THE HALF-HOLIDAY BATTLE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1716, 5 April 1913, Page 6

THE HALF-HOLIDAY BATTLE.

! MEETING OF SHOPKEEPERS, I THE LAW CRITICISED. ; • MORE ABOUT THE PETITION. LETTER FROM MR. MARTIN. '■ ' ' ' '!■■■■ PROPOSED AMENDMENT OP THE ACT. , A meeting of shopkeepers anxious to reI . . "tain tho Wednesday lialf-holiday was held •in the Masonic Hall last . night. The business was to consider what steps should bo taken to opposo tho/proposal ';that tho half-holiday bo.obsqrveii on Saturday. Mr.,T. Bush presided, and there ,wcro about 25, shopkeepers present.' Mr. J. H. Bettanjv.was elected to act as seoretaiy at tho meeting/and during ; tho campaign. ' , : i ; Mr. T. Queree, of Querco ' Brothers, wrote apologising for inability .to bo present at the meeting,.and enclosed a eliequo for five guineas to the: lighting iuiul. It was resolved that all present at tho 1 meeting form, themselves into », general 'committee to . carry on the campaign. 'in support ■of the Wednesday ; half-holiday.' V i Mr. A. George was elected treasurer of tho comjnittee. , ! Tho following executive committee was set _upMessrs. T. Bush, J. Godber, L. ; M'Kenzie, H. H. Seaton, A.-George, and A-Wardeli: ■, - "Draw Your Own Infersnce." ■ • • The chairman,said that he had'been lighting this question for . the i last .20. years,'and, most of the shopkeepers present were familiar with it. Bui; if they were to fight now they would require to bo very energetic, and they would also . need the wherewithal' to' carry,.: out, an ' active campaign. Ho saw no reason why , they should ,not carry. tho day by a very •large majority, because he did r.ot think ' tho . general public - desired",to have the half-holiday changed from' "Wedto Saturday.; : They must recognise the fact that in this campaign. ; the apposition would 1 be better organised than ever .before, and . tho shopkeepers would have to get busier than ever before. . .It .behoved everyone who stood ! to los 9 1 ,by. the ehango to work their hardest to-, wards achieving a satisfactory, Tesult. iWith regard to tho petition, presented to ; the council, tho'small committee that.had i been acting honestly believed that a very large number of the signatures contained • - in- tho petition should never have been I . there, and he did not think the commit- . '.;tee werp the only people'holding"that' opinioD. ; The ..council oincials themselves admitted that it was impossible to trace | ,or verify a great proportion' of thti signa--1 .turasj- ttat appeared upon, the'/petition. Mr. (XShea, the City' Solicitor, lhad said ' fS". ■?, !t Mr « Jtash) certainly. l did not 1 think', tho council should have''received 1 the second petition presented oil Satur-' day. This at least sliould have, been tojected. At tho meeting tho previous' ■ the council had accepted the opinion, of the City, Solicitor.- But he' (Mr. Bush) was informed now 'on good . authority that'the officers were in "doubt .as to whether they should tako the main 1011, ortho whole new, roll;' or the old roll, la testing-the signatures.'-Ho ' was'"ini' - vfor-med.that, on Saturday night last at one :, of the; street corners the signatures of liifants wcro being accepted for the petition. If this was going on last Saturday , they had no reason for believing that it was not going on right through the piece. : Practically the petition for tho ch-ango- ; ot the half-holiday was settled and "done" with •on -Fnto. night The comtaittee ■-interviewed the Town Clerk in connection' - with' the petition on Saturday mornin" ' ? n i'i, •£ significant that after they t lelt the Town • Clerk's office certainr . P Bo Pj© were closeted with' his, Worship' ;. . the Mayor, and then a fresh petition was I prepared.-and presented. "I leave you:' lailics and; gentlemen; to draw your ora . inference," Mr. Bush, concluded. Muddled Legislation. :, Mr; L., MlCenzip' ;ib : ? w ;attentidii to sorno of the anomalies in tho Act, which ho- said, -was _an example of /muddled legislation. It was open under the' Act ! i°L, any ' all to sign a:-petition- , si.cn. as that under review. A gentle-' lmfiti! 1 !! l 1 'iw I* 11 ' 1 h°'had.signed,tho petition, but that ho was liot an elector ;-. -in the combined district.-He (Mr. M'Ken- : zie) had looked up tho roll aid found that thero was a name on t'ho roll which :.would correspond with this man's signa- , ture. His signature would no doubt be- ; allowed. But af they-wished to challenge, ; any namo they must do it through the ; 'law Courts. Tinder tile Act all the power' ; of accepting or signatures,-was- . delegated to ono man—the Town Cleric—' : which was surely very , wrong cojisiderimr i tho issues at stake. ■If -they succeeded'in" ' "oht, they must make very strong representations to th'e Government to-have the Act altered, - . ' : ; :-v •' f ' "A Scandalous Shame." j Mr.. A'. George said it geeued to him to ; bo a scandalous shamo that they should | bo compelled after_ a lapso.of two years j only to defend their businesses'from'the' I destruction which would certainly over- ; -take them if Saturday wero adopted. The of the promoters' of - the: petition : showed,-a shocking levity and disrespect tor tho verdict given, two years'ago. Ho ; hoped, and 'he thought, that' they would ! win tho fight again, and that after tho j battle their opponents would be discom- ; fited. But, apart from this, the Act was : a bad law, and it was being used'now for i ■ a most improper purpose—for simple votecatching. If the Saturday proposal were carried trade would be diverted into large ; establishments, and there would bo no , . competition to keep prices - reasonable !■ and trade generally, in a healthy'state. lho small shopkeepers wcro really doing | a great service to the community, and'lie ; . had no doubt that at tho proper'time tho ; public would recognise this. He appeal- , ed to the public to put their shoulders : to tho wheel to destroy tho serious ati tempt that was being made to destroy tho trade of the city. , : What Will tho Effect Be? , ' ' | ; Mr. H. H. Seaton'said that the clause ; in the Act which had l-iso to all the trouble was introduced'by Mr. J. A. j Millar, as Minister for Labour. It was : passed the Houso at one'o'clock in i tho morning. It was.-brouglit down with- ; out. notice, and shopkeepers'.' had / no' ; chance of opposing it, or of -giving evi- ; denco upon it. Tho Saturday halt-holi-j day would not really affect the local trade ;" of the city, but it would prevent people : of tho remoter suburbs, and near-by' disi tricts, whoso custom it was to conio'-to" town on Saturday, from coming into-town i to do their shopping; '. It would-t&nd to' I ; the localising of trade, and the country / stores would do the business, now' dono" ;' by tho city shops. Of course, the city : traders were seliish enough to"be<onxiou3 ! to retain the business they now had. The ; Saturday lialf-holiday . would ilecrcaso ! business in tho city, and less" business ' : wouid mean less assistants. ' Some hands - throughout tho town would have to be 'dismittied if the Saturday 'half-holiday were enforced. His. own exporienco'was that thoso assistants who'had got out of the ruck and established themselves in ' businesses of their owri"'were 'the'most" anxious to retain Saturday as a working day. Mr. Carey, to whom tlio honour of organising tho petition was due, had said this half-holiday question was not a part); question. Mr. Carey wis quite : right; it was not a party question, bnt; ; only a Labour party question. . As soon : - : as these so-called leaders of Labour could ■ find a little clause somewhere in any : Act by which they could harass people, - tliey. raised tlie point at. onco. It was, , said that in Melbourne and Sydney Sat- -' urday closing had been a success. :It i was truo that it had not materially af- , fected tho city shops, but if had had a ;. very serious effect on tho suburban sliojjs. , Some of the provincial towns in Austraj lia had tried Saturday closing, and given it up after a trial. It had been tried in ;• i)uiiedin,. Auckland, Nelson, and Milton, : and in all those towns tho peoplo had : l>eon vory kliul to revert to Wednesday i closing. Tho change would also liuvo-a very bad 'effect on,sports in WollingtoA. 1 At" present all available grounds were; "'-iully' occupied on both Wednesday aud"

Saturday,..antLnoother, grounds could be found, About Legal Process. • The difference of opinion between Mr. "3?.,Mflrtin, ono of tho most eminent authorities-, on municipal law- in New Zenland; an<l tho .City Solicitor, should have 1 prompted tho City Council to adopt Councillor ll'Kenzio's motion, that a declaratory judgment be obtained. Tho City Council rejected this on tho scoro of ex-pense,.-but tho City Corporation was a large 'holder'of city shops, and ho ventured to. fay i that tho depreciation of their.', properties if", tho Soturday proposal was'carried'would bo much g;eatcr than the cost of tho judgment. .' ,'.Miv.Seaton.Vqii&ted the following letter the committeo had, received from Mr. T. F. Martin:—. ~ "The City Council have decided to count the signatures to tho requisition in connection with the new l'oll, and it having occurred to mo that tho . reference in, my opinion to your right .. to test tho question of signatures in tho courts might-possibly bo understood as meaning that you could challenge tho poll on this ground niter it - liad' been taken, I think it right to . say now that iin my opinion you could noly.after'the poll is taken, ques-tion-tho requisition. , i "JPo doubt you could under Section 45, Local Elections and Polls Act, 1808, petition against . tho poll within 11 days thereafter, but I consider that tlio magistrate could inquire only as to tho of tho poll, 'and not go into tho: antecedent question of whether th? poll was founded upon a sufficient requisition. ."And I think the Courts would be more likely to-tako this view, seeing that the council has publicly laid, down its' lino of procedure, -(viz., to go by the new roll) and • that it 'is now. open to your side to apply,,for, a. declaratory judgment on the interpretation of the Act and regulations,,so, as to havo the point decided before the electors are put to' •the trouble of, voting on this question, - Moreo.ver,.. seeing that a legal remedy is notv open \to you by way of declaratory,.judgment'a Court would. ~ hs likely to .disoountenance the waiting on your part for the chance of ■' . a favourable,, .poll. .:, ;"If your-association desires to test tho council's action proceedings should ■ be taken at a very early date, not only because the Judges are so .much occupied with Court of Appeal business, 'but: also because the notice of : the poll will havo to be given by the returning officer on or about April 15, , anil between now and then. the judgment ought to be got, and time left for , completing,, tho checking of tho signatures in-accordance' .with, the ■ judgment." • * A declaratory judgment, Mr. Seaton said, would cost fully JliO. His ,own opinion was that if they combined to fight the poll, by canvassing and by tho circulation of printed matter, they would win. If they sat down and did nothing, they might possibly lose. He believed that the Labour candidates for the council had seriously jeopardised their chances of being returned by taking such a prominent part in promoting the petition. ' Resolution Carried. 'Ho moved the following resolution:— ' "That' this 'meeting of Wellington •.rand.st£, an.d.,suburban shopkeepers ■ is strongly "of ; 'opinion that tfie pre,.:sent clause in the-Shop arid Offices • Amendment Act. of 1908—allowing 10 per cent'of'the electors of any com- .• bined"district, to, petition the local authority to take a poll to determine the''weekly half-holiday for shops, is ■ '■ harassing-and-against the best inter- . ests of 'the shopkeeping community, and 'respe.ctfully asks Parliament to y, flelete such-'olauso from the Act, or ■failing-"stich amendment to tho-Act| that a clause-bo inserted compelling stick signatories to fill in their full name,' occupation, and address, . so that tho-returning officer may more -. easily ascortain if such petitioners.aro ■ "on "the r municipal roll and that all ,;sueli requisitions shall be deposited J -, ! iv't.. T th'o7,'variou.s municipal offices for "VfSffi.#"";- an <l that this resolution ' be.forwarded to the Hon. the Minister for Labour." • Mr./Houghton seconded tho ; motion, which was carried unanimously without any discussion? ■ ...\ . , .. 1 11 t° H. l '-' Gf- Winder, tho'chairman said that it was not the intention ?, J' I ,® committee to engage . the' services or to take tho advice of a King's Counsel on the matter of tho petition. . Thev : would probably 1 get further advice from ! Mr. T. F. Martin as to their future movements.. i Mr. Seaton 'saiid ho thought the wiser ' OT??. was to go to tho Courts for ti. 1 declaratory -juclprment if they were Roing < to spend, any jnoro money in legal costs. '• bomo-ETO was collected ia the room to- '• the, campaign fund. ]