WEEKLY HALF-HOLIDAY

Otaki Mail, 9 May 1923, Page 3

WEEKLY HALF-HOLIDAY

# BUSINESS MEN AND FOOTBALLERS WAIT ON MINISTER. WOULD NOT MAKE PROMISE. A deputarioij, representing the Ww Zealand Rugby Football Union and New Zealand Football Association, waited upon the Hon. 0. .1. Anderson (Minister for Labour) on Friday. Mr Ge.ides said that: the members of the deputation, besides being sj.uitsmen, were also business men. and therefore did not place sport before business. lie explained that two years ago lite half-holiday in tnvercargill was changed from Wednesday to Saturday, and at the rccenl poll it wa.s decided to revert to Wednesday. He acknowledged thai the " ill of the people in these matters should be re-

spected, but. thought that all business people should be compelled to close their premises on the day decided upon as the half-holiday. The effect of the change in Invereargill, and some'of the

other towns, was going lo be serious to football and other sports, as retailers would be closing on Wednesday's, while factories, banks, warehouses, etc.. would observe Saturday a.- the half-holiday. Rugby and Association football would bo seriously affected as the dubs would lose the public patronage which they had hitherto enjoyed, and which was essential t«> the maintenance of the game. It) Invereargill most of

the awards were governed from Duncdin; and. as Dunedin observed Saturday as the half-holiday, naturally the awards contained provision for closing on that day. If arrangements

could be made for the factories to close on Wednesday, it would materially help the sports with -which they wcre associated. Mr Oompton said thai he had been assured by retailers that they would support any measure which would re-

suit ill a universal half-holiday, wheth- ' er it was Saturday or any other day. ' Seeing that Parliament had laid it down that a half-holiday should be ob- j served, it would probably be n good thing if the Government decided the . day on which it should b'e granted, j and make it general. It did so in re»pect of it.- own employees. [f this were not possible, perhaps it could lie arranged for all premise,- in the same town to observe the same , half-holiday. THE MINISTER'S REPLY. The Minister, in reply, said that the question of the weekly half-holi-day was a perennial one. He instanced cases where Saturday had been carried two years ago in .some places, and almost without exception all the small shopkeepers in those places hud complained of the serious effect the alteration had had on their businesses. It did not interfere to the same extent with the business of large shopkeepers and warehouses. To give effect to the request of the deputation would necessitate an alteration in all of the Acts which provide for the observance of a half-holiday on Saturday, so as to provide for the halfholiday beiag the same as that decided "upon by the people. It would be quite impossible to get such legislation through the House. Their . advocacy for a universal half-holiday was undoubtedly worthy of consideration; but if the Government finally decided to give the House an opportunity of expressing a view upon it. he thought that they would be introducing a very contentious matter. The public generally were not at all unanimous. He would, however, consult his colleagues, but could not make anv promise as to whether anything would bo done. Towns outside the four large centres were, to a large extent, dependent upon the farming business, and as business men th*y knew full well the saving of time it wa« to a farmer to be able to come to town and transact all his business on ' the one day, preferably Saturday. ' With regard to the factories. It ' both parties to the award were agree- ' able, the court would, no doubt, alter '. the day on which the half-holiday ' should be observed, if application were 1 made for such a change.