NO HOLIDAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 219, 15 September 1943, Page 2

NO HOLIDAY

CELEBRATIONS OFF

CAPITULATION OF ITALY

(P»A.) INVERCARGILL, Tuesday. The national celebration of Italy's capitulation, proposed for next Saturday, will not be held, and consequently there will be no special holiday on that day. An announcement to this effect was made at Invercargill to-night by the Prime Minister, Mr. Fraser.

"The national committee, representative, of all sections of the community, set up to consider the proposal, has reported to me from Wellington," said Mr. Fraser. It states that according to replies received to my telegrams to local authorities throughout New Zealand, already in a number of the largei centres of population the capitulation has been celebrated with great enthusiasm, and it is not possible to recreate that same spontaneity.

"It has therefore become apparent that only in those districts where celebrations have not already been held would it be practicable to have parades to symbolise New Zealand s total- war effort. Obviously nothing but a completely national scale of celebrations would be appropriate and it has therefore been decided not to proceed with the proposal. "It has, however, been most gratifying to learn from the evidence received of the desire of the people generally to take part in a completely national celebration, and i am also grateful to the representatives of employers, manufacturers, farmers, labour organisations and Government Departments for the great amount of constructive thought and hard work put in at such snort notice to make the proposed parades trulv synbolic of the whole of New Zealand's war effort. The foundation has been laid for the celebration at very short notice of the next appropriate occasion, which we trust will i not be long in coming."