"NOT UNDERSTOOD."

Evening Post, Volume LXX, Issue 35, 10 August 1905, Page 6

"NOT UNDERSTOOD."

THE SHOPS ANQ OFFICES ACT AMENDMENTS. LABOUR BILLS COMMITTEE'S REPORT. "IT'S A RAEE HOTCH-POTCH." SOME FREEIT^ EXPRESSED OPINIONS. "You ask me what I think of the recommendations of the Labour Bills Committee regarding the amending of the Shops and Offices Act? Well, in the language of your own poet, Tom Bracken, the commit.tee's report is 'Not Understood !' " This observation was made by Mr. Herbert Seaton, President of the New Zealand Shopkeepers' Association, a body which, as Mr. Seaton emphasised, represented 2000 men. When My. Seaton was interviewed on the subject of the report of the Labour Bills Committee this morning by a representative of the Post, he was in conference with Vice-Pre-sident of the Association, Mr. Edgar Jones. The latter agreed that "Not Understood" just about iittcd file case. Since the committee's report had been made public scores of shopkeepeis had waited upon him wanting to know the meaning of it! A joint interview took place. Messrs. Sijaton ana Jones declared that their association wanted an absolute repeal of clause 3, and did not desire that there should be any exemptions. So far as' they could understand the report, the proposed amendments were meant to sweeten a few people. The executive of the association, which was located in Wellington, was now in communication with the other centres on the subject, and a special meeting was to be held here to-morrow. ' The executive found the proposals far from satisfactory, -and would keep up its agitation. Very few shopkeepers wanted to keep open until 11 o'clock at night, and the' majority preferred to close at 6 p.m., excepting during two or three months in the year. But no small shopkeeper wanted to be'compelled to close his shop. The Act had proved destructive to much trade for shopkeepers in Wellington, where people had been inoro careful to observe the law, under the advice o.f the association, than in any other centre, yet in Wellington shopkeepers had been prosecuted by the Labour Department. In other towns the law was defied with impunity. The association had hoped that Government and Parliament would see that the Act wi>s promptly repealed. But the recommendations of the committee produced a further unsatisfactory state of things. The association was in favour of the hours of assistants being restricted to~ 52 hours, but it wanted no restrictions placed upon shopkeepers themselves. Mr. Jones thought the committee had made an attempt to copy the provisions of the New South Wales Act., "I don't understand it!" was the reply of a number of other shop-keepers when asked in turn if they had an "opinion to expiess regarding the committee's report. PLAYING INTO THE HANDS OF THE bHINESE. , Mr. Wardell (of Messrs. Wardell Bros., grocers) said he had all along be-sn of opinion that the Act should not be amended, -and he approved of clause 3. It worked all ight; in fact, shops employing assistants had been working satisfactorily under the conditions set out in that much-discuseed clause for the past ten or twelve years. So fair as he could understand tho committee's report, it sought to penalise the man who employed assistants by letting the man who did not employ any keep open as> long as he liked. The policy would play entirely into the hands of the (Chinese, who were coming into the grocery trade to the extent they 'had got into the fruit trade in Wellington. Mr. Wardell hoped •that Parliament would see .that any amendments of the xVct would be made subject to conditions laid down in existing awards of the Arbitration Court. LIBERTY OF THE SUBJECT. A boolSseHer who does not employ any assistants said ho had tried to make out what the repoTt meant, and so Tar as he could gather tha amendments would not alter hi 6 position. He thought any one who did not employ an assistant could go on as before. Otherwise, it would be interfering with the liberty of tlie subject. But he felt strongly for 6hop assistants, Avhg should not be employed such long .hours ac many of them were. Ho thought 6 o'clock was a good hour for such assistants to cease work. Workers in other trades 'had their hours restricted by the operation of the Arbitration Court, and if this law was good for the regulation of labour, shop assistants should have tho advantage of it. But his experience hid been that they were, as a class, amongst 'the slowest >to look after their own interests. THE DESCENT OF THE SYRIAN. A jeweller thought it was a shame that the- Labour Bills Committee should have made- recommendations as vvould continue .to encourage .the Syrian invader to still further encroach upon the business of the established jewellers. The Syrians, 'before the Shops and Offices Act came into force, dealt largely in imitation articles of jewellery. But, using >tho advantage tho Act gave them of keeping open after the hour when the jewellers 'had to close — for the Syrian employs no labour in tho way oi assistants — they Jiad become sellers of genuine jewellery. These aliens were competing unfairly with tho New Zealander, under laws which gave the especial- advantage to mien whose stay in -the colony was only meant to be temporary. Their desire was to make money and go back to their own country. Tobacconists, who were also something in the way of rivals ;to jewellers, were granted exemption under the Labour Committee's recommendations. If 6 o'clock was made ,tho universal closing hour, he felt sure no one would grumble at the iAct. THE CASE FOR THE ASSISTANT. '.' It's a Tare hotch-potch, nothing less, anti that's the opinion of quite a number of assistants whom I have seen today!" This freely-expre6sed comment was tittered by a mem'oer of tho Executive Committee of the Shop Assistants' Association. The position had now become involuted, ' ms two filched ides of exemptions were now proposed, with different hours of closing. The committee had token scarcely any notice of tho recommendations of the association, tho duration of the hours of working (fiftytwo) being the only request granted. But even in granting this Tequcet, it would appear as if 'the committee! had made things worse for ( the assistant 'by granting the employer facilities for working his people any hours. This was a scandalous arrangement to make. No assistant wanted overtimo, for if it was paid for with 4ne hand the price was deducted with the other hand, such as by a reduction of salary. The report of tho couaimftteo wa6 certainly unsatisfactory so far as .shop assistants were concerned, and if tho ■recommendations were adopted assistants would have no regularity of working 'hours. Tho Fire Brigade received a call from Hawker-street at 11.44 o'clock last night, but found that ite sorvices were not required. Mossra. "W. H. Morroh and Co. will soil by public auction in their rooms, AVillissCreui, at 2 o'clock to-morrow, pianos, household furnitmo, and tundrios. Particular* of novoral propoitiei for privata mlo will bo found in, our advertising oolumjatt