SHOPS AND OFFICES.

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 90, 13 October 1904, Page 5

SHOPS AND OFFICES.

THE QUESTION OF [EXEMPTIONS. The House again went into Committee on the Shops and Offices Bill at 8.40 last night. The first clause considered was 9, which, provides that the half-holiday in separate districts shall be fixed by the local authority at a special meeting in January of each year. Mr. Houston moved an amendment to do away with the necessity of calling a special meeting, but after discussion this was lost on the voices. At clause 14, "excepted shops," a motion by Mr. Taylor to exclude fishmongers' shops from the exemptions was lost by 60 votes to 8. The businesses of coffee-house keeper, eating-house keeper, and baker were added to the exemptions under the clause. It was also decided to exempt the keeper of a bookstall on a wharf. The Premier moved a new subsection providing that a shop in which postal, telephone, or telegraphic business is carried on can be kept open on a statutory half-holiday for the purposes of that business 'only, and providing further that if the shop is the only shop in the locality the other business of the shop may also be transacted. This was carried by 48 votes to 18, and a further amendment was made, on the motion of the Premier, setting out that a "baker" is "a person who sells bread and cokes." On the' motion of Mr. Taylor the clause was further amended, by 42 to 25, by exempting from the half-holiday provision warehouses kept open during harvest for the sole purpose of selling machinery or fittings foi harvesting purposes. A proposal by Mr. Kirkbride to exempt blacksmiths' shops was ruled out of order, on the ground that they come under the Factories Act. This ruling was objected to by Mr. Hernes, who moved to report progress in order to obtain tbe Speaker's ruling on the point. The motion was defeated by 35 to 28. With respect to chemists' shops, they were exempted from the operation of the half-holiday provision as far as regards the supply of medicine and surgical appliances which are urgently required, providing that these shops shall be kept open for such pui-pos.es only. Clause 14 as amended was added to the Bill. In clause 15, fixing certain days as special holidays, Boxing Day was added on the motion of Mr. Symes. A motion by the same member to omit Labour Day from the list of special holidays was strongly supported by Mr. Willis, who said there was extreme dissatisfaction ■among workers in the country districts at being compelled to stop work on that day. The proposal to omit Labour Day was negatived by 40 to 19. Mr. Willis moved to strike out the provision in the clause making, a special holiday a day on which the Mayor or Chairman of a local authority requests the public to observe a certain day as a holiday. This was agreed to on "the voices. Mr. Kidd moved to strike out clause 19, giving the weekly half-holiday to assistants in hotels, eating-houses, or restaurants on such working day as the occupier thinks fit. The clause was struck out on the voices, as were also clause 20, fixing the hours of barmaids, and clause 21, providing for a referendum on the question of the weekly half-holiday. At 1 a.m. progress was reported at clause 36.

The headmaster of a school recently put up a notice that at an early date he would lecture on the following subject : —"Our eyes, and how we see through them." Shortly afterwards he was astonished to find an alternative title written underneath : "Our J pupils, and how they see through us." Although feed is , plentiful enough throughout some parts of the district, it is reported to be backward in Mauriceville and Eketahuna. During the spell of cold weather recently the young grass received a severe check, and in cases where sufficient shelter has not been provided for calves, the loss has been a heavy one for some of the settlers.,