THE HALF HOLIDAY PETITION.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 450, 8 March 1909, Page 7

THE HALF HOLIDAY PETITION.

■ REMARKS BY MR. H, F. ALLEN. Apropos o£ the Saturday half-holiday petition, Mr. H. secretary of 'the New. Zealand Shopkeepers' Association, spcakipg bo-, a Dominion reporter, expressed the opihibiV that farliament or ; tbo municipal bodiks.-should-provide for improved conditions inidfr which ballots should be taken. Under the Shops and Offices Act,, the municipal authorities' must hold a poll on .the halfHoliday question, if.a petition-in that behalf/ is signed by one-tenth of the electors. Mr. Allen pointed out.'that many people are ready tb sign almost any petition that may fce ■placed before them, without troubling very ifiuch about the subject, and.still less as to whether they are so qualified as to make their signatures of any. legal value. He would riot believe that the canvassers in the present itista,nce,lwd knowingly been parties to anything of; that.sort, but the names would, have t(0 be-carefully scrutinised by the municip.il qfficers. Much trouble would be saved, he submitted, if all slicli petitions, insteid of. being, hawked about, were deposited at the, lSunicipal offices, where they could, be signed by any elector who. wafc sufficiently, inter-, asted to call and, d 6 so. Jt would be the duty of th.e officer' in •charge, to satisfy, himself that' the- applicant, wai"'an electa?,;. and thus , there, would .be. no need fbr. sUbsequbnt scfiit-iriy of the names. Mr. Alleni, who has already drawn thb attention of his.executive to this suggestion, also , adduced the r.e«efit remarks'of Mr. C. C. Kettle, S.M., of Auckland; . who strongly deprecated all forms of oanvassing contrary'- to the secrecy, of tho tiallot. Mr. Allen again emphasised the importance of the . half-holiday question, and stated'that shopkeepers had . told him. that their takings on. Satufday. were usuajlj at least, equal to those on any othbr "two Says, of the week. LAWRENCE, : Mrs. J. Fitzgerald, Lawronce. Otago, New Zealand, .writes:—"l. find.Dr. Sheldbn'6 Magnetic Liniment very useful to. have in 'the. house.' " Dr., SheJdon!s Magnetic Liniment will-rfcliSv*. at once rheumatism, lumbago, lame baoki cuts,, bruises, ihd burns, aiid repeated applications Sill effect, a cjire in a remarkably short time. btainablo everywhere. Prtce, Is. Gd.' apd 3s. Messrs. Dfilgety and CA. will. hol'd A. st66k sale, at. Palmerston North, on Thursday, at 11.36. a.m. . Messrs. Bertenshaw and' Evenseii will h6ld an attractive sate, of- furniture at 21 Moir Street, oft Brbugham Street and. Pir.ie Street, a I 2 p.m. • An athletic carnival, under control of. the Wellington Amateur Athletic Club, will be ljelil on the Basin Reserve next Saturday. Competitors are expected from Napier, Wunganui, Palmerston, and Wairarapa. JliS 'f. Brown, mercantile broker, etb;, for.wards a useful and attractively got up wall Calendar for 1909. Pupils are reiuintjed that Mrs. HI B. Mason's Cl&eses for ballroom daflcing will cbmMence this evening in her private hall, SB Ghuznee Street.,next St. Peter.'s Church.. '•An auction sale of land, will be held by Messrs. Abraham, and Williams at Otaki on Wednesday, at 1 D.m. Tenders .-ire elsewhere, invited' by the Railway Department for supply and delivery of stores. Woods' Great Peppermint Cure for Cough? tnd Colds never fails, is. fid. and. 2a.. 6d. _ Ctf