SATURDAY HALF-HOLIDAY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXII, Issue 15581, 3 April 1911, Page 9

SATURDAY HALF-HOLIDAY.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir--I wouTu be obliged if yon ! would allow me space in your valuable paper to say a little about.the Satur- ] day half-holiday question, I was very I pleased to see on Wednesday a letter n your paper dealing with this subject It is only right that the New Zealand Government should adopt the universal half-holiday, as nearly all the important Australian cities have already done. I have recently returned to this country after serving a number or years 'in Melbourne with one of the well-known firms of Australia, and, about two years ago, the Victorian Government passed a Bill that all business houses and factories should i close at 1 p.m. on Saturdays, and that shops should be allowed to remain open on Fridays until 10 p.m., if they so desired. For the first' week or two business looked as if it. were " falling through." This was caused 1 by a number of people being against the Saturday half-holiday, and so as to get it cancelled (so they thought) they sent to Ballarat and Bondigo, and other upcountry cities, for their household needs." Of course, this sort of business did not last long, and ere two months had passed over our heads business was paying us much better. My own employer told me that his business was then paving him better, as lie had proved that more people now came into the city from the country stations on Fridays than there used to be on Saturdays. Country eustomei-s told us salesmen that they could get into the city better on Fridays than on Saturdays, because they always bad extra work to do to prepare for visitors, etc., coming to their homes on the Sunday. Melbourne, I know personally, lias gone ahead so well since this Act was passed that thev would not go back to the Wednesday half-holiday. Besides, it gives the employees a chance to get away to the country for the week-end and enjoy the fresh air if they so do- ■ sire. The Victorian Government decided to give it six months' trial, and, as this proved successful, the shopkeepers, almost without exception, wore unanimous on tho universal Saturday half-holiday. Why does not New Zealand try this? She is a country that generally shows other countries good points first. Why are we so slow on this important question? Why not Christchurch show a good example to the other dominion citiesP^yJ o '.