AUGUST 2IST, I909.

THE AUTOCAR a Journal publtsbe~ in tbe interests of the mecbantcall\? propelle~ roa~ carriage.

EDITED BY H. WALTER STANEq.

o. 722. VoL. XXIII.] SATURDAY, AUGUST 2rsT, r909. [PRICE 3D.

" The Autocar League."

An Attempt to Band together the Whole of the Motorists of the United Kingdom.

MOTORISTS are 110\\" a very strong and influential body in the country, but it cannot be said that, as a 11·hole, they ha,·e used their strength advantageously, because at periods of serious difficulty or opposition they have not been unanimous. Di,·ided counsels and divided policies ha,·e resulted in their interests being most seriously damaged, and 11"e are afraid there is no denying the fact that on account of al I this automobilism has suffered seriously. For instance, the Chancel !or of the Exch quer himself referred to the divisions in the ranks of motorist , and made them the excuse, if not the reason, for both the increased car tax and the petrol tax, and, 11·hat 1ras still more regrettable, for some time after the Budget was declared there was no united opposition, ::ind even in the House of Commons itself motorist voted against motorist. What we propose to do if our readers will give us their 11·hole-hearted help is to form a league of practically all the motorist in the United Kingdom, so that when really i 11portant matters arise the League can speak definitely as the representative of the whole of the motor world, and not of a section of it.

Past Difficulties.

Much of the difficulty in the past has arisen from the fact that the as ociations ha,·e not really kno1rn what their members 11·anted. A certain number of leading members may decide that some particular thing i right or wrong, but their opinion may not neces arily represent the views of the majority. \\"hat 11·e ,rant to do is to be in a position to state definitely at all crises what the opinion or the desire of the motor world r ally is, and the only 1rny this can be done is to take a referendum, and this is pos ible only by having the names and addresses of all users of motor cars. \I've already have our postal subscribers' names, but the vast majority of the readers of The A1itocar buy it through the ordinary channels with their other weekend papers, and 11"e do not know their names or their a ldresses, and there is no means of finding them out unless they will send them to us.

There is no idea of asking for subscriptions; al I 11·e want is the name and address of every motor car owner

~o that at any crisis 1\"e can at once take a referendum. \\"e need not say that the names and addresses will be used for no other purpo e whatever, and neither for advertising ourselves or anybody else. All we want is the name and address of each one of our readers and an assurance that when we appeal to them on any ,·ital issue they will send us their vote yea or nay. It should be clearly understood that nothing is further from our thoughts than to form a new association or to oppose the present organisations.

Future Possibillties of the Scheme. Indeed, if our readers think well to co-operate with us in this simple scheme it will be seen at once that we shall be in a position to strengthen the present organisations enormously, as 11·e could then put them into possession of the definite information they so often lack. Their great trouble is they do not know the opinions of the majority of their members, and as there are always t,rn opinions on every question, it is more than likely they may take up what is a non-representative attitude, but with The .A. iitocar referendum to guide them they 1rnuld never have any doubt as to what the majority of the motor world wanted. We include an inset form in each copy of 'Phe .A.utocnr to-day, and shall be glad if our readers will fill in the necessary particulars and post to us, so that their names may be enrolled on our referendum regi ter. If they see fit to co-operate in this simple ll"ay, ll"e hall be able to weld motorists together and to give them a strength and weight 1Yhich they ha,·e hitherto lackeu, because they have not been united.

\\"e shall not only ask their opinion from time to time on vital matters, but we shall ask them to take united action 11"hich will result in the removal of certain injustices from 1rhich they now suffer. For instance, an undertaking from 40,000 or 50,000 owners of cars that they would never if they could possibly a1·oid it spend a penny in any place in which ten mile I imit traps \\"ere set 11"0tild soon bring certain boroughs to their senses, as thev would be notified of this decision. This is but one example of what The .A.utocar League may do, and 11·ill do, if the motorists of the United Kingdom will work together.

In the Dundee Sheriff Comt the other clay Sheriff Campbell Smith made some pointed and se1~sible remarks respecting the manner in 11·hich motorists are prosecuted and fined for merely technical breaches of the law. It would be well if all who admini. ter the Motor Acts ,rnuld take his remarks to heart and act upon them. He said there were t,ro kinds of breaches of the law as regards motor cars. One was the driving of a motor car in such a \\"ay as to cau~e serious injury to some individuals, and perhaps _th_en Jeaths, and in such cases as that he was of opm1on that the amount of damage done by a motor car owing to reckless dri,·ing hould be paid for by the mqtorist just a h,e had to pay for all other kinds of damage. In regard to a breach of the regulations of a specific and I gal kind 1Yhich are made to enforce good manners rath-~r than to protect human life and prope1ty, he did not ee the reason for imposing heavy penaltie on account of 11·hat was nothing less than grandmotherly funk on the pa.rt of people ll"ho ought to be superior to that kind of thing. Would that certain county benches could be inoculated from this worthy sheriff.