THE HALF-HOLIDAY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1201, 8 March 1895, Page 34

THE HALF-HOLIDAY.

Out of 77 cities and towns which have selected their weekly half-holiday 40 have chosen Wednesday, 26 Thursday, 7 Saturday and 2 each Tuesday and Friday. The full list is as follows: — Tuesday. —Foxton and Papakura. Wednesday. Arrowtown, Blenheim, Brunnerton, ‘Bulls, Cambridge, Campelltown, Clinton, Cromwell, Dunedin, Feilding, Greymouth, Hamilton, Hampden, Hokitika, Invercargill, Lawrence, Marton, Mataura, Napier, Nelson, Ormondville, Otautau, Pahiatua, Palmerston North, Palmerston South, Petone, Picton, Queenstown, Richmond, Riverton, Ross, Rotorua, Southbridge, Taradale, Tologa Bay, Waipawa, Waitahuna, Wellington, Woodville, Wyndham. Thursday. —Ashburton, Balclutha, Carterton, Christchurch, Coromandel, Featherston, Geraldine, Inglewood, Kaiapoi, .Lyttelton, Mosgiel, Naseby, New Plymouth, Oamaru, Rangiora, Stratford, Tauranga, Te Aroha, Te Awamutu, Temuka, Thames, Timaru, Waimate, Wanganui, Westport and Whangarei. Friday. —Hawera and Patea. Saturday . —Amberley, Auckland, Gisborne, Greytown North, Onehunga, Outrarn and Waverley. - It appears that Gisborne and Greytown North have gone back on their first choice, an.d have applied to have their day changed. They have been informed, however,-that the day having been fixed in terms of the statute the Government have mo power to. make any alteration. They •wilh therefore, have to put up with the

Saturday half-holiday—for this year. In January next, when the matter will again come under the review of the various local bodies,, their opportunity will present itself. ~^#Ei > UTATION PROM GREYTOWN. A deputation, consisting of the Mayor of Greytown and one of the members of the Borough Council, accompanied by Mr Buchanan, M.H.R., waited on the Hon. W. P. Reeves, Minister of Labour, on Tuesday and presented a petition signed by shopkeepers, shop assistants and inhabitants generally of the borough of Greytown, praying that the Saturday half-holiday, as fixed by Gazette notice on the recommendation of the local Borough Council, be changed to Thursday. Among other things the petitioners pointed out that at the * meeting of the Council held in accordance with the Act} three councillors spoke for Saturday and four for Thursday, but that on the question being put to the vote Saturday was declared carried on the voices, no division being called for, and that after the Greytown Council had chosen Saturday, Featherston (eight miles distant on the one side) and Carterton (five miles distant on the other side) selected Thursday for the half - holiday. The deputation therefore contended that the decision was not in accordance with the views of the inhabitants of the borough generally, and that the result of such choice is proving disastrous to the trade of Greytown. They believed that the Borough Council had reason to think at the time the choice was made that the other towns of the Wairarapa, including Masterton, would follow its example and choose Saturday for the half-holiday. The petitioners also pointed / out that test cases were taken into Court to endeavour to upset the Council's resolution on the grounds (1) that the special meeting of the Borough Council was not called in accordance with section 110 of the Municipal Corporations Act; (2) that only five days’ notice of the intention to call the meeting was given in the month of January ; and (3) that . the notice in the Gazette was of no effect as regarded Greytown, as by the Act such notices related only to conferences, or to cases in which no day was fixed by the local authorities. The Stipendiary Magistrate, however, held that the notice in the Gazette was final and conclusive evidence of the day appointed. Mr Reeves, in replying, said that while sympathising with the people of Greytown in the unlucky position in which they found’themselves placed, yet prime;, facie the holiday fixed by the Borough Council

must be taken by him to bo the legal day. The Wairarapa Magistrate in the test case had decided that the Gazette notice of the holiday was conclusive evidence that Saturday was the day, and this being so lie (Mr Reeves) was bound to respect that decision. If, however, the petitioners considered that the Magistrate’s decision was erroneous the Courts were open to them to make trial of it.