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A Milestone Passed.

6th May 1924, Page 1
6th May 1924
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Page 1, 6th May 1924 — A Milestone Passed.
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THE ANNOUNCEMENT of the forthcoming publication of The Commercial Motor, the first journal to be exclusively devoted to heavy vehicle interests, was made in The Motor on January 31st, 1905, the first issue appearing on March Nth of that year and scoring a considerable success. Throughout the world there have been many publications upon similar lines, but none has secured the same measure of popularity, nor has grown so consistently in interest and influence.

In 1905 the . goods-carrying vehicle had gained a small vogue among the more enterprising of merchants and traders, motorbuses had begun to be regarded by the far-seeing as certain to oust the horse bus, at least from urban areas, and discussion had even commenced upon the question of the relative costs of the motorbus and the electric trams.

As Mr. Shrapnell-Smith, the first editor of this journal, says, there were in the early issues more anticipations than records of accomplishments, but when one comes again, after an interval of 19 years, to study the forecasts of the optimists of the period, one marvels, not only at, their .foresight, but also at the modesty of their forecasts, for every one has been fulfilled. It is, perhaps, rnbre difficult at the present day to look ahead, because, with so much accomplished in the climb towards the summit of complete attainment, the path of development necessarily narrows. But this much is certain : that mechanical road transport is still in its infancy, that it will advance and expand as railway transport has done, that new discoveries of its utility and of its advantages over other forms of transport will constantly be discovered, and that every development in design, construction and operation will serve to make it more and more indispensable to the manufacturing and trading community.

The Commercial Motor has always been conducted according to the traditions of the Temple Press Ltd., the interests of its readers being placed above all other considerations, and this will continue to be the policy of the journal and the aim of the staff.

The Shibboleth of Free Trade.

ALL EFFORTS to induce a Labour Government to extend the scope of the McKenna duties to cover commercial goods and public passenger vehicles appear to have failed, whilst the private car industry has even lost the measure of protection which those duties had provided, although there appears to have been a concession in the form of an extension of the period covered by them, from the date of their expiry (May 1st) to August 1st.

It is difficult to understand why the duties should not have been continued and extended. They were, of course, introduced, as a war measure, not only for the reasons chiefly advanced (the saving of freight room and the relief of international financial relations), but also under pressure from the car trade. They have proved a distinct advantage to that section of the industry, and the fact that the heavy vehicle side has not suffered as much as was possible from the absence of similar protection has been due to the fact that the British commercial motor manufacturers can supply the whole of the available market with vehicles eminently suitable for the purpose for which they are required.

However, there is no gainsaying the fact that every penny spent abroad since November, 1918, in the purchase of .vehicles and chassis of foreign manufacture has represented a large sum that, ultimately, must in the natural order of things have passed almost entirely through the pockets of engineers and workmen in this country, whilst the withdrawal of the duties in reference to private cars and parts and the failure to extend them to commercial vehicles and to tyres must eventually hit the working classes. That a 'Labour Government should thus attack its own supporters is a curious and incomprehensible fact, going to show, for one thing, that, once a Political party acquires to itself a shibboleth, it never breaks, awa,y from it, no matter what enlightenment may come or what changes may occur.

The Cult of the Covered Coach.

ET AND dull days like those which we experienced last week are reek disheartening to the coach proprietor who, perhaps, commenced the season at Easter during that beautiful spell of really spring-like weather which augured well for a prosperous period of coach running. Many owners cannot afford to lay their vehicles by once they have restarted running them, as this would, in most cases, mean the meeting of overhead charges, such as wages, with practically no revenue, thus causing a considerable drain on working capital.

It is in instances such as this that the owner of the coach whicli is convertible for winter or summer use reaps the advantage, for it is improbable that he would have removed the winter top just for the few fine days at Easter, following, as they did, upon a bad period. I There is no doubt that the convertible all-weather types of vehicle are steadily coming to the fore, possibly much of this popularity being due to the fact that the winter demand, by football enthusiasts, for road transport facilities is on the increase. As a direct consequence of this development in catering for sports-lovers, many proprietors are able to keep their vehicles fairly busy in what had usually been considered the idle months, but, in the main, this activity has necessaril to be confined to the comparatively few vehicles in which a really satisfactory degree of protection against inclement weather is afforded. _ I During recent visits which we have paid to several builders of motor coaches, we have found that considerably more attention is being given to the matter Of weather protection, and it is of interest to note that the only coach exhibit staged at the British Empire Exhibition is one having a removable winter top, although, as permission has been given for the exhibits to be changed monthly, it is quite probable that other examples will appear later.

Two Suggested Taxation Modifications . Adopted. . Adopted. .

THE RELIEF in respect of motor vehicle taxation promised by the Chancellor, of the Exchequer is small, but, at lea,St, it is an earnest that the recommendations of the Departmental 0:Uninittee, which has been 'sitting (as Sir Willia.raJoynson-Hicks satirically remarked) since we were small boys, have some prospect of being sympathetically considered by the Treasury and of being translated into law.

There are two concessions, which will both come into force on January let, should they pass the House when it goes into committee on the Finance Bin, although the Chancellor has said that, should it be found administratively possible, they will be put into operation earlier. The first will give the owner of a motor vehicle the right to surrender a licence at any time and to obtain a refund for each complele calendar month unexpired, upon the payment ot small surrender fee. The second concession is a reduction of the surcharge on quarterly licences, from the 20 per cent. now charged to 10 per cent. The first of these concessions may work out to the material advantage of the commercial vehicle owner —more so, as it seems to us, than to the owner of a private ear, for anyone owning a vehicle of any kind and selling it can always obtain from the new purchaser the value of the unexpired term of the licence. In the ease of the owner of a commercial goods vehicle, there is, however, always the likelihood of a decision to lay up a vehicle because of an alteration in trade conditions, the deferment of a contract, a change in the weather, or other reason.

A fine autumn will often induce an owner of a fleet of coaches to take out licences covering the last quarter for a certain number of vehicles, a break in the weather later causing an alteration in plans and compelling the laying up of a portion of the licensed fleet. The ability to recover the duty for, say, the months of November and December, or for December

alone, will have the effect of prolonging the licensing season for _a large number of coaches.

When the amount of the surrender fee is made known, it will be possible to work out a table of duties, showing the net refund for different unexpired terms and the net duty for the remainder or expired portion and to compare the result with the amount of the duty charged for short-period licences, and owners will then be able to determine which is the more economical course—to take a long-period licence and to claim a rebate for an unexpired portion or to licence a vehicle as and when required.

The reduction in the surcharge on quarterly licences will have rather an opposite effect from that caused by the other concession, because, quarterly licences being cheaper than before, there will be a tendency in some circumstances to apply for them in place of annual licences. But the two concessions taken together will, undoubtedly, be useful to the transport industry and, in our opinion, will not involve so great a reduction of the Road Fund receipts as is anticipated, for we believe that more vehicles will be licensed in the periods of doubtful ecdnonaical working.


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