Manawatu Evening Standard. Circulation, 3,500 Copies Daily. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 1909. WEDNESDAY OR SATURDAY?

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 8825, 17 March 1909, Page 4

Manawatu Evening Standard. Circulation, 3,500 Copies Daily. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 1909. WEDNESDAY OR SATURDAY?

The universal Saturday half-holiday has had a trial in Nelson, and as will have been gathered from the telegrams, it has been most tory—so much so, in fact, that the town hastened to revert to the old arrangement. Nelson's experiences are of more than passing interest. Prior to last year Wednesday was the halfholiday for "the business places. But a large petition was organised by the Saturday supporters, and as a result the Borough Council declared Saturday the statutory half-holiday for llie year. That period expired and there were petitions—reduced in size—in favour of Saturday, and counter petitions urging Wednesday. The Council again considered the wishes of the townspeople, the members of that body being the same on ouch [ occasion, and the result was that I whereas in 1907 Saturday won by five to four, in 1908 Wednesday was victorious by seven to three. The principal reason for the change was the effect on business. One gentleman summed the position up in these words:—"Speaking for our own firm, our business previous to the adoption of Saturday was showing a monthly increase of 25 to 30 peacent. as compared with the corresponding months of the previous year. As soon as Saturday came into force wg found it very hard to keep our "returns up to the previous year's totals, and some months we were behind

them. Other retailers had the same experience, sometimes in a very acute form. With the falling away in trade a lot of employees lost their situations. W6 ourselves had to dispense with two employees. Even the people, like fruiterers, who were exempt from the Saturday half-holiday, found that they were losing trade." Since the old arrangement of holidays has been reverted to there are general reports of improvement in trade. It is pointed out that country people as a whole look upon the Saturday half-holiday with great disfavor. They will not come in for the late .night on Friday, as they do not get home till all-hours, and have to rise early next morning for a day's I work. It was also found that sport had not benefited in Nelson by the Saturday half-holiday. The attendance at the football matches was: 110 larger, and the club members had not increased. In view of Nelson's experience it is clear that an arrangement by which the two days are utilised, as in Palmerston, is the most convenient and generally satisfactory.

TOPICS OF THE DAY. A keport presented to the Borough Council by the Engineer Sewering last night will afford the the citizens of Palmerston Town. much gratification. It convoyed the information that with the exception of four streets the whole of the Borough, excluding the impracticable portions, ' will be ready for connection with the sower. The end of an important undertaking is therefore in sight, ai d it will not bo long before Palmcraton is in as satisfactory a .sanitary condition as any town in the Dominion. At present there is very hide r,j complain of, and the state of the town >s immeasurably superior lo that of Uisborne, for instance, with its twenty-eight cases of typmid er and entire absence of drain, ig".. Ihe completion of the work of sewer construction here is an achievement worthy of commemoration, :.nd even though the Borough has had to mfiuino a considerable burden in the way of loans, the money has been well spent in safeguarding the health of the inhabitants.

Events seem to bo shaping them-

selves towards a change in On the the form of railway adWrong ministration in the DominTrack. ion, and it is a possibility of the future that _ the personal supervision by a Minister should give place to some description of non-political control. That there is need for tho railways being placed beyond tho reach of influence is undoubted, as it would make for greater efficiency and more business-like methods. There is at present in Auckland one of the oldest railway moo in the world, Mr W. M. Fehon, of Sydney, a gentleman who entered the service in England in 1851. Until two years ago he was a Railway Commissioner in New South Wales, and he has an interesting opinion to give on the point under discussion. He spoke decisively in favour of nonpolitical control, as it obtains in Australia. The Railway Commissioners, lie said, had a much freer hand than the head of the Department in New Zealand, and not being subject- to interference by tho Government they had a better opportunity of wor ding out the best possible results. A political head of a system was too often apt to deal with technical matters of management, and being without the .requisite experience he was very likely to get on the wrong track.

Owing to yesterday's rain the tennis match between the Palmerston and Dannevirko clubs, which was to have taken place to-day, was postponed. Francis Birtles, tho Australian longdistance cyclist, put up another record

on his Rudgc-Whitworth machine yes-

terday, when he rode from Wellington to Palmerston. -in 6hr. 15min, a quarter

of an hour under tho existing record,

As the date for the closing of the Floral Fete Art Union is rapidly approaching, the secretary, Mr J. Aitchison, requests sellers of tickets to do their best to get rid of any remaining tickets and forward . their books to him as soon as convenient.

In speaking at the social to Mr John Stevens at Marton last night tho Premier asked the electors of Manawatu to recognise that- they must support the member they had elected, that he was there to represent them as a whole, and" to them and his country as a whole to the best of his abilitv.

The Philosophical Society has secured tho assistance of Professor Kirk, ' M.A., of Victoria College, who will deliver art interesting lecture in the Municipal I-la.ll to-morrow evening on "Nerve and Muscle." Demonstrations illustrative of the subject will be given during the course of the lecture, which promises to be at once instructive and interesting.

At the Aldington enquiry yesterday evidence was given as to several men having invented' many valuable labour saying appliances but they had not received recognition from the Department. All the voluntary witnesses; having been heard the President stated the Board proposed to deal with the evidence in hand and the parties would be notified of the resumption of the enquiry.

The team from the Departmental Offices, Wellington, who are competing in a rifle shooting match against a Palmerston team at the Hokowhitu butts to-day arrived by train from Wellington this morning, and were met at the railway station by representatives of the local team. From there they were taken to the Grand Hotel for lunch, after which they were driven to the ranges, where shooting was proceeding as wo went to press.

The only defended case at the S.M. Court yesterday was one in which Hans H. L. Bilderbeck, of Feilding, builder, sued Frederick K. Tasch for £32 4s 9d, the disputed amount being the remainder of money due on a house altered by plaintiff for defendant. After hearing the evidence his Worship, Mr A. D. Thomson, S.M, gave judgment for plaintiff for £28 with costs £8 9s 6d. Mr A. G. Carty appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Innes for the defendant.

So far as is known there are only two cases to come before the Arbitration Court which sits hero on the 26th inst. The drivers' award expires shortly, and the' Drivers' Union is seeking a fresh award to take its place. The other application is for an award by the Butter and Cheese Factory employees. This will bo the first award in this industry, and, we understand, that the employers intend to ask for an adjournment from the present sittings. The fact that all breaches of awards are now dealt with by the Stipendiary Magistrate considerably lightens tlie business of the Arbitration Court.

The Public Works Committee recommended the Borough Council last night to carry out sewer extension in Oakley, Keeling and Terrace streets and Park road. Tho engineer said that when this work was completed the whole of tho houses in the borough, except in the Hokowhitu and 85 above the Terrace, could bo connected with the system. The 85 houses were so scattered as to make the extension to them too expensive and in any case there would not be sufficient sewerage to make them workable. Tho Council decided that Keeling street be omitted in the. meantime and that a report be obtained" as to tho drainage of College Terrace and Clifton street.

The Gisborne Times is not impressed with the cleanliness of the leading town of Poverty Bay. There are, the paper in question says,, certain facts which cannot be ignored, and with twentyeight patients lying in the public hospital from typhoid fever it is no time for hiding behind 6mooth phrases and empty compliments, tho true position. Judged by the ordinary methods of comparison, Gisborne must be looked upon as a dirty town. Very few of the business premises or private residences have any drainage, the bulk of the houses have no bath, tho use of antiseptics is almost unknown, a largo proportion of tho population lives on the edge of rivers, from the mud flats of which issues a fearful stench during the greater part of tho twenty-four hours.

Cricket material from the best makers Wisden'e, Sugg's, Dark's patent cork handles, "Union's Driver," "Crawford*; Exceller," etc., stumps, gloves, balls, legguards, ■tfc.. at Park's Bazaar. —Advt.

Prompt Delivery. —importers requiring immediate delivery of their goods cannot do better than entrust their Customhouse and Forwarding work to J. <T. Curtis and Co., Ltd., Customhouse Quay, Wellington. Efficient service and mode rate charges msaured. —Advt.

Capt. Edwin wired to-day;— Southeasterly moderate to strong winds; glass rise slowly.

Owing to the wet weather the St. Patrick's Day .sports at Masterton havo been abandoned.

Tho Main Trunk express train from Auckland to Wellington was over an hour late in reaching Palmerston today.

Tho Court of Arbitration will hold sittings at tho district centres on tho following dates: —Wanganui, March 22; Napier, March 24; and Palmerston North, March 26.

Mr Ross, M.P., is to be _ asked to draw the attention of the Minister for Public Works to the state of the Manawatu Gorge Road. It is still in a bad condition, though the bridge is" almost completed over the Manawatu Until the road is put in order tho bridge will be of littlo use.

Probably tho most of fish yet recorded in Wellington was netted by local fishermen off Flat Point —a little to tho south of Pencarrow Head —on Monday morning. Five big trawlers came into Wellington laden down to the gunwale with wharehou, tho catch being estimated to weigh forty tons.

Tho Chairman of the College Street School Committee (Mr T. R. Hodder) has received a letter signed by Mr J. T. Lang and another parent containing formal complaints in connection with tho enquiry that is to be held at tho school on Friday night. The latter covers evidence in connection with the Rennie case, and also refers to the mi'-nner in which Mr Watts, the relieving teacher, conducted his class.

A claim for compensation of an unusual character has been filed with the Cleric of Awards in Christchurch. C. F. Franklin, an entry clerk employed by tho New Zealand Farmers' Co-opera-tive Association of Canterbury, is claiming £300 from his employers for paralysis of tho left side of his face, due, ho alleges, to tho fact that he was required to work at a desk where he was exposed to a strong draught.

Tho appeal by Captain Naylor against the suspension of his certificate for twelve months on account of the wreck of the Penguin will be heard as soon as a Judge of the Supreme Court can find time to deal with it. _ At the present time Mr Justice Sim is the only Judge in Wellington, and he is engaged on Arbitration Court work. Mr Herdman will appear for the appellant, and Mr Myers for the Marino Department. . Security for the costs of tho appeal has been fixed at 20 guineas.

Considerable amusement was caused during the hearing of a case at tho Bathurst Quarter Sessions last week by tho evidence a young man from Carcoar. Witness .admitted he had not "learned" much. He was asked by a juror if. when he signed certain certificates; he suspected the prisoner of fraudulent intent. The witness shook his head in a mystified way, and said he did not understand. It was important that tho question should, be answered, and the juror,' coming down to witness's educational level, jjslced. "When you signed those papers did you jerry there was anything crook?" The young fellow immediately understood, and, to the accompaniment of much laughter, calmly replied, "No, I didn't tumble."

The Premier at the complimentary social to Mr John Stevens at Marton last night said a statement had been published that there was a possibility of his taking his departure from New Zealand. It was also circulated through the Dominion that he was hot- physically as strong as he might be and this was likely to cause his early retirement from tho arena, where for a number of years he had tried- to do his duty fearlessly. Ho was in good health and though a month or six w,eeks ago he was slightly run down he was now well. It was an extraordinary thing that he found circulating through the country a statement that he was likely to break down. Anyone who had had as much responsibility as he had had for years must feel it, but ho wd,s well and strong and quite able to continue, as he intended to do. He had never oven anticipated retiring or leaving the Dominion, ad he had no intention of doing so now.