TRADES COUNCIL.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1200, 1 March 1895, Page 30

TRADES COUNCIL.

The usual weekly meeting of the Trades Council took place last week, Mr A. Ward (president) in the chair. The following nominations to the various offices for the ensuing year were received: —President, Messrs A. Ward and A. Collins; vice-president, Mr W. Miles; secretary, Mr H. C. Jones; trustees, Messrs Collins and Shelton; committee of management (consisting of three), Messrs Kershaw, McGrirr, Brown, Roger, Shaw and Hall. Messrs D. Haggett and McGrirr were . elected auditors. The following were elected delegates to the Eight Hours Demonstration Committee : Messrs H. C. Jones, A. Collins, J. Shaw and W. Miles. The question of the congested state of the labour market was discussed, and it was resolved—" That the president and secretary wait on the Minister of Lands and ask if the Government will secure a block of land within easy distance of Wellington and apportion it out in small lots at a fair rental in order to relieve the congested state of the labour market in this city." • It was resolved to hold a special meeting next Tuesday to consider the new rules under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. Notice was given of a motion recommending the Government to declare a certain portion of the year a bush-burning season, and to require every settler before burning to give sufficient notice to his neighbours, after which all liability on his part shall cease. A circular has been issued to hotelkeepers by the Inspector of Factories pointing out that if they sell or expose for sale tobacco, cigarettes or cigars, they will bring themselves under the operation of the Shops and Shop-Assistants Act, and will have to close their premises on the statutory half-holiday. They are required not merely to refrain from selling cigars, cigarettes or tobacco on the half-holiday, but to abstain altogether from vending them at any time.

THE HALF-HOLIDAY.

Mr Martin, S.M., delivered judgment on Friday in the cases in which Messrs J. F. Kuch and J. McLean were charged with breaches of the Shops and Shop-Assistants Act. In the case against Kuch, who was charged with neglecting to close.his shop on Wednesday, the 6th inst., His Worship remarked that defendant and his wife resided on the premises in Cuba street, and except that his wife attended to the shop if he was out and when there was a press of business, defendant had no assistance in carrying on his business. The question raised in the case was: Does the fact that his wife occasionally assists him render it necessary for him to close the shop on the half-holiday. Was, he asked, the wife a shop-assistant within the definition given by the Act, i.e., did she work in the shop for hire or maintenance ? She certainly did not for hire, and although, since she was dependent for maintenance on her husband and his business, in one way she might be said to work for maintenance, the word " maintenance " as in the Act, taken *'n conjunction with the word "hire," must mean maintenance supplied by the shopkeeper under a contract in return for services performed. If that Avas correct then the wife was not one of the persons for whose benefit the Act was passed, and the object of the Legislature was not to assure to a wife who assisted her husband in his business as a shopkeeper a half-holiday. It was argued, however, that the defendant's place of business was a " shop," and as such must be closed because his business was not conducted by himself " solely or with the assistance of members of his family below the age of 18 years who reside on the premises." If two persons jointly carried on business neither could be said to carry on business " solely," yet, except as between themselves, they would be regarded, so far as their business was concerned, as one person, and there would be no necessity for them to close their shop. " Solely " did not, he thought, in the Act bear the dictionary meaning of . " singly, alone, only, without another," but meant separate and apart from others of some description or class, and the class indicated (seeing that the wife was not one of those for whose benefit the Act was passed) by the Act would be the shop-assistants and

members of the shopkeeper's family above I the age of 18 years, or who do not reside I

I on the premises. The primary meaning of the word " family " in such a case as the present must, he thought, mean children, otherwise they would have this extraordinary result, that if a man's wife were under 18 years of age (and cases brought into this Court show that there are many such), and assisted him in his business, he need not close on the half-holiday ; while iif she were over 18 he must do so. BearI ing in mind that a wife was not a " shopI assistant" within the meaning of the Act, J it might also, he thought, be successfully contended that the wife and the husband are looked on as one. Marriage was said to be a contract, but the effect of the contract was to create a status, the contract became merged in the status it created, and this status was that of one person. This status existed notwithstanding the various Acts which had been passed affecting married women, save so far as it was altered by those Acts. In a great number of cases of small shops the husband and wife lived at the back, the husband was away all day at his work, and his wife came from her domestic work to attend to the shop when customers came in. What possible object could the Legislature have in view in saying that the wife should on one afternoon in the week confine her attention to her domestic duties and should not have her shop door open ? The conclusion he came to was that the defendant's place of business was not a shop within the meaning of the Act, and the information would therefore be dismissed without costs. He had endeavoured to give his reasons at length for coming to this conclusion, as he understood that a more experienced Magistrate than himself had placed a different construction on the Act to that which he (Mr Martin) had, and the department might wish to have the matter settled by the Supreme Court. With reference to the case of John McLean, jun., Willis street, Mr Martin said the question he had been asked to decide was whether, as he employed no assistants, and lived off the premises, he must close on the half-boliday. He thought the words in the Act relating to residing on the pre-mises-must refer to members of the family, and a man was at liberty to live where he liked, provided he ran the shop himself, but if he ran it with the assistance of members of the family they must not be over 18 years of age, and must the premises. A man -was not to live off the premises and bring his children to assist in the shop. The case would be dismissed. THE GOVERNMENT TO APPEAL. • . It is understood that the Government intend to"'appeal against the decision of Mr Martin in the case against Kuch.

A.n ' adjourned special meeting of the City Council was held on Monday for the purpose of considering the application of a number of watchmakers and jewellers to have the factory half-holiday altered from Saturday to Wednesday for their trade. There were present—The Mayor (in the chair), and Councillors Anderson, Harris, Petherick, Fraser, Myers, Tanner, Willeston, Barber, Tatum, Harcourt and Penty. A deputation of watchmakers and jewellers, consisting of Messrs A. I. Littlejohn, D. Pryde, P. Stitt and C. Ludwig, waited on the Council to urge that the

factory half-holiday be altered from Saturday to Wednesday. Mr Littlejolm said that several of the jewellers -and watchmakers who were favourable to the objects of the deputation were unable to be present. He was still in favour of the half-holiday on Saturday for all shops, but as the Conference had decided on Wednesday, he and other employers now wanted to have the factories closed on the same day as the shops. It was, be urged, a great inconvenience that two half-holidays should be observed in the week in one establishment—one for the shop and one for the factory. He had made a canvass of the watchmakers and jewellers in Lambton quay, Willis street and Manners street, and the majority of these were in favour of the proposed alteration. He understood that the Trades and Labour Council were opposing the application, but he did not think they had anything to do with the matter. There were about 13 employers in favour of the alteration. • The Town Clerk read a petition which had been received from the following watchmakers and jewellers opposing the proposed alteration, and eskmg that matters remain as they are at present : Messrs J. D. Barnett, H. W. Gamble, T. Lorimer, D. M. Douglas, J. A. D. Chisholm, F. Grady,- €r.-Denton, Hosie and Bell. A letter was also read from the Trades and Labour Council protesting against any alteration being made in the factory halfholiday. I Councillor Myers moved that the Council take no action in the matter. He said that the signatures attached to the opposing petition were those of bona fide watchmakers and jewellers. The present application was only the thin end of the wedge, and he -believed that other trades would ( be asking similar concessions if the present application were granted. He was informed on undoubted authority that if this application were granted the bootmakers would be coming to the Council asking for a similar alteration. This was seconded by Councillor Anderson. Councillor Tanner moved an amendment to the effect that Wednesday be the day for the half-holiday. This was seconded by Councillor Petherick. The amendment was negatived, the voting being as follows : —Ayes, 4—Councillors Tanner, Willeston, Tatum and Petherick. Noes, B—The Mayor, Councillors Barber, . Harris, Harcourt, Fraser, Penty, Myers, Anderson. The original motion was then put and carried on the voices.

The master printers of Christchurchhave resolved to register under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act.

We understand that the Government are going to take energetic measures before the winter sets in to grapple effectually with the unemployed difficulty. A special meeting of the Trades Council was held on Tuesday, Mr A. Ward in the chair. The new rules to conform with the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act were considered and amended, and finally adopted. The secretary was instructed to take the necessary steps to register the Council as an industrial association under the Act.

The monthly numbei of the Journal of the Department of Labour has just issued from the press. The labour reports from the various branches present no exceptional features. Trade appears to vary from dull to quiet and fairly busy. For Wellington City the report is as follows : Building trade—Quiet ; carpentering and painting not so dull as usual. Engineering—Still dull. Boot trade—Very dull. Clothing trades—Quiet; this being a slack time of the year. Retail trade (general)— J Rather quiet. Unskilled labour—Quiet; a few men have been sent to Government works, but there are many out of work. Last month the Department of Labour assisted 55 married and 36 single men in the Wellington Provincial District to get employment, the number of persons dependent tipon them being 233. Twenty of them were sent to private employment, and the other 71 were put on Government works. They consisted of 59 labourers, 23 carpenters, 4 painters, 2 plasterers, and 1 plumber, 1 gardener, and 1 engineer. It would appear tho c there" is a large number of unemployed men in the country districts at the present time. At the meeting of the Benevolent Trustees en Tuesday afternoon, Mr Bradey staled that hundreds of men were walking about the country and they came by the dozen to his house at Pahautanui begging for food. Only that morning five men came to his house after sleeping out all night. He gave them food. His neighbours were having a similar experience. Indeed never before had he seen so many tramping about the country looking for work as he had seen during the last fortnight or three weeks. The fact was that, in consequence of the low prices of stock and the bad look-out generally for produce, people were discharging their hands.

Sydney, February 21. The Conference of the Workers' Union protested against the employment of black labour in Queensland, and coloured crews on mail steamers. It was resolved to favour reconciliation amongst the various sections of the Labour Party, better political organisation, and the completion of the Ballarat scheme of Federation. , Sydney, February 24. > The Government has decided that in future all able-bodied men supplied -with rations by the Labour Bureau shall do an equivalent amount of work. By this means Government hope to assist willing workers without degrading them, and earmark and eliminate the professional loafers. Sydney, February 25. The Workers' Union has passed a resolution empowering the New South Wales branch to take up land under the homestead selection clause if the new Land Bill becomes law, for the purpose of establishing co-operative settlements on a voluntary basis. London, February 22. Mr Keir Hardie, in giving evidence before the committee set up to consider the unemployed question, said that if the committee refused temporary assistance to the extent of ,£IOO,OOO pending its report, it was probable that the unemployed would flood the workhouses en masse, thereby breaking down the present system of relief. Auckland, February 23. Some shopkeepers whose wives assist them kept open to-day on the strength of the decision of the Wellington Magistrate that a shopkeeper's wife is not an assistant.