HOURS OF SHOPPING

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 129, 27 November 1940, Page 6

HOURS OF SHOPPING

BILL WITHDRAWN

GOVERNMENT'S DECISION

NEW MEASURE NEXT

SESSION

In view of the strong divergence of opinion about the proposal, the Government has decided not to proceed with the Shops and Offices Amendment Bill, which has been the subject of considerable discussion inside and outside the House of Representatives. This was the substance of a recommendation made by the Labour Bills Committee when it reported %ie measure back to the House yesterday afternoon. The committee also suggested that the principal Act and its amen ments should be consolidated, and the Minister of Labour (Mr. Webb) later announced his intention of taking action in this direction before the next session of Parliament.

Mr. C. A. Wilkinson (Independent, Egmont) said the committee's decision would give considerable satisfaction to business people. There had been very widespread opposition to the measure, no fewer than 41 county councils and 21 chambers of commerce expressing their opposition to it.

A Labour member: What about the farmers' unions? Mr. Wilkinson: And a large number of them, too. Mr. Wilkinson said that evidence in favour of the Bill was very meagre, and he thought the Minister was misled when he introduced it. He had, however, acted very fairly when the case was put to him. j A CONSOLIDATING BILL. The Minister said the Bill was asked for by almost every section of commercial life. There was more political opposition to it than might have been expected, and a lot of people passed resolutions against it without having the remotest idea of what it proposed. "I felt that the best thing to do was to suggest to the commitee that I would bring down a consolidating measure dealing with the whole question," said Mr. Webb. "I pro-! pose to submit a draft Bill to everyone concerned, and give them time to go into the question thoroughly. Then,! before the next session I will call a conference of both parties and try and arrive at some sort of understanding. 'Where there is no agreement, then the responsibility would rest with me and the Government."

Mr. W. J. Poison (National, Stratford) commended the Minister for keeping his word, but said he was sorry to hear that he proposed to reintroduce the question in another form later on. At a time like this, when the country was losing a large number of its able young men, it was an unthinkable and unwise thing to do.