EMPLOYERS' ASSOCIATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 28, 27 July 1911, Page 4

EMPLOYERS' ASSOCIATION.

ANXUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of the Taranaki Employers' Association was held last night, an'd was poorly attended. Mr. C. 13. Baker, the president, presided, and hefore commencing the regular business referred to the illness of His Worship the Mayor, expressing the hope that he would soon be about again engaged! in his self-sacrificing work for the good of the community.

The executive presented its report afl follows: "In presenting the annual report, your executive is pleased to he able to congratulate the member* on a year of comparative quietness and prosperity. The membership of the Association is now 01, aj compared with 44 at the date of the l*t annual meeting, and, as will be seen by the balance-sheet, the finances are in a healthy state. While this is so it is no less necessary than ever to keep the organisation in a state of efficiency, as while this district has been free from labor disputes they have occurred /in plenty in other parts of the Dominion, and it is necessary that we should he prepared for them here. During the year six meetings of the executive and three general meetings have been held, and in addition a public meeting was held, which wan addressed by Mr. W. Pryor, the Federation secretary, whose address wag most interesting, and resulted in a considerable accession of members to our ranks. Your committee regrets that their attempt to put the half-holiday question on a more satisfactory basis has not been attended with success. The state of affairs at present, whereby one section of the business community closes on Saturday, while another closes on Thursday, is very unsatisfactory and detrimental to the best interests of the town. Your committee endeavored also to put the question of the observance of other holidays on a better footing, and submitted a series of resolutions to a,public meeting held on May 17. The recommendations of the committee did not, however, meet with approval, and a resolution was carried referring the matter to a committee to be set up°from the various business organisations in the town. Your secretary has communicated with these, asking for the names of their delegates, but as no replies have been received the matter has dropped. In last year's report reference was made to the efforts of this association to arouse interest in the question of improved accommodation at the North Egmont House, and your committee is glad to be able to report that much progress has been made this year, anct' there is little doubt that a house will be set up by next season that will be worthy of the district. In conclusion your committee would impress upon members the fact that though no great number of meetings has been held"during the year it by no means follows that nothing has been done. There is a considerable amount of work done that the general body of members know nothing of, and a much larger amount that only the executive committee in Wellington know anything of, It has been the policy of your committee to strengthen the hands of tho central committee by every means in their power, and they believe that it is only in that way that any amount of success can be looked for."

The president, in moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, said that most of the work in connection with legislation was done in Wellington not after the Bills had been passed into aw, but before the draft became circulated amongst the general public. This was done by the Federation secretary, Mr Pryor, by interviewing Ministers and members of Parliament whilst it was in session. When Mr. Pryor was here recently, he gave the Association to understand that he was severing hia connection with the organisation, but the president was glad to announce that the executive in Wellington had made arrangements wherebv his services were to be retained. The idea had been that Mr. I ryor should divide his services between the Federation and the Wellington Chamber of Commerce. But it had been felt that this would be unsatisfactory, for no man could serve two masters and the executive had. by considerably increasing his remuneration—a remuneration which he well earned—retained his valuable services. The local association's share of the increased remuneration was £5, which had been raised by a special levy. The balance-sheet showed that a credit-balance of £32 10s at the beginning of the year had been increased to £39 2s 3d, with £0 10s fid outstanding m members' subscriptions. Members' subscriptions totalled £36 3s 6d. and the expenditure amounted to £29 lis !)d. The report and balance-sheet were adopted without discussion.

OFFICERS. Officers were elected for the ensuing year: President, Mr. C. E. Baker (reelected); vice-president, Mr. Thos. Avery; committee, representatives of the various trades, as follows: Printers, Mr •Ins. McLeod; drapers, .Mr. J. C. Morey jun.; grocers, Mr. C. Carter; cabinetmakers, Mr. E. Dingle; ironmongers Mr. A. H. Arnold; tailor, Mr. G. Stewart; carpenters, Mr L. Jackson; call proprietors, Mr. W. IT. Jury; chemist. Aft A. E. Sykes; butchers, Mr. 0. AV. Sole; bootmakers, Mr. H. Evans; painters, Mr. F. C. Bellringer; engineers. F. AV. Okiy; merchants, H. Goodacre; tinsmiths, Aft' J. Abbott; New Plymouth Borough Council. His AVorship the Mayor; freezing works, Mr. E. R. Lennon; hon. auditor. Air. XV. C. Weston (re-elected); lion treasurer, Mr. Thos. Avery (re-elected)'.