Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1907 THE WEEKLY HALF-HOLIDAY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10960, 1 May 1907, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1907 THE WEEKLY HALF-HOLIDAY.

. A good deal of stir was caused amongst business people at New Plymouth last week at receipt of a circular from the Labor Department m reference to the weekly half -holiday, and a deputation of indignant tradespeople waited upon the Hon. J. Carroll, representing to him the injustices, of the Department's latest decree. We notice that the wave of indignation is spreuding, and has reached limaru and: Oainuru,. where people are up m arm's over the niatter, and a deputation lo tue Acting-Premier is proposed, xne trouble has anson over the issue of the. lohowing circular, signed by J. iYlackayj (Jmef inspector ol factories, Wellington, and dated, strange to say, oh April -Ist, a' "Sunday : ".Notice is Uereby given tnat fourteen days from date the provision of section 33, "subjection 2, of tue Factories 'Act, will De enforced— that is, tnat the permission hitherto given to close your laclory on the day set apart for the shops halt-holiday, is rescinded., and your employes engaged m the factory coming unuer the provision of tlie said section must receive the half-holiday from one of the clock every Saturday. I trust you will sec your way, clear to fall into' line with these requirements, so tnat no fricy tion may ensue; between yourself and the Depnrtnient." "' The iNcw Plymouth tradespeople jumped to the inference that tis the edict compelled factories to give their employes a Saturday half-holiday, many of tlie shops wliich come -undei«tfi.e designation of factor^, .such as hardware* shops m which repairs are being carried out. bakehouses, butchers' shops m whiclj sausage machines are used, and the like, would be practically compelled to lose their Saturday trade. Saturday is tlie market day m these towns, and it was felt that if the shops were conrpelled to cio.e, their owners would suffer a very heavy loss. One of the deputation to Mr Carroll pointed out that if the bakeries were closed and the carts stopped running on Saturday afternoons, consumers would have to eat stale, bread from Friday till Monday, and business would be ruined. Another man was a draper employing dressmakers, and he took it that under the circular it would be necessary Jfco give his dressmakers holidays on both Thursdays and Saturdays. A saddler complained that" he hnd his fellow-trades-men would lose their country trade ; a plumber did' likewise. A coachbuilder asserted that fully 25 per cent, of the repairing was done on -Saturdays, and a representative of the- hardware and painting business' said Saturday was recognised as the day for doing small repairs. A- bootmaker explained .that because of the overlapping of Factory and Shops Acts m regard to the holiday, the late inspector had taken this 'fact into consideration and allowed the factories to keep open on Saturdays and close on Thursdays*. A blacksmith said practically the whole of the horseshoeing trade was done on Saturday; if they closed on Saturday they might as well close altogether. These statements are interesting- because they show that hitherto there has been a much more liberal interpretation of the Flic* tories Act at New Plymouth, Oamaru, and Timaru than has been permitted at Gisborne, where for some years past the regulation which the Department now becks to enforce aUthe ttfwns named has] been insisted upon. I«ocal blacksmiths and wheelwrights have had^sto curtail their business on Saturday afternoons because of the absence of the lads m their employ, and tho trade, is considerably .disorganised by tlie*' fact that the boy's have to Avoik by themselves on Thursday afternoons, when the men get their holiday, whilst, on Saturdays the men are working without the assistance of the boys. Dressmakers at Gisborne, also, have been compelled to observe, the Saturday afternoon holiday, though many would have preferred to join with the shop assistants m the mid-weekly break of .work. When complaint was .made some years ago at the enforcement of the Saturday holiday,', people here were told that it was being observed m all other parts of the colony, but this, it is clear, has not been the case, and Gisborne bus been undj2i\ a considerable injustice "m this respect. ; The'SonwiNksSarroll naturally was sympathetic. He said that whatever might be the principle of Parliament's legislation, the objective was never intended to be tyrannical. (Apnlausc.) In carrying oiit reforms it was ■hard to avoid friction and injustice. After expressing pleasure at the representative character and the unanimity of the deputation, he said, "I do not know, myself, but there is a mistake somewhere that we should allow the overlapping of one. Act; m respect to the other tobriutf

this meeting disperses I shall make very pointed representation to the Government on this matter. 1 shall also represent the fact that the various trades feel it — • they all feel the effecUs of this, and they all represent the injury wliich must happen to them if this is enforced. I shall also put m my testimony — tlie conclusion I have arrived at. I think it is a hardship. It creates unnecessary friction." (Applause.) Subsequently the local inspector allayed the fears of the New Plymouth tradespeople to some extent by explaining that there had been a misapprehension, "because the Labor Department has no intention whatever of disturbing present conditions as regards shops and their employes. The circular referred to section 33 of tho Factories Act, and section 33 states that all women and girls, and all boys under 18 years of age, employed m factories must have the holiday from ono o'clock on Saturday afternoon. Consequently it will be seen that shopkeepers will not be affected m the least ; though, when a factory is run m conjunction with a retail business the! section will apply as affecting women and boys. Where a man has a tailoring establishment and a tailor's shop m front, and he employs tailoresses m the rear, manufacturing, he must give these tailoresses a holiday from one o'clock on Saturday. But, when butchers employ boys partly m the factory and partly m the shop, they are regarded as shop assistants, and the circular does not affect them m any 'way." Still, it is pointed out that the tailors and dressmakers and others would suffer to some extent by the enforcement of section 33. People coming m from the country on Saturday afternoon frequently wanted, repairs done, and m other ways found the need for the services of tailoresses, dressmakers, etc. The circular should have expressly stated that it was intended to apply only to women and boys, for, clearly, it-gave the inference that tho shops affected were to be closed, and thus caused needless alarm. Good, however, will arise from tlie controversy if, as thp result of it, Ministers' take the common-sense course of amending the law next session so as to permit owners and employes of factories to elect by_mutual arrangement whether they shall observe the Saturday or the midweekly half-holiday.