"NOT A GOOD CASE.”

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12754, 25 September 1919, Page 4

"NOT A GOOD CASE.”

EFFICIENCY BOARD’S I REPLY. j •” ' j PROTECTIQM OF SOLDIERS’ BUSINESS. The question of competition from Chinese as affecting returned soldiers assisted hr the Repatriation Department to commence, in business has recently been under discussion by the board- The matter mas introduced by the secretary of the Christchurch Returned Soldier;;’ Association,, who had received a communication from two returned men, complaining of unfair competition from a Chinaman. A further letter on similar lines was received from twelve, returned soldiersThe hoard, after discussing the question. decided to write to the chairman of the National Efficiency Board, asking that that board should take action in the matter under the. powers provided m the “ War.Begulations for the protection of Soldiers’ Businesses.'’ Mr .1. A. Frostick. district commissioner of the National Efficiency Board., stated that the letter from the hoard had been handed to him by Mr "William Ferguson, chairman of the Efficiency Boa rd. ‘ 1 In the first place. ’ ’ sta ted Mr Frostick. “there does not appear to he a very good case with regard to the business in question, for I find that there are already nine shopkeeper? who sell fruit, and some of them vegetables, within a vory short distance of each other, and the soldier’s shop im question is somewhere about the centre of the eight and is about, ninety yards from where the Chinaman desires to open his shop on the opposite, side of the street. It is rather unfortunate that the soldier should have been encouraged to start right in the centre of so much opposition, and it appears to mo that the Chinaman, being so far away, does not establish good grounds for refusal. “ However,” continued the letter, “there is another point which bears more directly upon the subject, viz., that, recently correspondence passed between my head office and the Government on the question of continuing this regulation of soldiers’ businesses, and although the regulation has nor yes been gazetted out. it is, for all practical purposes, dead- so far as the National Efficiency Board is concerned. Whilst nominally the National Efficiency Commissioners have control under the regulation, it has for some time been deemed to be inoperative-” The. letter was, referred to the subcommittee which had been set up to deal with the matter.