CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 118, 19 May 1879, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Editor of the "Evening Mail." Sin— lt seems a pity that the Government should refuse to accede to the generally expressed wish that the Queen's Birthday holiday should be observed on the 26th instead of the 24th, but since it is so, would it not be better to accept the inevitable, and make the best of a bad bargain ? I see by a paragraph I in Saturday's Mail that there is a movement | on foot to get the Mayor to proclaim Monday a holiday; tbuß we should have a public holiday on Saturday and a municipal holiday on Monday, and the natural consequence will I be that being thus divided both will be ruined for all purposes of amusement. On Saturday the Government offices, including the Customs and Po3t Office, and the Banks must be closed, and on Monday they must be open I and the sittings of the District Court will also be held, involving, as there is a considerable amount of business this time the attendance of between 40 and 50 jurors' besides the members of the bar, officers of the Court, witnesses, &c. Of coarse I don't know the requisitionists' business as well as they themselves do, therefore I have no desire whatever to dictate, but I would suggest that they should think the matter over and see whether they could not accept Saturday as a holiday, keeping open late on Friday night, and assimilating that as nearly as possible to the ordinary Saturday night. I believe, if plenty of notice were given, that the country people would fall iv with this view of the matter, and make Friday instead of Saturday their business day for this week. I am, &c, Pro Bono Puiaico.

To tub Editor of the 'Evening Mail.' Sir,— l hope the influentially signed requisition to the Mayor will have the desired effect of convinciug his Worship that the importance of altering the date of the Queen's birthday holiday from 24th to Monday the 26th is one deserving of far more weight to the commercial community than the order gone forth from a cheeseparing Government, who think they are doing a clever thj>)g hy proclaiming their present short day (Saturday) perhaps they think that more than a loss of three hours will materially inconvenience the colony. [In writing ou this subject I am representing the feelings of employers and assistants, when I say that it would be next to madness to inconvenience the public by closing the shops on Saturday Assistants behind the counter have no sine-

cure billets, and much as they look forward to a little relaxation in the shape of a day's holidiy. I venture to say there are few (if any) who would like to see the only real business day of the week closed. Some may argue as to what the Government officials and a few bauk clerks are to do if the programme of the Review should be held over till Monday. To these I can only express my regret that they should be dove out of a day's sport, but that ths numbers ought to be considered in preference to a few.— l am, &c, Assistant. «=j-rjrj»s«;f_»;sL_. — —"»'■ ■"■■ h»«.ip^»,