HALF HOLIDAY MOVEMENT.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 41, 17 February 1879, Page 2

HALF HOLIDAY MOVEMENT.

To the Editor of- tue ' Ev£nin<S Mail.'

Sir— Seeing that shopmen and clerks in different tbwns of New Zealand are agitating ' themselves somewhat on iKeabbve important question, I fail to see why Nelson should be an exception to uphold her rights. Ws are given to understand that people leave England with the only object in view to better their means of living, or in other words, giviug up England and all it comprehends with conditions aimost amounting to slavery, for banishment aud comparative ease, but what a fallacy this is, when we know what we knowu. Shopman's hours are unlimited, although tbey are giveh to understand upon engagement that their hours will be from nine till six, and until ten on Saturdays, but consider the number of extra and weafy hours at night after proper shop hours, amidst uupleasant smells, closely confined in a shop with little or no ventilation, and for which they never receive a farthing or even thanks 'for Look at a draper, not one in fifty, .comparatively speaking, is in real good health, and wby, solely because they have no time for outdoor exercise. Surely shopmen in Nelson are overtaxed in respect to the hours of labor daiiy exacted from them, and that one half holiday in the week (say Wednesday afternoon) is by no meaus a large concession to expect from their employers and the public. Carpenters, painters, blacksmiths, and others are- entitled to their afternoon holiday. Now, Sir, why should not we, who are subject to a stooping position all day, not enjoy this luxury also. I could' point to many other conditions at hand of greed for large profits, making employers unscrupulous and over exacting with the employed, instead of being real public benefactors. I think that there is room for improvement here, and that the Wednesday half holiday and immunity from work at night after proper shop hours under any circumstances should be insisted on; but, Sir, I have already trespassed so much upon your valuable space and the patience of your readers, that I should make some sort of apology, were it not for my knowledge that this matter demands the fullest attention of all those who may choose to interest themselves in it. Hoping that abler pens than miue will give their opinion on this important and merited question I am, &c, A Draper.

I haTe- pt'evfotfsly had occasion to refer to the brilliancy of woman's wit, and the untratial development this virtue attains assisted by ifee tfaltibrions air of Wakanui. In confirmation Oi ifyae observations I relate the following -i—The" 6*iie73bip of a pieca of land at Wakanui is di'spnf eti by a lady farmer and a man farmer, the Was** Lands Board having gold to Both. The lady made a feeble assertion of hef tilafim,but, with the becoming modesty of her sex, a,\iaite<& Ohe male claimant to plough and sow, and nttrrott and roll these disputed acres. She let hitil W*teft> the crop grow, and reap and bind and stock t&e same < but then, nnder the kind protection of night, accompanied by some twenty stalwart fractfs, sbe swooped down on the prepared sheaves and stacked them all in her own rickyard.- That was a nice, patient lady, and sie dosen,t seem harassed much by the vituperation of her sorrowing opponent. — '• Lohehand," in Ashburton Echo.

Major Scannell (says the Auckland Evening S ar) has been insulted ; a veteran warrior has been treated with indignity ; the tail of the British liort h«3 been trod upon ; and that majestic beast in now glaring and lashing its tail in a manner wiwfr portends something awful The cause of all this ado is explained in a Tauranga telegram. Bewi seut an invitation to the gallant nwjor to conte up acd meet him. The major's Arab steed had wandered in search of pleasant pastures, and tbere was a delay. The missing charger, however, was found, and the major buckled on the weapons of war and went ih full military fig to meet the distinguished Raagiiira. We are told that after the usual greeting the chief quietly rolled himself up in his blanket aud slumbered. The coolness of this reception completely staggered the major. It does not seem to have occurred to him that the aged Bangitira was overcome with the <-oporific atmosphere, that he had just dined, was taking his siesta, and in accordance with the customs of the Maoris expected his guest to partake of food before the. business of the interview was entered upon. Thus the Major, " jealous iu honor, sudden and quick in quarrel," like his profession, regarded the thing as a deadly insult. Though it is not specifically stated, we surmise that he disturbed tbe old man's nap, and that Bewi woke up in a bad bumor. In this he differed in no wise from the ordinary run of well-to-do pakehas who are partial to their forty wiuk3 after dinner. Had the Major been a diplomatist he would have imitated the example of Bewi, and " Lay like a warrior taking his rest, With his martial cloak around him." But, unfortunately, the Major does not appear to he versed in the Maori etiquette of " taihoa," and thinks the British Government has been insulted. Whether the Native Minister will demand satisfaction remains to be seen, but he is furnished with a precedent in the turning back of the British envoy in the Kyber Pass, and the consequent war against Afghanistan. It is satisfactory, however, to learn from a later telegram, since tbe above was iu type, that the Major denies the correctness of the version sent to the " Bay of Plenty Times." Tbe signs of the times are ominous, and terrifying to contemplate, the nations of the earth are on the watchtower, and all prophetic of a coming storm. It behoves every sensible person to be on the alert, for the day of action is fast approaching— Health and strength will he the great desideratum. These can both be procured and theu maintained by the timely use of " Ghollah's Great Indian Cures." They are the finest improvers of the constitution ever yet known in the shape of medicine.