Northern Roadways Accused of Illegal Running
Page 31
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
DURING last week's hearing by the Metropolitan Licensing Authority of the application of Northern Roadways; Ltd., for backings. for licences for services from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London, Mr. N. Fox-Andrews, Q.C., for the Railway Executive, accused the company of deliberately running an unlawful service. The allegation was later denied by Mr. F. A. Stockdale, for 'the applicant. He said it was a fight to the deatO
After a five-day hearing, the Licensing Authority reserved his decision. The earlier proceedings were reported in "The Commercial Motor" last week.
Mr. Fox-Andrews declared that the Metropolitan Authority had, in 1951, been placed "in a very difficult position by what was a very great error" by the Scottish Licensing Authority. Northern Roadways, Ltd., had been partly successful in a gamble, but then the Metropolitan Licensing Authority fettered its activities in a way that nobody could misunderstand.
Extra 140,000 He submitted that the applicant knew perfectly well that the services were operated unlawfully from May to September this year. The company, he said, claimed not to know what the Metropolitan Authority's decision meant, but had never troubled to find out. Counsel suggested that the company had carried about 10,000 more passengers than it was entitled to handle, and had earned £40,000 in doing so.
The view of the Minister of Transport, expressed in Parliament and when the company's licence was revoked, did not fetter the Metropolitan Authority, but, said Mr. Fox-Andrews, would help him in the discharge of his duties.
c. Mr. Stockdaie, replying to Mr. FoxAndrews, said: " This is a fight to the death. One side or the other will prevail in the end."
Licence Valid He argued that the company had a valid licence to operate from March 27 to September 30. He asked whether the company would deliberately and knowingly have done wrong when there was an observer from Scottish Omnibuses watching its operations. "Do you really think that unless they were accepting the advice of their legal advisers, they would have been such fools as to do that knowing that the enemy was there taking down names and numbers?" he asked.
If the case went against Northern Roadways, the monopolists would have won the day. If a monopoly was allowed on the routes, the advantages that had ensued since Northern Roadways started its uphill struggle would probably cease. Railway travel was too expensive for an increasingly large section of the public.