COUNTY COUNCIL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 114, 24 January 1940, Page 5

COUNTY COUNCIL

YESTERDAY'S MEETING HALF-HOLIDAY QUESTION The Whakatane County Council met yesterday for the first monthly meeting of 1940. The Acting-Chair-man Mr J. L. Burnett, presided over Councillors A. F. McCougan, L. W. j Luxton, W. A. McCraeken, H. C. McCreadv, R. F. Wardlaw, C. T. Smith, D. W. Spence, T, G. H. Cawte, and F. J. Burt. Before going into committee, the chairman extended a welcome back to Cr Smith,, who has been absent for some months on account of illhealth. Replying, Cr Smith said he thanked the Chairman and the Council for the expressions. 'T am restored to health," he said, "and I am looking forward to doing my share once more.* Statutory Half-Holiday. A special meeting was held for the purpose of fixing the weekly halfholiday for the County. A motion that it should be Wednesday was put to the meeting but Cr Burt spoke againsti t. He said that Saturday shouM be the holiday as that dav is almost universal.

"It has been Wednesday,'" said the chairman, "and the farmers seem satisfied with it." "They're satisfied with anything," observed Gr McCready. An amendment that Saturday be the weekly half-holiday Avas moved by Cr Burt and seconded by Cr McCready. Cr Burt pointed out that the farmers could go into Whakatane on Wednesday to get their goods and were then able to procure anything further in the country on Saturday. Before putting the amendment to the meeting, the chairman said the storekeepers had told him that if the County half-holiday is on a different day from that observed in the Borough, they have an opportunity of visiting the town during the week. As far as staffs were concerned the storekeepers did not anticipate any difficulty as it could be ararnged to let half of the staff away on Wednesday and the other half on Saturday. The amendment was defeated on the casting vote of the Chairman and the statutory half-holiday for the Whakatane County fixed as Wednesday, as in previous years.