Sunday Work

Press, Volume C, Issue 29537, 12 June 1961, Page 3

Sunday Work

Sir,—l was under the impression that New Zealand was a Christian country; yet on Sunday I saw men working with bulldozers at the entrance to the Tunnel road. Not long ago a man was prosecuted for working at his trade on a Sunday. Has that law been repealed? Or does the law not apply to large contracting firms? Or do they consider themselves immune from God’s, law: "Six days shalt thou labour, but the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord, thy God: in it thou shalt do no manner of work.” Whatever their excuse, the Tunnel road is not a matter of such urgency that work needs to be done on it on Sunday.—Yours, etc., OLD IDENTITY. May 30, 1961. (Mr J. G. Smith, project manager for Fletcher-Kaiser, repkes: “It is true that a small crew was brought out to work on Sunday, May 28. The month of May had twice the average rainfall, and work on the witole project virtually came to a standstill. Unless access could be restored the job was faced with dosing dowm until the summer. Hie weather cleared on the Saturday and efforts were made to restore access to the workings. A crew was brought in on Sunday to place rock on this section to save it from further damage. Heavy rain fell again the next week and it is only the last few

days of fine, frosty weather that gives hope of getting the job underway again. The position is still critical. We certainly do not make it a practice of working on a I Sunday except in emergencies. When Jesus was criticised for non-observance of the Sabbath, he replied: T ask you, is it Lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm. . . .?’ " (Luke 6:9)1