The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-12-04 00:00:00

TO THE LADIES, THE PRESS, AND THE
PUBLIC.

rIIHE DRAPERS' COMMITTEE issue the present
11. APPEAL in compliance with a Resolution passed at a
PUBLIC MEETING of their own body, "'That an Ad-
dress be published, calling upon the Ladies, the Press, and
the Public, to exercise their powerful influence by affording
their encouragement to those Shops that close at Eight
o'Clock, to make their purchases at an earlier hour, and to
recommend their dependents to do the same."
In explanation of the causes which led to this Resolution,
it will- be necessary to state, that on the eleventh of last
month, the Drapers' Assistants circulated amongst their
Employers a most respectful Memorial, complaining•that the
protracted hours of business tended seriously to injure them;
" not only by impairing their health and undermining their
constitution, but also by depriving them of every opportunity
of improving their mind;" and iti reference to an argument
advanced, that if an additional hour or two were granted to
them, the time thus gained would be spent at the Tavern,—
they observe—" Your Memorialists indignantly repel this
unfounded aspersion, and respectfully contend, that the pre-
sent protracted hours, by debarring them from every source
whence they might imbibe usetul knowledge, rather tend to
tnake them resort to such places as the only mode of recrea-
tion between the toil of the day and the hour of repose: but
that if a reasonable time were allowed, it might, and no
doubt would, be devoted to the 'attainment of those acquire-
ments, which are calculated to excite an honourable emula-
tion," and conclude by respectfully submitting that the
Shops be closed for the three respective periods of the year,
at Seven, Eight, and Nine o'Clock.
The reasonableness of this request, and the forcible but
respectful manner in which it was made, together with a con-
viction of the utility of diminishing the hours of business, in-
duced some of the employers to convene a public meeting of
their own body. This Meeting►, fully concurring with the
sentiments of the Memorial, came to the resolution, that
Silk-mercers, Linen and Woollen Drapers, Shawl-dealers,
Hosiers, &c , should close their Places of Business at Eight
o'Clock, during the Six Months, from October to March, in-
clusive, and at Nine o'Clock for the remaining half-year,
Saturday Nights excepted.
To give full effect to this resolution, each principal was
called upon to express his intention of abiding by the speci-
fied hours of closing, and such was the conviction amongst
them of the necessity of the regulation, that, with the ex-
ception of three individuals, it received the cordial assent of
every member of the trade.
The refusal, however, of these few individuals to comply
with the arrangement, threatens a speedy return to the sys-
tem of late and irregular closing, as some parties, in self-
defeuce, must, and others, from the contagion of example,
will gradually extend the hours of business until the whole
trade will be again subject to the annoyance of protracted
and unproductive toil.
This untoward disunion has caused the necessity of appeal-
ing to those with whom the ultimate settlement of the ques-
tion now materially rests, whether or not the large majority
of the Emnloyers are to be protected in their endeavours to
comply with the just demauds of their assistants. It is evi-
dent, in trades where so much rivalry exists, that no arrange-
ment can be permanent which is not binding upon all, and
as in the present instance, the persuasion of their fellow-
tradesmen has had no effect in bringing the disseutientS to
abide by the general arrangement, the majority trust to be
supported by public opinion.
To the Ladies, the Committee earnestly but most respect-
fully appeal, to assist the cause, in discountenancing, by
their own example, the practice of late shopping, by making
their purchases at as early an hour in the day as possible,
by recommending their circle of friends to do the same, and
by strictly enjoining their domestics to buy, if possible, before
seven o'clock, but on no account to purchase anything after
eight o'clock, the effect of which would tend to deter the
wilful dealer from violating a rule in which the happiness of
so many is closely connected; a rule which, if steadily en-
forced, will ultimately contribute to ameliorate the condition
of a large and deserving class of the population.
To the Pres., the resistless and untiring► advocate of all
that has a tendency to improve the physical, and exalt the
intellectual condition of the people; they leave the enforce-
ment of the moral principle involved, and trust that their
powerful co-operation will continue to be extended. To the
Public generally they appeal, to assist theta in carrying► out
what they conceive to be a just and philanthropic object, but
they more especially invite the assistance of the other trades.
men of the town, of every trade and class, to bring about a
general curtailment of the hours of business—a result which,
they feel perfectly satisfied, would, in the majority of in-
stances, be found as productive of health to the principals,
as of relief and comfort to those in their employ.
By order of the Committee,
WILLIAM SLATER, Chairman.
Liverpool, Nov. 26, 1838.