CLOSING HOURS FOR CHEMISTS’ SHOPS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18466, 18 May 1928, Page 5

CLOSING HOURS FOR CHEMISTS’ SHOPS.

The Minister for Labour has fixed the closing hours of chemists’ shops within the combined district of Christchurch, in a notice published in the Gazette. This enjoins that all must be closed on Sundays, except the All Night Dispensary, but that Sub-section 4 of Section 35 of the Shops and Offices Act, 192122, shall not apply to any chemist’s shop which is within two and a half miles of the exempted shop while medicines and surgical appliances are obtainable from the latter. The Minister is satisfied that the signatures to the requisition represented a majority of occupiers of the said shops. All will be afforded an equal right to shaFe at a reasonable cost in the profits of the business carried on by the exempted shop. Pursuant to Section 35 (4) of the Shops and Offices Act, 1921-22, a chemist in the combined district whose shop is more than two and a half miles from the exempted shop may supply, on Sundays, such medicines and surgical appliances as are urgently required, provided that the shop is opened for such purpose only, and is closed immediately the sale is effected; and that the door of the shop is kept locked except for the admission and exit of the customer.

The notice will "come into effect on and after May 20.

Divergent Views. That the public would not like the suburban shops being closed on Sunday was the view taken by Mr W. W. M’Kinney, of Linwood, He said that he was always busy on Sundays, hnd while he would like it as far as the day off .was concerned, he thought that the public would object to the new order of things. A chemist in another suburb took the opposite view and said that he thought that 50 per cent of the suburban chemists would support the closing order. Really, Sunday trading was troublesome, for the public wanted photographic films and similar goods on Sundays, and became' nasty when they were refused. When the public became used to the new conditions, he thought, everything would be all right. Mr D. S. Dodds, of St Albans, who is president of the Chemists’ Association, said that the executive had approved of the order by twenty-seven to eight votes, as it thought that it would be a good thing. Mr Dodds explained that the All Night Dispensary would give a really better service than moSt chemists gave at present. It would be open, he said, for three hours in the morning, three hours in the afternoon, and all night on Sundays. As far as lodge patients were concerned, the United Friendly Society’s dispensary would be closed, but these prescriptions could be made up at the All Night Dispensary. The patients would have to pay for them, but a receipt would be given, which would be redeemable for cash at the U.F.S. Dispensary during ordinary hours. Another suburban chemist said that the only difficulty that he could see was that of prescribing for private hospitals. It was not altogether for the sake of cash that chemists opened on Sundays, but the public sometimes made a convenience of them, getting prescriptions made up that could easily be held over until Monday. He was certain that if the public objected, a move would be made to revise the hours.