EARLY CLOSING.

Evening Star, Issue 3330, 22 October 1873, Page 3

EARLY CLOSING.

To th« Editor. Sj ß> __Tho early-clcaing movement Is getting stale now, and 1 foci that anything 1 can «ay on the subject can only he a repetition of the ideas and suggestions of previous correspondents ; but if you will kindly grant my letter a space in the columns of your paper, which is so extensively circulated throughout the City, it may serve to show the public, the party chiefly to blame in the keeping open of shops to a late hour, that shopmen are everything but satisfied with the long-hour system of labor. Your correspondent of the 13th has been pointed in his reference te the Saturday half-holiday, and 1 trust his friends of the gentle sex have made good use of his valuable hints. I observe also the letter of “Consumption” in your issue of yesterday, thanking Mr Bradshaw for his successful efforts on behalf of the young ladies of our warehouses. I fully sympathise with the object of that letter; but lam not ready to affirm that shops are kept open for the put pose of swelling the Gas Company’s sheets, neither am I In favor of law as the remedy for decreasing the hours of toil. Surely, Mr I ditor, it is not necessary in a City like Dunedin that a special Act compel masters to grant their saleswomen and young men a privilege which Is 'quietly and respectfully sought and enjoyed by almost every other class of tradesmen. It is at once contrary to reason and experience to say that the effect of early closing Is necessarily detrimental cither to the employer or the employed ; on the contrary, provided the accomplishment of closing early be universal, the merchant loses nothing, while his staff of assistants enjoy the relaxation from a constant, monotonous pecupation, and are able to devote their spare time tp innocent, active, and jiealthfpl apaussmpnt, op, if so inclined cultivate the mind. The summer evenings are now fast approaching, and the growing taste for the noble game of cricket, in which workman and employer may contend for the palm of victory, and bowl each other out with every feeling of mutual respect, will provide relaxation of the healthiest kind, and will perhaps more than anything else help to put a stopper into the whhky bottle. But let me name one of the main obstacles at present to early closing, and this ia the want of agreement amongst the merchants of the same trade. The party who can do moio than any ether towards enabling the employed to obtain the privilege sought, and secure the employer from any loss by granting such leisure, is that irresponsible party called the public, and of the component parts of the public there is one winch does contribute mors to the late hour system than any other, namely, the ladies. It is not that they purchase the more important articles, for they know well that gaslight is not the best for distinguishing the prettiest blue or green, but small articles of comparatively little consequence, which could be purchased equally well next morning, and in order to supply these the whole stall of shopmen must remain in readiness. One word, in conclusion. As a general rule, I would suggest that no shopping be done after G p.m. throughout the week, and say 2 p.m. on Saturdays. It ia well known that only a definite amount of money is spent in shopping, and that amount cannot be increased by keeping shops open to a late hour. Let me, therefore, entreat of the lady customers and others concerned to lay out their money sufficiently early in the day time, which will benefit the buyer by getting the exact article wanted —the tradesman by enabling him to deposit his money in the bank on that day ; and the assistant can thus have his holdiday. Apologising for encroaching so much on your space, I am, &c., Dunedin, October 22.