The Stratford Evening Post. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1921. THE HALF-HOLIDAY QUESTION.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXXII, Issue 54, 15 January 1921, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 1921. THE HALF-HOLIDAY QUESTION.

: Once again the Stratford Borough Council i, B faced with having to decide the vexed question cf the Saturday half-holiday, and will meet on Monday next for thi s purpose. Twelve months ago there was considerable' ag’tation for the altering of the day from Thursday to Saturday so far'as .Stratford Borough is concerned. A ■largo and representative petition was signed in favor of thi? Saturday change, and it was hoped hy the advocates of th;o Saturday half-holiday that other Tarvaki towns wouTd com; >■ to - line. It was found, howlever, at the last moment, that Neff Plynloulh and TTawera wore unable to do sn and, at any rate, if they had desi r! 'd t.o do .-o steps to effect q change we to. i of taken. In face of this the Stratford Borough Council almost irnauimomfdly decided to) adhere to the Thursday, on the grounds that it would hot he in the interests of trade that Stratford businesses sbonld be closed on the Saturday while other Taranaki towns still continued to make it their market day. Apparently nothing whatever has been done in the mean-

time, and wo are no nearer a univeraal Saturday half-holiday than, we were twelve months ago. The position also appears to be exactly tho same, with the exception that the solicitors have, on their own account, decided t 0 close their" offices on Saturday instead of Thursday for the weekly half-holiday. It would bo infinitely preferable if tlm Government would pass legislation to enable it to (make a universal halfholiday, for at present much confusion exists, and undoubtedly there is lost time and energy by the present method of each small community choosing itg own day forobservance of the holiday. 'So far as we are aware, other Taranaki towns have not yet announced their intentions in this matter, so that the Stratford Council will have very little to guide it in this connection. .Whether rightly or wrongly there is undoubtedly, a strong feeling that the giving-up of tho Saturday as a half-holiday while other towns retain It a 8 their market day. must he prejudicial to the trade'of the borough so acting. In the face of this we do not see that the Borough Council can do other than continue as they are now doing. The mid-week half-holiday has been u fixture in many centres for a great number of years, and sports bodies and societies for recreation have grown up, and in some ways the change would, at any rate, he upsetting to their arrangements. After all, the real crux of the question is that while making 1 all provision for the recreation which the law of the land compels, such recreation should not he forced upon a community in such a way that. Business would seriously suffer. The matter i g not easy to decide, . because wo have the example, of many large cities and boroughs which have adopted the Saturday halfholDelay with entirely good results, and which prove to be perfectly satisfied with the arrangement. Certainly, a borou.gh_such Stratford is, the market Centre of a very large country community, cannot be said to he on all fours with the cities and boroughs above referred to.