Page v King

The appeal concerned a by-law made by the Municipality of St. Leonards, Tasmania, which prescribed the width of vehicle tyres in relation to the weight of the load carried. The by-law also established a standard for ascertaining weights by measurement. The appellant, W. King, was charged with using a vehicle with tyres that were too narrow for the weight of the hardwood timber it carried, contrary to the by-law. The Police Magistrate dismissed the information, and the Supreme Court of Tasmania affirmed this decision. The informant appealed to the High Court of Australia.

The legal issues before the High Court were whether the by-law was validly made under the Local Government Act 1906 (Tas.), and if so, whether the evidence presented was sufficient to prove a breach. Specifically, the court had to determine if the part of the by-law prescribing a standard for ascertaining weights by measurement was severable from the rest of the by-law, and whether the council had the power to create such a standard.

The High Court held that the by-law was invalid. The court reasoned that the Local Government Act 1906 authorised councils to prescribe tyre width with respect to the *actual* weight of the load carried, not a notional weight determined by measurement standards. The court found that the provision for ascertaining weights by measurement was not severable from the rest of the by-law, as the intention was for the weight to be determined by this standard alone. Consequently, the by-law exceeded the council's statutory power. Furthermore, even if the by-law were valid, the prosecution had failed to prove a breach because the weight of the load had not been ascertained according to the by-law's prescribed measurement standard, which the court interpreted as the sole method for determining compliance.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.