THROWN OUT

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1720, 10 April 1913, Page 8

THROWN OUT

fHB HALF-HOLIDAY PETITION

TOWN CLERK'S REPORT,

SHORT OF 84 NAMES

; The much-discussed petition lodged by ; tho Trades and Labour Council authori- : ties requesting 'Jf poll on the question of a universal Saturday' half-holiday has been thrown out by the town clerk after i a 'scrutiny, of the'signatures attached to ■ tlio petition by checking them .with tho names on the now roll. Since, tho decision of the council on Thursday last, I Mr. J. Aimes (returning officer) and a' staif of four, 'havo been engaged night and day in the work, and the town clerk i is convinced, that it was well and earc- ; fully done. His .report to the council is : as follows:— ' "Under the Shops and Offices Act, 1908, a requisition that the statutory closing | day m a district be determined by a Spoil of the electors,* must, bo signed 'by ' not less than oiio-tenth of tho total num- : ber of the electors, of tho constituent : boroughs and-town districts in the-case of a combined district.' ■ _ ~ "AVellington ds a combined district, and includes the boroughs of Karori, Onslow, and Miramar, and tho Town Board'of Jolmsonville. "Under tho advice of the City Solicitor, the rolls for tlio current year, certified as correct in the month of March last, and not later than the 15th ,day.,thereof,, must be used in tho examination of tlio ; signatures lo . a . requisition ■ presented : .within tho prescribed time "in" regard to . the half-holiday poll. ' , : "A requisition was presented 'by the ! Wellington Trades and Labour Council ' to tho Mayor,' and received by me on behalf 'of the council on Friday, March 28, containing -5013 decipherable;. signa-. tures. On the 29th ultimo, supplemental sheets of signatures were : submitted, containing 927 readable names, making a .; total number of 6570 signatures! ' "As the. Act only requires the signatures : of electors to a requisition, to'render the ! requisition valid, and does riot afford any : direction 1 as to how tlio comparison be--1 tween tho names on the requisition arid /the names on the roll is to bo made, the position becomes a very open one. On . this point, the City Solicitor has advised ' as follows:—'As , a matter of fact, it,, is. really impossible to say accurately ; whether any list compiled in this way 1 contains one-tenth of the electors? Such : being tho case, the only method by which tho requisition can , bo examined is to . treat it in as liberal'a manner as is rea- ; senably possible. 'The-Act"requires the signatures uf electors; a responsible body knowing this, obtains tiio signatures and presents (he requisition. I therefore take .it that it must bo assumed that tho re- , quisition is signed.by electors. The sig- ; naturQS. have therefore been accepted as thoso'of electors in every caso'where they fhro similar to those appearing on the ■ combined .roll. -; : "The total number of electors on the : jombined rolls is made up as follows:— AVellington City .' 23,572 Miramar Borough ............ ...1.1405 ' Onslow Borough 1,1-1-1 ; . Karori Borough 903 ;' . ' Jolmsonville Town Board 494 , Total 1 27,578 - . "ifho requisition (original and added !'names) treated in the most liberal and ' reasonable. manner, contains 2073 names which are similar to thoso appearing on tho combined rolls, and tlieso have been allowed, thus rejecting 3897 signatures, 'which cannot-bo satisfactorily compared. As the Act requires 10 per cent, of tho electors on tho combined rolls (2757) to sign tho requisition, arid as . tho requisition is short of this number by 84 names, I liavo to report that this requisition does not contain one-tenth of the total number of the electors of tho combined district, : and that - consequently ( ! am unable to 'issue-instructions for a poll to bo taken." A "SALUTARY WARNING. ■ STATEMENT BY MR, T. BUSH. : Mr. T. Bush, ono of tlio leading spirits lin fighting against the Saturday half--■holiday, oA being seen last evening, said that tho result of tho scrutiny of the Trades and Labour Council's petition, 'should bo a salutary'warning against the ; acceptance without challenge of any such, jietitions as it showed how possible it was ■■ to. impose on a local body an expensive ■undertaking that is not justified nor ■ wanted by the public. He could not un- ! dcrstand why the party wanted jthe Saturday half-holiday so badly when they admit that most of their people were ,at present getting their halfioliday on !that day. As a matter of fact ho could .quote on instance of a business on Lambton Quay which at present observbd the Saturday half-holiday where tho assistants had asked for the restoration of the ■Wednesday half-holiday. There was another aspect to the movement—and a sorious orio—which made the action iof i tho Labour party all the more inexplicable. It was generally admitted that Saturday closing had the effect of. driving the business 'away from the small shopkeeper to the big stores. That was mado ■(plain by the action of the small shopjkeopers themselves in fighting against the poll. Accepting that as correct tho logical conclusion is that the small shopkeeper Iwould be hurt, that in some cases ho might oven be driven'out of business. That would mean more empty shops and 'empty shops meant depression and a lowering of rents and property value, which bad for the city and the community generally. As things wero now, Mr. Bush Baid, it might very easily bo positively irksome for workers to shop on any other jday than Saturday. ; "I maintain that wo are just as great ji convenience to the public 'as-the railways or any other public utility," said 3lr. x JBiish in conclusion.- "If the shopassistants aro to get the- Saturday halfholiduy, why not the railway, tramway, teud.fftrry workers? If tho trains and . ;trims stopped it would be a great public iineonvemence, and if all tho shops closed on Saturdays it would also bo a great ; publie inconvenience, seeing that cvery;ono had perforce to close on Sunday." ; PETITIONERS ACCEPT DECISION. ! .WHAT MR. E. J. CAREY SAYS.' - - Interviowed last night regarding tho half-holiday question, Mr. E. J. Carey ; made the lollowing statement:—! - . : "Wo set out to get a petition" ...that. •' contain the names of ■ 10'-. per cent.: , 'of the electors,entitled to'vote, at .the: • civic elections, and that wo 4 took : to; bs' tho spirit of the Act—that if 10 per cent..• , -of tho electors desired that a.poll'fh'ould'. " bo taken on th 6 question, that, ■ ahould be arranged by the Town" Olerk: Personally, I am .convinced that the' Tcfivn' Clerk a?.d his officers havo treated - , petition in an impartial manner, and'T- . am satisfie<l to accept, his and his officers" ' judgment thereon. AVo have been defeated by a bog of technicalities; the petition has been, counted out on tho.advice given ; iby tho City Solicitor,' which practically - i insists that our petition be taken on the revised roll signed up to March 14—that is -essentially a ratepayers' roll, and by ' no means tho broad and wide roll used at :tho City; Council elections,/ lipon which we based our estimates. However, it is not our part to dispute as to tho rolls or to carp at tho Town Clerk's report. Some of my -colleagues have suggested a recount and litigation upon the position. But wo have no money for litigation, nor is it advisable. So.far as I personrally am ooncorned, I am prepared to stake my chances of election on piy' advocacy and support of the week-end holiday. 'Those who feel keenly about being thrown out on the technicalities raised, I advise to mako the Saturday half-holiday a certainty at the forthcoming polls. It must bo remembered that tho deciding of the weekly half-holiday, by a poll of electors is only an optional way of determining that holiday. AVhere no poll is taken, then tho day of tho. weekly halfholiday is fixed by. delegates from the boroughs and from the city council within a combined district, with respect to that combined district. Tho Act provides that each borough. ehall send olio' delegate, and that the City Council shall bo represented by delegates, tho number of whom shall exceed by ono the total • number sent by all the boroughs, .apart '"froin tho city council within the combined district. Thus it happens that the .weekly half-holiday, .can bp dccidod by tho

City Counoil, becauso of its statutory majority at tho conference, and it only remains for thoso on tho new City Council to bo pledged supporters of tho Saturday half-holiday for the Victory now secured by tho AA'ednosday people will prove to be only a temporary one." -In conclusion, Mr. Carey said, "Tho easting out of 4000 of a total of less than 7000 is a big percentage, and probably a recount would favour us, but, as stated, I do'not think that tlio district council will press for a-recount. Of this I am certain, that of tho possiblo '10,000 names of persons entitled to vote on April 00, at least 0000 of thoso who. signed ourvpoti- ' tion will bo genuino and bona-fide electors on that dale."