DAYLIGHT SAVING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1537, 5 September 1912, Page 6

DAYLIGHT SAVING.

MR. SIDEY'S BILL. OPPOSED BY COUNTRY MEMBERS. The.New Zealand Mean Time Bill (Mr< T. K. Sidey) was committed. The proposal to which tho Bill pur-' ports to givo'effect, is that between March and October in each year, clock-time shall be advanced one hour in advance of solar time, the object being to allow busy people to have more of thoir leisure in clavliglit. Mr. G. V. PEARCE (Patea) , asked whether any community of any account had ever adopted an. absurd schojno of this sort. It' was going to do a deal of harm to the country settlement of the Dominion. It might be all very well in the": towns to let young fellows off to get to their sports and games, but in a farming community, where people now got up at daylight, it would mean that they must get up an hour before daylight. Trains would leavo ah hour earlier, school, would open an hour earlier, and iudustrcs in the countrv districts would be upset. Mr. G. WITTY (Riccarton) and Mr. H. POLAND (Ohinemuri) both argued that there was nothing that country residents need fear in putting the clock forward onlv one hour. Mr. J. B. HINE> (Stratford) objected to the Bill on grounds similar to those cited by the member for Patea.

Mr. W. NORWORTHY (Ashburton) opposed tho Bill, saying that he thought, it was a bad Bill for country people. It had never been asked for by country people. The proposal was just about as sensible as would be a Bill to legislate.for another month of sunshine. Mr. T. K. SIDEY (Cnvcrshatri) eaid the, Bill would not be troublesome to country people, and that the petition in support of the Bill had been signed by many country people. The only countrv people who would really suffer would be those. supplying milk in the cities, and they' were a relatively small community. ln. i any case thetiihe which everybody would' have for sleep would be the same as formerly. Mr. L. M. ISITT (Christchurch North) . soid that if the Bill did not pass it would be because of tho stolid prejudice and unreason of certain members of th.c House. The Bill had been before the House on previous occasions, but nothing touching the dignity of a reason—nothing • but prejudice—had ever been- advanced' against it. , ' Mr. F. H. SMITH (Waitaki) saidHhafc town people could easily save daylight now if they care to do so by rising a little earlier. . • Mr.' A'i HARRIS (Waitemata) said hecould think, of no valid reasons to be offered against the Bill. Mr. G. W. RUSSELL (Avon) said that tho more ho looked at the Bill the more was ho convinced that absolutely no argument could be raised against it. The people would adjust themselves to tho new conditions in one day. Mr. J. A. HANAN (Invercargill) said.' that he noticed that all Uie opposition to the Bill camo from tho county members. Evidently they were not aware that several of the largest agricultural asso-, ciations in England had passed motioii3 in favour of the measure. Mr. G. V. PEARCE (Patea) thought! that if townspeople wanted o. change they could open their offices an hour earlier. Mr. W. C. BUCHANAN (Wairarapa) said he thought the word "sanity" ought to have a place somewhero in the short title of tho Bill. Ho proposed to uso legitimately tho forms of the House to. prevent such n Bill as this from passing. At 11.30 p.m. tho House divided on the Short Title, and the motion that tho title stand was carried by 32 votes to in. Mr. A. E. GLOVER (Auckland Central), at 11.45, moved to report progress, but iiis motion was defeated by 29 votes to 22. At 1.20 a.m. a division was taken on an amendment by Mr. Pcarec (Patea) to strike out the words "New Zealand Mean Time" from Clause, 2,"an amendment which would have destroyed the effect of the Bill. The amendment was defeated bv 30 votes to 20.

"At this stage Messrs. Malcolm and Anderson said that though they had supported the Bill up till the present, they did not feci disposed to support it anylonger. Another motion to report progress at 1.35 a.m. was carried l>y 28 votes to 24. Progress was duly ■ .House, rose at 1.40 a.m.