EMPLOYING YOUNG PERSONS AFTER HOURS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9202, 3 November 1888, Page 5

EMPLOYING YOUNG PERSONS AFTER HOURS.

[B7 TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.

CiiRiSTCfiCRCH, Friday. At the R.M. Court, to-day, before Mr. C. Whiteford, R.M., and Mr. R. Westenra, George Tombs and George H. Whitcombe were charged with keeping at -work during prohibited hours, to wit, at 2.55 p.m. on Saturday, October 27, eight young women, Alice Tucker, Emma Minify, Kate Collinson, Maud Baker, Mary L. Bailey, Emma Blakely, Ellen Farmer, and Mabel Buckley ; and on another information with keeping nt work three young persons, Herbert Williams, John Findlay, and Thomas McKay. _ Mr. Kippenberger appeared for the defendants, and said they wished the matter settled apart from any technical objections <ind points of law. Defendants wished to s;et a magisterial decision on the question. On the day named in the information they worked the young women and lads at the hours mentioned, having previously given the Inspector notice that they intended to do so. The Inspector attended, and gave his decision that employment at such work in such manner was illegal. Mr. Pender, who prosecuted, in answer to Mr. Kippenberger, said he would agree as to the facts of the case as stated by Mr. Kippenberger, that girls were employed in folding sheets as they came from the printing room below, and they were at work in the upper storey of the building flat. They were in what was known as the bookbinding department, on part of the premises of Whitcombe, Tombs and Co. (Limited), and they were actually worked only 44hours during the week, less than the time (48 hours) permitted by section 5 of the Act of 188

Mr. Pender said that the inspector thought that the work could not be held to be done in a printing office. Mr. Kippenbersrer said he would call evidence to show that the work done was part of work incidental to printing. George Whitcombe said he was managing director of the company, and boys and prirls were at work upstairs until half-past four on that Saturday. Farmer, Minify, and Collinsoti, three girls who had been summoned to attend the Court, were employed in folding sheets, as he thought the other girls also were. One of the boys was printing envelopes, another stitching, and the other covering cheque books. The work of folding was incidental to printing. To Mr. Kippenberger : There are two small printing machines in the binding department. The firm printed and published such papers as the Schoolmaster, Church News, and War Cry. Mr. Kippenberger admitted that the wording of the Act was against him, though he thought it a fair interpretation that a boy might be employed where newspapers were published up till half-past four on Saturdays. Kate Collinson, sworn, said she was one of the seven or eight girls at work in binding, folding, and metal fastening catalogues. Mr. Whitcombe here stated that as a matter of fact, the catalogues were not bound at their place. Mr. Kippenberger submitted the Bench could not convict the defendants as they were not employers, but merely worked for a company. The Bench, after Mr. Kippenberger's statement that he would waive technicalities, would give a decision on the broad facts of the case, and on reference to the Act of 1885, they decided against the defendants. The Act gave power to work on newspapers on Saturdays, and to make evening newspapers of any value to their proprietors, this must be done, but they could not hold the work done on this occasion had anything to do with newspapers. Defendants would be fined Is on each case and 7s costs.