The first car of Mangalore 1906
Owned by Mr. Saldhana.
The driver was hired on contract.
As no drivers were available in Mangalore in those days, a driver called Luis Williams from what was then Bombay was hired under a contract written on a stamp paper, signed by the driver with three witnesses.
The stamp paper of the contract is still preserved by the descendants of P F X Saldanha. According to the details of the contract, signed on September 10, 1907, the driver Luis Williams alias Luis D’Souza is a 22-year-old youth with Motor Vehicle Licence No 430 issued on June 13, 1907, by the Commissioner of Police, Bombay City. Perhaps there were no Transport authorities then. The contract period was for one year ending on August 31, 1908. His monthly salary was fixed at Rs 30 per month — quite a substantial amount compared with the wages and salaries of other occupations. The monthly salary was for days actually worked and if he absented himself he was liable to pay a fine of Rs 2 per day.
The conditions of the driver’s service included washing, cleaning, oiling, and keeping the motor car in perfect order and condition. He was expected to drive carefully, not going too fast endangering the life of passengers, or animals, or causing collisions. In case of an accident due to his negligence, he would be responsible for all the consequences.
The hours of his work were from 7 am to 7 pm with two hours lunch break. If his services were required beyond this time he would not be given any extra pay or allowance. If he quit before the contract period he was required to pay three months’ pay, Rs 90, as damages. His services could be dispensed with at any time by his employer, without giving notice.
Note: Around the same time, the first dealers for Ford and GM in Mangalore were the ‘Alemans’.
– Aleman Ramesh Rao (aka) Srirangam Ramesh