THE PREMIER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12271, 15 May 1903, Page 5

THE PREMIER.

DEPARTURE TODAY FOR HUNTLY. Vat premier received a few deputations yesf d-j, the' majority of them being of a wivate nature. J CITY ABATTOIRS. ■-' A deputation representing the Master '■'■■ pikers' Association, and consisting of Messrs. Moody, ' Swarm, and # Deeble, •sited on the Premier in the morning with Sra to' the question ot a site for the city hutoirs urging* the adoption of Salmon's site at Mount Boskill, or some other'site liiilt would not be prejudicial to the interests fti£ small butchers, which they contended the'Otahnhu sitg approved by the Government Department would be. Later in the S a y the Premier, accompanied by the dentation and Dr. Makgill, district health officer, and Mr. B, Hall, of the Stock De- ■ partment, went to Mount Roskill and injected Salmon's site. '".'"'GROCKKS' CLOSING HOURS. A deputation from the Master Grocers' Association waited on the Premier yesterday, to lav before him various matters with reference to the hours of closing. Mr. 11. M. Smeeton pointed out that shops where there were employees were working under an award of the Arbitration Court, and had to close at six. while others where there wen» do employees could keep open as long as they liked. On the Ar'cjihill Road, for instance*, there were 21 shops; 19 of them desired to close at six, while two were strongly against if, and the result was that the whole hud to keep open very late. This pressed very severely on small employers. What they wanted was to hav" six o'clock closing all round. Then there was the question of ex- ' tending the area of the districts controlling the rising of the half-holiday. At present the half-holiday only applied to cities and boroughs, but there were stores in the road districts which were not compelled to close. Be asked that the road districts and highway districts within two miles of the city boundary be included in the authority which hid to fix the closing day for certain districts. At present the shopkeepers in districts like Mount Eden, Eden Terrace. Epsom, and Archhill, had a. free hand. Then they thought that the provisions of the Shop Hours' Act, giving a local authority power to fix the day, should be retained. Some people were apparently desirous of that power being vested in a central authority, but the deputation thought the local people better able to decide on a day suitable to the local circumstances. Mr. R French supported the views put forward l>\ Mr. Snieeton, and Mr. Page, as a suburban grocer, said the suburban grocers working under the award found it very difficult to keep pace with the "night hawks." The Premier said the question of a universal clos ing hoar was surrounded with difficulties. It might come to telling a man who lived on his business premises, to put lights out at six o'clock. There was the question of the liberty of the subject, to be considered, and ie did not see how it was going to be safeguarded. He was with the deputation on the other two points, that road boards, ami for tie matter of that, counties, should be brought into line in the matter of half-holi-days, and that local circumstances should be considered in fixing the half-holiday. He promised to give the requests of the deputation every consideration '. FUTURE MOVEMENTS. The Premier leaves this morning for Huctly. and will visit Paeroa, Waihi, Hamilton, and Rotorua, returning to Auckland on Thursday evening.