I.—9a

34

William Phtor, Secretary, New Zealand Employers' Federation. (No. 12.) Witness: I should like to put in a copy of a series of resolutions passed at a meeting of the proprietors of hotels, boardinghouses, and restaurants, held at Napier on the 29th November, 1909. Mr. A. C. Barnes, the chairman of the meeting, who signs the resolutions, was here yesterday morning, but had to go away. The point about the resolutions is that they were carried without any influence from the representative gathering which had been held in Wellington previously. The following are the resolutions : — Resolutions passed at a Meeting of Proprietors of Hotels, Boardinghouses, and Restaurants held at Napier on the 29th November, 1909. — Shops and, Offices Amendment Bill. I. "This meeting enters a most emphatic protest against Parliament framing legislation which will override awards of the Arbitration Court. The Arbitration Court is a Court set up by the Government especially to deal with labour matters and its varying conditions in different districts, and this meeting is strongly of opinion that any legislation the Government deem h. necessary to pass in labour matters should be made subject to agreements and awards of the Court now in force or to be made in the future." 11. Clause 2: "The definition of 'hotel' is considered to be far too wide, and should be confined to hotels and the larger boardinghouses, in which paid servants are kept." We would point out in this connection that the present wording of the clause might be read so as to include every family who takes in a boarder. Surely this can never be intended ? 111. Clause 4 : " Wives and families of occupiers should be exempt from hours-of-work clause of the Bill." As the hotels and boardinghouses are the homes of the wives and families of occupiers, it would be practically impossible for an Inspector or any one else to say if the yvives and families are working for the house or themselves at any particular time. Such a clause could only lead to vexatious quibblings. IV. Clause 5, subclause (2) : " This section re obtaining Inspector's yvritten consent for overtime is impracticable and vexatious." It was pointed out at the meeting that in hotels and boardinghouses the only necessity for overtime would probably be on arrival of late trains at night, when to obtain the Inspector's permit would be impossible. The Bill provides for a wage and overtime book being kept, in which all overtime worked would be entered. Where, therefore, is the necessity for a permit? V. Clause 5, subclause (4) : " Section 7 of the principal Act could only be applied to hotel, &C, servants at great inconvenience and probably friction." It was pointed out that even on the half-holiday hotel servants are entitled to their meals on the premises, and to make a hard and fast law that these servants during their meal-hours should do nothing for the good of the house (with or without occupiers' consent) would probably lead to endless citations for frivolous breaches. VI. Clause 7 : " Strongly object to assistants having the power to say yvhich method of granting holiday shall be adopted; this should rest with the proprietor only." The proprietor must run his business to suit the convenience of his clients and the public, and therefore in order to enable him to arrange the business to the best advantage he must have the sole option of saying how it is to be run. VII. " The Bill should contain a clause making its provisions operate subject to ayvards of the Arbitration Court." A. C. Barnes, Napier, 2nd December, 1909. Chairman of the Meeting. Abraham Berman examined. (No. 13.) 1. The Chairman.] What are you? —Tobacconist, in Wellington. 2. You wish to make a statement? —Yes. A requisition yvas signed by the tobacconists of Wellington, and went through the usual form to the Minister of Labour, and it became law, that every tobacconist's shop should be closed at 8 o'clock. Before yve signed the requisition we were given to understand that if any person sold tobacco and kept open the shop till 10 minutes past 8 he would be breaking the law and yvould be prosecuted. At the present time a lot of Chinamen are selling tobacconists' goods, and we cannot stop them because- it yvould require an army of Inspectors to do so. We would ask the Committee to insert a clause in this Bill that the Minister of Labour promised us, in connection with the amendment of the Shops and Offices Act, and he stated that you would be open to take evidence for that purpose. What yve ask for is only what is fair and just—that if any person sells tobacco, whether he is a Chinaman or not, .he must not sell after 8 o'clock. What yve want is not that the Chinaman must not sell tobacco, but that he must close his shop at 8 o'clock if he does so, otherwise the provision would be useless, because they are now practically getting our trade and yve are barred from selling after 8 o'clock. We asked Parliament to license us, and that is to fine us. Fruiterers sell tobacco as a side line, and, if I, as a tobacconist, kept fruit, the habour Department would say, " That is a side line, and you cannot do it." The moment Ido that lam breaking the law. But the Chinaman does that, and he is not considered to be breaking the law. That is an unjust law, and we should like it amended. 3. The Chinese have been prosecuted, have they not?— Yes, but the more your prosecute them the more they sell.