1934-09-05 — Page 5

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A TRIUMPH OF LOGIC.

TRANSFER

OF LONDON PASSENGER TRANSPORT TO STATE CONTROL.

EXPERIMENT IN

SOCIALISM.

"London Passenger Transport-An Experiment in Socialism" was the title of an interesting and Instructivo talk to the Hongkong Rotary Club at their weekly tiffin on the Roof Garden of the Hongkong Hotel yesterday by Rotarian L. C.-F. Bellamy, a member of the Institute of Transport.

During the course of his ink. Rotarian Bellamy gave a description of the London Transport Board, demonstrated that I hnd no political complexion whatever, that the passing of passenger transport in London from private enterprise to State control did not involve the surrender of any political principles. and that it was 'n triumph, nat of any particular coloured shirt, or political party or partisan caucus, but of inexorable logic.

Rotarian M. K. Lo presided, and guests welcomed were Rotarian G. Boffa, Lieut. Col. H. B. L. Dowbiggin, Messrs. M. A.

V. R. Gordon, I. Cooper; S. H. Lopes, de Roux, L. Brusset, Collins, V. Walker and H. R. Grentwood.

n

Londen

011

THE HONGKONG

TELEGRAPH.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1934.

for the financing of additional stipulations and hide-bound re- MORRISON MEMORIAL. underground electric railways in gulations must be laid down. the London area.

These restrictious and limitations

-

It consequently followed that the rob the undertaking of elasticity OLD PROTESTANT CHURCH memorial of those die-hard Con- of management and that freedom AND CEMETERIES AT MACAO servatives who refused to put rapidly to fall into line with and economies before politica was; conform to changes in trafic and ignored and the Bill-with certain transport circumstances which Amendmenta-received the Royal evitably occur over a term of years! Agent and became an Act) and even from day to day, of Parliament on April 13 Insti year.

Section 8 of the Act lays ́lt down that it shall be the duty of the paper I read before the Institute I have been looking through a Board so to exerelso their powers

"Irregular Incursiona....."

The following further donations to the above Fund have been received: Already acknowledged $1,638,50 61bb Livingaton & Co., Ltd. 10. The Hon. Mr. C. Gordon

Mackie

The Hon, Mr. E. Taylor.

25. 10.

as to secure the provision of an of Engineers and Shipbuilders in adequate and properly co-ordinate April, 1927, and in that paper pointment would demand. That ed nyatem of passenger transport pointed out that the great trouble man in Lord Anhfield,”

To-day Lord Ashfield is, virtual- for the London Passenger Trans-in connection with London traile port area, and for that purpose, was the absolute necessity of fury, the London passenger transport while avolding the provision ther underground railways on the dictator, of unnecessary - And

His vehicles carry about three- wasteful one hand and the existence of un-

thousand million competitive services, to take from regulated and uneconomic busand-a-half time to Linie such steps as they competition on the other.. To use passengers a year, he has consider necessary for extending Ministry of Transport expression 170,000 employees and the motto and Improving the facilities, for it was the "irregalar Incursions he has adopted for the Board is

in that ssenger transport in area in

in of irresponsible Carriers which "Strong for Service."

over

oftciently and cony Provide most contributed most largely to the. It will be to Lord Ashfield that'

auch manner as to

A Law Unto Itself.

ם •

Thanks Volced. The speaker was thanked on the

manager of the Kowloon-Canton

for the London traffic chaos.

those of the 9,000,000 people with- need thereof. Further, that t London may now secure the the London Traffic Area who shail be the duty of the Board to additional tube connections and travel by tube, tram or bus will conduct their undertaking in such underground facilities which are look to see that this motto is Banner, and to fix much fares and essential if the strects up above justified and that the high stand- charges, as to secure that the reare not to be choked, and those ard of efficiency set by the Un- venues shall be sufficient to defray who purchase stock in the L. P. T. derground and the London Gener London traille, declines to give all charges which are required to Board will do so knowing that a al Omnibus Company (as wo know Mr. Bellamy sald In part:

travelled in

Second Heading to a bill which he defrayed out of the revenues of reasonable equilibrium will be them) is maintained and--they will

possible of attainment between the not look in vain. the provides for the nationalization the Beard. train andreground

af London passenger transport;

various passenger transport

If this is socialism na advocated night of June 30 Inst year and

leprives local authorities of con-

In London 3gencies звене

and that, in Great Britain we may enter- whilst travelling on a London Gen-

trol in respect of their varlous in other words the Board is a consequently.

for the orderly prstan, less apprehension eral omnibus the following morning realize it was difficult for me to

undertakings; takes the property law unto itself. It can rafse its gramme of progressive develop future than we darkly imagined. of private owners out of their fures, can build tube rallways, and ment can be planned which will in fact it is socialism with ite that within Buck a short period

control; gives them no option of although it cannot exactly please permit of the new Board ap- terrors exercised. something In the nature of a re-

sale; vests in the Minister of self whether it runs trams, buses portioning capital expenditure to volution had taken place. But

Transport bureaucratic powers; or trolley vehicles in any portion the best advantage. such was the case. The under-

and constitutes him, and not a of its area ean-If it thinks fit- If streets could be widened in motion of Rotarian R. D. Walker, ground train and the bus in which

Judiciul tribunal. the court of reduce existing transport facill-proportion to the increase in I had travelled, together with other

appeal in such important matters ties were found to be unremunera trame. underground railways Railway, who said that in January assets to the value of at least

ut the provision or withdrawal tive. In the wording of the Act might be unnecessary but in of this year he had the privilege had £10,000,000 sterling

parsed,

of traffe services and facilities. it may "do or cause to be done all London, New York, Paris and Ber- of going over the workshops of the overnight, from private enterprise

However, on that day (March 23, other things necessary for the con- lin etc. a large portion of the city London Passenger Transport and capitalism to State control. There was, however, no evidence 1931) the Commons give the Bill ventent and efficient working of traffle must be diverted

under-Board with the chief engineer, of any change, From the passenger's Second Reading by 271 votes to their undertaking" Yet the mem- ground.

He was amazed at the enormous This is extremely expensive and strides that had been made on October 27 camo bers of the Board have no constl-

in point of view nothing had happen-224. Then

of the most ex-everything was the same as or the General Election and the Labour tuents to plnenie and no body of those who invent their capital Inputting in some

foll.

Three weeks shareholders to whom from time these necessary enterprises must modern workshops he had ever the previous day. And yet we Government

change of the utmost prior to this there had been much to time they must render an nc-be protected against the "Irregu-mole know that a

Inr incursions of irresponsible car- and legal argument as to whether the count of their stewardship. political

"Mr. Bellamy, In his significance.botit

True the Board is required, an- riers on the street level. Prior to stated that the cost to the pussen- the Bill could, constitutionally, he cur- economic-had occurred in

3 Inst year the heart of England. Even to those ried over to the next Session of nually, "at such date and in such July

London ger had not been reduced. It is form as the Minister of Transport General Omnibus Company had Parliament, members of this Club who are not,

principle of transportation, students of British politics it is no

companies competing whether road. railway or tram- Mr. McDonald, in the House of my prescribe", to make to him about 60 doubt well known that the Conser-Connons on October 6, said the report dealing generally with the against it.

way, to charge what the public is London Transport Dictator, vative party in England has in- Government was under the impres-operations of the Board during the

prepared to pay, and if the public variably favoured the operation of sion that there was a real desire preceding year and containing auch detailed information with re-

are prepared to pay the charges public utilities such as electricity, that the Bill should remain alive

Happily, however, this is all hid down by the London Passen- gard to the proceedings and policy gas and transport by private enter until the next Session.

be now a thing of the past and I am ger Transport Board they would be prise and has opposed state control. same day in the House of Lords the Board as may properly

given without detriment to the a little gratified to find that in the foolish to reduce them. During the Earl of Lucan sald the Bill was interests of the Board. Further, paper to which I referred and my tour over the Transport sys- Malaly Conservative,

not strictly a public one, but a hy-

Auch report sbali be Inid which I read about 7%1⁄2 years ago tem in America four years ago brid measure. There was one pro- before both Houses of Parliament. I ended my remarks on the Lon-heard a definition of the art of It may, therefore, appear very puzzling that this passing over of cedent for carrying over a hybrid

It will, however, be obvious that don trame problem with these transportation. It was given to Bill. That was in 1903 when Mr. the ownership and administration Balfour had

the conditions under which the words:

me hy the transportation manager a reaolution of London passenger transport to a carrying over the Port of Loud Board is working are in the "There is, in my opinion, only of New York Central. He said Public Corporation has not only Authority Bill, Lord

Highest degree flexible and arone alternative to united manage- the art of transportation was "to been connived at by that party but objected and said that so far as he such that it would have been im- ment and co-ordinated control of curry for $1 what any damn fool think the Government that has passed the knew there was no statute which many In framing a monopolistic and that is a London Transport there in a lot to be said for that.

possible to grant to a private com- all the London transport agencies could carry for 52" 1 Act of Parliament which is re-enabled a public Bill to be carried franchise for private enterprise dictator. I go further and

In tho ponsible for this epoch making over to another Parliament. An an abundance of dreadful

Bay "If transport effeiency change is mainly Conservative,

pos- that there is a man who possesses conservation of human onergy Act of Parliament, he added, was sibilities must be contemplated the skill, experience, character and then Lord Ashfield has nearly Mr. Frank Fick, Vice-Chairman recessary to carry over the im- with the result of the London Passenger Transport penchment of Warren Hastings

that cust-iron temperament which such an ap-reached the 100 per cent mark." Board, in a recent paper read before from one Parliament to another. the London School of Economics Eventually, both Houses decided remarked that under the Board

On the

Hanworth

that the Bill should be carried over

Unionist Memorial.

in-

capital had lost its power. The in its then form to the next Par- power had been transferred--and liament. · he said it with bated breath-to a bureaucracy. "In the escape from capitalist control" he said "in On December 10, 1931, the the encupe from political control Times" reported that a memorial we have almost fallen into a dieta- had been presented to Mr. Baldwin torship."

signed by 139 Unionist Members Mr. Pick deplores the tendency of who were opposed to proceeding socialism to lend away from. demo-with Mr. Herbert Morrison's Bill. cracy towards dictatorship but, he This memorial was not very con adda "All logical policies seem to vincing. Paragraph 4, for tend towards dictatorship". This stance, was to the effect that: is a most arresting statement inte which there is no time to enquire. My intention during the next 15 or 20 minutes is to describe the London Passenger Transport Board to demonstrate that it has no political complexion whatever and to attempt to show that this great event which took place at midnight on June 30 last year was Inevitable, that it did not involve the surrender of any political principles and that it was a triumph not of any particular coloured shirt, or political party or partisan caucus but of inexorable logic.

Out of Chaos.

No one mum has been responsible for the gigantle change but it is only fair to say that Mr. Herbert Morrison-the Minister of Trans-

#

When the National Govern- ment was first formed it was stated that Billa of con- troversial nature would not be. proceeded. with, This Bill, which íg of a.highly con- troversial nature, was, however, carried over to the new Parlia ment."

Paragraph G of the memorial stated that:-The BH admitted. ly nets up a cast-iron monopoly, whereas from the evidence, bo- fore the Committee it is clear that healthy competition be tween omnibuses, tramways, tubes and underground railways has resulted in great improve. ments. cheap fares, and in in. pressed alleleney of London travelling services."

TH

out that

Now both these paragraphs are port in the last Labour Government though the Bill was controverstat Very weak. In the first place al actually brought forward the Bill which, with only minor altera- it was not necessarily a bad Bill. tions, became the London Passenger It was, in fact, a very good Bill, Transport Act of 1933. But for and quite apart from the fact very many years prior to this 110,000 in counsels' fees and sun- had already cost the country efforts had been made to effect: some fundamental change in the control dry other expenditure, it was as of London Transport with view clear as daylight to people like to bringing order out of chaos-

Herbert Morrison, Lord Ashfield Indeed, there was a Royal Cammie- and Frank Pick (who

were in sion on London Traffle as far back ngures) that something, drastic had possession of all, the facts and as 1800 and t happens that my late father

(then the

to be done quickly to safeguard Manager of the Municipal Tram-the economic integrity of London ways in Liverpool) gave evidence Passenger transport finance and before that tribunal.

that it was, highly desirable to proceed with the Bill whether It was controversial or not.

General

Morrison Bill Rejection Motion.

I have said that the London Fas-

senger Transport Bill was concely ed by the last Labour Government. What was the Conservative attitude towards the Bill in those early

the memorial tripped up badly.

In paragraph 6 the signatories to

Healthy Competition.

atages?. The answer is that on "healthy competition" which was occasion of the Second Reading the House of Commons on March the source of all the trouble and 23, 1931, the Bill was officially it can be said that the raison opposed by the whole of the Con-l'otra of the London Passenger servative Party. The Motion for Transport Act was primarily the

· rejection stated that:

alimiantion of uneconomie com- petition which was extremely Un- "This House, whilst again healthy and which-had it willing to consider any sound] tinued-would havo, dried up the scheme for the co-ordination of stream of now money so necessary

tho It was precisely this so-called

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