SUNDAY “CLOSING.”

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 1, Issue 63, 19 February 1880, Page 2

SUNDAY “CLOSING.”

To the Editor. Sir, —I read, with amusement mixed with contempt, a letter on the above subject in yesterday’s “ Herald,” signed “Zacchous. ” Your correspondent does not go far enough. Why should we stop at the covering up and hiding from view our wares only ? Surely anyone who would be shocked at the sight of our goods would be, or at ought to be, doubly horrified at seeing our shops in all their naked majesty. If we are to hide from view our goods a fortiori wo ought to cover up the places where we stow away our goods, and obliterate all trace of our names and the nature of our business. Your correspondent is hyper-sensitive, Zaccheus, though, as Luke tells us, he was “ little of stature,” possessed a big heart, and was a man of sound sense. Your correspondent is sadly wanting in the last two attributes.—l am, Ac., Anti-Humbug. The following is the letter referred to : Sir, —May I, through the columns of your journal, draw the attention of the majority of the Ashburton shopkeepers to their apparent disrespect for the Sabbath in the manner in which—perhaps unintentionally—they expose their wares to the public gaze on Sundays. A few of our local tradesmen do endeavor by shutters or blinds to show that they recognise the first day of the week as being different, in a religious sense, from other days of the week, but such cases are exceptional. When rigid Presbyterians and precise Wesleyans are conspicuous among the delinquents, this disrespect for Sabbath customs' is all the more noticeable, especially when our townsmen of the Hebrew persuasion set an example worthy of imitation by patting up their shutters on the first day of the week. At present, a stranger perambulating East street on Sunday would, from a cursory glance at the places of business, come to the conclusion that the people of Ashburton were not a Sabbath-loving community. To some of our townsmen, 1 am sure a gentle hint will not be without its effect.—l am, Ac. Zaccheus.