L— ls.

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[C. W. ADAMS

12. What I want to know is, where is the advantage of making people rise half an hour earlier in Dunedin in the winter, when we have practically to gei up in tin. , dark now?—lt is an advantage for all factories and sawmills. They start earlier, and thus make the beginning and ending of their work more nearly agree with the beginning and ending of daylight. 13. You are speaking of Wellington?—l think it is the same in Otago. 14. Not in winter-time. Is it not a fact that the sun rises considerably earlier in Wellington than in Dunedin in winter-time? —Certainly. 15. The point I want to make is this: What would be the advantage in a place like Dunedin of making us rise half an hour earlier in the winter, when we have already to rise in the dark for a very considerable period? —it would just equalise (he time they would have to be in the dark, instead of having an hour at night and only half an hour in the morning. They would have it the same both ways, as half past 7 is four hours and a half before noon, and half past 4 is four hours and a half after noon. 16. Your chief reason for urging that we should alter our mean time to 12 hours east of Greenwich is because of the Conference to which you referred—that other countries have agreed, instead of dividing the hour, to adopt whole hours? —Yes, we should come into line better. It is easier to count whole hours than half-hours. They divided Australia at first into 8 hours, 9 hours, and 10 hours; and they have altered the middle one to 9j. The meridian now adopted by South Australia is quite outside the boundary altogether—eighty-five miles across the border into Victoria. 17. At any rate, I understand you are in favour of the objects of the Bill—you think it desirable to have more daylight in the evenings? —Certainly, I think it would be much better for health. 18. Mr. G. M. Thomson.] Do 3 - ou think that if the Civil servants, the Education Boards, and, say, the Employers' Association all agreed to commence work one hour earlier in the summer months the same effect would be achieved? —Certainly. It has been done already. The Civil Service hours used to be from 10 to 4, then they got a little longer, and now they are from i) to 5. 19. Do you know anything about the system adopted in Switzerland in the summer months? — I do not. 20. Mr. Side//.] Supposing that Mr. Thomson's suggestion were given effect to, and that the office hours of the Government and the general public were altered in the summer, it would also necessitate an alteration of all time-tables and meal-hours? —It would alter the meal-hours, perhaps. 21. And time-tables?— l think it would be very dangerous to alter the time-tables, and not necessary, if the standard time for New Zealand was altered from 11A hours in advance of Greenwich to 12 hours in advance of Greenwich. List of Standard Times. The following standard times, referred to the meridian of Greenwich, have been adopted for railway and other purposes : — H. m. 11 30 E. New Zealand. 10 0 E. Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania. 9 30 E. South Australia. 9 0 E. Japan, Korea. 8 0 E. West Australia, Hong Kong, Philippine Islands, British North Borneo, Labuan. 7 0 E. Straits Settlements. 6 30 E. Burma. 5 30 E. India. 4 0 E. Mauritius, Seychelles. 2 0 E. (East Europe) Bulgaria, lloumania, Eastern Turkey, South Africa, Egypt, Portuguese East Africa. 1 0 E. (Mid Europe) Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Hungary, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Bosnia, Servia, Western Turkey, Malta. 0 0 (Greenwich) Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Gibraltar. 4 OW. (Atlantic) Maritime Provinces of Canada. 5 0 W. (Eastern) Western Labrador, Quebec, Ontario to 82° 30' W., Eastern Zone of United States, Panama. 6 OW. (Central) Central Zones of Canada and United States. 7 0 W. (Mountain) Mountain Zones of Canada and United States. 8 OW. (Pacific) British Columbia and Pacific Zone of United States. 9 OW. (Yukon). 10 30 W. Sandwich Islands. II 30 W. Samoa. [See Diagram II opposite.]