ELECTION DAY.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 106, 5 November 1908, Page 5

ELECTION DAY.

Closing of Shops,

The question has been raised whether election day will be a whole or a halfholiday for the storekeepers. Reference to section 123 of the Legislature Act, 1908 (Consolidated Statutes), shows that it will be a half-holiday for the stores but not for factories, and that the hotel bars must be closed from 12 noon until 7 p.m. The section reads: —(1) Subject to the provisions of this section every day on which an election takes place shall be deemed to be a holiday sifter mid-day, and it shall not be lawful to sell intoxicating liquors in any licensed premises within the district between the hours of 12 o'clock noon and seven in the evening.

(2) Where the polling day at any election is other than that appointed as the weekly half-holiday under the Shops and Offices Act, 190S, the provisions of that Act relating to the weekly half-holiday shall be deemed to refer to the polling day in lieu of the day so appointed in the week in which the polling day falls. (3) It shall not be necessary for any factory to close during any v/orking hours on the polling day, but the occupier of the factory shall afford to each of his employees a reasonable opportunity to record his vote, and no reduction shall be made from the wages of any such "employee in respect of the time occupied in so recording his vote, providing that such time does not extend over one working hour.

The polling day for the election of Maori representatives has been fixed for December 2nd, and nominations for the various constituencies close on November 12th.