Rail Attempt to Drive Out Small Men ?
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A CONTENTION with regard to Contract A licences made by Mr. G. H. P. Beames; on behalf of the railways, drew a protest from Mr. Ian Macaulay at a Liverpool sitting of the North Western Deputy Licensing
Authority. Mr. T. F. Pritchard, 8, Larkh ill Lane, Clubmoor, Liverpool, asked to renew his A licence for a 2k-ton vehicle.
Mr. Beames submitted that the applicant had been carrying for a haulier who worked under a Contract A licence for Messrs. Ayrton, Saunders. Was there any reason why the present applicant should not have a contract from Messrs. Ayrton, Saunders?
Mr. Macaulay said that he could conceive of no more fantastic argument than that when a man had been running a haulage business for 14 years he should suddenly be confined to working for one firm under a contract licence. Should the customer, go out of business—which the railways probably hoped would happen—this haulier, too, would automatically go out of business.
As he saw the Act, it merely gave the trader a privilege. He could either run vehicles for his own business on a C licence, or he could give a haulier a contract to do the work for him.
Sir William Hart, Deputy Licensing Authority, remarked that he had looked on it as an operator's right to obtain a contract and that the Authority had power to force him to secure one.
Mr. Macaulay submitted that he had not that power. In this case, Messrs. Ayrton, Saunders had given a contract to a man and he had sub-contracted a part of it to the applicant-. It might well be that there might be a clause in the contract giving the first man the sole right to all their haulage and if they gave a contract to the applicant they would quite possibly be committing a breach of their contract with the other man.
If the Authority accepted the railWay submission, it would be an interference with •the relationship between.. .-the 'customers and their contractor, and this was no part of the Licensing Authority's duties.
Decision was reserved.