The Press. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 1909. THE HALF HOLIDAY.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13363, 3 March 1909, Page 6

The Press. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 1909. THE HALF HOLIDAY.

The _wll which is to decide the day of tlioc week on which for two years tho half-holiday is to be held takes place next month, and it is understood that those who favour the retention of Thursday do not mean to let tho con-test-go by default to the advocates of Saturday. There are, of course, two very,..well defined sides to tho question, and so far the members of the Saturday "League" has been by far more active in urging a change cf day than the upholders of Thursday have been in giving reasons why matters should remain as they are. Christchurch is not the only city in which this question will be keenly fought out next month. In Wellington the pxoposal to alter tho holiday from Wednesday to Saturday is meeting with strong opposition from the %hopkeepers, who have entered upon a strenuous campaign against the change. At a recent meeting of tho Shopkeepers' Association the chairman said that of the eleven hundred shopkeepers in AVellinston only about fifty closed on Saturdays. That, ho claimed, was a pretty clear indication of their feelings on the matter. The secretary declared that from his personal knowledge of tradesmen's accounts compulsory closing on Saturday afternoon •would result in many of the smaller shopkeepers going to the wall, as it was the Saturday trade that paid the rent. In Dunedin. we understand, the matter is also exciting considerable interest. It is unnecessary at tho present stage of the contest to discuss in detail tho pros and cons of the question, but it is interesting to note that the popular .preference for Saturday as the great shopping day of the wee"!: is very

widespread throughout tho Dominion. Only thirteen districts have chosen it for the half-holiday. They include Amberley, .Little River, Okaiu's Bay, and Tai Tapu, in Canterbury. Outram and Maniototo in Otago, and seven small district in two • counties in Auckland province. The advocates of Saturday have, however, just received strong support from Australia, the Victorian Legislature having just passed a measure providing for a universal Saturday half-holiday in tlie "Melbourne metropolitan districts. Tho exemptions include chemists, restaurants of various kinds, flower and bicycle shops, . hairdressing saloons, pawnbrokers, butchers, and bakers. The Bill may have been altered in passing, but as broughtdown it provided that, except chemists and restaurants, all tho businesses mentioned above might bo ordered to close on Saturdays if the majority wished. The Act may, however, bo suspended for not moro than two years if, by » majority of at least fifty, the shopkeepers affected petition the Government to allow the shops to remain open on Saturday afternoons. The custom of Saturday shopping appears, however, tc bo dying out in tho big Australian cities, for a deputation representing, it is said, all tho employers and shopkeepers in the Sydnoy metropolitan area lately urged the Premier of New South Wales to bring in a Bill making a Saturday half-holiday compulsory in that area without any exemptions. A proposal to extend tho scope of the measure to suburban and country municipalities provoked strong opposition, anel Mr Wade's reply to a protesting deputation indicated that the Government might find it necessary to have somo sort of enquiry into tho whole question before deciding how far it should go. Tho New Zealand Parliament, for onco in a way less paternal than Australian Governments, has left it to tho people in each district to decide tho matter, and so long as they are mado fully acquainted with both sides of the matter, it is the safest way..