EARLY CLOSING.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 48, 27 February 1890, Page 4

EARLY CLOSING.

An advertisement appears in another column, inserted by the Early Closing Committee of the Knights of Labour. those tradesmen who have complied with the request to close their places of business at 7 p.m., or earlier on the first five days o f the week, and 10 p.m. on Saturday, are requested to furnish their names, addresses and occupations to the Secretary of the Knights, at his office, Lome-street. This evidently betokens a new phase ot the question, but what it really signifies we are nob at present in a position to gay. We assume, however, that; ib means an aggressive war of some sorb. We are informed that this movemeafc has been taken up seriously by the Knights, and that, backed up as they are by a very large majority of our citizens, they *r»U never now leb the matter drop, no matter at yhat cosb or whab lengfcfe ,of time it takes to

secure the result desired. Now, it would be a misfortune if a movement which has so far been conducted wibh such unanimity and good feeling should end ia bitter strife; and we would urge those who are not yet in entire * accord with the new order of things to take this matter seriously into their consideration and ask themselves this simple question— " Is it worth my while to stand out against the popular will, and lay myself out to be pointed at as one who ia so wrapt up in self and his own personal gain that he has no hesitation in causing two dozen other families in his neighbourhood to act contrary to their own honest convictions and earnest wishes ?"

Very many tradesmen when asked to consent to early closing, apparently at once freely and willingly consented. But putting on one side those tradesmen who honestly desired the movement to be permanently successful, there were not a few, old hands, who had had experience of similar moves in the same direction in former years, and they agreed to the proposal not so much that they believed in it, but that experience taught them that though it was better for the moment to humour public opinion, yet a week or a fortnight would see the thing burst pp, as had all previous moves of the same character.

Now, to such we would just remark, that it is true in former years Early Closing Associations have been from time to time formed in this city, commenced most energetically, ample funds at first provided to carry on the contest; but when aftera little time the same old excuses were brought forward for breaking the established rule, and first one and then another would open his place of business, it was feund that the so-called Early Closing Associations lacked backbone. They were powerless to do any more than they had done, and the whole thing ended as the anfciproperty tax meeting did on Saturday night , —in a fiasco.

But this subject on the present occasion has not b.3en taken up as formerly by a merely ephemeral institution, full blown in a week and burst and collapsed in a fortnight, but it has been taken up by an organisation numbering some hundreds of members, and representing probably, with their wives and families thousands of consumers.

Now, if a body of this description not only pledged itself to a man to refuse to deal with any tradesman who kept late hours, and if they were true to their pledges and also kept up a persistent agitation against such shops, the results would without doubt bo most damaging to the business of those shops.

We trust our readers will not look upon this as a threat. We have from the first consistently supported this great social reform, and our earnest desire is to see it universally established. Wβ shall_ never be found, even in order to gain the desired result, advocating harsh measures towards those who do not see it in the same light as we do. It is, however, distinctly our duty to raise a note of warning with regard to what appears to beabrewing trouble, and to point out that the Knights of Labour, acting strictly within the limits of the law, and with a full recognition of the rights of free citizens, can yet use such influence as may cause those upon whom it is brought to bear to bitterly regret that they ever adopted a course of conduct which brought them in hostile antagonism with the order.

The members of the order with their wives and families represent even amongsb themselves a power of consumption of necessary articles of food and clothing that would seriously affecb those businesses which they carefully avoided. But it must not be forgotten that public opinion is entirely in favour of the early closing movement, and under these circumstances a persistent agitation and boycott would produce a condition of affaire which every business man and every lover of peace and quietness will desire to see avoided.