Saving the Daylight.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 4373, 13 February 1909, Page 2

Saving the Daylight.

ALTERATION OF TIME.

GOING BACK TO NATURE. Last session of Parliament Mr C. Izard member for Wellington North, mtro duced a Bill called the Alfcer^°" h^ Time Bill. This measnre proposed that at midnight on the last Saturday in the month of September m each year the standard time of New Zealand should be set forward one hour, a " . e midnight on the lftSo » a t u ' ,1 month of September in each * standard time of New Zealand should be set back one hour Thu proposal introduced by Mr Izard read a hrst time, and then submitted to a com mittee for the purpose of talang evidence. Before the close of the session the com mittee announced that they ha unable to complete their report, and so the Bill was allowed to stand »> Interviewed on the sub] ect by a , representative this morning, Mr * who is at present on a visit toAu * said that the Alteration of Tim not to be abandoned as a result defeat at last election, and Alr_ • • ■Sidey, member for Dunedin, has signitiea his intention of bringing the nieasur. down again next session. ‘‘My prop was to as nearly as possi le rever nature,” said Mr Izard, when explaining its provisions this morning. ® , all. we would have put the clock forw one hour, and then lengthened lt to . hours. That means that by legislat l we would have saved two hours ot day light each day during the warm mon s of the year. At present people sleep late into the morning, and sit up late into t night My proposal was to get back to nature, and to rise early, and finish tbe day’s work early. By putting the clock on two hours, the workman would awake in September to find that, though on y just afier daylight, the clock indicate ithfit it was nearly 8 o’clock, and so» although in reality only G o’clock, he would be at work the same as if it ’ were 8 o’clock. He would rise with the birds, and have two hours more dayligh • Working till 5 o’clock by the altered time, he would find his day’s w. rk over by 3 o’clock, actual time Then the advantage of this daylight-saving proposal would come in. He would have four or five hours of daylight for recreation, with his work completed.. And win n the sun disappeared, according to altered time, at nine o’clock, it would be time to think of retiring, as nature meant man to. “ It is a very simple proposal,” added Mr Izard. 11 and though it may be a year 0 or two before it comes into force, I am satisfied that the change will come.. Strangers will arrive in New Zealand and expect to find 12 o’clock at mid-day. Instead, they will find it 2 o’clock by the altered time, that is within an hour of closing time for business, and that tie people will then have the remainder of the daylight for recreation. From the beginning of April it would of course be necessary to put the clock back two hours, to ordinary time, so as to make allowance for the altered daylight conditions prevailing during the winter months, and likewise the Bill brought before Parliament provided that nothing in it should affect time for astronomical or nautical purposes.”