THE WEEKLY HALFHOLIDAY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11478, 10 January 1903, Page 3

THE WEEKLY HALFHOLIDAY.

DEPUTATION TO THE MAYOR.

A deputation of fourteen or fifteen gentlemen, representing the retail traders of the city, waited on the Mayor yesterday, to lay th* question of the weekly half-holiday before him, a plea that Thursday should remain the weekly half-holiday.

Amongst the deputation were representatives of almost every section of retail merchants affected by the proposed change.

Mr Parker, draper, said that the deputation had been asked to wait upon t_e Mayor on the subject of the much-vexed question of the weekly half-holiday. The importance of the subject was the apology they had to offer for taking up so mud. of _is Worship's time. The deputation represented a large number of business people in the area affected by this question, and they felt that had all the Councils concerned acted as the City Council had done, there would hays been but little reason to complain. But there were those who had sent delegates, not with free hands a* the City Council had done, but tied down to vote for a Saturday half-holiday and for no other. It may be that the Mayor, as chairman of the coming Confer•nce, might be called upon to exercise his casting vote, and they desired to place their views before him so that he might know fully both sides of the question, those favouring the Saturday half-holiday having fully ventilated their opinions in the public Press. Mr Parker went fully into details as to how I the change to Saturday would inconvenience ' retail traders and their customers, and referred to the suggestion that the question of the holiday should be remitted to the House of Representatives. The deputation did not favour this, because there were many members of the Legislature pledged to vote for the Saturday half-holiday being made general, amongst those the members for Christchurch. But the deputation, and those behind them, would be quite willing to submit the question to a plebiscite of the people, and abide the decision. H» was an a position to say that, though the section of the community advocating Saturday had, by better organisation, made _ noisier , agitation than those favouring Thursday, it was found that the actual majority of the general public was in favour of Thursday, and this would be shown by the petitions that would be presented to the coming conference.

Mr W. Wardeli said the law provided for the large -wholesale merchants closing on Saturday if they chose, and he saw no reason why those who wanted a Saturday half-holiday should not close on that day. He said that the experiment had been tried some jean ago by th» retail txadsrs ia

' Christchurch for several Saturdays and tim experience waa such that a speedy return to the Thursday had to be made, otherwise ruin would have followed to the retailers. People who did not understand tn ? business of, j»ay, a retail grocer failed to see where any loss or inconvenience came in, because the same quantity of grocery goods would be consumed. So. doubt lees, they would, but that was hardly the question, which was that the retail traders wanted to sell the goods, and tlie trade under the new arrangement would lw dieorganised and go away from Christchurch. Ho thought he could claim that the retail traders should be allowed to know their own business best. He referred, also, to the fact that the experiment had boon tried in Auckland and Dunedin, and iv both cases had been given up and the old order of things resorted to. He also claimed, from his experience amongst a very large portion of the people, both in town and country, that the majority was on the side of the Thursday half-holiday, and he said this in spite of what was claimed by the Unions, because he spoke from personal Knowledge, and his statements would be borne out in fact. Mr Knight, butcher, spoke in favour of the Thursday half-holiday, claiming that the change would very considerably inconvenience the butchers, and add to their work. Mr Andrews, pork butcher, said that if it were not for the Saturday sales he could not make a living because by far -is largest trade, was done on that day. Then, if the change were made, a large number of country people would be inoonven___«_, and he mentioned the cose of a •c-ooimaa-ter, who came into town from a great <__- tance every two weeks to make p_fx___e_ for his own family, and to give orders for families in his neighbourhood. If the holiday were made Saturday, this gentleman, whose holiday waa also Saturday, would be prevented from doing this trade. It might be said he could come earlier in tha morning, but the answer to that was that the college studies interfered with the morning's trade. He also mentioned that many people came by train on Saturday and bought their supplies from him, but Saturday closing would tend to keep them at home. Mr Congreve also spoke in favour of _M Thursday aoliday. / His Worship said that so far as the City Council was oonoerned, the delegate, had been appointed, and there the matter ended. He pointed out that the City Council would have a majority amongst the delegates at the Conference, and he and other delegates had declined to bind themselves to any particular side, but he now promised to look closely into the matter and the Act, and to take care that both sides of this very important question were placed before the Conference, for that it was a-very important question everybody allowed. The deputation t___ked the Mayor, and withdrew.