AUCTIONEERS’ HOURS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19026, 28 May 1936, Page 4

AUCTIONEERS’ HOURS

INTERLUDE IN HOUSE SELLING IN THE DARK (Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, .this day. What the Opposition regarded as the impracticable nature of some restrictive conditions regarding hours in the Shops and Offices Bill provided the most important topic for a preliminary discussion when the measure reached the committee stage in the House -last night.

Particularly was it stressed that auctioneers would find it impossible to conduct stock sales in the country within the limits imposed. “He wants to conduct his business in the dark,” humorously suggested Mr. J. A. Lee (Lab., Grey Lynn), when Mr. H. S. S. Kyle (Nat., Ricearton) had presented a case for the exemption of stock sales.

Mr. Lee suggested that an auctioneer would always leave just before six, even if he came hack. (Laughter), “Those hard-worked auctioneers," he. exclaimed scornfully. The Hon. 11. T. Armstrong: They only carry a hammer and a book. Mr. Lee suggested that it was quite a good idea to enable people to see the goods they bought, for even Mr. Kyle would not’buy a valuable animal in the moonlight. Then the poor farmer ought to be allowed to get home in the twilight, and the Minister ought to be given a measure of appreciation for limiting office hours, because 40 hours surely was enough in a week to talk insurance.

The Rt. lion. J. G. Coates (Nat., Kaipara) suggested that the Government members ought to give more serious reasons why the bill should apply to auctioneers. Everybody knew how they went from daylight till dark in the" summer, while the farmer had to start before daylight *o get his stock to the sales.

Mr. Armstrong: Have you ever seen a sale at night? Mr. Coates: Yes, at 7 o’clock, and his job is not finished when the hammer stops.

Mr. Armstrong pulled this line of discussion up when he explained that the bill was not npplied to stock sales, but to auctioneers’ offices, while the Hon. F. Langstone told Opposition critics that lie had heard the same old arguments 40 years ago when hours were reduced. Auctioneers had things in their own hands to make, better arrangements if they got togother, “but,” he concluded, “there’s such cut-throat cannibalistic competion that they won’t do it.” (Laughter).