DOMINION DAY.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 234, 2 October 1931, Page 12

DOMINION DAY.

Uniformity is Wanted by , Business Men. GROWING INCONVENIENCE A motion urging that all offices should remain open on Dominion Day (September 28), proposed at the meeting of the council of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce last night, was held over until a more opportune time. It was agreed that the matter should be brought up at the conference of Associated Chambers of Commerce. The following was the motion, moved bv Mr A. C. Bretherton:—“That the Government be asked to arrange for the necessary legislation to relieve institutions by statute obliged to observe Dominion Day, and that the New Zealand Associated Banks, the Underwriters’ Association, Canterbury District Law Society, Christchurch Stock Exchange and the Christchurch City Council, be asked to discontinue the observance of Dominion Day as a holiday, in view of the inconvenience which its observance causes to the majority of the business community.” A Statutory Holiday. Mr J. Mac Gibbon, who is manager of the Christchurch branch of the Bank of New Zealand, said he recognised that if the Government offices and banks were observing a holiday when the public were not, it was dislocating business. Dominion Day was not provided for tinder the Banking Act, but under the Public Holidays Act, 1910. lie did not know how many sections of the community were observing that holiday, which was a statutory one. The chairman (Mr A. O. Wilkinson) : This has been a growing inconvenience to the commercial community. It would not be so bad if all offices were closed, but on Dominion Day only the banks and the legal offices suspend business. “ Government offices and the schools do not observe the holiday,” stated Mr T. N. Gibbs. Declaring that he was incurably romantic, Mr H. S. E. Turner stated that he did not like to see all the colour taken out of life by deletion of such holidays. Another member was of opinion that Anniversary Day had stronger claims to be considered a holiday. Banks and Race Days. Mr W. Machin: This matter has been before the chamber previously, mainly in connection with saints’ days, when some people’s holidays do not coincide with others. We might meet together and discuss the matter of opening and closing on the same days. Otherwise it might be very inconvenient. Mr Mac Gibbon stated that the banks must close while the Act remained in its present form. He recognised that it was an inconvenience to the public, and also an inconvenience to the banks doing business to find that all other businesses were closed on race days. (Laughter.) Mr W. H. Nicholson questioned the wisdom of bringing the subject before the Government at a time when Cabinet was concerned with much more weighty problems. He moved that the matter be held over until a more opportune time. Mr Nicholson’s amendment was carried, and it was decided that the matter be discussed at the conference of the Associated Chambers of Commerce.