GOOD FRIDAY TEAMS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6495, 15 April 1908, Page 7

GOOD FRIDAY TEAMS

SUNDAY HOURS TO BE OB&EItVE'O. MEETING OF THE COUNCIL. A special meeting of the Wellington City Council was held yesterday afternoon to decide- what hours the tramway service should run on Good I' nday. Tho members present were : The Mavor (the Hon. T. W. Kislop), Oou'ir-dlors Morrah, Luke, Fisher, Hales, Biss. Cohen, Ballmger, Smith, Fletcher, McLaren. . Mr Richardson, the 'lectsneal engineer stated that last Good Friday the total takings were £243, a slight less resulting. The Mavor stated that the men would have to he paid whether the trams ran or not. Replying to an intoiicgation, he remarked that 34,000 penny tickets wore issued last Good Councillor Luke said tho Council had been put in a somewhat extraordinary position at the last minute, If anyone had strict religious scruples against working on Good Friday, perhaps they could be admired and sympathised with, but he was personally against eloping the service entirely on Good Friday. It was rather l_te in tho day for the unicr. to :vsk tho Council to lay it down as a general principle _that Chaistmas Dav and Good Friday should bo observed as tram holidays. He moved that tho service on Good Friday be as recommended by ■ the Tramways Committee and agreed to by the Council—Sunday hours. Councillior Cohen, in seconding tho motion, said if the employees refused to work the Council would know what course tc take. Couccilloi McLaren was antagonistic to the niot'oii. It was all very well to speak ahout the general public, but if they look the general public in the built they found that very often it was unfeeling. People who might bo very scrupulous in regard to holidays for themselves considered at the same time that the public convenience! — meaning thereby their own convenience —should bo carefully attended to en all .-•eeasi.iii.s. Ue moved .as an amendment that a full day's holiday be granted to the tramway employees on Good Friday. Councillor Uallinger suggested that double fares should be charged on Good Friday to obviate the possibdity of loss. The Mayor expressed regret that tho Council did not have more time to consider the matter. There was something to ho said from the men's point of view, but the employees sltouM have approached the Council earlier.

After discussion the amendment was lost and the motion carried.