THE HALF-HOLIDAY.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13798, 2 November 1908, Page 4

THE HALF-HOLIDAY.

Public opinion is gradually coming: round in favour of Saturday afternoon being made a compulsory uni\ersal halfholiday. Not only is this so in New Zealand, but in Australia also the movement is gaining ground. In Sydney a few days ago an audience of about 2000 persons assembled in the Town Hall and pronounced emphatically in favour of the adoption of Saturday for the statutory half-holiday, and adopted a resolution urging an amendment of the Early Closing Act in this direction. The meeting, according to the Daily Telegraph, was representative of tho shopkeeping section of the community. Correspondence was read as to the success of the Saturday half-holiday in Queensland, letters .stating that no inconvenience had been caused by tho adoption of that day, and that as far as business was concerned it was working most satisfactorily. It was also pointed out that in Sydney the commercial community and the Labour party had that day. The president of the Shopkeepers' Saturday Half-Holi-day Association stated that he represented over 1500 shopkeepers who had signified their approval of the contemplated change in the law, and those shopkeepers represented nearly 10,000 employees. Thus it will be seen that j there is a strong force behind the moveJment. Really the question is not a very difficult one to deal with. Possibly a certain amount of inconvenience would be caused to the general public for a short time, until they became accustomed to the change, but the advantages to another section of the community would outweigh that temporary inconvenience. We believe that if in New Zealand the early closing law were amended to make it compulsory on all shopkeepers and- business people to close their premises on Saturday afternoon, there would "be very little opposition to it after the change had been established a few months. It would, of course, have to be un/versal and not a matter of local option, otherwise rivalry between adjoining towns would prevent its adoption in many places. The change is bound to come before very long, and tho moro it is discussed and thought over the sooner will the difficulties in the way fade away.

Visitors to the Egmont Mountain House yesterday report that Mr W. Ryan, the new caretaker, has everything in nice order for tho coming season. Several local hunters were despatched by the mail train this morning to! take part in the ring competition at the Palmerston Show. A number of j cattle and dogs also went through by the samo train. At the mooting of the Taranaki executive of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, held at Hawera on Thursday, Mr A. AUhusen forwarded subscription list and cheque for £4 12s 6d collected by Mr D. Black, of the Kaponga branch, for the Canterbury testimonial. A vote- of thanks was forwarded to the Kaponga branch. In his address in the Theatre Royal on Friday evening Mr A. Bruntnell stated^ that there were 446 convictions of all kinds in Ashburton in the last two years of license and 272 convictions in \\m first two years of nolicense. It was inadvertently stated in the Herald that these figures referred to the last year of license and the first year of no-license. , There was a lame gathering in the vicinity of the Esplanade rotunda yesterday afternoon when the Garrison Band rendered the folloAving programme: — March "The President," overture "Napoli," waltz "Summer Dreams," selection "Lortzing," gavotte "My Lady Gracious," march "Bendigo." Mr McConnell conducted A collection produced about £3. Several youths were skylarking in Pukekura Park yesterday afternoon when one of them was pushed into tlie lake near the bridge. Just for a second or two he disappeared completely from view. He presented a very sorry spectacle as he regained terra, firma and proceeded to hide himself among the thick shrubs to wring his clothes. There are still some youths who persist in misbehaving themselves in the Park on Sunday afternoons despite the warnings they have received. Perhaps if they could each in turn go through a similar performance to that witnessed yesterday afternoon the lesson would be brought home to them. !

"We aro asked to stato that there wi\] be no classes in dressmaking al tin Technical School until after Christmas. There are twenty assisted imnii£ rants on the Corintliic booked for New l'lymouth. The Tiinaiu Harbour Hoard has let a contract for the erection of a now wharf between the north mole and the Moody wharf at a coat of £20.(390. During the past month there, were 31 .births, ( J deaths, and 2 marriages in the district of the New Plymouth Registrar. A gentleman of Hawera on Friday showed a representative of the Hawera Star a freak duckling possessing three perfect legs. It lived a week. A meeting of the Ladies' Committee for the Fire Brigade Ball will be held to-morrow (Tuesday) at 3 p.m. in tho Town Hall. The wool sales at Sydney during tho week ended October 24 closed with spirit, and the tone of the market and the bidding: were stronger. Of 31,2-53 bales catalogued as much as 28,411, or over 90 per cent., were sold at auction, and private sales left only 141 bales unsold. Speaking at Aramoho, Mr George Hutchison, one of the candidates tor Wanganui, condemned Socialism and Socialists. When replying to questions he said: "I agree with the other two candidates that the Government should take with its own hands the rivei service and make it part of the railway system of the Dominion." The Minister of Lands, the Hon. R. JVlcNab, told a southern reporter that he did not think there will bo much change in the position of parties in , Taranaki as the result of the election. It was hard to say who would win in the new constituency, but otherwise he did not think there would be any change. The inadvisableness of holding the I meetings of sports bodies in hotels was referred to at the annual meeting of tho Napier Sailing Club. The commodore, Mr J. Vigor Brown, said he was in favour of any movement by which youthful members of a sports club would not be compelled to go into hotels to attend meetings. x It was eventually decided to call a meeting of various sporting bodies with a view to obtaining rooms. At the Medical Congress in Melbourne, a resolution was passed expressing tho opinion that no payment whatever should be taken from patients treated at hospitals maintained by donations of the charitable and by Government grant. The mover remarked that every member of the profession knew how' widely the abuse of hospitals extended. People who could afford to pay were not ashamed to go to hospitals. Self reliance, he said, underlay tho whole question. A man named Donald McDonald, employed by Messrs Gill Brothers, of Okato/niet with a serious accident on Saturday. It appears that McDonald and one of his employers were backing off a tree to start a drive. Tho tree in falling failed to do what was intended and fell from the stump on to a sapling, which struck^McDonald a terrible blow on .the hekd, inflicting injuries whfcrh necessitated his immediate removal to the hospital. An operation was performed on Saturday evening. A bad fracture of the skull was disclosed. A tangi was held at Moturoa yesterday over the remains of Ihaia, an aged Maori who died there on Friday. Two; or three hundred Maoris from all parts i of the district were present. Iliaia, who was related to Te Whiti, and to Poharama, the well-known Chief of the Ngamotu, 'was at one time a native minister. Like Te Whiti, he belonged to this district, but lived for forty years at Parihaka, returning to Moturoa two or three months 1 ago. He was 78 or 79 years old. The burial took plage this afternoon. The Now Plymouth Homing Pigeon Club held a race on Thursday from Te Awamutu on the north route! Fiftythree birds, representing eleven lofts, competed. The winner flew the distance of 102 miles in 2hrs. 55fmins. The performances of the first four birds were as follows: — E. Ward's "Tramp," 2hrs. 55fmins., velocity 1031 yds. 2ft. Oin., Ist; H. Moverley's "Bruce," 2hrs. 54mins., velocity 1029 — 2—2, 2nd; G. A. Corney's "Rex," 2hrs. 55|mins., velocity 1027—0—7, 3rd; J. J. Stagpoole's "Dead Shot," 2hrs. 55imins.. velocity 1026—1—2, 4th. The Club will hold the first race of the season across the Straits on Thursday next from Blenheim. ' A gathering under the auspices of the W.C.T.U. was held at Whiteley Hall on Saturday afternoon. It was presided over by the Rev. J. Guy. Mr Albert Bruntnell, who was present bj invitation, gave a stirring address oil! women's franchise, and urged women to ! exercise their votes in the interests of the no-licenso cause. A very interesting feature of the assembly was the action songs by children trained by Mrs Douglas and Miss 1 Goodacre. "The Cradle Song" was very pretty and entertaining. Another pretty item rendered by the children was an action song entitled: "All Round the World the Temperance Cause is Twined." Afternoon tea was served. A vote of thanks was moved by Mrs Brooke and seconded by Mrs Guy to Mr Albert Bruntnell for his address. The officers of the W.C.T.U. wish to thank the members of the Young Women's NoLicense League for the assistance, financial and otherwise, rendered on this occasion.