SATURDAY NIGHT'S DEMONSTRATION.

Press, Volume XLVII, Issue 7528, 18 April 1890, Page 6

SATURDAY NIGHT'S DEMONSTRATION.

TO THB BDITOB Of THB PRESS. Sißj—Aa the Early Closing Association have apparently decided to retainjjossesslon of the explanation I addressed to the Rev. T. Flavell, I must ask your permission to allow mc to make public the reason why I consider the demonstration in front of my shop last Saturday night grossly unfair and uncalled for. First—For the past six years I have made a practice of closing my establishment punctually at six o clock for five nights out of the week, when at the same time all the other shops ia my line of business were kept open tfil nine o'clock. Second —The first night of the nine o'clock closing on Saturdays was a most unfortunate one on which to Inaugurate the early closing movement, inasmuch as the Saturday preceding Easter Monday is always an unusually busy one, and consequently It was hardly a matter for surprise that several shops (my own included) failed to get closed sooner than ten o'clock. Last Saturday night, however, I began to take the goods in from outside my door as early as 8.20, hoping thereby to get closed punctually at the agreed upon time. Notwithstanding my honest endeavors to get the shop closed at nine o'clock, it was ten minutes past that hour before I got my doorway cleared and the gas inside and outside my windows turned out. Before that time, however, a ciowd Of people began to gather in front of my shop, and so annoyed mc with their rude and uncalled-for remarks, that, immediately I was ready to close, I resented their attempt at Intimidation by relighting the gas. This, perhaps, was an injudicious thing to do; but laboring, as

I did, under a feeling that I■_■___•. 1 fairly singled out, •awTthlWSjNr'-tL ua _kfL?_i a _ in ?_ il,s oo tar as as the early closing _T* |f «»ncerned, 1 think it bad idea (now that the g7ocS_l°* *. in forsix-o'clock closing ail £"• wl close all the shops at sir o'cloW_W W days during the winter mon hT«L Sa C the public are satisfied, ifi!**-. throughoutthe whole year. -YoXJ, « •» . c * M. G^g»