Report of the Committee on Carriers' Licensing
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1966.tb01100.x |
| Author | A. A. Walters |
| Published date | 01 January 1966 |
| Date | 01 January 1966 |
REPORTS
OF
COMMITTEES
REPORT
OF
TIIE
COMMITTEE
ON
CARRIERS’
LICENSING
THIS Report sets
a
new style and new standard for offtcial papers on
the transport industries.’ The problem, however, is old: the regu-
lation by licences of freight carriage by highway. The present
licensing system is based largely on the recommendations of the
Salter Conference of
1082
which in turn relied on the Reports of the
Royal Commission on Transport
1028-80.
Though amended and
slightly eroded the present licensing system is not substantially
different from that which emerged in the Road and Rail Traffic Act
of
1988.
The contrast between Salter and Geddes is sharp. The Salter
Conference consisted of four general managers of the railway
com-
panies and four representatives of cstablished road hauliers.
No
railwaymen
or
road hauliers sat on Geddcs; the members consisted
of
a
businessman-accountant,
a
judge,
a
(retired) trade unionist,
a
(retired) senior civil servant, and an (active) able and experienced
university economist. The Salter Conference was seemingly
impressed by what one can only properly describe
as
rumour and
conjecture flavoured with special pleading. Rarely did they attempt
systematically to survey evidence to shed light
on
the validity of
the many allegations; the Salter Report simply reproduced the
views of interested parties as more
or
less accurate descriptions of
reality. Geddes, on the other hand, is sceptical of unsupported
allegations.
It
continually seeks for independent evidcnce-either
quantitative
or
qualitative-to shed light on the wide generalisa-
tions offered in the hearings. The Salter Conference was analytically
flabby; it was content with vague and often inconsistent aims-
e+,
“
to avoid the evils of overcrowding and unbridled competi-
tion.” Geddes, however, would ncver stop in such
a
foggy no-
man’s land.
It
asks what precisely is meant by these emotive and
evocative terms-and in what way are they evil, who suffers and
who gains? And even if it were true that there was
“
unbridled
competition
”
and this was
‘‘
evil,” would licensing be an appro-
priate
or
the best way of reducing
it
?
It
would be unfair, however,
not to add that the Salter Conference reflected the despair and dis-
illusionment of the deepest and most prolonged slump the world has
ever known. Geddes, on the other hand, reflects the buoyancy and
confidence of the mid-1060s.
The wholc of the Geddes Report conveys the impression of
a
set
of uncommitted impartial men pursuing patiently the truth.
1
Minietry
of
Traneport, H.M.S.O.,
1966.
68
To continue reading
Request your trial