CHINESE COMPETITION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1171, 5 July 1911, Page 4

CHINESE COMPETITION.

APPREHENSIVE GROCERS.

J )\- ° C c d l Couucii last Evening a deputation of 2a grocery sellers, introduced bj Counci or Jitzgerald, waited upon the council with reference to a certain petition, presented on' a previous occasion, embodying tho desire of tho grocers'tha the G p.m. hour of closing should be generally insisted upon in Wellington Mr John Cameron was tho spokesman of tho deputation Ho stated that the depuiat on desired to bo made acquainted with tlio present position regarding their petition, aud also with regard to what he termed; a "counter petition," got up by tho Climoso grocery .sellers. The deputation had in view the institution of certain restrictions which would place the grocery. soHers on even terms of tradinReciting the main items of their petition' the speaker mentioned that (hey do-ireil all grocery shops to close at 6" p.m. on .Mondays, Tuesdays. Thursdays and Fri days; at 1 p.m. on Wednesdays; and an extension of one hour on Saturday evenings and on the evenings preceding public holidays. Their petition represented a two-to-ono majority of the grocery sellers and all the necessary formalities had been complied with relative to its deposit with the council for ratification prior to its being sent on to the Minister for L-ibour for gazetting, but there had been a delay winch was now occasioning them some concern. They apprehended serious opposition from the Chinese groccrvmon riiesq aliens kept open shop at all 'hours and even on Sundays, and this kind of competition was most unfair. It had been said that this agitation would bear hard ly in its results upon the small menthat it was engineered by the big men to squash the small men; It was not the big men tho small men had to fear, but the Chinese, who had, ho observed, received "splendid support" from the Europeans. If the petition was' not expedited they apprehended that the Chinese would organiso a nntuinlisutioii campaign and get up n big petition to thwart what was simply n move to obtain even terms of trading. Tlfe acting-Mayor (Councillor ,T. Smith) : If they did wo couldn't stop them. Besides, the campaign of naturalisation movement on nn extended scale would lake come time. However, he assured the deputation that tho petition was being put Ihrough its necessary stages— the checking of signatures, etc.—as speedily as possible, and as soon as everything was found in order (ho petition would | )0 sent on to tho Minister.