephens, might wonder why a law-abiding citizen, who was an Alderman and a J.P., should address such a meeting of protest, but a grave sense of injustice to C-licence holders impelled him to take action.
Referring to the court case, he stressed the point that criminal proceedings had been taken against a firm who, for many years, had held a good reputation. To be brought into calla on a criminal charge was a grave thing and the penalties imposed in cases such as this were often greater than those imposed for serious crimes. The speaker contended that the C-licence holder had lost his liberty and he maintained that the powers given to the Licensing Authorities were too great.
The transport industry has rendeied real service to the community, and whilst the public may think that the Road Traffic Acts were framed for the public safety and convenience, it was time it learned, ,be said, that the Acts were merely protection for the railways. " My fate may be yours tomorrow,'! AId. Stephens concluded, " and it is nothing short of persecution," Major the Hon. Eric Long, political adviser to A.R.O., agreed that .both employers and drivers were being treated unfairly. The only remedy lay in unity.