SWEATING COMMISSION. (REPORT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO CERTAIN RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EMPLOYERS OF CERTAIN KINDS OF LABOUR AND THE PERSONS EMPLOYED THEREIN.)

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1890 Session I, H-05

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1890. NEW ZEALAND.

SWEATING COMMISSION. (REPORT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION APPOINTED TO INQUIRE INTO CERTAIN RELATIONS BETWEEN THE EMPLOYERS OF CERTAIN KINDS OF LABOUR AND THE PERSONS EMPLOYED THEREIN.)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

COMMISSION. VICTOEIA, BY THE GKACE OF GrOD, OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GIIEAT BkITAIN AND Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, and so forth. To all to whom these presents shall come, and to our trusty and loving subjects, Colin Allan, of Dunedin; John Rutherford Blair, of Wellington ; Francis Cherry, of Auckland ; David Patrick Fisher, of Wellington; James Fulton, of Dunedin; Frederic Jones, of Christchurch; Thomas Thompson, of Auckland; the Reverend RiTjthebfobd Waddell, of Dunedin; and Fortunatus Evelyn Wright, of Christchurch. Whebeas it is deemed expedient to appoint Commissioners for the purpose of holding inquiry into certain relations between the employers of certain kinds of labour and the persons employed therein, as hereinafter mentioned: Now, therefore, know ye that We, reposing especial trust and confidence in your knowledge, integrity, and ability, do by these presents authorise and appoint you, the said Colin Allan, John Rutherford Blair. Pbancis Cherry, David Patrick Fishes, James Fulton, Frederic Jones, Thomas Thompson, Rutherford Waddell, and Fortunatus Evelyn Wright, to be Commissioners for the purpose of inquiring into the following matters, that is to say : — To inquire into the mode and terms in and on which persons are engaged or employed in shops, in wholesale and retail trading and manufacturing business establishments, and in hotels and other licensed houses of public resort in our said Colony of New Zealand, and in particular as to the mode and terms in and on which persons are engaged or employed in any manner in supplying or making goods or articles for the owners or occupiers of such shops or wholesale or retail trading or manufacturing places of business, or otherwise, and upon the relations generally of employer and employed, and the best machinery for determining matters and questions arising between them and relating to their respective interests. And, for the better enabling you to carry these presents into effect, We do hereby authorise and empower you to make and conduct any inquiry under these i—H. 5.

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presents at such place or places in our said Colony of New Zealand as you may deem expedient; and to call before you and examine such person or persons as you may judge necessary, by whom you may be better informed of the matters herein submitted for your consideration, and to inquire of and concerning the premises by all other lawful ways and means whatsoever. And We do further appoint you, the said James Fulton, to be Chairman ot the said Commissioners, and do direct that the mode of holding the said inquiry shall, subject to the terms of these presents, be as follows :— 1. Any three or more of the said Commissioners, of whom you, the said Chairman, shall be one, shall hold such inquiry at such centre or centres of population in our said colony as shall be thought fit, the Commissioners to sit with the Chairman in such case being those as nearly as may be usually resident in or near to the place at which the inquiry is held ; and such three or more Commissioners shall, in and for the purposes of such inquiry hereby authorised, have and may exercise all the powers vested in the said Commissioners as a whole: Provided that nothing herein shall be deemed to interfere with or prevent the said last-mentioned Commissioners from sitting at any place or for any purpose authorised hereby should they deem it necessary for the purposes of this inquiry. 2. At each sitting of the Commissioners the evidence given before them shall be carefully taken down and recorded, and then or afterwards fairly transcribed and signed by the person giving such evidence, and the same shall be preserved for consideration and transmission as hereinafter directed. 3. On the completion of the inquiry the several Commissioners shall assemble at such place or places in our said colony as they may determine, and, after consideration of all the evidence taken, shall make a report to Us of their proceedings under these presents, as hereinafter provided. 4. The powers of the Commission shall continue and subsist although the sjune be not regularly continued from time to time or from place to place by adjournment. . . And We do lastly direct that, using all diligence in the premises, and not later than the thirty-first day of March next, you, the said Commissioners, shall, after due consideration of all the evidence taken under these presents, report to Us, under your hands and seals, your opinion in the said several premises? and shall transmit such report to Us on or before the date aforesaid, together with the evidence aforesaid, and all records and documents relating thereto. In testimony whereof We have caused these our Letters to be made .Patent, and the Seal of our said Colony to be hereunto affixed, at Wellington, in the said colony, this twenty-eighth day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety, and in the fifty-third year of our reign. Witness our Right Trusty and Right Well-beloved Cousin William Hillier, Earl of Onslow, of Onslow in the County of Salop; Viscount Cranley, of Cranley in the County of Surrey ; Baron (1.5.) Onslow, of Onslow in the County of Salop, and of West Clandon in the County of Surrey ; Baron Cranley, of Imbercourt; Baronet; Knight Grand Cross of our Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George; Governor and Com-mander-in-Chief in and over our Colony of New Zealand and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same. ONSLOW. By His Excellency's command. W. R. Russell.

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BE POET. To His Excellency the Right Honourable William Hillier, Earl of Onslow, of Onslow in the County of Salop ; Viscount Cranley, of Cranley in the County of Surrey; Baron Onslow, of Onslow in the County of Salop, and of West Clandon in the County of Surrey ; Baron Cranley, of Imbercourt; Baronet; K.G. C.M.G., Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over our Colony of New Zealand and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same. May it please your Excellency,— We, the undersigned, appointed by a Commission, dated the 28th January, 1890, under the hand of the Governor, and sealed with the public seal of the colony—" (1) To inquire into the mode and terms in and on which persons are engaged or employed in shops, in wholesale and retail trading and manufacturing business establishments, and in hotels and other licensed houses of public resort in our said Colony of New Zealand; (2) and in particular as to the mode and terms in and on which persons are engaged or employed in any manner in supplying or making goods or articles for the owners or occupiers of such shops or wholesale or retail trading or manufacturing places of business, or otherwise, and upon the relations generally of employer and employed, and the best machinery for determining matters and questions arising between them and relating to their respective interests," have the honour to make the following report: —■ For the purpose of obtaining evidence upon the matters committed to us, we inserted advertisements in the daily papers inviting persons who could supply information affecting the various trades and industries of the colony to come before us. For the convenience of the witnesses it was found necessary to hold sittings in the evenings, and for their security to take the evidence in private. This will account for some names not appearing in the printed evidence accompanying our report. From the circumstances of the case, we have been obliged to content ourselves .with voluntary witnesses, having reason to believe that a compulsory summons would in many cases lead to the dismissal of the witness : indeed, instances came under our notice in which persons stated that, through giving evidence, they had lost their situations. This will account for the absence of more complete evidence on many points which we would have inquired into. We have held sittings in Dunedin, Christchurch, Auckland, and Wellington, and have had a large number of persons before us. The terms of the Commission being somewhat vague, we have not deemed it advisable in all cases to place too narrow restrictions upon the nature of the evidence brought before us, believing that there were grievances which might in some degree be remedied by exposure. We have received willing assistance in our investigations from the local Inspectors of Factories appointed under the Employment of Females and Others Act, from officers of the local labour unions—-notably in Dunedin and in Wellington—and from the employers of labour. We have, in addition, by personal inspection made ourselves acquainted with the condition of some of the factories and workshops. Most of these are fairly good ; some are very good; but others are exceedingly defective, both in their construction and in their sanitary arrangements. With satisfaction w T e report that the system known in London and elsewhere as " sweating," and which seemed at one time likely to obtain a footing in some of our cities, does not exist. It is true there are complaints in many cases of long hours and of reduced rates of pay; but these seem almost inevitable wherever competition is keen, unless checked by a healthy public opinion. The following facts have been brought out by our inquiries :— First, as regards the Employment of Females Act, — 1. (a.) That this Act is, as regards locality, very diversely administered. In Auckland, for instance, as witnessed by ourselves, and as testified by the evidence brought before us and by the report of the local Inspector, this Act may be said in many of its requirements to be a dead-letter. (We call especial attention to the report of Sergeant Gamble, showing the difficulties under which

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he works.) We found there boys often, eleven, and twelve working in factories without any attempt at concealment, while the regulation as to the hours of employment was quietly ignored. One of these boys could not read, and others had passed but the First, Second, or Third Standard. (b.) That many of its provisions are vague and badly defined, and some wanting in elasticity. Clause 3 provides for ventilation, but does not attempt to define it or to provide a penalty where it is insufficient. Clause 7 provides for the closing of the factory during meal-times, but makes no provision for necessary accommodation specially needful in wet weather. Clause 5 limits absolutely the hours of labour, without giving the Chief Irfspector or the Resident Magistrate power to grant permits on special occasions to work longer hours under strictly-defined regulations as to wages and time. (c.) That the Inspectors appointed under it have insufficient powers. They cannot, for instance, compel instant admission, nor obtain a conviction for delay. They cannot themselves exercise the functions of a Sanitary Inspector or Inspector of Nuisances. These are but samples of the deficiencies of this Act, but a perusal of the reports of the Inspectors and of their evidence will show under what difficulties they labour. 2. That a number of persons are engaged for very long hours—in many cases, we believe, unnecessarily. 3. That there is a continued demand on the part of shop assistants, backed up in a great many cases by their emploj'ers, for early closing, and that the majority of them seem to think that this can only be secured permanently by law. It is only necessary to note the variety of opinion expressed by those in the forefront of this movement to see with how many difficulties the question is surrounded. 4. That the division of labour and the use of machinery have led to the employment of a larger number of youths and girls than were formerly engaged in the trades. The skill of the individual worker under these new conditions not being required of so high or comprehensive an order, it was inevitable that those engaged in keen competition should employ the cheapest labour at their command—cheapest not only because the supply was larger than the demand, but also because it required little previous training. 5. That the employment of these young persons to the exclusion of skilled and trained workers is the chief grievance among artisans in the various trades. Where trades-unions have been formed the proportion of lads to men has been strictly defined—in some cases with the avowed intention of keeping up the supply of skilled workers, but in the majority of cases only with a view to selfpreservation, and without regard to the larger question of finding employment for the hundreds of youths growing up in our midst. It would appear that the system of indenturing apprentices for a specific term has fallen, generally speaking, into disuse. In the trades especially in which young women .are employed, such as millinery and dressmaking, it is not unusual for young girls to give their services for the first year for nothing, and the second year for 6s. a week. At the end of that time, if they ask for an increase of wages, they are, in many instances, discharged, and other young girls are taken on in their places. The result is, that a considerable number of young persons who have had a very limited training are yearly led to seek work elsewhere as improvers, or to set up on their own account —in either case at low wages. In the mechanical trades for men the same system to a large extent prevails : boys called apprentices, but not indentured, begin at a low wage, and there is nothing to prevent their being discharged by the master, or leaving of their own accord, without a sufficient knowledge of their trade. They, however, go into competition with other journeymen, not only, as is alleged, to the discredit of the craft by their inefficiency, but to the cutting-down of wages. 6. We have had brought to our notice the disabilities under which subcontractors labour, in that they have no lien upon the building or work upon which they are engaged. We understand that in America the law enables them

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to obtain security, and we think this is a subject which should receive the attention of Parliament. 7. There are two subjects which, although perhaps they do not come entirely within the scope of our inquiry, we feel justified in calling attention to —viz., the alleged grievances of the railway servants, and the long hours of many bank and mercantile clerks. Papers referring to these will be found in the Appendix. 8. The evidence as a whole goes to show that in whatever branch of industry a union has been formed the condition of the operatives has improved, w r ages do not sink below a living minimum, and the hours of w T ork are not excessive. 9. Complaints having been made about the charges exacted in some instances by keepers of labour registry-offices, and grievances suffered by a class of workers little able to protect themselves having been disclosed, we would recommend that all labour-offices in the colony be registered and regulated under Act of Parliament. 10. The following recommendations are based chiefly upon a review of the state of things as revealed by the evidence. 11. Any new or amended Factory Act should include amongst others the following provisions:— All factories, workrooms, and places where work for hire is executed, irrespective of the number of workers employed, shall be registered, and the Inspector shall satisfy himself as to the sanitary and other arrangements necessary for the health and morals of the workers; and without his sanction no factory shall be registered. 12. A certain number of cubic feet, as determined by expert evidence, shall be allowed for each w 7 orker. 13. The Government shall provide the Inspectors of Factories under the Acts with a form of table to be forwarded with their annual reports, showing the number of adults and young persons employed in each factory or workshop, distinguishing the sexes, the number of cubic feet of space for each person, as also the sanitary arrangements in connection with all establishments under their supervision. 14. Penalties shall be imposed in cases of workrooms being kept open for working purposes during meal-hours. 15. No boy or girl shall be allowed to work in any factory under the age of fourteen years. He or she must deposit with the local Inspector where possible a certificate of birth, and also a certificate stating that he or she has passed the Fourth Standard. The Inspector shall then give him or her a certificate stating that he or she has complied with the above requirements. 16. No young person between the ages of fourteen and eighteen shall be allowed to work in any factory for more than forty-eight hours in any w r eck, and not at all between 6 p.m. and G a.m. 17. The Inspector shall have the right to enter any factory at any reasonable hour. Any obstruction to him shall be punishable by fine. 18. If any operative be found in the factory or workroom outside the specified hours, though not actively engaged in work, it shall be reckoned as a breach of the law. 19. Inspectors shall be appointed under the Act, and shall furnish half-yearly reports to the Colonial Secretary, who, after collating these, shall prepare an annual report to be presented to Parliament. 20. The Inspectors may be accompanied by a constable or other policeofficer, who shall have the right of admission with him to any shop, workroom, or factory. 21. Newspapers and printing establishments shall be brought under the operation of this Act. 22. Factory Inspectors under this Act shall also be Sanitary Inspectors. 23. Every manufacturer of goods for sale shall be required to procure a registered trade-mark, and all goods manufactured by them shall be stamped with their trade-mark. 24. The same regulations in regard to sanitary arrangements shall apply to all shops and other rooms where women and men work for hire. 25. Provision should be made in any Bill to be brought before Parliament

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to prevent, if possible, the suffering caused to female assistants in shops by long continuous standing, as shown in Dunedin and Christchurch evidence. 26. This Commission expresses its entire sympathy with the movement to secure early closing; but, having in view the diversity of opinion on the part of its promoters, is unable to recommend any direct method by which this desirable object is to be attained. 27. We recommend that steps should be taken to establish at an early date Boards of Conciliation and Arbitration based on an equitable representation of labour and capital. 28. A system of indenture by which employers should be bound to teach their apprentices their trade, and by which apprentices should remain with their employer long enough to learn it, would remedy many of the evils complained of. 29. For the purpose of obtaining reliable data as to the social and economic condition of industry throughout the colony, Government are requested to take steps as soon as possible for the establishment of Bureaux of Statistics in this colony. 30. Government are requested to introduce with the least possible delay a new Factory Bill embodying the above recommendations. Given under our hands and seals at Wellington, this fifth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and ninety. (1.5.) James Fulton, Chairman. (1.5.) Francis Cherry, (1.5.) Thomas Thompson, (1.5.) Rutherford Waddell. (1.5.) F. E. Wright, (1.5.) D. P. Fisher, (1.5.) J. R. Blair, (1.5.) Frederic Jones, (1.5.) Colin Allan.

ADDENDUM. While assenting generally to the report, w 7 e beg to dissent from that portion of it, on page 1, which says " that the system known as ' London sweating' does not exist." We dissent from this (1) because it is not quite in accordance with fact. One or two instances of what is called " London sweating"— i.e., as commonly understood, "sub-contracting" —did come under the notice of the Commissioners, which shows that the system is already in operation, though only to a very limited extent. We dissent from this (2) because it is misleading. It is misleading because— (a.) There are differences of opinion as to what really constitutes sweating. Miss Beatrice Potter, — e.g., one of the best authorities, who has worked in the sweating-dens of London herself in order to understand the system—in an article in the " Nineteenth Century " defines sweating as consisting in (1) overcrowded or insanitary workshops or living-rooms, (2) long and irregular hours, (3) constantly falling prices and low wages. If this be the understood definition of " sweating," then there is abundant evidence of its existence in the colony. There are numerous overcrowded and insanitary workrooms, great numbers of workers labour long and irregular hours, and wages in many trades are at the lowest possible ebb (vide memoranda of Commissioners, also the evidence of butchers, bakers, tramway-men, shop assistants, waitresses, &c, passim). It is misleading because— (b.) It will tend to create an impression that the duty of taking vigorous action to ward off the evils that oppress the industrial world in the older civilisations is not imperative; whereas, as a matter of fact, unless there be an aroused public opinion and prompt legislative action, w r e shall find, as population increases and the struggle for existence becomes keener, that these very evils will have struck deep their roots in our midst. Rutherford Waddell. D. P. Fisher. Colin Allan.

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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS.

Dunedin, 10th February, 1890. The Commissioners met in the Education Office at 10 a.m. Present: James Fulton, Esq., M.H.E.; Eev. Butherford Waddell; Colin Allan, Esq.; and Frederic Jones, Esq., M.H.E. for Heathcote, one of the Commissioners, was also present. The Secretary, Mr. Eobert Leckie, read the Commission. Mr. John Hanson, Inspector of Factories, was examined, and at 11.20 the Commission adjourned till 2in the afternoon. On resuming at 2 o'clock, Mr. Silas Spragg, reporter, was examined. The Commission adjourned at 3.5.

Dunedin, 11th Febkuaky, 1890. The Commission met at 10 o'clock. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Waddell, Allan, and Jones. Miss H. Morrison, Vice-President of the Tailoresses' Union, Miss A., and Miss H. Burrows were examined ; and John Hanson was recalled and examined. The Commission adjourned at 10 minutes past 1 till 7 p.m. On resuming, Miss B. and Miss D. were examined. The Commission adjourned at 9.20.

Dunedin, 12th Febbuaby, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Waddell, Allan, and Jones. The minutes of previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mrs. E., manufacturer of shirts and mantles, and Mrs. F., shirtmaker, were examined The Commission adjourned at 12.30.

Dunedin, 13th Febeuaby, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. *" Present : Messrs. Fulton, Allan, Waddell, and Jones. The minutes of previous' meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. John A. Miller, master mariner, Secretary, Seamen's Union and Tailoresses' Union, and Mr. T. E. R. Fearnley, late tram-conductor, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission, at 1.15 p.m., adjourned till 7 p.m. On resuming, Miss G. and Miss H., stocking-knitters, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission adjourned at 8.45 p.m.

Dunedin, 14th Februaky, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Waddell, Jones, and Allan. The minutes of previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. Eobert Slater, President, Trades and Labour Council; David Pinkerton, bootmaker; Miss J., bag-maker; Miss X., shirt machinist; Miss L., shirt machinist; and Henry Eodda, bootmaker, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission adjourned at 12.45, and sat in the evening from 7 to 8.15.

Dunedin, 17th February, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Waddell, Jones, and Allan. The minutes of previous meeting were read and confirmed. The Eev. Andrew Cameron appeared before the Commission, and said he would get some witnesses in the milk trade. Mr. M., tram-conductor; Mr. James Henderson, dairyman; Mr. N., dairyman; Messrs. 0., P., and Q., drapers' assistants; Mr. T. Howard, Secretary, Early-closing Association; Mr. J. Todd, Vice-President of same; and Mr. W. E. Burley, cabinetmaker, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission adjourned at 12.40, and sat in the evening from 7.30 to 10.15.

Dunedin, 18th February, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Waddell, and Allan. The minutes of previous meeting were read and confirmed. James Williams, Manager and Secretary of City and Suburban Tramways; Mr. Walter Newbury, hairdresser; Mr. Joseph Braithwaite, bookseller; Mr. S., President of the Otago Branch of

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the Typographical Association; Ellen Wilson, seamstress; and Mr. T., journeyman butcher, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission adjourned at 12.30, and sat in the evening from 7.30 to 8.30.

Dunedin, 20th February, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Pulton, Allan, and Waddell. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. Pinkerton, bootmaker, recalled; Mr. U., stationers' assistant; Miss V., saleswoman; Mr. A. Lee Smith, rope-manufacturer ; Mr. Bobert Fergusson, bootmaker ; Miss W., milliner ; Mr. T. E. B. Fearnley, tram-conductor, recalled ; Mr. X., confectioners' apprentice ; Miss Y., laundress ; Miss Z., laundress; Mr. John Downie and Mr. Z 1, millers, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission adjourned at 12.15, and sat in the evening from 7.30 to 9.15.

Dunedin, 21st February, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Waddell, and Allan. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. Daniel Haynes, draper; Miss A. A., confectioners' assistant; Miss A. 8., stocking-knitter; Mr. Hulbert, bootmaker; Mr. William Leckie, dairyman ; and Messrs. A. 0., A. D., A. E., A. F., A. G., milkboys, were examined and gave evidence. During the afternoon the Commissioners visited and inspected the following factories : Mr. Moore's knitting factory, Walker Street; Mr. Laidlaw's knitting factory; Mr. Cuthill's knitting factory, Lee Street; Messrs. A. and T. Ingles's, George Street; Messrs. Simon Brothers' andßarraud and Co.'s boot factories ; and Messrs. Carter and Co.'s dressmaking factory. The Commission adjourned at 9 p.m.

Dunedin, 24th February, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Waddell, and Allan. Mrs. Elizabeth Moore, wife of William Henry Moore, hosiery manufacturer; Mr. J. P. Simon, boot-manufacturer; and Mr. Eobert Laidlaw, hosiery manufacturer, were examined and gave evidence. The Commissioners visited the following factories : Messrs. Herbert Haynes's dressmaking; Mrs. Searle's hosiery; Mrs. E. Sharran's hosiery and shirt; Mr. Clarke's steam laundry; Mr. Henry Holmes's hosiery. The Commission sat in the evening, and the following witnesses gave evidence: Messrs. A. H., milker ; A. K. and A. 1., butchers ; and A. L., journeyman tailor. The Commission adjourned at 9.15 p.m.

Dunedin, 25th February, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present : Messrs. Fulton, Waddell, and Allan. The minutes of two previous meetings were read and confirmed. No witnesses were present during the morning sitting, and the Commissioners visited several factories during the day, as follows: Evening Star office; Otaijo Daily Times office; Mrs. Gills's, dressmaker; Pliconix Jam Factory ; Messrs. Guthrie and Levy's clothing manufactory ; Mr. Wood's bakery ; Mr. Hopkins's confectionery. In tho evening the following witnesses were examined: Mr. A. M., tailor; Mr. A. N., tailor; Mr. A. 0., bootmaker. The Commission adjourned at 9.15 p.m.

Dunedin, 26th February, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Waddell, and Allan. No witnesses were present during the morning sitting. In the evening Dr. Martin and Dr. Lamb, and Mr. Dickson, a master baker, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission adjourned at 9.45.

Dunedin, 27th February, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present : Messrs. Fulton, Waddell, and Allan. Dr. Stenhouse attended and gave evidence. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed.

Christchurch, 4th March, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Mr. James Fulton, Chairman ; Mr. F. Jones, M.H.E., and Mr. Fortunatus Evelyn Wright.

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The Secretary, Mr. Leckie, read the Commission. Mr J. Kennedy, Inspector under the Employment of Females Act; the Rev. T. Flavell, President, Early-closing Association; Miss A. P. and Miss A. Q., shop-assistants, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat from 10 to 12.30 in the morning, and from 7.30 to 9.30 in the evening.

Christchurch, sth March, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Jones, and Wright. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. A. E., journeyman baker; Mr. W. 1). Meers, late clothing manufacturer; Mr. C. Woodham, baker; Mr. James McDonald, labour-agent; Mr. F. S. Parker, President of the Tailors' and Tailoresses' and Pressers' Union, and President of the Trades and Labour Council; Master A. S., feeder of lithographic machine ; Mr. A. T., hairdresser; Mr. Eobert Clark, Secretary, Now Zealand Early-closing Association; and Mr. E. C. Brown, manager of the D.1.C., Christchurch, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat from 10 to 12 in the morning, and from 7.30 to 9.45 in the evening..

Chbistohuboh, 6th March, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Junes, and Wright. The minutes of previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. C. P. Hulbert, hat-manufacturer and outfitter, and President of the Drapers' Association ; Or. 11. Blackwell, Manager of Kaiapoi Woollen Factory; Mr. F. C. Gerard, journeyman compositor; Masters A. U., A.V., A.W., bookbinders' assistants; Mr. John P. Cooper, printer; Mr. James Mcintosh, bookbinder; Mr. Thomas E. Cooper, paper-ruler; Mr. A.Andrews, bookbinder; Mr. Edward McCleary, printer; and Mr. A. X., shop-assistant, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat in the morning from 10 to 1, and from 7.30 to 9.45 in the evening.

Christchurch, 7th March, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. /'resent: Messrs. Fulton, Jones, and Wright. The minutes of previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. C. J. Eae, representing railway servants, waited on the Commission and stated their desire to bring forward their grievances. The Commission stated that they found they could not with the time at their disposal do justice to so large a question, and recommended the Society to carry out their original intention of appealing to Parliament.

Christchuboh, 10th March, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Jones, and Wright. The minutes of previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. William E. Tribe, draper; Mr. A. V., journeyman bootmaker; Mr. M. A. Baxter, tailor, Secretary, Tailors' Association; Misses A. Z., 8.A., 8.8., 8.C..8. D., B. E., B. F., 8.G., tailoresses; Miss B. H. and Mr. B. 1., trousers-makers; and Mr. B. J., tailor, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat from 10 to 1 in the morning, and from 7.30 to 10.30 in the evening.

Christchurch, 11th March, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Jones, and Wright. The minutes of previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. B. X., drapers' assistant; Mr. B. L., bootmaker ; Mr. B. M., bootmaker ; Messrs. B. N. and B. 0., drysalters ; Mr. B. P., draper's assistant; and Messrs. B. Q., B. E., B. S., tailors, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat from 10 to 12 in the morning, and from 7.30 to 10.30 in the evening.

Christchurch, 12th March, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present : Messrs. Fulton, Jones, and Wright. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed.

Auckland, 25th March, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Mr. James Fulton, Mr. Thomas Thompson, M.H.E., and Mr. Francis Cherry. The Secretary, Mr. Leckie, read the Commission. Mr. Eichard Gamble, Inspector under the Employment of Females Act, was examined. The Commission sat from 10 a.m. to noon. ii—H. 5.

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Auckland, 26th March, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Cherry, and Thompson. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. H. \V. Farnall, Secretary, Trades and Labour Council and Tailors' Union, Auckland ; Mr. John Bridgewater, commission agent; Messrs. B. 1., B. U., and B. V., journeyman bakers ; Fred. Freeman, Treasurer, Bakers' Union ; W. E. Stevenson, journeyman baker; and Mr. Thomas Preston, tailor, and President of Tailors' Society, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat from 10 a.m. to noon, and from 7.30 to 9.30 in the evening.

Auckland, 27th March, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Thompson, and Cherry. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. George Mcßride, merchant tailor; Mr. George Goldie, Inspector of Nuisances; Mr. Eichard Mills, President, Tailors' Union; Mr. B. W., millwright; Mr. B. X., meat-preserver; Messrs. E. Y. and B. Z., meat-preservers; and Mr. Eobert French, master grocer, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat from 10 a.m. to 12.30, and from 7.30 to 9.30 in the evening.

Auckland, 28th March, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Thompson, and Cherry. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. J. Ehrman, manufacturer; Barnett Charles Beale, medical practitioner; Mr. William Johnston, manager, Fibre Company; Misses C. A., C. 8., C. C, C. D., C. E., dressmakers; Mr. Isaac Hill, journeyman saddler; Messrs. C. F., C. G., C. H., journeyman saddlers; Misses C. 1., C. X., dressmakers; Mr. C. L., saddler; Mr. Fred. Massey, cutter; and Mr. G. W. Wilcock, tailor, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat from 10 to 12.20 in the morning, and from 7.30 to 9.30 in the evening.

Auckland, 31st March, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Thompson, and Cherry. The minutes of the previous meeting'were read and confirmed. Miss Kate Mcllhone, tailoress; Mr. G. Mcßride, recalled; Mr. A. Baker, apprentice tailor; Mr. C. M., compositor, and President Typographical Society; C. N., drapers' assistant; Miss O. C, coat hand; Miss C. P., trousers machinist; Miss C. Q., coat hand; Miss C. R., overseer; Mr. Campbell and others, meat-preservers, were examined. During the day the Commissioners visited the following factories : Mcßride's tailoring, Allan's saddlery, and Ehrman's tailoring. The Commission sat from 10 to 1 in the morning, and from 7.30 to 9.45 in the evening.

Auckland, Ist April, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present : Messrs. Fulton, Thompson, and Cherry. Mr. W. Bousfield, cook; Miss C. S., dressmaker ; Miss C. T., machinist; and Mrs. Freeman, late machinist, were examined and gave evidence. During the day the Commission visited the following factories : New Zealand Fibre Company's, Yon Breda's shirt factory, and Renshaw's cordial factory. The Commission sat in the morning from 10 to 12.30, and in the evening from 7.30 to 9.30.

Auckland, 2nd April, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Thompson, and Cherry. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. The following businesses and factories were visited and inspected during the day: Hallenstein's tailoring; Dalton's tailoring; Beeham's, costumiers; Moran's waterproof-clothing factory; Le Sueur's dressmaking. The Commission sat from 10 to 12 in the morning, and from 7.30 to 8.30 in the evening.

Auckland, 3rd April, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Thompson, and Cherry. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. H. Waite, tinsmith, and Mr. John McLachlan were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat from 10 to 11.30 in the morning, and from 7.30 to 9 in the evening.

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XI

Auckland, Bth April, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Thompson and Cherry. The Commission sat again from 7.30 to 8.30 p.m. No witnesses attended at either sitting.

Auckland, 9th April, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Thompson, and Cherry. The minutes of three meetings were read and confirmed. The Commission sat from 10 to 11 in the morning, and from 7.30 to 8.30 in the evening. No witnesses were present at either sitting.

Wellington, 16th Ai'kil, 1890. The Commission met at 10 am. Present: Messrs. Fulton, M.H.E., D. P. Fisher, and J. R. Blair. The Secretary read the Commission. Mrs. C. W., shirt machinist; Mr. C. B. Robinson, Secretary of the Early-closing Association, Wellington Branch; Mrs. Nelson, trousers machinist; and Mr. William P. McGirr, President of the Typographical Society, Wellington Branch, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat from 10 to 1.30 in the morning, and from 2.30 to 4.45 in the afternoon.

Wellington, 17th April, 1890. The Commission met at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Fisher, and Blair. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. George Lundon, ex-railway employe and Secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Eaihvay Servants, Wellington Branch; Mrs. C. V., a shirtmaker; Mr. C. W., a tailor; and Miss C. X.. shirtmaker, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat from 10 to 12.45 in the morning, and from 2.30 to 4.45 in the afternoon.

Wellington, 18th April, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Blair, and Fisher. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Miss D. C, dressmaker; Miss D. D., buttonholer; Miss D. E., dressmaker; Messrs. William Cliff, President of the Boilermakers' Association, and Charles James, Secretary of the same ; and Mr. Alexander Williamson, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat from 10 to 12 in the morning, and from 2.30 to 4 in the evening.

Wellington, 21st April, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Blair, and Fisher. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Mr. D. E., plumber, a representative of the Plumbers' Union ; Mr. Arthur O'Connell, a groom ; Mr. Joseph Allan, President of the Bakers' Union; Mr. D. G., painter; and Masters D. H. and D. 1., apprentice printers, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat from 10 to 12.30 in the morning, and from 7.30 to 8.30 in the evening. In the evening Mr. T. Thompson sat on the Commission.

Wellington, 22nd April, 1890. Tho Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Blair, Cherry, and Thompson. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Constable Daniel O'Eourke, Inspector under the Employment of Females and Others Act; James Martin, Secretary of the 'Bus Company; Mr. D. X., groom ; and Mr. D. L., a painter, were examined and gave evidence. The Commissioners sat from 10 to 11.45 in the morning, and from 7.30 to 8.45 in the evening.

Wellington, 23rd Apbil, 1890. The Commission met at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Thompson, Blair, and Cherry. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. There were no witnesses present either at the morning or evening sitting. The Commission sat from 7.30 to 8.30 p.m.

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XII

Wellington, 24th April, 1890. The Commission met at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Thompson. Blair, and Cherry. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Messrs. D. M., lately employe 'Bus Company; D. N., night porter; E. H. Duncan, Inspector of Nuisances; D. 0., printer ; D. P., cabinetmaker; and D. Q., cabinetmaker, were examined and gave evidence. The Commission sat from 10.30 to 12.30 in the morning, and from 7.30 to 9 in the evening

Wellington, 25th AruiL, 1890. The Commission met at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Thompson, Blair, and Cherry. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Masters H. McEwan and William McX wan, recent arrivals from England ; Mrs. I). R., a cook ; and Mr. F. W. Beaumont, gave evidence. A gentleman also appeared before the Commission and made a statement on long hours of bank-clerks and clerks in mercantile houses. The Commission sat from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and from 7.30 to 8.30 in the evening, and then adjourned till 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday, the 80th instant, to consider report.

Wellington, 80th April, 1890. The Commission met at 7.30 p.m. ['resent: Messrs. Fulton, Thompson, Jones, Allan, Wright, and Cherry. The minutes of previous meeting were read and confirmed. The Commissioners considered draft report, and adjourned to 7.30 p.m. on Thursday, Ist, May.

Wellington, Ist May, 1890. The Commission met at 7.30 p.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Jones, Allan, Waddell, Wright, Thompson, Cherry, and Blair. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Four of the Commissioners visited, in the afternoon, the following factories : Messrs. Kirkcaldie and Stains, drapers; Mr. Thompson, clothing-factory; the Evening Press printing office ; Messrs. Hannah and Co., boot-factory ; Mr. James Smith, Te Aro House, draper, &c. Ln the evening the Commissioners considered tho draft report. The first two paragraphs were passed with amendments. In place of the third paragraph, Mr. Waddell moved, "If the usual definition be understood—namely, sub-contracting—we have not found much evidence of that; but if sweating be held to include long hours and low wages we have had abundant testimony of such. Almost all the evidence goes to show that in every unorganized branch of industry, not only are the hours unreasonably long, but the wages are exceedingly low, in many instances below a living minimum." On a division, there voted for the amendment Messrs. Allan and Waddell ; against, Messrs. Thompson, Wright, Jones, Cherry, and Blair. The original words were therefore retained. Mr. Thompson moved to add, at the end of the paragraph, the words, " assisted where possible by legitimate trade combination." There voted for the addition Messrs. Allan, Thompson, and Waddell; against, Messrs. Blair, Cherry, Jones, and Wright. Clause 1 was passed with amendments. In clause 2, page 2, it was moved by Mr. Blair to strike out the last sentence, which read as follows: "This is particularly manifest among restaurant waiters, butchers, bakers, tramway employes, dairymen, and, in a lesser degree, shop-assistants." On a division, the sentence was struck out, there voting for its retention Messrs. Allan and Waddell; against, Messrs. Thompson, Blair. Wright, Jones, and Cherry. Clauses 3, 4, and 5 were passed with amendments. The Commission adjourned at 10 p.m. till 10 a.m. next day.

WELLINGTON, 2ND MAY, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Thompson, -lones. Cherry, Blair, Allan, Wright, Waddell, and Fisher. Clause 0 was passed with amendments. Clause 7 was passed without amendment. The postponed paragraphs were struck out. Page 3, paragraph 1 : Mr. Blair moved to strike out the concluding words, " but where no unions exist the reverse is generally the case." On a division, there voted for its retention Messrs. Waddell, Fisher, and Allen ; against, Messrs. Thompson, Cherry, Blair, Jones, and Wright. The words were therefore struck out. Paragraph 2 passed, without amendment. Paragraph 3 was passed with amendments. Paragraph 4 : Mr. Jones moved to strike out all the words after "evidence," in second line. These words were, " but they have also a prospective reference to what may be expected to occur as population increases, and the struggle for existence becomes keener. It is much easier to enact

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XIII

laws now which will be preventive than to put them in operation when custom and vested interest have consolidated evils in our midst." On a division, there voted for retaining them Messrs. Fisher, Waddell, and Allan; against, Messrs. Thompson, Cherry, Blair, Jones, and Wright. Factories. Paragraphs 1 and 2 were passed with amendments. Paragraph 3 : It was moved by Mr. Jones to strike out the clause. There voted for its retention Messrs. Blair, Fisher, Waddell, Allan, Fulton; against, Messrs. Thompson, Cherry, Jones, and Wright. Clause retained. Paragragh 4, " A separate room shall be provided for meals," <fee, on a division, was struck out, there voting for retaining it Messrs. Fisher, Waddell, and Allan; against, Messrs. Thompson, Blair, Cherry, Jones, and Wright. These words were then inserted: " Penalties shall be imposed," &c. Paragraph 5 was struck out. Paragraphs 6 and 7 were passed with amendments. Paragraph 8 was struck out. Paragraphs 9 and 10 were passed with amendments. Paragraph 11 : " All factories and workrooms shall keep a list posted up in a prominent place of the names, ages, hours of employment, and rates of remuneration of the employes." There voted for retaining it Messrs. Fisher, Waddell, and Allan; against, Messrs. Thompson, Cherry, Blair, Wright, and Jones. Paragraphs 12, 13, 14, and 15 were passed with amendments. Paragraph 16, moved by Mr. Waddell. There voted for it Messrs. Blair, Fisher, Waddell, Allan, and Fulton; against, Messrs. Cherry, Jones, Wright, and Thompson. The paragraph was therefore retained. During the day some of the Commissioners visited the following factories: Miss Booney, dressmaker ; Mr. Dalton, tailor; New Zealand Times office; Messrs. Jones and Ashdown, tailors; Mr. Cathie, tailor; Messrs. Lyon and Blair, bookbinders and printers; Mr. Crease, coffee miller. The Commission sat from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 7.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m., and adjourned till 10 a.m. on Monday.

Wellington, sth May, 1890. The Commission sat at 10 a.m. Present: Messrs. Fulton, Thompson, Cherry, Blair, Fisher, Waddell, Wright, Allan, and Jones. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Clause 17 was passed without amendment. Clause 18 was struck out, and the following words were inserted: " Provision should be made," &c. Clause 19, which read, " Employers shall not be allowed to retain their assistants in shops more than forty-eight hours in any week, leaving it to the parties concerned to make their own arrangements as to time," was struck out. There voted for its retention Messrs. Fisher, Waddell, and Allan; against, Messrs. Thompson, Cherry, Blair, Jones, and Wright. A new clause was moved by Mr. Thompson, and inserted in its place: " This Commission expresses its entire sympathy," &c, the voting being, for its insertion Messrs. Thompson, Cherry, Blair, Jones, and Wright; against, Messrs. Fisher, Waddell, and Allan. Clause 20, Courts of arbitration, was struck out, and a new clause inserted in its place. A new clause relative to the indenture of apprentices was inserted. A new clause relative to bureaux of statistics: An amendment moved by Mr. Cherry, "The Government be recommended to obtain and publish full statistics relating to the condition of the labouring classes, wages, cost of living, and prices throughout the colony," was lost on a division, there voting for the amendment Messrs. Thompson and Cherry; against, Messrs. Blair, Fisher, Waddell, Wright, Jones, and Allan. The clause was therefore inserted. A new clause, "The Government be asked to introduce," &c, was passed without amendment. It was carried, on the motion of Mr. Blair, that the draft report as amended be adopted. A vote of thanks to the Chairman was carried unanimously. The minutes of this meeting were read and confirmed.

iii—H. 5.

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INDEX TO MINUTES OF EVIDENCE.

9 Bag-makixg. Auckland — Questions. Nil. Christchurch — Nil. Dunedin — J., Mrs., employer .. .. •• 388-405 Wellington — Nil. Boot-making. A uckland — Nil. Christchurch — A. V., journeyman 1289-129G !'.. L., journeyman .. .. •• 1869-1872 B. M., journeyman .. .. .. 1878-1878 Jackson, Mr. J. 15., journeyman .. .. 1265-1278 Osborne, Mr. W. J., journeyman.. .. 1276-1279 Dunedin — Pergusson, Mr. U., journeyman .. .. 642-655 Hufbert, Mr., foreman .. •• •• 784-796 Pinkerton, Mr., employe .. • • 844-887 Rodda, Mr. H., employe .. • • 418-488 Simon, Mr. J. P., employer .. .. 852-BGO A. 0., Master, employe .. .. •• 885-889 Wellington— Kershaw, Thomas, bootmaker .. .. 1949-1968 Browett, Luke, bootmaker .. • • 2032-2055 Boy-labour. Auckland — C. L., journeyman saddler .. .. 1j24 Ellison, Win., journeyman baker .. 1444 Hill, Isaac, saddler .. .. ■■ 1510 Johnston, Wm, Manager, Auckland Fibre Company B. T., ourncyman baker .. • • 1429 Baker, A., cutter .. .. • • 1551-1554 Clirittehureh— B. Q. to B. S., tailors .. .. •• 1887-1897 Dunedin — Millar, Captain, Secretary, Seamen s Union 24U-302 Wellington--McGirr, \V. P. .. •■ •• •• 1936 Cameron, Duncan, saddler .. .. 2008- 2014 Downing, Harry, saddler .. •• 2087-2094 Williamson, Alexander, Vice-President, Engineers' Society .. ■• •• 1658-1660 D. F., Mr., plumber .. .. •• 1766-1782 1). I., Mr., cabinetmaker .. •• 1882-1887 Cabinetmaking. Auckland — Dunedin— Burley, Mr. P. YV., journeyman .. .. OUB-018 WellingtonD. P., cabinetmaker .. .. •• um*-iooi D. Q., cabinetmaker .. •• -■ 1888-1896 Clothing-maxufactube and Dressmaking. Auckland — Mcl hide, George, clothing - manufacturer .... •• 1455-1472,1589-1550 Mills, Richard, journeyman tailor .. 1473-1582 Ehrman, Joseph, clothing-manufacturer .. 1 198-1508 0 A., Miss, coat and vest hand .. .. 1504 C. 8., Miss, coat hand .. .. •• 1500, 1506 C. C, Miss, coat hand .. .. •• 1507,1508 C D Miss, trousers machinist .. •• 1500-1511 0. E., Miss, finisher .. •■ •• 1512-1515 Massey, Frederick, manager clothing fac tory 1525,1520

Auckland —continued. Questions. Wilcoek, George William, tailor.. .. 1527,1528 C. 1., Miss, coat hand .. .. • • 1624-1640 C. X., Miss, coat improver .. .. 1648-1G57 Mellhone, Kate, tailoress .. .. 1520-1538 CO., Miss, coat hand .. .. •• 1576 ('. I\, Miss, trousers machinist .. .. 1577 C. Q., Miss, coat hand .. .. • • 1578-1579 C. 11., Mr., tailor 1580-1582 C. S., Miss, tailor .. .. •• 1585-1587 C. T., Miss, machinist .. .. ■ • 1588,1580 Bridgewater, J., clothing manufacturer .. 1555-1557 Christchurch — A. Z. to B. H, tailors .. .. •• 1329-1347 Baxter, Mr. M. A., tailor .. .. 1297-1328 B. 1., Mr., tailor 1355-1362 B. J., Mr., tailor .. .. •• 1363,1364 Blackwell, Mr., Director, Kaiapoi Factory 1130-1143 B. Q. to B. S., tailors .. .. . • 1387-1397 Meers, Mr. W. D., manufacturer.. .. 1039-1056 Parker, Mr. F. S., President Association .. 1072-1086 Tribe, Mr., employer .. .. ■ - 1280-1288 Dunedin — 8., Mrs., machinist .. .. • ■ 148-164 Morrison, Miss, Secretary Union.. .. 109-131 Wellington — Nelson, Mrs., dressmaker .. .. 1794-1811 C. W., Mr., tailor 1982-2007 D. C, Miss, dressmaker .. .. .. 1840-1858 1). D., Miss, buttonholor .. .. 1810-1820 I>. X, Miss, dressmaker .. .. 1859-1861 S., Mrs., shirt-hand .. .. •■ 1712-1726 Gbnebax. Auckland — Gamble, Richard, Inspector under Employ, ment of Females Act .. .. .. 1398-1411 Farnall, H. W., Secretary, Trades and Labour Council .. .. •• 1412-1422 I!. W., Mr.,millwright .. .. .- 1483,1484 Waite, 11., master tinsmith .. .. 1591-1611 Johnston, Wm., Manager, Auckland Fibre c ,mpany .- •• ■• ■■ 1561-1500 Bousfield, Walter, cook.. .. .. 1584 B. X., B. V., B. Z., meat-preserving .. 1485-1489 Campbell, R., meat-preserving .. .. 1583 freeman, Mrs., ex-waitress .. .. 1590 Christchurch — I Icown, Mr. E. 0., Manager, D.I.C. .. 1101-1120 Flavell, Rev. T. 980-990 llulbert, Mr.,hat-manufacturer .. .. 1121-1185 Kennedy, Mr. J., Inspector of Factories .. 955-070 Triggs, Mr. J. R., employer .. .. 1288-1258 Dunedin — Millar, Captain, Seamen's Union .. 245-302 Hanson, Constable, Inspector .. .. 1-87 Morrison, -Miss, Tailoresses' Union .. 109 -131 Slater, Mr. R., Trades and Labour Council 826 81 ! Spragg, Mr., journalist .. •• •• ss-ion Stenhouse, Dr... .. .. •• 935-051 Wellington— Robinson, C. 8., Secretary, Early-closing Association .. .. •• •• 1740 L 76 Lundon, Geo., ex-railway employe .. (page 80) Cliff, William, President, Boiler-makers' Association .. •• •• •• 1G!;i 1664 James, Clias., Secretary, Engineers' Society 1812-1814 Williamson, Alexander, boiler-maker .. 1658-1000 D. F., Mr , plumber .. •■ •• 1760-1782 Allan, Joseph, President, Bakers' Union .. 1827-1831 D. G., painter, Ac. •• •• •• 1005-1671 O'Rourke, Daniel, Inspector under Employment of Females Act .. •• •• 1080-1705 Martin, -lames, Secretary, 'Bus Company .. 1672-1679

2

H.—s

Wellington —continued. Questions. D. X., groom .. .. .. .. 1737-1748 D. L., painter .. .. .. • .. 1727-1736 D. M., night porter 1832-1839 Duncan, P. H., Inspector of Nuisances .. 1901-1914 McEwen, Harry .. .. .. 1018-1920 McEwen, William .. .. .. 1921-1025 Beaumont, Thomas William, plumber .. 1915-1917 D. S., Mr 2095-2111 Hosiery. Auckland — Nil. Christchurch — Nil. Dunedin — Burrows, Miss, employee .. .. 135-147 Laidlaw, Mr., employer.. .. .. 829-850 A. 8., Miss, employee .. .. .. 774-783 D., Miss, employee .. .. .. 165-185 G., Miss, employee .. .. .. 222-244 H., Miss, employee .. .. .. 309-325 Moore, Mrs., employer .. .. .. 801-828 Hours of Labour, and Sanitation. Auckland — Goldie, G., Inspector of Nuisances .. 1041-1047 B. T. and B. U., journeyman bakers .. 1423-1433 B. V. and Freeman, Frederick, journeyman bakers .. .. .. .. 1434-1442 Stevenson, W. E., Secretary, Bakers' Union 1443-1447 Preston, Thomas, journeyman tailor .. 1448-1454 Mcßride, George M.J merchant tailor .. 1455-1472 French, Robert, master grocer .. .. 1490-1492 Hill, Isaac, saddler .. .. .. 1516 Johnston, Wm., Manager, Fibre Company 1561 C. M., Mr., compositor .. .. .. 1567 C. N., Mr., drapers' assistant .. .. 1575 Bousfield, Walter, cook .. .. .. 1584 Waite, Harry, master tinsmith .. .. 1591-1611 McLachlan, John, draper .. .. 1612-1023 Christchurch — A. P. and A. Q., drapers'assistants .. 1000-1030 A. R., journeyman baker .. .. 1031-1038 A. T., hairdresser .. .. .. 1091-1097 Brown, Mr. E. C, employer .. .. 1104-1120 A. X., shop assistant .. .. .. 1216-1224 B. X., drapers'assistant.. .. .. 1365-1368 B. N. and B. 0., dry-salters .. .. 1379-1381 B. P., drapers'assistant.. .. .. 1383-1386 Clark, Mr. R., Secretary, Early Closing .. 1098-1103 Flavell, Rev. T. .. .. .. 980-909 Hulbert, Mr., manufacturer .. .. 1121-1135 Dunedin — Braithwaite, Mr. J., bookseller .. .. 545-562 Dickson, Mr., master baker . .. .. 922-954 Downie, Mr., miller .. .. 708-729 Fearnley, Mr., tram-conductor .. .. 303-308 Haynes, Mr., merchant draper .. .. 730-759 Henderson, J., dairyman .. .. 455 Howard, T., drapers' assistant .. .. 480-495 Leckie, Mr., and others, dairyman and employes 797-800 M., Mr., tram-conductor .. .. 439-452 Newbury, Mr., hairdresser .. .. 538-544 N., Mr., milk-boy .. .. .. 453,454 0., P., and Q, shop assistants .. .. 456-479 Smith, Mr. Lee, rope-manufacturer .. 624-641 Todd, Mr., draper .. .. .. 496-507 T., Mr., butcher .. .. .. 597-606 U., Mr., booksellers'assistant .. .. 607-613 V., Miss, saleswoman .. .. .. 614-623 W., Miss, milliner .. .. .. 606-073 Williams, Mr., tramways manager .. 519-537 X., Mr., pastrycook .. .. .. 074-689 Y. and Z., Misses, laundresses .. .. 690-707 Z. (1), Mr., miller .. .. .. 720-729 A. A., Miss, confectioners' assistant .. 760-773 A. C. to A. H. (milk-boys' hours).. .. 794-800 A. I. to A. X., butchers' assistants .. 861-876 A. L. to A. N, tailors .. .. .. 877-884 A. 0., bootmaker .. .. .. 885-889

Wellington — Questions. McGirr, W. P., President, Typographical Society .. .. .. .. 1926-1925 C. V., Mrs., shirtmaker .. .. .. 1936-1948 Kershaw, Thomas G., bootmaker .. 1949-1968 C. X., Miss, shirtmaker .. .. .. 1969-1981 C. W., Mr., tailor .. .. .. 1982-2007 D. 8., Mr., ex-tramway employe.. .. 2015-2031 Browett, Luke, bootmaker .. .. 2032-2055 C. Z., Miss, shirtmaker .. .. .. 2056-2069 D. A., Mr., tailor, &c. .. .. .. 2070-2086 Lundon, George, ex-railway employe .. (page 86) C. V., Mrs., shirtmaker.. .. .. 2112-2124 Cliff, William, President Boilermakers' Association .. .. .. .. 1661-1664 O'Rourke, Daniel, Inspector, Employment of Females Act .. .. .. 1680-1705 Robinson, Mr. C. 8., Secretary, Earlyclosing Association .. .. .. 1749-1765 D. F., Mr., plumber .. .. .. 1766-1782 Nelson, Mrs., trousers machinist.. .. 1794-1811 Allan, Joseph, President, Bakers' Union .. 1827-1831 D. E., Miss, dressmaker.. .. .. 1859-1861 Labour-agents. Christchurch — Me Donald, Mr., agent .. .. .. 1064-1071 Woodham, C, baker and cook .. .. 1058-1003 Wellington — Nil. Medical. A uckland — Burnett, Charles Beale, M.D. .. .. 1558-1560 Dunedin — Martin, Dr. .. .. .. 890-908 Lamb, Dr. .. .. .. .. 909-921 Stenhouse, Dr. .. .. .. .. 935-954 Wellington — Nil Printing and Bookbinding, etc. Auckland — Mr. C. M., compositor .. .. .. 1567-1574 Christchurch — Anderson, Mr., President Society .. 1254-1275 Andrews, Mr., bookbinder .. .. 1211 A. S., Master, bookbinder .. .. 1087-1090 A. U., A. V., A. W., bookbinders .. .. 1161-1179 Gerard, Mr., compositor.. .. .. 1144-1100 Mcintosh, Mr., bookbinder .. .. 1195-1202 McCleary, Mr., machinist .. .. 1212-1215 Whitcombe, Mr., employer .. .. 1225-1232 Cooper, J. P., printer .. .. .. 1180-1194 Cooper, T. E., paper-ruler ... .. 1203-1210 Wellington — McGirr, W. P., President, Typographical Society .. .. .. .. 1926-1025 G. H. and D. 1., apprentice compositors .. 1 ii-nrli7ii D. 0., printer .. .. .. .. 1874-1881 Saddlers. Wellington— Downing, Henry, saddler .. .. 2087-2094 Cameron, Duncan, saddler .. .. 2008-2014 Auckland — C. F. .. .. .. .. .. 1517-1518 C. G. .. .. .. .. .. 1519 C. H. .. .. .. .. .. 1520-1522 C. L , .. 1523-1524 Shirt-making. AucklandNil. Christchurch— Nil. Dunedin — E. and F., Mesdames, employers.. .. 186-221 K. and L., Misses, employees .. .. 406-417 Wilson, Miss, employee .. .. 587-59G

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MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFOEE THE EOYAL COMMISSION APPOINTED TO INQUIEE INTO THE EELATIONS BETWEEN EMPLOYEES AND EMPLOYED IN THE COLONY.

DUNEDIN WITNESSES. Monday, 10th Febkuaky, 1890. , John Hanson examined. 1. What is your name?— John Hanson. 2. Official title ? —lnspector of Factories. 3. Under what Act?— Under " The Employment of Females Act, 1881." 4. For how long have you occupied that position?— For several years. 5. Will you be able to give us some information with regard to the present inquiry which is before us ?—ln what respect ? 6. Especially with regard to the duties which you have had to perform yourself?—ln regard to factories, I found some time ago work was carried home; and at present, after working-hours, some employers make their employes take work home and bring it back in the morning. Some time ago it was partially stopped, owing to correspondence in the papers and the formation of a Union (Tailoresses'). 7. Do employes ask for this work?—At that time they were generally compelled to take the work. If they refused they would be dismissed, they gave me to understand. Some of the employes, however, requested the work. 8. Have you known any cases in which dismissal has taken place ?—Yes, in two instances. 9. Have the employers declined to take them back again after they have been dismissed?—l am not aware. 10. Does it interfere with their being taken on in other houses ?—No, I could not answer that. 11. Do you know, with regard to one particular factory, or more than one, that this was done ?- —It was done in several factories. In fact, if any person was to watch the employes returning home he would generally see them carrying small bundles. These dismissals were from two factories. 12. Have you had any opportunity to see whether these bundles are taken home now? —It is not done to such an extent as some time previously, but is still carried on to some extent. 13. In busy times? —Yes. During the last three months it has been a very busy time. I have seen the employes carrying home parcels. I took it for granted that they were taking these parcels home for work. I have also seen them taking bundles back to the factories. I have no right to interfere in this. 14. You consider this a defect in the Act ?—Yes, I do. 15. You have doubtless noticed other defects in the Act ? —Yes, there are other defects. I will give you a memorandum of them. 16. You will be able to do that at a future time ?—Yes, I will. These defects ought to be remedied. 17. Did this taking-home of work take place before the Union was formed?— Yes. 18. Are any difficulties placed in the way by the employers as to the working of the Act ?—lf I go to a factory, and the owner refuses to admit me, he is liable to no penalty. 19. You think there ought to be a penalty?— Yes, I think so. There is no penalty for it. If a factory-owner refuses to allow me to go into his factory he cannot be punished for it. I was refused admittance in one place. lam very careful not to chance being refused admittance. 20. You consider the Act should be amended in that respect ?—Yes, I do. 21. Have you obtained any convictions under the Act? —Frequently. 22. Eecently ?—Not within the last twelve months. 23. On what points ?—For employing females after 2 o'clock on Saturday. 24. Were these convictions before the Eesident Magistrate?— Yes; before Mr. Carew, E.M. These cases are usually, but not necessarily, taken before the Eesident Magistrate. 25. Complaints have sometimes been made by employers that the Factory Act compelled them to turn out their employes during meal-hours ?—That is correct. 26. What is your opinion ?—lt is a very great hardship, in one sense—if the weather is rough. There is no place for the unfortunate girls to go to. 27. Do you consider that they should be compelled to provide rooms for them ?—lt is absolutely necessary that they should be compelled. 28. Have some factories these rooms ?—Yes, some of them have. 29. Do you consider the Act should be amended so as to compel the employers to provide rooms for meal-hours ? —Yes. 30. There is an allegation made that a great many young persons that are employed are really not operatives, in the sense of learning the trade—apprentices, or something of that sort. Is this so ?—Yes; that is being carried on. I—H. 5.

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31. To what extent?— Not to any great extent. There are only one or two places where it is carried on. On one occasion I found them at work after the hours specified, and on my making some remarks about it they told me that they were simply giving lessons. Of course, I have to take their word for it. I asked one of the girls : she said she was getting a lesson in cutting. 32. It has been stated that some of these are employed for many months without wages? —I could not answer for that. 33. How far does your power extend ? —Over all factories, and where any articles are manufactured for gain or for sale. 34. Including Boss and Glendinning ? —Yes ; and all places occupied for dressmaking. 35. Including the woodware-factories ?—Yes. 36. Eope-works ?—Yes. 37. Do you visit the rope-works here ?—I do. 38. Have you done anything as regards ventilation ?—As a rule, the factories are pretty well ventilated here. There is no penalty provided by the Act for non-ventilation. I should like to speak about the boys. They are taken on as early as 6 o'clock in the morning, and they work till Bor9 at night, and sometimes later—in a few instances, as late as 10 o'clock at night. The employers keep within the law by giving the boys an interval for meals every four hours and a half. 39. Can you inform the Commission what are the factories that this is done in ?—One is a rope-factory. lam pretty well sure the Commissioners know. The Commissioners : Yes, we know. 40. Are not the hours limited for these boys?— The hours are limited for females and children, but not for boys over fourteen years of age. They can work them all day, as long as they give them half an hour every four hours and a half for meals. 41. Is there any limit as to the age of girls being admitted into a factory ?—As to the age of the children—employers cannot employ them before they are twelve years old, and between the ages of twelve and fourteen can work them only half-time, in either morning or afternoon sets or shifts. They cannot work them two successive days. 42. What is your opinion as to this ?—Half a day is quite enough on alternate days. 43. Have you known any case in which evil results have followed below the age of fourteen? — Yes, I have. 44. Many?—No; only one or two cases. 45. Have you heard of them ?—I have. 46. But would you say that over twelve years of age they should work full time ? —ln some cases it would not be advisable. There are some children at twelve years of age quite strong, and there are others, again, not fit for it. 47. Is there any provision as to medical certificate before the employment of girls?— No. 48. Do you consider there should be?— Well, I am not prepared to answer that question. The Commissioners : Some doctors would tell us. 49. Under which Act are you working?—•" The Employment of Females Act, 1881." There is an amending Act to this. 50. What year?—lBBs. 51. It only refers to half-holidays and the publication of newspapers?— Yes. 52. Can you give the Commission any evidence as to the wages paid to young persons? —In some places they have to work for twelve months without any pay whatever. Then they start at ss. a week for twelve months, and sometimes two years ; but this is from hearsay, I do not knowit as a fact; it is from statements made to me by those employed. 53. Are you in a position to give any information as to the cost of living here in this community?—No, I am not. 54. Is there any provision made to prevent the mingling of the sexes together?— No. 55. Do you consider that evil results follow ?—Most undoubtedly. 56. Are there a sufficient number of Inspectors under the Act ?—I think so. 57. You have no difficulty in overtaking your work?— None. The public assist. It is very easy putting down any breach of the law if it exists. A breach of the Act may occur now and then. It is impossible for it to continue. For instance, an employer may commit a breach of the Act, and not be caught; but if he continues any length of time, in most cases I hear of it, and then I take particular notice of him for some time. 58. Then you get information from the employes ?—Yes, sometimes ; but I generally get it from other parties in some way connected with them—anonymous letters and so forth. 59. What do you understand by the word " factory" ?—lt is defined in the Act. 60. That definition would not include an ordinary household ?—No. 61. In the case of the erection of a factory is there any provision made for the submitting of plans to the Inspector?—No, there is not. 62. Do you consider there should be ? —I do. 63. Would you consider it advisable that there should be a list of all employes in the factory posted up, with the hours they work, and the wages they receive ? —There is a notice put up as to the hours they work under the Act, but not as to the wages they receive—simply the hours they work and the hours allowed for meals. 64. Do you think the rate of remuneration should be posted up with the other information ?— I scarcely see what good it would do. 65. It was a recommendation in the Victorian Commission that the ages should be mentioned in the notice. You were speaking about boys being employed a short time back, and spoke about the number of hours they worked. Do you consider this Act should be amended so as to show the total number of hours in the week or in the day?—lt should mention the number of hours in the day.

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66. Have you any right to enter private establishments where work is being done ?—Yes, provided they employ labour, and the articles manufactured are for sale. I cannot enter where none but private families are employed. 67. You say there is an establishment of this sort here?— Yes; there were three sisters. I could not interfere with them. They were in partnership. This establishment does not now exist. 68. Is there any provision made for overtime ?—None in the Act. 69. Do they get extra pay for overtime?—ln very few cases; not as a rule. 70. Should provision be made ?—Yes. 71. Who should allow work after regulation hours?— That is the question. It is a very great hardship. I think when there is a rush of work power should be given to the Eesident Magistrate, in certain cases, to extend the hours. 72. Take the rush of the Exhibition ?—I would be inclined to give power in a case like that, provided the employes were agreeable, and were paid for the overtime. 73. You said it was very great hardship for girls to turn out in bad weather for their meals : do you not think the employers should be made to give proper accommodation for the girls in mealhours?—lt should be provided by the Act. I do not think it would be a very difficult thing to provide proper accommodation. It might be in some cases. There are some factories that have no accommodation of that sort at all. 74. Are there any factories at present existing you would condemn if asked to pass judgment ?— Yes. 75. Is that in reference to the ventilation ?—Partly on that account, but chiefly that there are too many hands employed in them—they are overcrowded. 76. Is there proper provision made for conveniences ?—As a rule there is. 77. Have the sexes separate conveniences? —In some cases they have not. I have no power to interfere. They can simply refuse to provide separate conveniences. 78. Should there not be power ? —Certainly. 79. Do you think the eight-hours law suitable?—l am sure it would not do unless there was provision made in cases of emergency for extending the hours. 80. Are there no hours of work defined in the Factory Act ?—Yes, there are for women and children ; not for men, and boys over fourteen years of age. Generally the men get paid for overtime. I think that the boys also ought to get paid for overtime. 81. Is there any protection provided against accident where machinery is employed?— None whatever. 82. Does the Act include printing establishments? —Yes. 83. Do you have anything to do with barmaids ?—No. 84. What about restaurants?—ln some restaurants the girls are employed from 8 in the morning till 11 and 12 at night. 85. They do not come within the meaning of the Act ?—No. 86. You know that the scope of this Commission includes them?— Yes. 87. The police would be the proper persons to apply to with regard to barmaids ?—Yes. John Hanson, recalled, said:— With reference to the statement I made yesterday regarding the hours during which boys worked at rope-works, I ought to have said that my statement had reference to a time about two years ago. They are not working that length of time now. I have recently seen girls taking parcels from factories. I did not inquire or examine as to what the parcels contained ; I took it for granted that the taking-home of work was still continued. When I said " factories " I referred to dressmaking establishments ; and I do not think they come under the Union. Dressmaking establishments are factories under the Act. I did not mean clothing-factories. lam reported to have said that the Factory Act does not apply to boys: what I meant was that their hours were not limited. The Act does apply to them in some respects, but " boys " are not included with women and children in section sof the Act. I do not know anything beyond hearsay about the tramway employes. There is no supervision regarding the hours of tram-conductors. The overloading of trams would come under the Corporation by-laws, and it would be for the police to enforce those by-laws. Ido not think any person has control over the length of hours the train-conductors work. There have been prosecutions for overloading cars, and a test-case is to be brought. The drivers of trains are employed by the contractor (McEwen), and the conductors by the company. Silas Spragg examined. 88. I am a member of the reporting staff of the Otago Daily Times, and in that capacity towards the close of 1888 I received instructions to make as thorough an investigation as practicable into what was termed the " sweating system " then in operation, and concerning which communications had been received by and published in the Times. 89. The investigations were made in consequence of instructions from the editor, and, of course, at the expense of the Otago Daily Times Company, by myself as an employe. 90. I began the inquiry purely as a matter of business, and without any preconceived notions regarding it, and prosecuted it with a view to ascertaining the facts, whatever they might be. With the results of the inquiry I was in no way concerned, my instructions being to investigate the circumstances. 91. I admit that the facts elicited soon removed my feeling of comparative indifference, but I believe that did not affect prejudicially the thoroughness of the inquiry or render it in any degree less impartial. 92. The results of these investigations appeared in a series of articles which were published in the Times during the month of January last year.

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93. In making the inquiry I went to the warehouses and the factories and to the homes of some of the workers. I saw all the principal employers or their representatives, and a good number of employes, some of whom came to my house in the evening and gave their evidence there. 94. The statements were taken down fully, and the material points were embodied in the articles reprints of which are before the Commissioners. 95. No colouring whatever was given to the statements made by the workers, but the statements were simply condensed to avoid tediousness and useless repetitions. 96. In my researches I found nothing that I could call "sweating;" but very low rates of remuneration obtained in many cases, making it necessary that the operatives should work very long hours in order to earn wages upon which they could live. 97. My definition of "sweating" is " the letting-out of work by sub-contractors at a rapidlydecreasing rate of pay ; " and I have seen nothing of this sort in Dunedin. 98. If " sweating " means that the people who do the work make next to nothing out of it, then there has been a large amount of sweating going on in Dunedin. 99. In one case I was informed by the proprietress of a factory that she had been induced to lower her charges upon a promise of continuous work ; that for the sake of constant work her employes had consented to a reduction that enabled her to accept the terms offered; and that then, on one plea and another, the supply of work became intermittent, and she and her employes suffered in common. 100. My method of procedure was to see the employers in the first instance, and then to hunt up employes, and the only way I could induce the employes to give evidence was by promising not to divulge their names. I made myself safe as to facts by seeing a considerable number of them, and satisfying myself that their statements, which were made independently of each other, agreed in all material respects. 101. I did not find myself at all misled : in the main the statements were mutually corroborative, and I was unable to detect any misstatements or exaggerations on the part of those who were the first and the only voluntary witnesses. 102. I have no doubt that the state of things described in the articles was brought about by excessive and reckless competition. In using the term "reckless" Ido not mean to suggest that the employers were at all careless of their own interests, but that they seemed reckless as to whether their employes could live honestly at all on the wages paid to them. 103. I found a reduction of wages occasionally to result from the competition of outsiders to obtain casual work. 104. My observations were confined mainly to clothing- and shirt-factories. 105. I have known girls in factories to take work home to finish, and in making my inquiries when visiting their homes I found them at work at it. They never complained of having to do this, but seemed glad to get it to do, and without it, at that time, they could earn but very little. 106. In some cases, I think the girls I saw working at their homes were fit to be in the hospital. In a great number of cases, however, this class of work was done by girls who preferred it to going to service, who merely wanted to earn a few shillings, and preferred to do this to earning a reasonable salary as domestic servants ; and when this class of girls come into competition with those who were obliged to earn their own living, it is unfortunate for the latter. 107. I have been informed, however, of cases in domestic service where things have happened as cruel as anything in connection with factories. 108. The opinion has been expressed that the low rate of wages resulted from the desire of the public to obtain cheap goods. I hold an entirely different opinion. The people who make a profit out of a low rate of wage are the only people who are to blame. It is absurd to suppose that paying l|d. or 2d. less for a shirt would be any inducement to the retail purchaser; the retailer who sells but a few dozen per week has but little more interest : but to those who give out a hundred dozen or so at a time the difference is very considerable.

Tuesday, 11th February, 1890. Miss Harriet Morrison examined. 109. lam Vice-president of the Tailoresses' Union. I know the object of the Commission. I know the stocking and hosiery branch. I corroborate the evidence of Mr. Spragg. lam a tailoress. Hitherto I have been working in one of the shops of Wood, Scott, and Co.; previous to that, along with my brother—a master tailor —in the firm of Leslie, Lane, and Dobie. I was working on piecework in the factory for a short time. There were other females employed in the shop—about six in Wood, Scott, and Co.'s, and nine or ten in Leslie, Lane, and Dobie's. That is a factory under the Employment of Females Act. My wages were £1 ss. a week in the latter. I have nothing to complain of. The wages range from ss. a week for apprentices, to £1 7s. 6d. in Leslie, Lane, and Dobie's. In Wood, Scott, and Co.'s, from ss. to £1 15s. There were about six girls apprentices in Leslie, Lane, and Dobie's. Their ages were from fourteen upwards. They worked from 8.30 to 5.30 —an hour for meals. The Act was complied with. The apprentices were not taken on without payment, so far as I know r . There was every convenience and plenty of room. We went home for our meals Because we lived near enough. We had no complaints to make, so far as I remember. This was about three or four years ago. Since then I have been working for other firms. The wages have decreased since then at Wood, Scott, and Co.'s. The conditions were somewhat similar to Leslie, Lane, and Dobie's. We had no complaints to make. Since then I have been Secretary to the Tailoresses' Union. I am not working now at my trade. I was working for some time at Duthie Bros.', and the circumstances were somewhat similar, with one exception, but I do not think it is proper to bring it up here.

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110. I have never worked at piecework except for a short time, when I worked at one of the factories. They worked overtime in the factories in order to make a bare living. Some work in their meal-hours. They worked at home till about 12 o'clock at night. 111. Working ordinary hours in the factory, the girls earn 2s. 6d. per day, take the average all through. When they take work home, perhaps they could make an extra shilling. Including both day and night work, they could earn 3s. 4d., not including Saturday. This was previous to the establishment of the Union. It has stopped entirely the taking of work home. Since the formation of the Union I have made it my business to inquire strictly, and keep a very strict watch. I have others to watch too, for me, with the exception of one or two instances which have been done away with since. 112. The tendency of the wages before the establishment of the Union was always downward. Since the establishment of the Union the workers are enabled to make a fair wage—about 19s.— which is about the average for the other factories. This applies to young women between the ages of sixteen and thirty. Some few make a larger wage, but they overwork themselves. I have known many cases of illness through this overwork. This is in mole machining. Both piecework and wages obtain in the factories, and the overwork is among the pieceworkers. 113. The sanitation is good—nothing to complain of. No complaints have come to me with reference to ventilation. 114. I have not officially visited the factories. There is only one factory in which the manager objects to my visiting his establishment; but Ido not think his employer objects. It is part of my duty as Secretary to the Union to visit these places. 115. I know both past and present about the stocking-makers and the hosiery. I know many cases where the girls have been overworked and illness brought on by it. 116. The factory-hours are regular—eight hours. The hands are obliged to take work home in order to make a living. For instance, their average wage in the hosiery branch —that is, a fair worker—is about 9s. a week, working very hard in the regular hours. The girls have to take work home in order to supplement their small income. About ss. is the minimum. . 117. In my opinion it is the reckless competition of the manufacturers that has brought down the wages so low. Out of these wages all breakages in connection with the machines have to be paid. One case is before me —it is not an extreme case —a salary of Bs. 6d., and Is. 3d. is taken from that amount. The average amount is 9d. to Is. that is deducted from the salary. I will supply the Commission with a list of the wages paid to the workers in the factories. ■ 118. An average worker could make 9s. before the log was formed; an average worker can earn 14s. to 15s. a week now. The workers are not satisfied with this. 119. I estimate that a girl's board costs 13s. to 14s. 120. Before the Union a girl had to pay 10s. and give a fortnight's work to learn the machine. It would take her a month to earn 10s. They would get on better after that. 121. There is no lack of girls applying for employment. 122. There are several small factories not joined the Union yet. Ido not know the reason why. 123. I can give you a list of all the factories, with the number of persons that are employed, approximately. 124. The Union prohibits the taking-home of work. Supposing a widow could not attend during the day, the Union would favourably consider her application ; but no more than a day's work would be given her. If more than a day's work were given it might tend to sweating. 125. The log and Union have remedied most of the evils, except in the hosiery branch. The log wants to be revised in that respect. 126. One difficulty I find is that numbers of persons who are in the shirt trade go to retail shops and offer to make shirts at a lesser rate than the manufacturers get from the warehousemen, and the consequence is that the latter are crippled. It wants to be nipped in the bud. Ido not know how the Union can deal with it. 127. All the factories are not registered. It has not been considered by the Union, but I have thought the matter out, and I do not think the Union can interfere. 128. We have had complaints from the manufacturers that their work is crippled—that is, those that have joined the Union. 129. There are not many that have not joined the Union. lam speaking of the tailoresses, which includes the shirt, hosiers, and clothing. We have not had anything to do with the bagtrade. The bag-making is very unhealthy. lam making inquiries. I cannot give any information about it as yet. 130. This log is not in force outside of Dunedin. 131. Our Union does not embrace dressmakers. 132. It is a practice in the stocking trade for the apprentices to go for one year for nothing, after that they receive 2s. 6d. to ss. a week, and then they are allowed to leave and others take their place. A number in the room would be getting £1 ss. a week. The forewoman would get £3 155., the room being filled with a lot of apprentices. This has come under my own personal notice. 133. These apprentices that have left do what they can to earn a living. There are a considerable number of these apprentices that have been thrown out at the end of two years. I cannot say whether they are competent dressmakers. 134. The girls are not very anxious to enter domestic service. I believe the wages are pretty low in domestic service ; also, the girls wish to be near their homes, with their own people. Miss Elizabeth Burrows examined. 135. lam a stocking-knitter. lam working at home now. I worked for a number of years at Mrs. C.'s factory. About thirty worked there when I went there first; when I left, about

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fifteen. That is about seven months ago. Their ages were about fifteen to twenty-five. No men or boys. There was a pants machine used, but not regularly. 136. I was on piecework all the time. There was only one girl on set wages. I earned from 9s. to 10s. all the time—that is, taking the breakages out of it. I was better than an ordinary worker. We mostly made socks at Is. 6d. a dozen. I could make a dozen and two or a dozen and four a day. We worked the regular hours—B to 5. Some girls took the work home—that is, to sew the toes. They received 2s. a dozen for sewing the toes. That was the average rate in the town at that time. The rate of wages was higher at the beginning : first it was 2s. 3d. a dozen, then 25., then Is. 9d., and when I left it was Is. 6d. 137. The reason was, that our employer did not get so much, so she could not pay us so much. Mrs. C. was getting contracts from the warehouses. 138. I never remember ever seeing the Factory Inspector in our room. We worked in a very large room, and good ventilation, and ali the necessary conveniences. I had no complaint to make at all. 139. There was often illness among the girls from working too hard. The general health was affected. 140. The machine was worked with the right hand. 141. Out of our salary we had to pay breakages, which would average from 9d. to Is. a week for the whole year. I was very constantly employed. 142. I could not earn enough; that is why I left. 143. I have got a machine of my own at home. I am working for Mr. Jamieson, in the Octagon. lam getting 2s. 3d. a dozen. I have to provide my own winders. 144. I am obliged to stick to the trade because I learnt it. 145. I have not seen them making the socks in the large factories. I like working at home better because I can work longer hours. I work twelve hours a day—from 6 till 6. I must make two dozen and finish them to make a living. 146. I am employed the whole year through. 147. The machines cost £9 10s. It has cost me 10s. in seven months. Mrs. B. examined. 148. I am a widow. I was a machinist for over two years, working at a clothing-factory. Ever since my husband died I have had to work, on and off. I worked in the same way for years before I was married. After working for some years I bought a machine and took work in different places. Altogether I have worked as a machinist for about eight years—partly before I was married and partly since my husband's death. I worked at home for Mrs. Mayer, and a good deal for Mrs. Wilson. The work was in making shirts and flannels. When I worked at home, before I was married —fully four years ago—l had a little girl that worked for me. 149. I took the work from two persons, whose names I have mentioned. The price for shirts was 4s. Bd., another 2s. 10d., and another Is. 9d. or Is. lOd. per dozen. For Crimean shirts I got 4s. Bd., but I believe that was for finishing and all. Single-seam shirts were 2s. 10d., and the youths' Is. 9d. or Is. lOd. for machining alone. I have done no shirts since that time. 150. About six months after the death of my husband, which occurred about two years ago, I worked for Mr. Moore, who keeps a knitting-factory in Walker Street. I took the work, which consisted of machining and finishing knitted pants, home with me. For the pants I first got 7s. a dozen, and some time afterwards I made them for 6s. 6d., though there was more work in finishing the bottoms of the pants than in doing the others. 151. I kept a little girl to do the hand-sewing on the top of the pants. That was work that would not pay any one who wanted to earn money. My sister helped me sometimes, and I also had a girl aged twenty-nine working with me. To the little girl who did the hand-sewing I first gave 4s. a week, and then ss. a little later on. She had to feed herself, and lived with her mother, who had a family of eight in Cannongate. 152. I did not let out work otherwise. Mr. Moore got the work from the warehouse and sublet it to me. 153. It would be hard to say what hours we worked, but the little girl, who was about fourteen years of age, worked the hours. 154. I have started work at half-past 6 in the morning, and worked till all hours. 155. The most we could earn on guernseys was 2s. 3d. a day till dinner-time. I got 4£d. each for guernseys, and would not do one in less than an hour and three-quarters. By " the lot " I meant myself, Miss 8., and the little girl; my sister, who kept house, working also occasionally. 156. We began work at from half-past 6 to 7 o'clock in the morning, and had intervals for meals. If we were not busy we would take most of the hour, and if we were busy we would take a quarter of an hour, or return to work at once. The girl had her hour ; she went home to her lunch. We went on working then till 5 o'clock; then would have tea, and always worked an hour or two after—sometimes till 10 and after. 157. Working eight hours a day I should not have earned 12s. a week. If I earned more it was by working almost double time. 158. The cost of living to myself would not be less than 10s. a week ; including clothing and rent it would cost me 15s. Ido not think a single woman living in lodgings could live on less than 10s. or 15s. a week, and ss. a week would not more than keep her in clothes and boots. I cannot speak positively on that point, as I have never lived alone or with strangers. 159. I have not been working since the Union started. I told Mr. Moore that unless I had the pants I could not earn food. He said he could not get pants, but would try to give me guernseys. I said if I got 6d. for them I could not earn wages. I had to give the guernseys up, and they sent for what I had unfinished, as they could do them in the factory at 4Jd. by having little girls to do them ; so I have not had any since.

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160. Ido not know what Mr. Moore got for the guernseys. When I told him they would not pay he said if I did not take one line of goods I could not get the other. I had to take the guernseys in order to get the pants. He said he could not possibly give more. 161. It did not cost much for the wear and tear of the machine, as I seldom broke a needle. One shilling a month would cover the wear and tear of the machine. 162. To have made 12s. a week during factory-hours I should have required pants alone. In an hour and a half I could make a pair of pants all through : that means seaming them by hand, machining and finishing them, and pressing them. For that I received 6£d. each. I have always been considered above the average as a machinist, and quick at work. 163. I got pretty constant employment, and would make 15s. 6d. a week, working about twelve hours per day. If I had not employed the child to do some of the work I could not have made that amount. 164. During the eighteen months I was at this work I did not suffer from ill-health of any consequence. When I have felt ill I have more or less blamed the sewing-machine for it, and so did Dr. Brown ; but I have only had him to see me twice since I had the work. I blamed the machine for the pain in my side, and for indigestion. lam not troubled with indigestion when Ido not do that sort of work. I used to be troubled with the nerves till two or three months ago. I used to be in that condition I could not hold a book in my hand; but I have been away from the machine and from Dunedin for three months. Miss D. examined. 165. lam a knitting-machinist, and work for Mr. Laidlaw. Before the Union was formed I worked for Mr. Moore. I worked for him for three years, and up to a time shortly after the Union was formed. 166. In consequence of the Union Mr. Moore gave me three months' holiday. 167. I was working piecework in the factory, and there were sometimes thirty girls or women working in Mr. Moore's factory. Some of them seemed rather less than fourteen years of age. There was one girl who worked for half-days, because she was under fourteen. Six were fourteen, and a lot were fifteen, sixteen, and eighteen years of age. 168. It was all knitting work, and I did different kinds, stockings and socks. 169. Mr. Moore was working for Messrs. Eoss and Glendinning principally, but he took work from different places—shops and private places, I think. 170. Ido not know what prices he got. For coarse socks of the kind I used to make most of we got Is. 6d. a dozen. Working very hard for eight hours I could make twenty pairs, but I could not keep that up every day. I took them home and sewed them, and got 4d. a dozen for that. If I had not taken the socks home I should have done fully a pair less per day, because there was some finishing that was left over. 171. I have been twelve years at the work, and am an expert. I was nine years at Mrs. 's. There were no others could do as many as lon the same machine. The next to me made seventeen pairs a day. Some girls would not make a dozen pairs a day, and they were engaged at piecework the same as myself, and would get the same price. Some work was Is. 9d. a dozen : that was a different sort of work ; and the one-and-sixpenny work paid better than any of the other kinds—you would make more of them. That was before the formation of the Union. 172. In consequence of the formation of the Union and the part I took in it, I left Mr. Moore, and have since been working for Mr. Laidlaw. 173. I told Mr. Moore I could not wait three months, and he told me to get work elsewhere. We had to pay a little to Mr. Moore for breakages; but sometimes they paid for my breakages— they seemed to favour me in that. Sometimes large pieces of the machines would be broken, costing 7s. 6d. or 4s. to repair. Of needles, we were breaking one or two a day, and we paid Id. each for them at first, and afterwards we got four for 3d. Nearly every second day we would require threepennyworth of needles. Some machines were pretty old. Mr. Moore always " sorted " them as near as he could. 174. Sometimes, if I had a shilling to pay, Mrs. Moore would pay half of it. From 9d. to Is. a week would pay for the breakage of needles. At Mrs. 's many a time the money for breakage of needles was deducted from my wages, but not at Moore's. I was there paid my wages in full, and I paid for the needles that were broken. I had a bad machin?, at Mrs. 's, and in one fortnight, during which I earned a pound, there was 2s. kept out of it for breakages. 175. Mr. Laidlaw paid me 3d. a dozen more than I had at Moore's. Before the Union began Mr. Laidlaw paid me Is. 9d. for socks instead of Is. 6d. He gave me Is. 9d. a dozen before the log came out for what I had been paid Is. 6d. 176. There are about thirty working in Mr. Laidlaw's factory. All do not do piecework: there are two winders and one presser on wages, and I think one other. All the rest are on piecework. 177. The factory is a pretty large room : there are six windows in it, and it is well ventilated. No complaint is to be made as to the sanitary arrangements. It is very much better than Mr. Moore's. I did not complain of the other places. I lived near, and went home to dinner; but those who stayed there were not at all comfortable in the winter time—they had to stay in the yard, or passage, or packing-room, as they are not allowed to be in the workroom during dinner-hour. 178. I do not think I have seen the Inspector of Factories at Mr. Moore's or at Mr. Laidlaw's. I never heard of him being there, but he may have been. 179. Ido not know what steps are taken to ascertain the ages of the workers. A girl is supposed to be fourteen when she comes to work, and I think they take her word for it. 180. I have known girls about fourteen at Moore's.

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181. Mr. Moore was sometimes for the Union and sometimes he was not. He said if the Union did not agree with his log he would not pay a penny more —he would rather close the place than pay more; but when the Union log came out he soon took his own log down. The Union's log is posted up in Mr. Laidlaw's factory. 182. My head has never been affected by working. I have been pretty healthy all the time. I have often had a holiday, and have stayed away, but was never seriously ill. 183. My eyesight was bad a year ago last November, and I went to my sister at Christchurch for six weeks. I think that was because of night-work. I was working at night then. We do not get any night-work now. 184. I have been away for a month; but before that I was making 14s. a week. That was during the last fortnight I was at Laidlaw's. There was no overtime. That was under the new log. 185. Ido not feel it is any hardship not to be allowed to take work home. I make as much now as I did before when I took work home, and I used then to be very tired. I think I have benefited much by the Union, and have no complaint to make because of the Union having limited our hours. Mrs. E. examined. 186. lam a shirt and mantle manufacturer, and at present employ thirty hands. I employ sometimes more and sometimes less—it depends on the season : the average is thirty. 187. I employ girls, and the youngest of them is fifteen. I employ them on piecework principally, but I have one or two on weekly wages. My daughter assists me in superintending the work. 188. I have eight girls employed on weekly wages, ranging from ss. to £1 4s. The one at ss. is a little message-girl, who also does little odd jobs. Ido not take apprentices. I know nothing in our branch of business of taking girls at low rates of wages to learn the business. 189. We have three large rooms. 190. We have had visits of the Inspector, but not since I have been in my present place of business —that is, twelve months since. I think I have only seen the Inspector twice during six years. I believe the Inspector comes round when our work-room is closed. The room is always closed at the proper time, so he cannot get in. As a rule employes leave the workrooms at 6 p.m. : but we start at half-past 8, take half an hour for dinner, and leave off at 5 p.m.; so that our rooms are closed an hour before workrooms generally are. 191. We work eight hours a day and conform to the terms of the Factories Act. We never work the girls overtime; we are not allowed to do so by the Act. 192. Most of the girls live some distance away and do not go home to dinner, but take half an hour for dinner and make a cup of tea in the work-room. They take their meals in the room where the pressing is done, as a rule. During lunch-time there is no work done there, and they can use it. We have large, well-ventilated rooms; and three work in the pressing-room. 193. There have been no complaints by the Factory Inspector at any time since I have been in business, now ten years. 194. I pay my employes according to the Union log. Before the present log came into force the prices varied, and were at one time very low. I will furnish you with a list of prices paid before the log and paid since. 195. I allow no work to be taken home. Before the log came in I did sometimes allow the finishers to take a little work home. 196. Sometimes girls have stayed ten minutes to finish a garment, but never beyond that. 197. The girl who receives ss. a week is about fifteen years old, and was fourteen years when she started. We have no method of ascertaining ages beyond asking the parents. I have had mothers come to me with girls I am sure were under fourteen, but I have not engaged them. Girls have been brought to me who, I believe, were not twelve. Ido not require the production of a certificate of birth; one can always judge from appearance. 198. I have never thought it necessary they should produce medical certificates as to their state of health. I think that my own judgment is sufficient. Have had very little sickness amongst the workers. As a rule they are healthy—only a day or two away for a headache or sore throat— never for any other sickness. 199. I think the arrangements of the Union with regard to the log are very good. lam quite satisfied with it. I think the consequence of the Union is that business is on a much better footing both as regards those who give work out and those who do it. Things are considerably better than twelve months ago, when we had an agitation first about the prices. 200. The difficulty we have to contend with is with respect to people trying to bring down the prices—persons going and offering to do the work at lower rates. These are people who work on a small scale—doing work spasmodically, as it were—taking it now and again; we hardly call them manufacturers. 201. Those are the people I anticipate will break down the log-prices that we are paying. I have thought over it in every form, and I really do not see how we can meet this difficulty unless the shopkeepers guarantee they will not pay less than certain prices ; and I do not see how that can be done. 202. If all factories were registered and the law made it illegal to give work to any except registered factories, Ido not know that that would meet the difficulty. I really do not know how that would act. Supposing, for instance, a woman started and had three or four daughters : she would want employment, and might work at any price, because she would have to pay no money out in wages—the iog would not apply to her. Any one who had not to pay the Union prices for labour might still have a registered factory, take work at low rates, and so reduce the prices.

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203. I will tell how the prices first came down. It was in consequence of these workers who could only undertake small lots going round and offering to do shirts or garments at lower prices— considerably lower than we could at the rates we were paying our workpeople. Then the warehousemen who have these people's lists of prices would show them to us and tell us that people had been offering to do the work at those prices. They would not tell us that the woman who had offered at such prices could perhaps only do a dozen a week; by that means our prices were brought down. How could we guard against that? I do not think they said those prices had been offered without people offering to work at those rates. I think people did offer, but we discovered afterwards that they were people who could not do any quantity—who could not turn out one hundred or two hundred dozen a week, as we might and would be expected to do; and they traded upon that. 204. I think there are more people who apply for work in this manner than you imagine. I do not complain of these people having work—there is plenty for all; but it is the effect on the prices, the bringing prices down by this method of competition, that I complain of. There is plenty of work for all these people, and they could get a fair price for it if they would only make a stand ; but if they offer to do it for less, it is human nature for people to get work done for as little as they possibly can. 205. We had not the Union before, and unfortunately the manufacturers did not know each other—we had never met. When the agitation about prices first commenced we thought it advisable in our own interests to meet and to talk over matters a little, and then we found out how we had been cheated in this respect. 206. I was told by a very large firm in this town that another manufacturer had offered to do certain work at 6d. a dozen less than my price, and I then made the same reduction. That statement was not true, and I afterwards had the manufacturer and the person who told me that face to face, but did not recover the former price till the Union was formed. 207. I was shown the other day that a manufacturer had offered to do one line of shirts at Is., and another line at Is. 9d. a dozen less. That offer was made to a wholesale house. I do not think the manufacturer is connected with the Union. Miss Morrison (the Vice-president of the Union) went to her about it. 208. I have my daughter employed in the factory. I have fourteen machines. They are not driven by power. Ido not charge my employes for breakages; no girl in my employment has ever paid for breakages. The breakages amount to something considerable, and the better the worker the less the breakages. 209. We reckon on an average the wear and tear and breakage of a machine costs 3s. a week. That includes interest on cost. When machines have been worn for two or three years they are of no further use to us ; we sell them for whatever they will fetch, getting 10s. or 15s. for a machine which when new cost us £8, £9, or £10. A machinist working at piecework would not take a machine unless it was a very good one, and it does not pay to let any one on week-work use a bad machine. It would not pay us to keep machines that did not work well. 210. On an average a good machinist twelve months ago did not earn more than 18s. a week, and now the average for a good machinist would be about £1 3s. a week. The less skilful workers used to earn 9s. or 10s., and now they earn 12s. or 15s. per week. 211. Ido not change my workers often. Most of them have learnt their business with me. Most of the girls have been with me six years. 212. I do not find the working of machines injurious to the health of the girls ; they are very healthy. A good many of my girls have left me to get married. Most of these live away from Dunedin; but two were in Dunedin with their children lately, and were looking very well, so that machining does not seem to have done them any harm. 213. I know the homes of some of my girls. The girls are very respectable, and have comfortable homes. lam very particular about the girls I take. My daughter has to be with them, and I do not take girls unless I know something about them, or some of the girls in the room know them. For the most part my girls live with their parents. I do not know of a girl in my room who does not live at home. We keep the log in the factory, but do not put up the ages of the girls. Ido not think it is necessary. It has never been mentioned. 214. I sent notice of the existence of my factory to the Eesident Magistrate in terms of the Act. 215. I think girls could get such good board and lodging as they want with working-people for 10s. to 12s. a week. Mrs. F. examined. 216. lam a shirt-manufacturer. I have heard Mrs. E.s evidence, and can corroborate it in every respect. 217. I have eighteen persons in my employment, but the number fluctuates according to the season. 218. The circumstances of my case agree with those of Mrs. E. We work exactly on the same terms, only she has more workers than I have, and I do not make mantles. 219. I have noticed no ill effects on the workers in my factory. I think they are healthy. I know the homes of all my workers except two, and can corroborate what Mrs. E. has said. 220. Our girls do not like our place to be called a factory, and were quite insulted when the word was put up on the wall. They think it is a " Young Ladies' Shirt-making Establishment." 221. Last Saturday the Inspector came to my establishment for the first time, and asked me to put up the hours of working. We have been working for ten years. Miss G. examined. 222. I am a stocking-knitter at Mr. Cuthel's, working under the Tailoresses' Union log. 2—H. 5.

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223. 1 have been working there about three months, but about four years in the trade. 224. Before that I was at Mr. Moore's for about two years. 225. I got ss. a week at first for about two weeks, rising up gradually to 15s. until just before I left, when they wanted to lower the wage. They said the work was being cut down owing to the warehousemen. I would not stop at 12s. 226. Then I went to Mr. Laidlaw's. I was about six or eight months there. 227. I was at piecework. The price was Is. 7d. to Is. 2d. a dozen socks, not finished at the toes. Ido not finish them myself. 228. I do not take work home from this place. 229. I took home work from Moore's. For a short time I worked piecework, the price being 2s. 3d. a dozen stockings. 230. Some days I could make eighteen pairs of stockings. I could make about 15s. a week, working eight hours and taking home and toeing at night. 231. At Mr. Laidlaw's I could earn 17s. a week. I was there about eighteen months. I left because the work did not suit me. 232. Then I went to the Eoslyn mills. It was a different machine here, because I stood at the machine ; at Laidlaw's I sat. I worked at piecework, and took home work. I made £1 2s. 6d. a week, and was there for about four or five months. 233. I left because I broke the machine. I thought it was hard. 234. I have heard of others being sent away from other factories for similar reasons. 235. I went to Mr. Moore's afterwards. I stopped till the Union—about three months. I was at piecework. I earned about 10s. a week on the average, at stockings. We used to get 2s. 3d. a dozen for seventy-two fine stockings—that is, at Moore's. 236. I made up the log for the Griswold machine. Mr. Moore heard I was on the committee of the Union, and he dismissed me. He said to me, "If you take my advice you will leave the Union, and not bother with it." I said, " No, Mr. Moore ; I have joined the Union, and am not going to leave it." He said, "I am going to put up a log of my own, and if those who belong to the Union do not leave it before Saturday I will turn them out." He told me there was no wool for me, and he paid me off. 237. I believe that another hand was dismissed for the same reason. 238. I am living with my parents. 239. I do not make enough to keep me. 240. I am eighteen years old. 241. Mr. Cuthel employs about fifteen hands. 242. There is plenty of room, and well ventilated, and all the necessary conveniences about the place are ample. 243. I go home for my dinner, but there is a dining-room for those that do not go home. 244. I am comfortable and have no complaint to make. John Andrew Millar examined. 245. I am a master mariner, and am Secretary of the Seamen's Union and of the Tailoresses' Union. I have made some inquiries as to the relations between the working-classes and their employers, and am pretty well acquainted with them. 246. I think one of the principal questions is the question of boy-labour throughout the colony. I think that is a very serious question indeed. The majority of businesses and trades are overrun with boys; in fact, in New Zealand the proportion of boys employed is larger than in any other of the Australasian Colonies. 247. I am pretty well acquainted with the other colonies—from correspondence, and in one way and the other. lam in regular correspondence with the trades. 248. I can mention two places here which to my own knowledge employ a great number of boys. Eeid and Gray, agricultural-implement makers, have about 60 per cent, of boys, lam given to understand. Sparrow's, the iron-founder's, is another place that has a very large proportion of boys. More than 50 per cent, are boys there. I have no opportunity of knowing exactly the number of hands employed, but I can see them going in and coming out of the place. 249. I believe the jam-factories and the confectionery-works are pretty well all run with boys and girls. 250. The matter has been under my notice through the various societies. Societies, where there are organized bodies, deal with these matters ; they have a regular fixed proportion of boys to men. 251. Some trades, such as riveters, require a boy to a man. That is easily understood, because when two men nvf riveting one boy is at the forge and another carrying the rivets. That particular trade requires a boy to a man. 252. Bootmakers, again, limit the number to one boy to three men, which is about the proportion required to keep the supply up with the demand. 253. The over-employment of boys only exists in trades where there is no union. 254. Agricultural-implement makers could not be put down as engineers, and they are not boilermakers; they could not come under either of those headings, and there are trades-unions for those particular bodies, while there is none for agricultural-implement makers. There is a union formed amongst the moulders, but that only embraces a part of the trade. The other factories— Kincaid and others—are pretty much the same to a greater or less extent. I have only mentioned those two places as samples ; there are others equally bad. 255. The whole tendency of the thing is to get boys or youngsters, work them for four or five years—till they get £1 a week and become fair mechanics—and then, if they want journeymen's wages they are told they are not required.

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256. The amount of trade in Dunedin—in fact, in New Zealand—is limited, and the consequence is that lads and young men have to leave the colony to get employment, and then other boys are taken on in their places. 257. If so many boys were not employed, then men would earn enough to keep their sons at home, and would probably be able to earn sufficient to send their boys out into the country instead of sending them to work in the towns earlier than they could wish. 258. There is now no chance of a man saving enough to buy land and to put his boy on it; and the only prospect the boy has is 15s. a week for his food for the rest of his lifetime. 259. I complain of the employment of boys because of its effect upon the wages of the workmen : it does away with the employment of the legitimate breadwinner of the family—the father. 260. I have known it to be the cause of so many boys and girls having to go to work at the early age they do. The father cannot get employment, and the children must go at any wage they can get. The fathers are thrown out of work, and for self-preservation the children have to go to work at an earlier age than they ought to. 261. The Typographical Association has had many meetings and considerable trouble in connection with the question of boy-labour. I believe it is only two years ago that they managed to regulate the Government Printing Office in this respect. That office was overrun with boylabour till they brought it before the House. They regulated that, but they have not been able to regulate the rest of the places yet. 262. The evil exists to a certain extent in connection with the Government workshops, but perhaps not to such an extent as it does in other places. 263. Taking the trades on an average throughout, I should say that one boy to three men is sufficient, and at present it is nearer three boys to one man, so that that throws a large proportion of men out of work. 264. There are not so many artisans out of work here because large numbers left for New South Wales and Victoria a year or two ago, and they have not returned, and this the statistics of the various trades-unions show. 265. In some factories they conform to the eight-hours system ; in others they do not. They are supposed to do so, but as a matter of fact they work before and after. 2(Hi. I do not think the number of Inspectors sufficient to see the factories properly supervised. From my own knowledge, and from what has been told me, I should say it is a rare thing for the Inspector to be seen in a factory at all. 2(>7. I have had brought under my notice cases where letters have been written to an Inspector, pointing out certain things, and very often not the slightest notice has been taken of them. I think the number of Inspectors should be increased; that more are required for Dunedin, because the factories are increasing every month. You may say the factories are small, but they come under the Act, and should be under the supervision of the Inspector. 268. I have been told the Inspector is seldom seen in a factory. If he did look after them he would find things done that would not be done if there was proper inspection. It is possible he is looking after them in a quiet way without being seen visiting the factories. Some letters sent to him, I am told, have not been replied to. 269. We have pretty well regulated the employment of girls in clothing-factories. We only allow one apprentice to five journeywomen. Previously there was a considerable number more. 270. The principal cause of the great employment of boys here as compared with other countries is the want of trades-unions, and what lies at the bottom of it is competition between the employers. 271. I do not know of much machinery that a boy can attend to. I cannot say that the multiplication of machinery enables youths to do what formerly was done by men. Ido not know of any machinery that a youth could look after as well as a man. 272. The introduction of labour-saving machinery is constantly throwing numbers out of employment, and the only way to meet that in future will be to reduce the hours of labour. The more machinery is brought in the less work is there for men to do. 273. I think the workman has a vested interest against the introduction of machinery, because it practically deprives him of his means of livelihood. The question has been considered at a meeting of representatives of various unions. We cannot have anything to say against the introduction of machinery ; but if it is to go on at the same rate, throwing men out of employment, then we will have to curtail the hours of labour so that men shall receive employment. I mean curtail the hours of labour to fewer than eight. 274. As to arbitration, my idea is that a competent Judge should be appointed by the Government in the same way as the Judge of any Court, and that he should call evidence.from both sides. I mean a permanent Judge, who should be paid by the State for the settlement of these disputes ; because it is in the interests of the State that no disputes should exist. 1 would have this Judge assisted by three representatives of each side, who should call evidence, and the decision of the Judge should be binding on both parties for a certain time—say six months. If workmen refused to obey the Court, pressure would be brought to bear upon them by their societies. If this Court was recognised by all parties it would be the same as other Courts. Ido not mean that the decision of the Court should be binding for all time, but for six or twelve months. 275. Generally speaking, for Boards of Arbitration three are chosen by one side and three by the other, with an independent man as chairman. The feeling of the workmen is that there are four on the Board more or less in the interests of capital. A man may come as chairman who to all appearance is unbiassed, and may mean to do his best; but if his whole life has been passed in business or commercial circles, his interest and leaning must be more or less towards the class he has been mixed up with all his lifetime, though he may intend to give a fair decision. The permanent Judge should sit as chairman.

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276. I look upon the Trades Council as the Board of Conciliation. At present it has power to withdraw labour from all trades; but if there was a proper Board of Arbitration the Trades Council would simply act as a Board of Conciliation. The Council would be bound by the decision of the Arbitration Court. 277. lam decidedly in favour of Courts of Arbitration. No one desires to see a strike. Strikes are not to the interests of employed or employers. It is not the loss of money only, but a strike engenders bitter feelings that take years to abate. 278. My idea is that the greater the combination of trades-unions the less chance there is of strikes on either side, because of the great responsibility on both sides. Both sides would hesitate more about causing a strike of a body of, say, fifteen thousand men than they would if only five hundred were concerned. 279. I believe the shops should close early, and that the working-classes should support the early-closing movement. Eesolutions have been passed by several bodies affirming that their members would use all their influence in preventing shopping after 6 p.m. 280. The bulk of the working-men would be in favour of legislative interference to shorten the hours of employes in shops. The shop-assistants do not seem to be able to help themselves very much. It is possible if they formed a union something might be done in that way; but they are afraid, and cannot trust one another. 281. An Act declaring that no shop should be open after 6 p.m. would, I think, be unjust to some. I think so long as no man is allowed to keep an beyond a certain hour, that is as far as we can go. 282. The number of seamen who come ashore after nightfall to do their shopping is very small. An immense majority of the boats are sent away to sea from 5 to 6 p.m. So far as the coastal boats are concerned, which have the majority of seamen, 90 per cent, of them leave the wharves at from 5 to 6 p.m. in all ports ; and, as to the sailors on Home ships, that would make little difference, as they only get ss. on Saturday night. 283. The boats leave at 5 p.m., or soon after, so as to get the men to work night as well as day. Sailors work on an average fourteen or sixteen hours a day. They all work from 8 a.m. till 5 p.m. when in harbour. They may have come in from sea at 5 a.m. There has been one watch from 4to 8. As soon as they get into harbour all hands come on deck. By the time the ship is alongside it is past 7 o'clock. They go in to breakfast, and turn out to work from Bto 5. They go to sea, and one watch goes on from 6to 8, and another from Bto 12. The men who have been on the 4 o'clock morning watch go on till 12 at night, with perhaps an hour off. Sailors work from fourteen to sixteen hours a day, taking the watch at sea and the labour in harbour into account. 284. We cannot remedy this. The only suggestion is to enforce the carrying of a larger proportion of deck-hands, and to divide the men into three watches instead of into two ; but that would cripple the local companies as against the Home country, and so we are compelled to let it go. The firemen we have got down to eight hours per day strictly. 285. There is nothing in the suggestion that shops must be kept open for the convenience of seamen. 286. I think something should be done where there are female shop-assistants. They are kept long hours in some of the best shops, and the girls have to be on their feet all the time. There may be little or nothing for them to do at times, but they have to stand from 9 till 6. I cannot suggest a remedy so far as the hours are concerned, but I think they might give the female assistants chairs to sit on. 287. There is a Board of Arbitration in connection with the Tailoresses' Union, but its powers are nothing. I call it a farce as it is at present constituted. We originally wanted the decision of the Arbitration Committee to be binding on either side, but to this the manufacturers objected. They wanted our rules to be cut up, so that we should have no power, and then they were willing to allow this thing to be binding. I objected to the rules being cut up as they wanted—it would have been like drawing the teeth out of a dog; and they then declined having the Committee's decision binding. If we have a dispute they or we can refer it to the Committee ; but the Committee can only recommend. 288. With regard to holidays, which are to be paid for under the Employment of Females Act, from information received I believe the terms of the Act are not carried out. In Dunedin, I should say 20 per cent, in the clothing trades have weekly wages. This observation also applies to the shirt and hosiery businesses. 289. In most trades, overtime is paid time and a quarter and time and a half, but in many employments no difference is made for overtime. Storemen working from 8 o'clock one morning till 6 o'clock the next have a shilling an hour all the time—that is, for casual labour, carrying wheat, and so on. The storeman proper has a weekly wage which runs from £2 10s. to £3 10s., and for that he has to remain any hours he may be required. He has no allowance for overtime. and has to be there to superintend the work. 290. Ido not consider holidays are overdone. If I had my way, I would put a prohibitory rate upon keeping men at work on holidays; but provision should be made for exceptional eases, such as the breaking-down of machinery. 291. Unions which are sufficiently powerful inquire into every case where a man is dismissed, and, if it is justifiable, compel his being taken back again. 292. A union could not interfere in the case of a workman being dismissed for incompetency, but if a man was dismissed for refusing to work on a holiday I think that would be a union question. 293. Unions wish to allow freedom of contract, as far as possible, between employer and employed. W T e are not sufficiently educated to protect the unfortunate workman who is not a clever workman.

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294. Statements that have been made about the Seamen's Union refusing to admit seamen to membership are untrue. Our Union admits any man who has a colonial certificate of discharge ; furthermore, it admits any native of the colonies upon certificate of birth, and it admits any bona fide seaman who has been resident in the colonies for two years. 295. The reason for compelling the production of a colonial discharge is, that if we did not insist upon that men in Home boats would desert in any number, because wages are higher here than at Home. We had to enforce that rule as to men joining the Union, to prevent men deserting Home ships. Then, to give a chance to any man who may have deserted, he can join the Union after working ashore for two years. 296. The seamen have not deteriorated in consequence of the Union. Ask the opinion of their employers as to that. The seamen of New Zealand will be admitted to be the finest body of men in the Australasian Colonies. 297. I think the Inspector of Factories should be also Sanitary Inspector. 297 a. In my opinion a working-man and his wife, with a family of three children, could not live under £2 per week. If the question is what they could actually exist upon, it would be about £1 per week. The amount to keep such a family in comfort, and to leave them at the end of the year in a better position, would be £2 a week —to live in town. lam taking the children to be young—from two to twelve years. I should estimate it at —house-rent, 10s.; household expenses, £1 55.; balance, ss. Ido not think 10s. is too much to put down for rent. I find the average rent is from 7s. 6d. to 12s. There are casual hands that make £4 one week, and perhaps the next week Is. You might get a four-roomed cottage for from Bs. to 10s. a week. 298. So far as New Zealand is concerned, it is only within twelve months that trades-unionism has made a start at all. There were three or four unions, but they had gradually died out; but things have lately taken a start. Since the big London dock-strike has opened men's eyes to the necessity of trying to protect themselves there has been a regular epidemic of trades-unions throughout the colony. 299. It might be desirable that the Government should establish bureaux of statistics, showing rates of wages and cost of living in the various centres of the colony. That might have advantages. 300. In Victoria wages are pretty well established, and in some trades they are higher there than here. That is due to trades-unions, which are better established there, for there tradesunionism is almost perfect. 301. Since the establishment of the Tailoresses' Union, in that trade wages have increased from 12i to 20 per cent., and the rates are fixed for twelve months. Neither side can revise them till next September. Still they are a long way below what was paid five years ago. 302. The effect of reducing the proportion of boys to men employed would be to slightly increase the cost to the purchaser. It would not affect the output, but might slightly increase the cost of agricultural implements. I do not think the imported article could come into competition with the locally-made; they are not so closely in contact in that particular branch. In some branches the tariff barely covers it, there being a very fine line between the cost of what is manufactured and what is imported. Interfering with the excessive employment of boy-labour would not stop the agricultural-implement trade. The importation might increase in some trades, and so do away with the employment of some hands. It would injure some trades, and what would follow would be the loss of employment by a certain number of hands.

Thursday, 13th February, 1890. Thomas Fearnley (late Tram-conductor on the City and Suburban Tramways) examined. 303. I was four months in the tram employment. The regular hours were eight hours—from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. for one week, then for next week from 4 p.m. till 11 p.m. Wages were £1 7s. 6d. a week. lam a single man. When we had to work overtime, which was on holiday occasions, I had 6d. an hour extra. There was no time allowed for meals. I went without food. The overtime was sometimes four, five, or six hours per day. In addition to £1 7s. 6d. a week, I had an allowance of 3d. in the pound on the money I collected. The average wages I received would be about £1 10s. a week. On the Jubilee of the colony—l think the 29th of January—l started work at 7.25 a.m. I was not relieved till 9 p.m. During that time I had no food, and had no chance of getting any. On going up to the office at 9 p.m. I was told in the usual way that I had to go on at 10 the same night, and take a car to the Leith and back, in which easel should have had to walk to my home in Caversham, not reaching it till half-past 12 or 1. My duties would have begun at 7.25 next morning, as usual. I refused, as I was completely knocked up. In consequence, the next morning I was fined 2s. 6d. In addition I was charged with being 2s. short, which was deducted from my wages, and Is. for not putting advertisement-board on car. On the day mentioned I had a double car, and was very hard-worked, for I took £6. I had to work seven days a week, and had only one Sunday off in ten. The average number carried on holidays is seventy per trip. Mr. Ukakxley, Tram-conductor, recalled. 304. The wages are not less than £1 7s. Several of the conductors get considerably less on the other trams. 305. The clerks do not work on the tramways when there is a busy day. 306. I got no extra pay for heavy days. 307. Yesterday being Cup day, three conductors worked all day from 7.30 till 9 and 10.30, and were not relieved for meals. 308. As regards fines, the public in general think the shareholders sanction this ; and I am able to say that such is not the case, for the only party responsible for these fines is the manager.

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Miss H. examined. 309. I am a sock-knitter. 310. lam working at Mr. Moore's, in Walker Street. I have been there about three years and six months. 311. I have been all the time at Moore's. 312. I began as a finisher at piecework, and got 4d. a dozen, and managed to make 9s. to 75., working eight hours in the factory and two hours at home. I was about nine months at this. Then I was put on the machine, and then at piecework. I got from Is. 6d. to Is. 9d. a dozen. I earned, when I was pretty expert, about 9s. 6d. to 10s. with night-work; but since the Union I have earned between lis. and 12s. without night-work. 313. I live with my parents. 314. Sometimes I am away from work because of ill-health. 315. The room we work in is very well ventilated, and the sanitary arrangements are all right. 316. I worked the machine with my hand. 317. I have never seen the Factory Inspector in our factory ; but I do not know- him. 318. There are about thirty hands, all women, in the factory—all in the one room. 319. There is a packing-room where the hands get their meals, but a good few go home for dinner. 320. There is a kettle of water put on for the girls to make cocoa for themselves. 321. The room is rather cold—there.is no fireplace. 322. I and my sister were dismissed two or three times at the beginning of the Union, but have since been reinstated. 323. I could not live without the help of my parents, and I am a skilled knitter—one of the best in the room. 324. They all live with their parents. 325. I have tried domestic service, but I had to leave because I was not strong enough. I w-as getting 7s. 6d. a week as an under-housemaid.

Friday, 14th February, 1890. Robert Slater examined. 326. lam President of the Otago Trades and Labour Council, just formed. lam to the Tailoresses' and Pressers' Union. 327. I am certain since the Union was formed the hands are in a more comfortable way than they were—both as regards wages and health are greatly improved. 328. I have known girls work into the morning. Now they can make more money in the regular hours than they could before the establishment of the Union. 329. At piecework the girls can make 13s. to £1 10s. per week easily. The reason there are so many differences in the wages earned is that some girls live in comfortable homes and do not care to apply themselves. 330. Two women are employed as pressers in Dunedin. It is work women ought not to do. It is not good for them. 331. We have no rule in the Union referring to it. I think there ought to be. 332. As regards sanitary arrangements, some of the factories are no better than they ought to be. 333. There is a factory in Eattray Street above a fish-shop. It is not very nice. 334. As regards closets, I think all the factories are well provided. 335. We have been in Morris's factory over two years, and have never heard or seen the Inspector. 336. Mr. Morris said the other day that he had never seen him inside the building once. 337. Boards of Arbitration should, in my opinion, consist of three persons not connected with trade, to whom should be referred matters upon which the Union could not agree with their employers. I think the question should not come up until the Union and the employers had been unable to agree. 338. I would not approve of Boards of Arbitration that would take the power of striking out of tiie hands of the Union. 339. 1 think the Board of Arbitration of the Tailoresses' Union work useless. 340. I wish to say that the employment of boy-labour had driven the best of our men out of the colony. 341. There are not many men out of work just now. 342. There are not many men going out of the country just now. 343. It is the chief talk amongst the Union men about men being replaced by boys in the various trades, especially in the implement-makers and iron trades. David Pinkerton examined. 344. I am a bootmaker by trade, and am president of the Bootmakers' Union and of the Tailoresses' Union. 345. Our trade is very well organized, and has a good Union. 346. All the factories belong to the Union. 347. There is no sweating in it. 348. The trouble is the crowding of boys in the trade. A little over four years ago there was no limit placed on the number of boys. We find too many working in the factories for their benefit and the benefit of others. We limit the number —one boy to three men. There are too many men in the trade.

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349. We have a log of prices. 1 will put it in. 350. Our work is all piecework. We do not allow weekly wages unless in the instruction of boys. 351. The Union stopped the taking-home of work. 352. The number of hours worked in the week is forty-eight. 353. The sanitary arrangements and ventilation are in good order. 354. Some employers try to evade the rules of the Union in the matter of boy-labour. 355. The proportion of women to men is one to two or one to three—depending on the class of work going through. 356. There is a separate closet for women. 357. All the factories are fairly well managed. 358. I am only officially connected with the Tailoresses' Union. 359. I helped to form the Anti-sweating Committee. 360. All the trades not organized suffer from too many boys being employed. They are injuring themselves and the men. 361. The boys learn nothing in the trade that will be of use to them. 362. I know of cases of young persons after working at some branch of a trade have been dismissed, and have to seek occupations entirely new to them. 363. The extensive employment of boys in the near past has had the effect of throwing the better tradesmen out of work, who have to seek work elsewhere. • 364. The employment of boys produces a bad article, and gives the colony a bad name. 365. Our complaint is that the Employment of Females Act is not enforced. 366. I thought the police were to blame for this; but since reading Mr. Hanson's evidence I do not think they are. 367. I have never seen the Inspector in the factory. 368. No factory would refuse to let him have admittance. 369. I have been seven years in factories, four of which was in Inglis's. 370. The employment of boys was largely due to the invention and introduction of machinery, without which boys could not have been so largely employed ; but it was also due to the desire to reduce wages. 371. I think it would be a good thing to publish in the papers those factories that kept the rules of the Union, and ask the public to patronise them. 372. The trades-unions are not so well managed in Victoria as they are in New Zealand. They are not so effective. Ido not know about the Boards of Conciliation. 373. I believe in the opinion expressed by Mr. Millar as to the appointment of a permanent Judge to act as arbitrator. 374. The wages received at piecework range from £1 15s. to £3 10s. a week. Any young man can earn £1 15s. a week. 375. The boys earn from 6s. to 15s. a week, according to the time they are in their apprenticeship. The Union insists on this. 376. No one man can make a whole boot who learns the trade in a factory. 377. There are only two or three shops working the old way. 378. There are in liiglis's about sixteen men benching and finishing, one cutting and pressing, one man cutting soles, and six or eight girls. 379. The wages of the machinist girls range from a few shillings up to £1 a week. They all have to serve an apprenticeship. 380. Early closing would be a benefit to working-men, and I would be in favour of a legal enactment closing all shops at 6 o'clock, except on Saturdays, when they might keep open till 8 o'clock. 381. Some pay their pieceworkers on different days. It all depends when the books are made up. 382. I know several cases where boys have been working very long hours. 383. Very few employers pay wages for holidays, in terms of clause 6 in the Employment of Females Act. 384. Some factories get out of paying the Christmas and New Year holidays by giving their hands a fortnight's holiday. A legal opinion was obtained, and it said there was no help for it. 385. I would suggest that unions should not be forced to go to arbitration in any case, but that they should do so only by agreement between the contending parties, and that the Arbitration Court should be presided over by a Judge appointed by the Government; such Court to be open to the Press and public. 386. No counsel should be allowed in Arbitration Courts, but each party should tell its own story, leaving the Court to decide on the facts, and the finding to be binding on both parties. 387. One reason amongst many for refusing to be forced to arbitration is that we might be called upon to submit matters affecting the existence of our Union—such as allowing the employment of non-union men. Mrs. J. examined. 388. I am a married woman, a bag-maker, working for , in Dunedin. 389. I have been working for some years, and for the same firm all the time. 390. I make three sorts of bags—calico bags—for oatmeal and flour. 391. Last year I used to get—for 71b. bags, Is. 6d. per gross; for 251b. bags, 25.; and for 501b. bags, 2s. 6d.; and find cotton. These are the prices per gross that we used to get. 392. Since then the price has been reduced 3d. a gross all round. 393. I work in my own house, and employ two assistants—sometimes four, but seldom so many unless lam busy. These are young people—girls from fifteen to eighteen. I give them work by the piece under me.

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394. I used to give them 9d. a gross, but now it is 7Ad. on the 251b. bags. I provide machines and cotton, and pay for breakages. 395. I was able to make previously £1 14s. or £1 15s. a week. Out of that I had to pay an expressman ss. a week, and 7s. 6d. to an extra hand for turning; and I had the rest to myself. 396. The machines have never broken down, and the needles last a long time. Cotton cost me 9s. or 9s. 6d. a week, but that had not to be taken out of the amount 1 mentioned; only the 7s. 6d. and the ss. come out of that amount. 397. I now make 18s. or £1 a week clear money, and previously I made, as I have said, £1 2s. 6d. 398. I have seen the Inspector in my house ; he has been there two or three times, but not until lately. He madenp complaints. The Inspector has not inspected my present premises, which I am about to leave, as the room is not suitable. 399. The little girl of fifteen makes 10s. (id. a week now; she used to make 12s.—that is, for five days and a half. The other girls would get about the same ; perhaps a few pence difference. 400. The price has been reduced on account of another firm taking prices down. When the price was reduced my employer told me that other firms were putting their prices down. 401. The bag-making is not always dusty ; sometimes it is clean work. 402. The express I pay for carries the goods both ways. I have to cut the bags out, and do everything. The material conies to me in bales. 403. One pound a week is not sufficient to keep me. My husband brings me something. lam not wholly dependent upon it. 404. There are a lot more bag-makers doing them for less than 1 am doing them for. 105. I complained to the warehouseman, and the answer was, he could not help it : 1 must compete with the others. Miss K. examined. 406. I am a shirt-machinist, and have worked at 's for three years. 407. I am at piecework, and earn from 17s. to 18s. 6d. 408. I live at home. 409. I have suffered in health from working the machine. It gives me headache aud general debility. Miss L. examined. 410. I am a shirt-machinist. 411. I work at Mr. 's. 412. I have worked for Mrs. a short time before that. Was working at wages—£l 4s. a week. 413. I have been five years with Mrs. , and was on weekly wages for some time, earning lbs. a week ; that was before the log. 414. I have no complaints to make, aud am content with my wages. 415. I am living at home with my parents. 416. The room I work in is very well ventilated. 117. I have not suffered at any time in consequence of the machine. Henry Eodda examined. 418. I am a bootmaker, and Secretary of the Bootmakers' Union, Dunedin. 419. I know more especially the benching, finishing, and clicking departments, which the Union has control over. 420. So far as apprentices and girls are concerned, we have no control other than controlling in the departments mentioned the proportion of boys to men. 421. I am working at Messrs. Sargood's. There would be about 140 men working in that factory ; about 45 women and boys make up the balance to 200. That is one boy to three men. 422. The finishing and benching is piecework ; but clicking —that is, cutting out the uppers —is done on weekly wages. 423. Those on weekly wages vary from £1 15s. to £2 15s.—that is according to the quality of leather they are cutting and their quickness as workmen. 424. The girls are machinists and fitters. They have solely to do with getting up the uppers. They make from 15s. to £1 ss. a week. Some might get about 125., but they advance after that. For those who are fair trade-girls that is the wage. 425. For boys' work there is one department of benching—that is, putting the uppers on to the soles; and the other department for boys is finishing the edges and bottoms of boots—generally a light sort of work. 426. The boys start at ss. per week, and in the last—that is, the fifth—year they finish off at from 15s. to £1 per week. Of course, that department lam not thoroughly conversant with. 427. After their five years, as a rule, the boys are continued in the factory as journeymen. It is not the exception for boys who have served their time in the factory to become journeymen and to continue to work there. 428. The factory I am working in I can speak favourably of. It is a new shop, and well ventilated. I have not seen a healthier workshop on this side of the line ; but some shops in this town are not fit to work in. 429. We scarcely ever hear of or see the Inspector in the factory. 430. lam acquainted with the Factory Act, but have not thoroughly studied it. I believe the Act is right enough if it was carried out. 431. I saw that the Inspector stated that he had no authority to go into a factory : if that is so the Act needs amendment, giving him power to go in. 432. At least in Sargood's I think things are conducted in a proper manner and according to the Act. There are proper and adequate sanitary arrangements.

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433. I am afraid that the men who form unions, feeling their power, are likely to become too arbitrary in their demands. Personally, I have argued for Boards of Conciliation. I believe that would be fair, and that workmen would lose nothing by having a Board of Arbitration, presided over by an unbiassed Judge. 434. I believe an Arbitration Board might be to the advantage of all concerned. It is quite possible for the balance of power to go from one side to the other, and to be abused, and I say that would do the workmen no good, because there are certain conditions under which trade can live, and if those conditions are not conserved, away the trade goes to some other town. 435. lam decidedly satisfied that the Union has done good. It has killed sweating. 436. I think the Union has done away with sweating by compelling the work to be done on the factory premises. There we have control over the men, and know what the hours of work are. 437. Neither the women nor the boys engaged in the boot-factories are within the Union, because they are not eligible by our rules. 438. The heavy sewing-machines in all the boot-factories I know of are looked after by men ; the women do the silk and light thread work. Mr. M. examined. 439. I have been four years connected with the trams, three of these years on the Caversham section. 440. I am a conductor. 441. I produce a table showing all the shifts for fourteen weeks, and I have worked on each one. 442. The average for the week is fifty-five hours, not including Sundays. 443. The wages are £1 10s. a week, and 3d. in the pound commission. 444. For Sunday-work they have got a special shift. I have been as long as thirteen weeks without getting a Sunday off. 445. The average of fines would be about 2s. a month, for alleged carelessness. 446. I am a single man. 447. I begin work at 7 o'clock, and get off at 4 o'clock in the evening, and no time for meals. This is on the long shift. 448. I get my meals on the car, and eat as I can. There are no meal-hours except during the long week, when we get one trip off for dinner. On Saturday we also get a trip off for tea, having extra hours on Saturday. 449. On holidays we are very badly off for meals, being sometimes twelve or fourteen hours without getting a meal except what I can snatch on the car. 450. I can save about £20 in the year. 451. If the shifts were more equalised we would not have anything to grumble at. 452. The only way that I can see to let the men have meal-hours is to have a relieving-man. When I am at work on Sundays the hours are about five. Mr. N. examined. 453. I am a dairyman at Anderson's Bay, and am well acquainted with the milk trade generally and the hours they work. I commence at sin the morning and finish at 8 o'clock. 454. As regards the boys, I have been informed by the masters and the boys that in the majority of cases they rise at half-past 3, and their work is not finished until 7 o'clock and later. James Henderson examined. 455. I have been a dairyman at Anderson's Bay for four years. 1 know most of the dairies in Anderson's Bay, and can corroborate what Mr. N. has said as regards the long hours the boys have to work in the trade. They work Sundays and holidays. Mr. O. examined. 456. lam a shop-assistant at 's. I was at 's before for four years. The hours were 9 to 8, on Saturdays to 10 and 11, and one hour for dinner, and one for tea on Saturdays. 457. The assistants were worked in alternate weeks—l mean as regards the hours of attendance —being 6 one week and 8 the other. The hours in other shops I have worked in are very irregular. 458. I have no reason to make complaints about w 7 ages. I get from £3 to £3 10s. a week. 1 was almost the highest-paid in the shop. 459. Boys got from Bs., 10s., 125., but they did not continue long there. 460. There are about ten or twelve girls, and the long hours are very hard on them. There was scarcely a week but what some of them were away for a week. 461. Young women working as milliners, and therefore under the Act, were kept after their hours in the shop as assistants on Saturdays till 9 or 10 —until the time of the closing of the shop. 462. I have had experience in other shops in Dunedin for twenty years in the soft-goods line. 463. I believe nothing but an Act of Parliament will secure early closing. 464. Have never seen the Factory Inspector in a factory. Mr. P. examined. 465. I am a draper's assistant at —■ 's, a draper's shop in George Street, and have heard part of the evidence of Mr. 0., and corroborate what I heard. 466. The hours are 8-45 to 9, but supposed to go at 8. On Saturdays, 9 to 10-30, and two hours for meals. 467. The wages are, in one department, £2 10s. 467 a. The girls complain of the long hours. Their hours are the same as ours. 3—H. 5.

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468. There are eight girls in the salesroom, and four or five in the millinery department. 469. I have been in this shop five or six months. I have had no other experience in Dunedin. Mr. Q. examined. 470. I am a shop-assistant in 's. 471. I corroborate everything said by Mr. 0. and Mr. P. 472. But as regards sanitation, up to the present there has been only one closet for men and women, but separate ones are being built. 473. In some shops I have been in the hours are somewhat similar, especially in the George Street end of the town. 474. There is one exception, A. and T. Inglis, and they close at 6 punctually; and Mollison, Mills, and Duthie ; and Eoss and Glendinning. 475. I have been eighteen years in the drapery business in various places in the colonies. 476. As a rule, in the shop in which I am working, young women, I know, are engaged as saleswomen ; but they must be able to do millinery, and thus the Act is evaded. 477. If there is millinery-work to be done they are at it till 12 on Saturdays, and they are always there nominally as saleswomen. 478. Young women are employed there to make up work for sale, but they have no work-room. 479. I have never known the Factory Inspector, or any policeman, to visit our establishment for purposes of inspection during the two and a half years in my present employment. Thomas Howard examined. 480. lam a draper's assistant, and Secretary of the Early-closing Association. As a matter of fact, I have never worked in a late shop in my life, but, being the Secretary of the Early-closing Association, I am acquainted with the hours kept in shops of various classes of business. 481. The drapers' hours in late shops are from 8.30 a.m. till 6 p.m. on week days, and on Saturday till 11 p.m., in their early week; and from 8.30 a.m. till 8 at night, and on Saturdays till 11 p.m., in their late week. 482. Hosiers' hours are similar. 483. Hairdressers' hours are from 8 till 10 daily, and to 12 on Saturdays, and sometimes till 1 o'clock on Sunday mornings. 484. Chemists' hours are from 8 a.m. till 9 p.m., and then the employes are liable to be called up at any time to make up urgent prescriptions. 485. Toy and fancy shops, I think, have hardly any limit to their hours; they are at least from 8 a.m. till 10 p.m. daily, and are often open till 11 or 12 o'clock on other nights than Saturdays. 486. Crockery and boot shops at present are closing by agreement at 6.30 p.m. 487. Some hosiers, I believe, take week about for the late hours, and it is the same with drapers ; but the hairdressers work straight on. 488. The present association was formed last September; but there have been movements in favour of early closing for twenty-five years back. We almost succeeded in our last attempt. With one exception, we succeeded in getting all the drapers to agree to close ; and after the Exhibition closes we hope to be able to get all the shops closed at 6.30 p.m. 489. There was a failure of the combination to close early. Some of the fancy-goods dealers and booksellers kept the agreement for a week, some for three months, and one still closes early. That is the result of our endeavour made last September to gam early closing. 490. We have been promised that as soon as the Exhibition closes the one dissentient firm of drapers will fall in with the movement. 491. The matter is one that can only be cured by a union or by an Act of Parliament. 492. There will be no loss of business in consequence of early closing. We can serve the same number of customers in fewer hours, and I do not think there would be any practical inconvenience to the customers. All classes shop after 6 o'clock. 493. A large number of those who shop after 6 o'clock are those who have the advantage of the Saturday half-holiday, and are free to shop at other hours without inconvenience to themselves. 494. I see no reason why a union should not be formed to deal with the hours of labour only. If the hands declined to work after a certain hour the shops must be closed. The difficulty is to get them all to agree to this. 495. If an Act of Parliament was passed compelling employers to release their employes at a certain hour, and fining both employer and employe for a breach of the Act, that might work. James Todd examined. 496. I am in the employ of Messrs. A. and T. Inglis, and have been in that firm for eighteen years. lam Vice-President of the Early-closing Association. 497. I have really no evidence to give, but rather suggestions to make to remedy what is complained of. I have been in a number of establishments, but never in houses where they had longhours. I have nothing to complain of at present. Everything, I think, is very satisfactory indeed in connection with our establishment. 498. As Mr. Howard said, "co-operation" —that is, obtaining promises from employers—has been tried frequently, and failed. 499. Ever since I can remember there have been early-closing associations, and they have to a greater or less extent proved failures. 500. One thing we should aim at is that our trade should act for itself, and should have uniform hours of labour, and, as a remedy against long hours, there should be a union amongst employes throughout New Zealand—a separate union in connection with each trade.

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601. I have been led to think that a union in connection with the drapers'assistants would be much more likely to gain early closing than any Act of Parliament. 502. The drapers could reasonably be expected to close at 6 p.m. without the slightest loss of business to any one of them and without inconvenience to the public if the shops were not closed on Saturday nights. 503. I would not, in the meantime, close on Saturday nights, because I believe that would inconvenience some people. 504. I am heartily in sympathy with the movement for the weekly half-holiday, and believe we must have it, but the union must be formed first. 505. With the union we should gain closing at 6 p.m. on all nights except Saturdays, and the half-holiday in the middle of the week. That is the remedy for long hours in our trade. 506. I do not profess to know sufficient of other trades to speak with any degree of certainty. 507. I believe a union would work well both for employer and employed; it would gain a uniform hour of closing for all shops in our trade throughout the colony, and that would be a very great matter. William Edwin Burley, cabinetmaker, examined. 508. I made toilet-chests for £1 7s. 6d. each for labour. I complained, and got 2s. 6d. increase, hut could not make more than £1 10s. a week, and so I left that employment. 509. There is an old man there now making them at £1 7s. 6d. each, and he cannot make more than £1 a week. He has a family to keep. He is a competent cabinetmaker—a first-class tradesman. 510. The toilet-chest is sold at about £6 10s. The material and labour will cost £3 10s., and, allowing a profit of 50 per cent., that would bring the price to £5 ss. ; but £6 10s. is got for the article. I mean that the total cost for labour and material comes to £3 10s. 511. Some time ago I was at work with some others on our own account. We worked from 8 a.m. till 9 p.m. every day, and we each drew £1 10s. a week for two months, and then £1 15s. a week for other two months. After four months we wanted to see how the concern was going, and took stock. We were working for the trade—that is, we were sub-contractors, and employed men under us. I made £7 16s. lfd. in the four months over and above the wages, and then went out of it. All expenses had been paid. 512. A five-drawer chest would cost, for material and labour, £1 Bs., and we got £1 12s. for it. It was sold in the white, and would cost 9s. 6d. or 10s. to polish and finish, and would be sold for £2 15s. 513. There are men in this town making full Scotch chests of drawers at from £1 10s. to £115s. each. Where lam working they allow a man a week to make one, and give him Bs. a day. They are made at the price I have stated for " sweating shops." 514. What they get done for £1 10s. or £1 15s. would take me a week to do, and I am a competent tradesman. I was born in a cabinetmaker's shop, have been seventeen jears at the trade, and have been a journeyman and a master tradesman. 515. I call Bs. a day a fair wage for a cabinetmaker. Cabinetmakers do not often make more than that. 516. There is no man in Dunedin who could make the same chest of drawers, to turn it out clean, in less than six days, working eight hours a day; and such a chest of drawers is usually sold at £6 10s. or £7. The material in it—timber, knobs, carved trusses, and locks—would come to £2 10s. 6d. The price mentioned includes polishing and finishing. 517. If I were employed, such a chest would cost £4 18s. 6d. It does cost under the existing system referred to £4 55., and it sells at from £6 to £7. 518. Ido not find the Chinese cabinetmakers here interfere with our trade. I have never heard them mentioned here. We do not find them competing with us. James Williams, Manager and Secretary of the Dunedin and Suburban City Tramways, examined. 519. I produce a copy of our time-sheet. Fourteen men work 128 hours in a day from the lime tlic cars leave the shed in the morning till they return to the shed at night. 520. The wages of the conductors vary; the lowest paid of the fourteen men gets £1 7s. 6d. a week, and five or six get £1 12s. 6d. and their commission. The commission will average 4s. per week. At the present time they are making this commission, in addition to the salary mentioned. 521. Within the fourteen weeks the men are off duty two Sundays ; another Sunday they have to do two " tea relieves " that take an hour each. 522. The fourteen men average four hours every Sunday. The cars run fifty-six hours, and the fourteen men do it, taking it in turns. Tea relieves are put down so that the men shall not say they have no chance of getting meals; but by mutual arrangement the men refuse tea relieves, and get their tea on the car. 523. The conductors' shifts on the Princes Street road are for fourteen weeks: Ist, from 6.55 a.m. to 2.54 p.m. ; from 4.40 p.m. to 6.40 p.m. 2nd, from 2.54 p.m. to 11.15 p.m. 3rd, from 7.5 a.m. to 8.5 p.m. (less one hour for dinner, and one hour for tea on Saturdays). 4th, from 4.52 p.m. to 11 p.m. (plus two hours in relieving others). sth, from 7.10 a.m. to 1.6 p.m.; from 4.20 p.m. to 8 p.m. 6th, from 1.6 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. (less one hour for tea). 7th, from 7.15 a.m. to 3.6 p.m. Bth, from 9.38 a.m. to 4.40 p.m. (less one hour for dinner) ; from 6.40 p.m. to 11 p.m. 9th, from 3.6 p.m. to 11.20 p.m. (plus one hour in relieving). 10th, from 7.34 a.m. to 3.24 p.m. ; from 5 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. 11th, from 3.24 p.m. to 11.40 p.m. 12th, from 8.58 a.m. to 4.52 p.m. (less one hour for dinner). 13th, from 12.10 p.m. to 7.10 p.m.; from 10.18 p.m. to 11.15 p.m. 14th, from 12,42 p.m. to 8.20 p.m.; from 10.28 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. The Caversham Eoad is worked by

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eleven men, running the following shifts : Ist, from 7.30 a.m. to 4.20 p.m. 2nd, from 12 a.m. to 2 p.m.; from 4.20 p.m. to 11.15 p.m. 3rd, from 7.25 a.m. to 3.40 p.m. 4th, from 8.36 a.m. to 8.40 p.m. sth, from 3.40 p.m. to 11.15 p.m. 6th, from 7.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. 7th, from 4 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. Bth, from 7.40 a.m. to 3.10 p.m. 9th, from 3.10 p.m. to 11 p.m. 10th. from 7.25 a.m. to 8.25 a.m. ; from 11.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. 11th, from 11.50 a.m. to 7 p.m. The wages and commission of these men are the same as on the Princes Street route —viz., £1 7s. 6d., £1 10s., or £1 12s. 6d. per week of seven days, and each make about 4s. commission in addition. They have two clear Sundays off duty in the eleven weeks, and they work from three to nine hours on the other nine Sundays, averaging about four hours taking the eleven Sundays through. 524. We have on the Ocean Beach Eoad only four conductors. For the first week a man works from 7.15 a.m. to 3.27 p.m.; the second from 3.27 p.m. to 11.10 p.m. ; the third week from 7.30 a.m. to 7 p.m., with two hours out of that for his dinner; fourth week from 2.20 p.m. to 8.10 p.m., also two hours —during which he takes the other man's car—for his dinner. Of Sundays, he has one off in eight; for two Sundays he works two hours and thirty minutes ; for two, seven hours ; and for two, eight hours. Sundays all come into the weekly wage. The wage is for seven days a week, and the wages of these four are £1 ss. a week each, with commission amounting to about 3s. weekly. 525. We have four boys, who are not tram-conductors but starters. They go down the Leith and pick up the branch cars on the valley. They take little money, and their commission is practically nothing. They only take a fare from a casual passenger. These boys are seventeen or eighteen years of age. The first week they work from 8.50 to 2 o'clock, and also from 3.45 to 8 ; the second week from 7.15 to 3.45 ; the third week from 7.20 to 9.20, and 3.44 to 10.30; and the fourth week from 2to 11 p.m. These boys are paid 18s. a week, and their commission may be put down as nothing. They have one Sunday off in eight; two Sundays they do a tea relieve of an hour; two Sundays they do two hours and twenty-seven minutes each; one Sunday, eight hours and twenty minutes; and the eighth Sunday, seven hours and twenty-five minutes. With the drivers we have nothing to do. 526. I notice m Fearnley's evidence that he was put on holiday traffic. We have only these thirty-three conductors, and two or three car-cleaners whom we fetch out on holidays, and all the men work from the time the cars come out in the morning till they finish at night, and occasionally we have to turn the Inspectors out, and I have turned one of the clerks out of the office for this work often before now. Fearnley is correct in saying that he worked from 7.25 in the morning till 9 o'clock at night. He did not refuse to take his car, but it came out without a conductor. Nobody knew in the office that he would not fetch it out, or I would have arranged for some one else. I posted up half a crown fine the next morning, which he refused to pay, and resigned straight away ; so that the half-crown was not stopped from him. 527. There is a great noise about these fines. The total amount of the fines stopped last year from all the men was £8 ss. 528. On holidays for every minute they work beyond their scheduled time they get 6d. per hour. 529. A man has ten minutes every trip during the hour. They all have that on an average, so that they have time to get tea or meals. The regular time which we give off for meals is an hour, but we do not give any particular time ; they arrange that among themselves. The length of tea relief will depend considerably upon the place where a man lives, but unless by mutual arrangement to the contrary there is a relief provided for the conductor of an hour for dinner on the long week. We are quite willing to give them an hour for meals if they are willing to take it. 530. We give no holidays at all, or practically none. Last year, about November time, we gave all the men who had been any length of time with us a day away, but there is no stated holiday. 531. The men refuse to take their meal-hour, because it breaks into their spare time. Then they have their turn to do the relief. The fourteen men have to run these cars, and if they can arrange it in any better way we are quite willing they should. 532. We keep no relieving conductors for holiday time ; it would never pay. 533. On holidays they only have the few minutes while the cars stand at the end of the run, and the cars are then generally behind time; but on the South Eoad they have an hour for the round trip, and a car cannot take more than twenty-three minutes to run to Caversham—the average time is seventeen minutes, leaving twelve or thirteen minutes at the end of each journey. 534. The cars are sometimes overloaded. The only way to remedy that woulu be to put on more cars ; but the traffic is so spasmodic, you do not know when more cars will be wanted. If we time-table more cars to-day probably the traffic would have altered altogether at the end of the week. On holiday times we put on a great number of extra cars. 535. The conductor has not power to prevent people going on a car. I have noticed the conductors try to prevent overcrowding, but people jump on the cars and you cannot keep them off. When cars have been too much loaded, so much so that the horses could not pull, we have called upon the police to interfere, and they did so. We have no legal power to remove people from the cars. 536. Providing the by-law of the Council had been upheld we should be liable to fine for overcrowding, and then we should have had power to turn people off the cars. 537. We would not attempt to start a car unless the horses were capable of pulling it. The mere fact of the car being overcrowded would not make a case of cruelty to animals, because we always have an extra horse on Princes Street hill, and ninety people would not be too many for three horses to pull in a car on the level. The pull on a tram-car is not more than 251b. per ton. Walter Newbury, hairdresser, examined. 538. I work at Mr. Barclay's hairdressers' shop, and my hours are from 8 a.m. till 9 and 9.30 every night, and to 12 on Saturdays. There is no work on Sundays.

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539. I think the work could be easily done from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays included. I get an hour for dinner and three-quarters of an hour for tea on all days but Saturdays, when I get about half an hour altogether for meals. The wages are £1 ss. a week, and I find myself. Igo home for meals. 540. The hours of the other shops are, I think, just the same. 541. We work half a day on holidays, and sometimes the whole day. If others would shut we would shut; if they will not, then we must keep open. We are not paid extra for working extra hours, or on holidays. On week nights it is sometimes a quarter to 10 and sometimes 10 o'clock before I get away. That occurs occasionally, not very often. 542. Wages for assistants go from £1 ss. to £2 10s. per week. In Sydney and Melbourne wages are better and the hours are less. Competition here reduces wages. I never get away before half-past 3 o'clock at night. 543. Whether we have anything to do at night or not we have to be there. We are slack in the afternoons, but we cannot leave the shop. We do no work during the slack time. We do not make up hair during the slack time. 544. Some shops I know keep open on Sundays for a part of the day. Joseph Braithwaitk examined. 545. lam a bookseller, a stationer, and fancy-goods dealer. I have five men, two boys, and eight female assistants in my employ. 546. All the lady assistants start at 9 a.m., and work till 6 p.m. one night, and till 9 o'clock the following night. They get an hour off for dinner and an hour off for tea. I give every one in the establishment an afternoon off once a fortnight. They take that in turns, there being one off every day ; and I also give them, in addition to the usual holidays, a week's holiday all round, in the year, without loss of wages. 547. I pay them weekly wages, ranging from 10s. a week to £3. I start the lady assistants at 10s., but I think we have only one at 10s. at present. After a short time their salaries are gradually raised. The highest, I think, is £1 7s. 6d. or £1 10s. a week. The men get from £1 to £3 per week. 548. The message-boys start at 7s. 6d., and work up to 15s. or£l a week ; a great deal depends upon their own capacity. 549. The women are allowed to sit during the day. There are chairs all over the establishment, and I have told them to take advantage of them whenever they feel tired, and particularly when it is their evening on. I frequently see them making use of these chairs. From 6to 8 p.m. there is no need for them to stand at all. As a matter of fact, there is only one hour—from Bto 9 p.m.—that there is anything doing at night. From 6to 8 p.m. they might sit down the whole time. During those hours people may occasionally come in, but not often. 550. If everybody made up their minds to close at 6 p.m. the same business would be done during the day. The public could make up their minds to buy at other times, and if shops closed at 6 p.m. no doubt they would arrange to get all they want before that hour. 551. It is generally the working-classes who shop during late hours. I believe you would have to keep open later than 6 p.m one night of the week for the convenience of the public, and I am in favour of Friday being the late night, and of closing on Saturdays, afternoons and evening. We close on all the other holidays. 552. The poorer class of people come in at night. It is the men who come after 6 p.m.; I think the wives might manage their purchases during the day. It is principally books that are bought late in the evening. 553. We do a large business at night between 8 and 9 o'clock, but I would close at 6 p.m. if everybody else would. 554. I do not think early closing will be obtained merely by moral suasion. lam in favour of the adoption of legal means. I think it would be more satisfactory to close all shops at one time, and then no advantage would be taken of persons who have to employ labour. If all shops were closed then people would shop during the day, and the small shops would get their share. 555. One-third of my receipts for the day are usually taken during one hour, from 8 to 9 p.m. 556. I do not see any way to shorten the hours excepting to shut up all shops at the same hour. I see no reason why every one should not close at 6p.m., excepting chemists. Ido not think there would be any hardship in closing the bakers' and confectioners' shops; people would get into the habit of making their purchases earlier. 557. In the last attempt that was made I induced, I think, sixty people to close, and a large number of them keep to the agreement still; but in my business one or two broke it, and the others had to do the same. 558. I think it would be best to have local option in the matter of the half-holiday or early closing, and that the proposal should be carried by a majority of two-thirds of the electors voting, and that the City Council should then pass and enforce a by-law on the subject. 559. At present we have only accommodation, in the way of closets, for males, but I have made application to the landlord for additional accommodation, and the employes are allowed to go out pretty freely. 560. We have had no sickness amongst the employes that I know of. 561. There is no difficulty in getting assistants; I have au enormous number of applications constantly made. I find the females to do the work very well; to be very clean, correct, and honest, faithful and punctual. The work is not hard, it is light. The females have no cleaning of windows or anything like that to do; that is done by the boys or men.

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562. Last year I kept gas-jets burning all day long in the winter, and that helped to warm the place ; but it is cold in winter time. Mr. S., a compositor, examined. 563. I am member of the Otago Branch of the New Zealand Typographical Association. 564. As to the rate of wages in the trade, the first point I wish to bring forward is the rate paid to time or jobbing hands. They get £3 a week; and generally that is considered satisfactory, though employment has not been so plentiful during the past few years as formerly. This is partly accounted for by the large increase of competition. 565. As regards piecework, the rate has been steadily declining for a considerable time. The leading morning paper in Dunedin has been the prime mover in this direction. 566. The recognised rate is Is. per thousand " ens," although the Daily Times Company only pays lid. to its hands upon the Otago Witness. Even at Is. one requires to be expert to enable him to earn a wage sufficiently adequate to recompense him for work in which there is a reversal of the usual hours of labour—that is, night-work. 567. The principal—the gravest—difficulty the workers in this trade have been struggling against during the last few years has been the enormous increase of boy-labour. This has now assumed very serious proportions. In some cases the offices are worked entirely by boys, the result being that at short intervals the labour-market is flooded with young men who have partially learned their trades, but are cast out to make room for fresh batches of boys. 568. I have taken the trouble to ascertain the proportions of boys to men employed in the trade in each office in the city. The Times has thirty-four men and twelve boys: apprentices are only allowed, according to union rules, on the Witness and in the jobbing-room —that is, there are twenty-four men employed on the newspaper for whom there is no equivalent in boys; it is only in the jobbing-room and in the Witness room that boys are employed. In the Star office there are twenty men and seven boys. In Munro, Hutchison, and Co.'s there is one man and seven boys. In the Herald office there are seven men and fifteen boys. In Fergusson and Mitchell's there are three men and two boys ; in Wilkie and Co.'s there are three men and three boys; and in Mills, Dick, and Co.'s, one man and thirteen boys. The proportion in the Tablet office I have been unable to ascertain, as it is not an office under the jurisdiction of the Union : it is closed to the Union. The Caxton Company has four men and six boys. 569. Our union rule in union offices has not been strictly adhered to. The rule of the Union respecting apprentices is : " The number of apprentices shall be regulated as follows : One apprentice in any office, two where six members of the Association are permanently employed, and one for every additional six members ; but not more than six apprentices in any office. No apprentices to be allowed on morning daily papers." We arranged that as being a fair proportion to keep the market supplied with competent men as time w r ent on. 570. The worst office we have to deal with is Mills, Dick, and Co.'s. It is rather difficult to get evidence with regard to the actual state of affairs in such an office, but we have, with the assistance of one or two members, managed to get a few items. They have a code of rules in the office with regard to boys, one of which is that a boy is to work three months for nothing. He has to do all sorts of work—running messages, cleaning rollers, and odd jobs—and very frequently at the end of three months he is told he is too small or not suitable. We have come across several boys who had been treated in this manner. We got one, and managed to bring him here to-night, but he got frightened at the last minute, and ran off home. There is one rule that the boys there at present state is very objectionable, and it is that the watercloset is available to them only during one hour per day. It is open for them between 9 o'clock and 10 o'clock in the morning, and it is locked up all the rest of the day. 571. The rate of wages for boys is for the first fifteen months ss. per week, and after that 2s. 6d. rise per week per annum. 572. In the Herald office they have one boy at 20s. —a small boy of about fourteen—an apprentice, I suppose ; they have two at 17s. 6d., five at 125., and two at 7s. 6d. per week. The hours are eight per day, and they have no particular rules. 573. I have a copy of the rules at Mills, Dick, and Co.'s, which I hand to you to look over. This is the first time I have ever known rules posted up with regard to the conduct of boys. I have been a journeyman ten years, and I never saw boys guilty of scribbling indecent lines, or anything of that sort. Whether the rules were framed to get revenue or not I do not know, but they are extraordinary. I never saw such a thing before. The foreman is generally capable of keeping order himself. One thing more with regard to Mills, Dick, and Co., and that is that under no circumstances during the last few years have they employed more than one man. In other offices where the proportion of boys to men is greater than our rules allow they frequently employ casual men, but in this office they employ but one man. 574. There are only three offices in town which are practically non-union offices, and they are the Tablet Company. Mills, Dick, and Co., and principally the Times office. 575. I do not know whether it is correct to make the remark, but the position of the manager of the Times office is a very inconsistent one. He has given very prominent support to unionism, recommended it for every other place, but will not have it in his own office. 576. Mills, Dick and Co.'s boys' hours are eight every day during the week except on Saturdays and Wednesdays. They make up on Wednesday night for the Saturday half-holiday, as they go back and work for three hours. It comes to eight hours per day for the week of six days. We do not find any fault with the hours, nor with the wages paid by the Union offices for the timework, but we certainly think that for night-work the rate ought to be better. 577. The Times office pays the lowest rate in town, and the time-hands only get £2 15s. a week instead of £3; but they sometimes employ Union men, and are then forced to give them £3 a

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week, or they could not get them. We have tried to get the men to join the Union, but the difficulty is that some of the men were members of the Union at the time of the strike, and instead of sticking to their colours they weut over to the enemy, and the Union will not allow them to come back now except upon the payment of certain fines, in accordance with the general rules common to all other unions. As long as they are in that office they do not seem inclined to become members of the Union, because they consider they are right there, but as soon as they lose their places there they want to join the Union. 578. At the Tablet office girls are tmployed type-setting, but to what extent or what their wages are we have no means of knowing as a union. 579. I was two years in Christchurch. The wages there were the same as here—£3 a week or a shilling a thousand —and the conditions eight hours per day. 580. The sanitary arrangements in printing-offices vary very much ; in the majority of cases they are excessively bad, both as to closets and ventilation. 581. Night-work is all done by gas, and the light is pretty fair ; but in some offices in Dunedin —notably the one I work in myself—the light for day-work is exceedingly bad—it could not be worse —and the ventilation is also bad. I work in a long room about 60ft. long, with fixed windows at each end, a floor above, and no ventilation at all. We have complained frequently about the light, but cannot get it any better. 582. In our office we are allowed a stove. In the Star office the sanitary and warming arrangements are very good, but they are not in some other offices. I was for one year on the Times, and there was no means of warming the room there at night in the winter time. 583. The result of the employment of an excessive number of boys is that men are compelled to leave New Zealand for Australia in order to find employment, if they do not they flood the labour-market, and materially reduce the rate of wages. 584. The offices by employing boys are enabled to compete unfairly with those who pay journeymen's wages, and to cut down prices to the lowest. 585. I consider the employment of boys in large numbers to be a system of sweating in its very worst form. 586. The evidence I have given relates only to the composing departments of the various offices. Machinists, pressmen, &c, are not members of the Association. Ellen Wilson examined. 587. lam a shirt finisher, and work at . Things are very different from what they were twelve months since, when the agitation commenced. 588. There is very little to complain of now. Sixteen months since it was hardly possible to earn a living. The best week I had then, working bard, was 10s. (id ; that was working from 9in the morning till 11 at night, with no hours off for meals. I got about ten minutes for dinner, and when I got home at night I used to take a short time to do a little extra cooking; but I could scarcely take time to get my meals. I can now make 12s. or 13s. a week ; and a good finisher would make 18s. a week inside the eight hours per day. I can make 12s. per week now, working eight hours per day, whereas before it took me fourteen hours to make Is. 10|d. 589. The Union has been a great boon to us. I would not for anything it was dissolved, because it has done away with taking work home at night. There are some who say they would rather take work home ; but they have sisters, cousins, or women to help them. When you take home eight or nine shirts amongst four people that is nothing ; but if you take half a dozen, and have to put in every stitch yourself it is a different matter. 590. The system of taking work home is bad. Ido not approve of it. 591. The work affected my health. I have been nine years at it, and there are those who have been at it not a year who can do a third more than I can. Ido not think there was ever a time when I could do more than now. Ido more now in eight hours than I used to do in eight hours when I took the work home ; I can finish four more shirts. 592. The long hours affected my health. I sat up late, and in the morning I really could not get up. This made it later going to work, and I never felt refreshed. 593. Ido not complain of the wages now at all. Some make more than Ido ; but lam always content with 12s. a week. I know of some making 16s. and 18s. a week, and I have heard of one making 225. in another place, but that depends a good deal on the kind of work done. 594. I think I could just live on from Bs. to 9s. a week ; but lam a small eater. 1 can live and clothe myself on 12s. a week. 595. I think girls like their evenings to themselves, and that they do not like situations. I know big strong girls at this work, and I have often wondered why they should work for 12s. a week. I would not do so if I had been strong enough to go to service. I could not do that class of work or I would not have gone to the finishing, but would have gone to a situation. I have been in several situations, but had to give them up, as I was not strong enough for the work. 596. If I were laid up by illness I should have to go to the hospital, as I could not save anything from my earnings. Mr. T. examined. 597. lam a butchers' assistant, working for . I have been a journeyman butcher for about twelve years, mostly in Dunedin. 598. The long hours is our grievance. I start at 7in the morning, and my work lasts till 8, and sometimes till half-past 8, every night. On Friday night it is 9, and on Saturday night 10 or 11 o'clock, before I get away. 599. I drive one of the hawking-carts, and work about the place when I come in with it. My wages are £1 15s. a week, and for six days of the week I have my meals there.

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600. We have tried to form a butchers' union, with the idea of getting the hours shortened; but the men have got so disheartened that it is of no use trying to go on with it. The master butchers throw so much cold water on the union, it is no use trying to carry it out, and we are not strong enough, because there are so many boys in the trade. I fancy there are three boys to every man in the trade. The boys do the riding out. Ido not find fault with there being so many boys, their employment seems necessary, but I do find fault with the late hours. 601. There is no reason, in the interests of the public, why the shops should be kept open so late; there is not the slightest reason for it beyond the excessive competition. 602. Few people come in after 6 o'clock. I cannot make out why they keep open; it never pays them. The hours we work run from seventy-five to eighty per week. I was at for five years, and worked on an average eighty-four hours every week. That I can prove. 603. We get no holidays at all, and no dinner hour; barely time to swallow dinner, breakfast, or tea. I just go into the house and get my dinner or breakfast, and come away again ;do not spend a quarter of an hour over dinner or breakfast. 604. The Co-operative Company may give its employes an hour; I cannot say. Those in the majority of suburban and city shops do not reckon on having an hour for dinner; it is never thought of. 605. Some master butchers started closing three months ago at 6 p.m. ; but it is only a farce. They will do it for a little time, and then one breaks the rule, and the thing is worse than ever: it is 9 o'clock again. 606. Only an Act of Parliament will do any good. The shops will never close as long as the employers are left to their own free will. A union would not succeed unless it co-operated with other unions. Journeymen butchers have just become disheartened, and go plodding on. I never saw my house in daylight on a week day last winter. I left it when it was dark in the morning and returned at dark at night. lam a married man. The long hours is just our whole trouble. Mr. U. examined. 607. lam a shop-assistant in a bookseller's shop. I work from Bin the morning to 9at night four nights in the week—that is, about sixty to sixty-two hours a week. I have been there since August; when I went they closed at half-past 6 o'clock ;it is now at 9, and up to 10 or 11. We get an hour for dinner and an hour for tea. I have to stand the whole time, except on my mail days, when I would sit down for about an hour. 608. lam a watchmaker by trade. I earn £1 15s. a week at the.bookseller's shop. I get a half-holiday every second Thursday. 609. As regards evidence, I do not agree as to the sitting down. There are some chairs, but they are used as a stand for goods. I have seen the girls sitting down sometimes, but the proprietor did not like it. 610. My complaint is the long hours. I find it act injuriously on my health. 611. I agree with my employer that between 8 and 9 is a busy time if the shop is open, as the people will come at night. 612. Horsburg closes at 6. 613. I have to remain in to fix up my department after the shop is shut. Miss V. examined. 614. I am a saleswoman in a George Street shop. 615. I commence work at a quarter to 9, and work till 6, and 10 o'clock on Saturday, and an hour for dinner, and on Saturday an hour for tea. 616. I have not stopped overtime, and have no complaints. 617. I was about twelve months in a shop before. 618. We worked from 9 in the morning to 8.30, and every other week I got away at 6, and 10.20 on Saturdays (an hour for tea and an hour for dinner). The hours were worse then than now. 619. There is no accommodation for sitting down except in meal-hours. We take our meals in the shop. 620. I always felt very tired, and had to stay away sometimes. It was the effects of the long hours and no sitting-accommodation. 621. I earned 15s. a week. 622. Owing to the standing one hand got very bad, and had to stop away two or three weeks. 623. Sanitation and ventilation pretty good.

Thursday, 20th February. 1890. Mr. A. Lee Smith examined. 624. I am a rope-manufacturer, in the firm of Messrs. Donaghy and Co. 625. The employes work ten hours and three-quarters, and on Saturdays six hours and a quarter —altogether sixty hours a week. The hours were from 6to 8 a.m., half-past 8 to 1, and from a quarter to 2 till 6. The night-shift works the same hours. 626. During the last two years the only overtime was for a day and a half, and the hands were paid double wages. 627. A great portion of the work was very light—simply standing over a machine, and seeing that it went all right. 628. The ages of the boys at work are from fourteen to eighteen years. We get to know about their ages from their parents, and the manager judges to the best of his ability.

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629. The factory is well ventilated and warmed in winter. 630. There had been no sickness among the boys. 631. I am always glad for the Inspector to come and suggest improvements. 632. There are thirty-two boys between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, earning Bs. to 18s. a week. As the boys get more expert they get more money. 633. Fourteen is too young, in my opinion. 634. Eopemaking is now done by machinery. It is very different from what it used to be. 635. The wages of the adults were from £1 ss. to £3 ss. a week. 636. There is no piecework. 637. There are thirty-six men employed by the firm. 638. The firm does not consider it their duty as manufacturers to inquire into the education of the boys. 639. In my opinion no boys should be allowed to leave school until they have passed a certain standard. 640. I would be in favour of their bringing a medical certificate as to their bodily health. 641. The tendency of the Factory Act was to attract young persons to the factories in the towns when they should be employed in the country. Eobert Fergusson examined. 642. I am a bootmaker, engaged at Sargood's boot-factory. 643. There are about two hundred hands employed there. 644. The proportion of boys to men is about one to three. 645. I have never seen the Inspector of Factories. Ido not know him. 646. I have been in Sargood's for five years, and in other factories in Dunedin for about fourteen years. 647. The Employment of Females Act is carried out in our factory. 648. The greater number of employes are engaged at piecework. 649. We have got a union log. 650. The ventilation is very good. 651. I know of a factory in which the ventilation is not good. 652. I have worked at the factories at Home, and I think Sargood's is the best one as regards ventilation and sanitation. 653. We have no place to take our meals. 654. As to holidays, the only grievance is that we have too many. 655. With a strong union there would be fewer strikes. The last strike we had ran over twelve weeks. That was on the boy question. The boys threatened to overrun the trade. In some shops there were three boys to each man. 656. The agreement come to after the last strike has been fairly and well carried out. All the factories are working under Union rules, and we have about 250 members in the Union in Dunedin. 657. Two years ago we federated throughout New Zealand. Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland have federated, and any dispute with one affects the lot. We support one another. 658. Some employers do not like the Union, but I believe the majority of them are greatly in favour of it. 659. Our Uuion was established in 1876, and I have belonged to it for fourteen years. 660. I have seen some statements published that the public are naturally inclined to look for cheap goods. My opinion is that it is not so much the public as the retailer who looks for cheap goods, and then sells them as the better article. 661. I think all factories should start and leave off at the same hour, and I would have it made an infringement of the law for employes to be found in factories at other than factory-hours. 662. I think the hours should be from half-past 8 till 5, and till 1 o'clock on Saturdays. It is much harder to detect breaches of the Act when the hours are not uniform. 663. I would suggest that copies of the Factory Act should be posted in prominent places in all factories. That is done at Home, but not here. 664. It might be as well if a medical certificate were required regarding the state of health of young people going to the work. 665. Our Union is thoroughly in favour of the early closing of shops, and will give it every support. The early closing of shops would entail no hardships upon the working-classes. Miss W. examined. 666. I am a milliner —till lately at Messrs. 's. 667. The hours are from 9 to 6 one week, and another week till 9 ; on Saturdays till 10. 668. I was there fifteen months ; before that two years at Mrs. 's. 669. I was never kept late at the latter place. 670. The wages were 55., and then 10s. 671. We had to stay in the evening for the sales till 9. 672. I had to leave the last place on account of my health. I have been very ill with long hours. 673. The girls that are taken on as milliners do not learn the business, but have to do odd jobs about the shop. 4—H. 5.

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Mr. X. examined. 674. lam an apprentice to a pastrycook, and work at 's. I was working at Hopkins' at the same business, but was not there a hound apprentice. 675. At Hopkins's we generally started at 7 a.m. and worked straight on. We had no fixed meal-hour, and after dinner we again worked on till 7, 8, or 9 o'clock. 676. On Saturdays one lot started at 5 o'clock in the morning, and they knocked off at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The other half came on at 7 o'clock in the morning, and worked till half-past 11 or 12 o'clock on Saturday night. 677. I was at pastry-work, cleaning tins and odd jobs. I was there about nine months, and was past sixteen when I went there, and passed my seventeenth birthday while I was there. 678. We never got allowance for overtime. I had 12s. a week when I left, and I started at Bs. a week. He was to give'me 7s. 6d., but he raised my wages as I went on. 679. There were five working in the bakehouse and one going messages. All worked the same hours. 680. The ventilation was very bad. Tho room was underground, and there was only one grating to it. When you went down the first flight of steps there was another small flight, about seven steps, down to another bakehouse, where there was not a " stank"—a grating. Then there was another place where the butter would not get soft, but when the gas was turned out it was so dark you could not see your finger before you. 681. When I went there my employer said I was to work from 7 in the morning till 7 at night, but the rest worked on and I worked on too. 682. There was no overtime, except for Christmas, when I got paid for two weeks and a half overtime. 683. There were about six there younger than I was—about fifteen. 684. There was no fixed time for meals, and we got our meals on the benches in the bakehouse. 685. There were no sanitary conveniences ; you had to go outside to the station or to the saleyards. But we went on working away. We did not care to leave, and had to wait on till we went home. 686. At Wood's we have the Union hours. He is a Union man, a member of the Breadbakers' Society, so our hours are from 7 o'clock in the morning till 5 o'clock at night, and all after that we get paid for. 687. The ventilation at Wood's is very good. There is nothing to complain of down there. 688. I have told nothing but the truth in what I have said about Hopkins's. 689. There are no bound apprentices. All work till they learn their trade. Miss Y. examined. 690. I am employed at Clarke's steam laundry in the North-east Valley. 691. We have pretty long hours—from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., with only half an hour for dinner. The hours are the same on Saturdays. 692. We are at piecework, and prices vary, 1 make more sometimes than at other times— about £1 a week. 693. The room we work in is pretty warm. The stoves for the irons are going all day. 694. I am employed ironing shirts. 695. About twenty-five women are employed in the laundry, and there is an engineer and a lad who drives the express also employed there. 696. We have no complaint to make, excepting that we want an hour for dinner. We need the rest in the middle of the day. 697. We do not get any holidays excepting Christmas Day, aud sometimes New Year's Day. 698. I have been ill, and most of the others get ill after a time : I think it is from the heat and the standing. 699. We should be satisfied if we got an hour for dinner. 700. I am on piecework, but there arc others working by the day, and all are expected to work the same hours. 701. The irons weigh 91b. or 101b.; but there are smaller ones. 702. The sanitary arrangements are satisfactory. 703. There are young girls working there. Two of them are about twelve years of age, and the next would be sixteen years old. All work the same hours. Miss Z. examined. 704. I can corroborate what Miss Y. has said, and have no other complaint to make. 705. I have often been a bit sick from the heat and standing. It is pretty hard work, and in the summer time it is awfully hot. 706. The room we work in is a long one, and there is not much ventilation in it. It has two skylights, and the windows open from the one side. When the wind blows from town there is no ventilation. The windows on that side are closed, and there are only two on the other side. The building is one story high, and it has a boarded ceiling following the roof. 707. I like to go out to work at the laundry instead of going to service, because I wish to be at home at nights with my father and mother. lam the eldest of the children, and the others are not able to go out.

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John Downie (a miller) examined. 708. We have had a Union for about twelve years, hut it broke up for want of support, and we resuscitated it again. 709. The grievance I have is that we are worked From (i in the morning till 6at night. No other trade works the same hours continuously, and no masters have had more petitions than millers for the redress of the grievances of their employes; but yet we submit. We do not stop for meal-times. We go to our meals, and when we come back we have to make up for lost time. 710. On Saturdays we work till 6 o'clock, and then the night-man has to go on till half-past 10 or 11; so that it is midnight by the time he gets home. 711. The masters asked us to get all employers to sign an agreement not to run their mills on Saturday afternoons ; but this failed. I think the Saturday night and Monday morning work should be done away with. 712. We have tried for twelve years to get five or six hours a week knocked off, but have failed. We work seventy-two hours a week, and our demand is that we should work sixty. 713. We get no overtime, but if we are pushed for flour and work on Christmas or New Year's Day, then we are paid double. That is the only overtime. 714. The reason we cannot form a strong Union is that the men do not like to throw themselves out of employment; and two practical millers can run a mill with unskilled assistance. 715. Ido not complain about the wages, but could do with a little more. The wages are not in comparison with the hours worked, and I have been better off since our mill shut down. 716. During the time the mill is running we have to attend to the grinding of the flour, stacking it, and so forth, and look after the machinery. We are on our feet all the time. 717. We are driving three pairs of stones at the steam-mill, and eight or ten men are working there; but at night there would be only one miller and the foreman at the mill. 718. We have an hour to dinner and an hour to breakfast, but during the night there is no time off for meals. One man attends to three pairs of stones at night, and he has to weigh and sew the bags; and sometimes there are as many as thirty " fifties " coming off in an hour. 719. There are not more than seven millers employed in Dunedin just now, but my mill is closed. Mr. Zl (a miller) examined. 720. lam President of the Millers' Union. What we want to complain of is that we work from 6 in the morning till 6 at night, and principally with regard to the night-shifts. 721. The grievance is that the man working the night-shift has to start the mill at 2 o'clock on Monday morning, and in some cases to do this he has to leave home about 12. There is no time for meals, and he has to work till 6 o'clock. For the other five nights he has no spell during the twelve hours, and scarcely time to take his meals; and on Saturday night he must work till half-past 10 or 11 o'clock. Saturday night and Monday morning work should, I think, be done away with. 722. Altogether, millers have to work sixty-eight or seventy hours a week. 723. The wages we do not complain of. We get five holidays during the year, but no halfholiday on Saturdays. We are paid for holidays. 724. When we entered on these duties we knew we should have to work these long hours; but there was nothing for us except to work them. 725. We have complained of the long hours, and have tried several times to get the Saturday half-holiday ; but the excuse is, " We cannot do it because others will not." 726. Our Union has been in force four years, but we have effected no reforms; in fact, we are obliged to break up now, for we cannot get all the millers to join. 727. Our occupation is a trade. I served my time to it; but a good many who are working at it have never learned it, and that makes it worse for tradesmen. 728. There is one mill in town that has only one miller employed in it, all the rest of the work being done by unskilled labour. 729. In some mills boys are employed, but that is not the case where I am.

Friday, 21st February, 1890. Mr. Daniel Haynes examined. 730. I am a draper in Princes Street, carrying on the dressmaking and tailoring and mantlemaking. 731. In our establishment the total number of hands employed in the dressmaking, tailoring, and mantle-making is 124, and in the shop about 45. 732. The hours are from 9 to 6, and an hour for dinner. 733. I do not think that the Inspector of Factories has been in my establishment for the last two years. 734. There are about 98 females employed on wages, and 21 apprentices. 735. The apprentices get nothing for twelve months, then os., ranging up to Bs. and 9s. as improvers. 736. The adult women (medium hands) earn from 10s. to 155.; the best hands up to £1 55., and some £1 10s. 737. I do not think there is any piecework in my place. 738. Ido not allow my employes to take work home. A great number remain on after they have left their apprenticeship, and become improvers. 739. We have a great number of applicants to the dressmaking. 740. The ventilation is very good—the windows open at the top and bottom.

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741. There are three closets for the females and two for the males, and they have separate access. 742. Most of the girls go home to dinner, but those that do not go home sit in the pressingroom. I have no special room for that purpose. 743. I do not keep my hands after hours. 744. A good number remain for years—some for twelve years. 745. There are no complaints about ill-health. 746. I have had no disputes with my hands as to wages or anything else. 747. I think Boards of Conciliation or Arbitration would be a good thing to settle disputes. I have not given much thought to the subject, as I have no trouble with my hands. 748. We alw-ays close at 6, Saturday inclusive. 749. I think that an Act of Parliament should be passed to close all shops throughout the colony except fruit-shops and tobacconists, as I think it would benefit the employers and employes. 750. I am in favour of a half-holiday if it was on Saturdays. 751. We look to the parents as to the age of young people coming to our employment, and I think there should be a medical certificate as to their health. 752. Never heard of young persons being locked up on holidays. 753. I am last on the premises, and the sooner I get home after 6 the better I like it, and I take the keys home with me. 754. I only give the shirts and half-hose out to be made, nothing else. All men's clothing manufactured outside except order goods. 755. I have never had offers from persons to make shirts below the log price. 756. We want good work, and are prepared to pay the best prices. I will put in a list of prices. 757. I allow all hands when not serving customers to sit down, and they do sit down. 758. I give the hands in the shop a week every year and all the legal holidays. 759. The employes in the shops get three quarters of an hour to an hour for dinner, in two shifts. Miss .V. A. examined. 760. I am a confectioner's assistant, at present in the Exhibition. 761. I was for some time in Mr. 's —for four years. 762. I worked from 8 in the morning till 10 in the evening, sometimes 10.30, and 11, and 11.30 on Saturday evening. 763. I was not quite seventeen years of age when I went there. 764. I got just what time I could for meals, sometimes none. 765. I earned 10s. to start with, and 14s. when I left. 766. My health suffered in consequence—that is why I left; and I went to the lodge doctor. 767. There were a great many changes while I was there among the employes. They complained about the long hours. 768. I had constantly to be on my feet, and running about all the time, both attending to the refreshment-rooms and to the counter. 769. I often remonstrated with them to let me away earlier. 770. Mr. was quite willing to shut up the shop if others would. I think they might have closed at 8 o'clock without injuring either the public or the proprietor. 771. I work from 9in the morning to 10.20 at night in the Exhibition. Ido not find the work so hard as in the shop. 772. The shop only closed two days in the year—Christmas Day and Good Friday. I used to get a holiday now and then, but not very often. I used to get about five days in the year holiday. 773. Mr. and Mrs. were both very kind to me. I was very comfortable. Miss A. B. examined. 774. I work at Moore's factory, in Walker Street. I think there is plenty of room in the factory. The place is draughty if the windows and doors are open. 775. I have been there three years, and have good health. I was away for a month two years ago, but do not think that was in consequence of overwork. 776. I made £1 4s. last fortnight, and last week 14s. 3d. 777. Twopence a fortnight is kept from our wages for washing the floors. If there are odd pence they are generally kept back. 778. Seven or eight girls stay to dinner, and sit out in the yard; but they were allowed to go into the " pressing " room in winter time. 779. Sometimes in winter it is so cold in the morning that we cannot begin work. 780. A month ago we had to pay for breakages. 781. I think the Union has benefited us. We earn better wages now, and work the same hours as formerly. We make 2s. or 2s. 6d. a week more since the Union started. 782. Most of the girls live at their own homes. Mrs. Moore has two kettles boiling for us to make tea. 783. If we break needles now she keeps us waiting before giving us fresh ones. This has been done since we stopped paying for breakages. James B. Hulbert examined. 784. I am foreman of the clicking department in Simon Bros.' boot-factory. 785. The principal complaint I make is against the Inspector. 786. I have worked in different boot-factories in New Zealand for over five years. Ihavealways had charge of the clicking department, and have never seen a Factory Inspector until the 14th February instant, and again on the 17th, on which occasions he only stood on the stairs and looked in. He did not speak to any one in the room.

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787. There is no notice in terms of clause 9 of " The Employment of Females and Others Act, 1881," posted in our room, in which females and young persons are employed. 788. There is a lad under eighteen working there daily from 8 o'clock till 12, and from 1 o'clock to 6, and on Saturdays from 8 o'clock to 1, contrary to clause 7 of the same Act. 789. There is no ventilation in our room, which is not, I think, 10ft. high. 790. The windows, which are all on one side, open at the bottom only, and two at each end open at the top. We can seldom open the windows in consequence of the draught, and we get the hot air from the work-rooms below. 791. The work-rooms below are greatly overcrowded, and there are two lads there working in the dark. The ceiling is not above 6ft. from the floor. 792. In our room there are females working at both ends of the room, and men in the middle. This is the first place where I have found such an arrangement. The light is unsuitable, in consequence of the room being so low. 793. The closet and urinal are foul-smelling, and no attempt is made to keep them clean. 794. I have been twenty-four years in the business. 795. The lads are not, as a rule, legally bound apprentices here, and the consequence is that the employers put them at any jobs they please, with the result that when they leave at the end of five years they are very incompetent tradesmen. 796. As an instance, I may mention that an indentured apprentice who lately served his five years was discharged by his employer as not being worth more than £1 2s. 6d. a week, while the rules of our Union provide that he shall not take less than £2. This will show how inefficiently he had been educated in the business. I think he was capable of learning his business during his time had he been properly instructed ; but I do not think he had half learned his trade. William Leckie examined. 797. lam a dairyman with my brother Eichard, in the North-east Valley. I am of opinion that there is no necessity to get up so early in the morning in the winter months, because the milk will keep quite fresh until the next day. I would suggest that the milkmen would all come into Dunedin at a certain hour—say, 8 o'clock a.m. during winter. This would involve their rising about 6 a.m., instead of 3.30 a.m. as is the case now. It is very undesirable to be delivering milk in the dark. I believe the public would have no objection to this change after a trial. It would prove a great boon to hundreds of men, women, and children. Messrs. A. C. and A. D., aged eighteen and fifteen respectively, living with their father, dairyman, Tomahawk Peninsula, examined. 798. We both milk. We get out of bed at 3.30 a.m., feed the horses, and after that proceed to milk. We milk three cows each. We then breakfast about 5 a.m., and afterwards proceed to Dunedin in the milk-cart to serve customers. After our return I, ,am set to work on the (arm, and I, , go to Anderson's Bay school. We resume milking about 4 p.m., take our supper between 6 and 7 p.m., and afterwards go to bed. We have both passed the Fifth Standard in school. A. E., aged eighteen, and A. P., aged seventeen, milkers lor William Sanderson, Tomahawk Peninsula, examined. 799. W T e rise in the morning at 3.30., feed the horses, and start milking. There are thirtyeight cows to milk, and we milk six each. After receiving the milk into the carts we proceed to Dunedin to deliver it to the customers about 5 o'clock a.m. We breakfast about 4.30, and are only allowed five minutes to take it, being hurried away to the city. After returning we are set to do any jobs about the place until 4.30 p.m., when we resume milking. We take supper about 6.30 p.m., and after feeding the horses we can go to bed. We generally do so about 8 p.m. We complain of the long hours, and that the wages paid to us are not equivalent. The wages we are paid are 17s. 6d. and 15s. respectively, and found. A. (i., aged nineteen, milker for Alexander Matheson, Tomahawk Peninsula, examined. 800. I get up at 3.30 a.m., and start to milk. There are over sixty cows milking, and I milk eight or nine. I then take a breakfast at ten minutes to 5 o'clock, and proceed to Dunedin with the milk-cart. After delivering the milk I return to the farm, and have breakfast about 11 o'clock. 1 work on the farm the remainder of the day until 4 p.m., when I resume milking. I take supper about 6.30 p.m., and generally turn into bed at 8 o'clock. I complain that the wages paid me are not equivalent to the long hours I have to work. lam otherwise treated well. I have to work on Sundays the same as other days, with the exception of working on the farm. There are seven men and two girls on the farm, who all get up at 3.30. Elizabeth Moore examined. 801. I am the wife of William Henry Moore, hosiery-manufacturer, in Upper Walker Street. 802. Now is our busy time, and we employ about thirty hands, two on pants and remainder on socks and stockings. 803. All our work is piecework except winding. 804. We let the socks at prices varying from 2s. to 2s. 9d., according to the machines we supply to them. 805. A sock machine costs from £10 to £15, and a pants machine costs £40. 806. We get 18s. a dozen from the warehouse to finish them, and we give the knitters from 6s. to 7s. for knitting them, 2s. 9d. for sewing, and 3s. 6d. a dozen for mounting them. The milling and pressing we do ourselves, and I cannot form an estimate what it would cost. I think about 2s. a dozen.

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807. There are no complaints as to ventilation. 808. Never heard of any sickness or ill-health in my factor}-. 809. Never heard complaints about bad smells. 810. As to the ages of the girls, lam very particular about that. I was doubtful in one case, and went to the parents and got it in writing that the girl was fourteen last December. 811. As to sanitation, there is one privy, and it is cleared out two or three times a year. 812. It is not cold in the factory in the winter. There is uo fireplace. 813. There is no place for the girls to take their meals. Most of them go home, but on fine days they go on the Belt. 814. In my trade girls are not apprenticed. As soon as they learn the machine they go on piecework. A smart girl can learn very quickly. 815. It is a rule to deduct Id. a week from those that earn over 10s. a week, for scrubbing out the room. 816. We do not give any of our work outside since the Union started. 817. I know a party that is doing the work—that is, knitting socks—for just as much as I give to the girls. 818. There are a great many of this sort of people, who live in their own houses, and work there all hours. They get the work from the retail shops, who find that they can get the articles cheaper than they can buy from the warehouses. 819. I believe most of the retail shops have their own knitters. 820. The only thing that we can compete in is in the pants making. These small people cannot afford to buy the pants machine, which costs about £40. 821. Girls could earn six or seven years ago about £1 a week, because the prices were much better then than now. 822. I have far more apply to become apprentices than I can take on; but there is not an over-supply of machinists. 823. I have taught every girl in my employment, and perhaps two hundred besides. 824. I think that the price fixed by the Union —4s. 6d.—for the eighty-four cylinder machines is too high, and have therefore lost work by it. I think the price ought to be 3s. 6d., and 9d. for finishing. 825. A girl on the pants machine at present prices can earn 3s. 6d. a day on an average. 827. I have got rid of the fowls in our backyard. 828. There are thirty hands now in our factory, and the space allotted for them is 9,480 cubic feet. This measurement can be relied on as correct. Eobert Laidlaw examined. 829. I have a hosiery-manufactory employing thirty-six in all. 830. The cubic feet of the factory is 6,298, and there are thirty-one girls employed in that space. Five girls are employed in another part, where there would be more space for them, comparatively speaking, than for the thirty-one. 831. Twenty-two employees are engaged on knitting-machines. On the Griswold machines 13s. a week would be a fair week's work, leaving off at 2on Saturdays. That is not the average wage taking in girls who are learners, but that would be the average wage for girls doing a fair day's work. 832. The little girl to whom you spoke yesterday averages 14s. per week, and she is the smallest girl at a machine. That is what they would earn at my prices before the Union. 833. On the pants machine, previous to the Union, 18s. 6d. would be a fair average, working eight hours a day and till 12 on Saturdays. 834. Since the Union, £1 2s. 6d. would be a fair average on the pants machine, and 16s. 6d. on the Griswold machine. 835. Eight hands are employed sewing them, and they make from 9s. 6d. to 14s. a week. A little girl who has just left school averages 9s. 6d., and the other girls make from 12s. to 14s. a week. 836. Five are employed on weekly wages, and make from 7s. to £1 per week. One girl makes 75., two 10s., one 125., one 155., and one £1. The girl who gets £1 a week finishes, the girls at 15s. and 12s. iron pants, and one at 10s. and one at 7s. do the winding. 837. We have one outside worker, and she is paid 3d. per dozen over the log-rates. 838. I do not charge for breakages, and never have done so with two exceptions, and in one of those the charge was never paid. They were cases of gross carelessness. A girl was told that if she did a certain thing she would break the machine, and she did it and broke it, and I charged her ss. for what cost here 10s. I have never charged anything for girls learning; other people, T am told, charge from 10s. to £1. 839. I have never paid less for outside work than for inside work, but generally more. 840. I do not make any charge in connection with cleaning the place, and the girls who are paid weekly wages sweep it out in my time. Tho machinists have not to sweep the place out. 841. I have one apprentice who gets ss. a week. We are allowed one apprentice to every five workers; but I have only one apprentice. 842. I have not had a machine-breakage since the Union started, but have had hundreds of needles broken in the machine. 843. I get on very well with the girls, and am certainly in favour of the Union. When the prices were coming down below what I thought a girl could make a fair wage on, I proposed to the girls that they should start a Union. 844. I am pleased with the Union so long as it does not go too far, and cause the goods to be imported.

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845. I think the Union has been very reasonable—so much so that I have been astonished at it. Of course they were led by heads that knew better. I have been very pleased with the judicious way in which they have acted—very pleased indeed. 846. We employ little girls, as you have seen—a good many of them. Sometimes the little girls in factories are paid smaller wages, but with us they get the same rate as the larger girls. 847. We have no difficulty in connection with machines in private houses. 848. No complaint has been made to us by the warehousemen that knitting can be done cheaper by machines in private houses. 849. Only one of the girls who have learnt with me has left me and started on her own account. 850. The warehouses I work for have never complained to me that the work could be done for less. I should think half my work is for Messrs. Bing, Harris, and Co., and they have never said to me that work has been offered to them for less than my prices. A. H., milker, working for John Matheson, Tomahawk Peninsula, examined. 851. I am twenty-one years of age. Have been with Matheson three months. I rise in the morning at 3.30. There are twenty-one cows milking, and I milk five of these. After receiving the milk I proceed with it in a milk-cart to Dunedin at 5 a.m. After serving the customers I return from the city about 9 a.m. I breakfast at 4.30 a.m. After my return I work in the fields, making hay, thinning turnips, &c, until the evening, when I return to the milking between 4.30 and 5 p.m. After 7 o'clock p.m. I can go to bed when I like. The only complaint I have to make is the early rising, and long hours I have to work. In other respects lam comfortably treated. My wages are 15s. per week and found. Mr. J. P. Simon examined. 852. I am a bootmaker, and belong to the firm of Simon Bros. 853. Mr. Hulbert, in his evidence, is mistaken when he says that no notice, in terms of clause 9 of " The Employment of Females Act, 1881," is posted in our room. There is such a notice, and Mr. Hulbert cannot have seen it. 854. The statement as to the boy being worked from Bto 12 and from Ito6 is incorrect. If there is any lad working from 1 to 6 on any day, it is not with my knowledge or consent, and if he works after 5.30 it is Mr. Hulbert's fault, as he is foreman of that department, and has received instructions to work in accordance with the Factory Act. No person, male or female, works from 8 to 1 on Saturdays. 855. Mr. Hulbert is very shortsighted, and cannot have seen the notice which is posted up. 856. To my knowledge, all the windows open up, and three windows at each end of the building go up and down. Mr. Hulbert has frequently complained of the windows being opened, as causing too much draught. 857. It is the foreman's duty to see that the disinfectants are used in the closets. 858. We are working under the Union rules. 859. The reason we are so overcrowded is that it is a specially busy time,-and the men working down below are what we call emergency men. 860. As far as I know, the Inspector of Factories has only visited our factory on two occasions.

Monday, 24th February, 1890. Mr. A. I. examined. 861. 1 am a butcher's assistant, and complain about the long hours. 862. We work from 7 in the morning to 8 o'clock at night, 9 on Fridays, and 10 and 11 on Saturdays. 863. I ride out with the meat. Si; I. My wages are 17s. 6d. a week, commencing at 12s. 6d. when I was seventeen years old. I get my board, but find my own lodging. 865. The butchers tried to form a Union, but it did not last long, as there was so much jealousy. 866. We get the public holidays. 867. Very little business is done after 6 o'clock at night. 868. We have complained several times to our masters about the long hours. But for the action of one or two butchers we should close sharp at 6 in the evening. Mr. A. K. examined. 869. lam a journeyman butcher. I work in town, at 's shop. 870. Our work-hours are from 7 o'clock to 6 o'clock, 8 on Fridays, and 11 on Saturdays. 871. I earn £1 ss. per week. 872. I corroborate what my friend Mr. A. I. has said about early closing. 873. My master lost nothing by shutting at 6 o'clock. 874. I get half an hour for breakfast and an hour for dinner at my shop. 875. I am a single man. 876. Have been at the work four or five years. Mr. A. L. examined. 877. I am a journeyman tailor at Messrs. 's shop, in Princes Street. 878. I state here that there is no water-closet for men employed in the shop where I formerly worked, and close by the urinal was the water-tap where the girls went to gel water or to wash

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their hands; and of course it very often happened that it was very inconvenient. There are twenty men in this establishment, and they have to go to the railway-station or hotels to find a convenience. 879. The men work nine hours ordinarily, but when busy fifteen hours. Mr. A. M. examined. 880. I have heard the evidence given by A. L. The arrangement with regard to the girls going to the tap close by the men's urinal has been remedied. 881. There is no closet for the men, and this at times is very inconvenient. The workshop is overcrowded, and the ventilation is indifferent. 882. The windows might be let down, but that would cause a draught. 883. This establishment is one of the best conducted in Dunedin, and the complaint about the want of a water-closet is the only serious complaint. Mr. A. N. examined. 884. I have heard what has been stated by the last two witnesses, and can say their evidence is true in every particular. Mr. A. O. examined. 885. I have heard the evidence given by Mr. Hulbert, and can say that everything in it referring to Mr. Simons's factory is correct, and in no way exaggerated : in fact, it is understated. 886. The places below are not at all fit for men to work in. It is true that two lads are working practically in the dark. 887. There is no water laid on to the factory premises. A boy has to be sent to the back of the front shop for water to drink and to wash with. 888. Mr. Hulbert was mistaken in saying that the hours of labour were not posted up in the rooms. They were up, but the notice had been up for some time, and was so faded it was difficult to read it. 889. One ex-employe, an apprentice clicker who did the blocking, had to go out in all weathers, and in consequence he was laid up with rheumatic fever for about three months, and has never been the same man since. Dr. Eobert Martin examined. 890. I am a duly-qualified medical practitioner, and have been practising in Dunedin for about eleven years. I am not medical man for any of the lodges, but for the New Zealand Factory— that is, Mr. Hallenstein's factory. 871. I am brought into contact with the labouring-classes in my practice, but have had but few cases that I could say were due to long hours—that is, due to that alone. In fact, as far as I can remember, I do not know of any cases that I could fix upon as specially due to factorywork. 892. I think there is quite as much illness in Duuedin amongst girls outside factories as amongst factory-girls. 893. Amongst factory employes there have been a few cases of phthisis aud a great many cases of anaemia. Long hours and much standing may be a cause of the latter, but when you take outside of factories the same number of girls of the same class you will find quite as many suffering from anaemia. I cannot say that the factories increase that illness here. It is a common illness here, far more so than anywhere else, and I think we want a good ferruginous spring. 894. About eight hours' labour is quite enough indoors. Out of doors a man may work ten or twelve hours and be none the worse for it. Over eight hours' work indoors would be injurious. 895. Long standing would affect the veins of the legs more than any other part of the body. It might not be noticed so much at the time, but probably when in after-years the women came to child-bearing they would, as a consequence of this long standing, be troubled with varicose veins. That is one objection to young girls constantly standing. I have often had patients of this class from shops, and that is the chief illness that results from their long standing. 896. It would be a very good thing for children to have a medical certificate that they could perform certain labour before going to it. It is a common thing at Home for applicants for work in factories to be requested to produce a medical certificate. 897. I have often prevented young girls going to that kind of life, because it would not suit them, and in a good many cases I have told girls to give up factory life altogether, and that, as close confinement would not suit them, they should take places as servants and nurse-girls. 898. If a medical man saw girls before they were engaged in factory-work he might be the means of checking cases that would be likely to go wrong, as he would inquire into their health and their family history ; and if there had been any cases of phthisis he would not recommend them, hut advise them to go to some other kind of life, or decline the certificate, so that they would not be received. I believe there are many cases in which disease might be prevented by a check of that kind. 899. Service in respectable families is far more healthy than factory-life. 900. In some factories there are very heavy sewing-machines, and I have seen cases in which this heavy work has put operatives out of sorts altogether. Those cases have not arisen in the clothing-factories, but more especially in boot-factories, where the work is heavier. 901. I could not say that I have noticed that ill-health amongst females who work sewingmachines has increased in late years. 902. No doubt want of closet-accommodation is a very bad thing. Speaking generally, those who are regular in their habits need have no trouble ; and I do not think a factory would be a

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proper place in which to regulate their habits, but at the same time there should be proper accommodation in case it is required. 903. I have had many barmaids as patients. I consider them overworked as a rule. They have long hours, often in close rooms, and they have too much standing. Not many of them are given to drink, but many suffer from dyspepsia, chiefly from often taking liquors, harmless in a sense, but very injurious to the stomach—non-intoxicating liquors that produce dyspepsia. I have had to order several away on that account. 904. It might be desirable to have legislative enactments regulating the hours of labour in shops, restaurants, &c, as in factories, but not making the hours the same, as employment in a shop and work in a factory are very different. If possible it would be well to regulate the hours by law; but I think it would be a hardship to restrict shop-hours to eight per day. 905. There are some employes far too long in shops, there can be no doubt about that; and it would be a very good thing to have early closing if it could be managed. 906. I do not think any harm would result from eight hours' labour in any of the factories I have seen. There is plenty of time for fresh air after that. 907. There is no question as to the superiority of domestic service to factory life. The servantgirl is the healthiest, and makes the most useful wife by far. 908. I think it would be well if there were a Factory Act passed providing for the due inspection and proper sanitation of factories. Dr. William Lamb examined. 909. I am a duly-qualified medical practitioner, and have been in practice in Dunedin for about eight years. I am one of the medical officers to the Oddfellows, Foresters, and Druids at the present time, and in my practice I am brought much in contact with the labouring-classes. 910. I do think there must be something far astray that induces in so many girls here the condition called anaemia—that is, poverty of blood. I have found factory girls very prone to that. 911. When I find them like that I tell them at once to leave their work and to take at least six weeks or so out in the country, and to get into the fresh air. My opinion is that the breathing of vitiated air in close, confined places deteriorates their health, and the blood gets poor. The thing is easily understood: the air they breathe is deprived of oxygen that ought to be in it, and its place is taken by carbonic-acid gas. In some cases this anaemic condition leads to consumption. 912. I have had one case of a young woman serving in a shop suffering from varicose veins, due to standing too long. 913. Another class of artisans who are very pale and pasty are the boot-makers. They are subject to the same conditions as other factory workers where there are a number of operatives in one room, and no doubt in boot factories there is a great deal of effluvia from the leather, and in other factories from woollen materials. The remedy for that—that is, the anaemic condition— would be proper ventilation. 914. Looking up my notes of Professor Douglas Maclaggan, who lectured to us in Edinburgh, I find that he says that in an apartment the space provided for each person should be 300 cubic feet, and the air-supply per head should be 2,000 cubic feet per hour. 915. What is most to be recommended is through ventilation—windows not less than 7-Jft. in height opposite each other, with the tops letting down, as vitiated air has a tendency to ascend. 916. I have not visited any of the rooms occupied as factories by females in Dunedin. 917. I think it would be well for children to present medical certificates before entering factories. 918. I consider the occupation of a sewing-machinist who works the machine with her feet very injurious. I have over and over again to advise women, and especially married women, not to work sewing-machines. There is no doubt that work is very bad, very injurious to the uterine organs. lam speaking especially of married women, or of women who have borne children. 919. Want of proper closet-accommodation would have a tendency to create constipation; and, as regards urination, it would not be the best thing for the bladder. In connection with every establishment there should be such accommodation. You never know what the subjects may be. 920. It will depend upon the amount of work a domestic servant is required to do whether domestic service is superior to factory-work. I should say, if girls are not, so to speak, " worked to death," domestic service is far better than factory-work; and those brought up as domestic servants make better wives than those brought up to factory-work. 921. There should be windows on both sides of a workroom, and they should open top and bottom if necessary. James Dickson, a master baker, examined. 922. I carry on business in Great King Street. 923. I had a good deal to do with the bakers at the time when they were in bondage here, and was one of those who took a leading part in forming the present Bakers' Society. 924. We have a very strong society now, and the thing has been very successful. Everything seems going on well among the operatives. 925. I have been in business as a master baker for about three years, and previous to that worked here as a journeyman baker for eleven years, working in almost every place in town. 926. The bakers are now employed eight hours a day, and before the society was formed they worked in some cases sixteen hours per day for the same pay that they now get for eight hours' work. 927. We got the society formed, and did not go out on strike. We wrought our point so well that we succeeded without a strike. We got our society formed and registered, and the masters 5—H. 5.

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were afraid of what the men could do. We got all the men in before we took any steps, and then we got the ten hours which we applied for. We wrought at that for a while, and then applied for eight hours, and got that without a strike. 928. The price of bread was never affected by the shortening of the hours, and the employers get as much labour—in fact, more now during the eight hours than they did during the long hours we used to work. The men, with the long rest they now get, are more able for their work; and, more than that, it has been the means of improving the position of many of the journeyman bakers: they have got out of habits they never would have escaped from otherwise. When they were working long hours they got into a sluggish sort of state, and when they had half done their work they would get beer, and sit and smoke and drink and talk, and then get up and do some more work. Now when a man goes in the morning he knows it is to be all work : there is no sitting down, and no beer is allowed in the bakehouse ; but before that could not be prevented. 929. The bakers are not working at night now, except in cases of emergency, and according to the rules of the Society they are not allowed to work after 10 o'clock at night, or to start before 5 o'clock in the morning. 930. The health of journeyman bakers has very much improved since the formation of the Union. Now, when bakers have finished work, with few exceptions they go home, clean themselves, and take a walk; but, before, they never thought of going out from Monday morning till Saturday night. As far as the work of our operatives is concerned there is no necessity for legistion ; but I could wish to see their wages improved. 931. Bakers can be got at all wages, from £1 per week, there being a surplus of them in the labour-market. Some who do not belong to the Society are always going round seeking work at almost anything they can get, but where Society men are employed these men cannot get work. So many outsiders applying for work has the effect of bringing wages down. 932. The Union has never taken any steps with regard to wages, because they could not see their way clear to do it. The men are left at the mercy of the masters ; and, at the rate at which bread is being sold at present, it is impossible for the masters to give them more than they are now getting, which on an average is from £2 to £2 10s. a week for good men, and for inferior men from £1 to £2. 933. I blame the Government very much for accepting very low tenders for the contracts they offer for supplying the Industrial School, Benevolent Institution, Hospital, and Gaol. I think it is very injurious to trade that these contracts should be taken at such a low figure. 934. If the Government were to provide a department for themselves to bake bread for those institutions, that would do away with this reckless competition, and prevent men taking contracts at rates at which they cannot be performed without injury to workmen and millers. Dr. William M. Stenhouse examined. 935. I am a duly-qualified medical practitioner, and have been in practice in Dunedin for fifteen years. I was formerly for eight or nine years medical man for several friendly societies. 936. In my practice I am brought very much in contact with the working-classes, and I may state that the social condition of the people has always been a matter of very great interest to me. As I grew up I served my apprenticeship in the wholesale drapery trade with one of the first firms in Glasgow to go into the ready-made clothing, and while there I saw a great deal of the sweating question, and of the condition of the working-classes. 937. It is a very common thing to have patients under treatment suffering from the effects of long hours, close confinement, and overwork; especially is that the case in the winter and the spring. 938. I think for boys eight hours is a sufficient day's w r ork, and for girls I think there should be no continuous work at all. Girls and women all break down under continuous work. 939. I do not think either boys or girls should begin work before they are fourteen years of age, and even then eight hours' continuous work is a very great strain on a growing constitution. 940. Female complaints are very common here, and in a great many instances I have been able to trace them to continuous work with heavy sewing-machines. 941. Ido not think the inspection of factories is what it ought to be in Dunedin. There are a great many places neglected, and young women have again and again complained to me about the difficulty with which they could get their needs attended to. In some cases the closets are only to be got at by going through men's rooms, and because of that the females put off relieving themselves for days. It is quite a common thing for young women to go here for a week or ten days without a motion of the bowels, and they get into the habit chiefly through that: they have no opportunity during the day, and modesty prevents them going where they will be seen. 942. The gradual deterioration of females in factories was marked in the large towns at Home, but here I cannot say that it is obvious at all. There is plenty of fresh air here. 943. I have been in workrooms occupied by females here, and in some that were pretty close and much overcrowded; but they are palaces compared with what I have seen at Home. 944. A certificate of age is required from children seeking work in factories at Home, but I never heard of a medical certificate of health being required there. I would not disapprove of a medical certificate, but Ido not think it would have much practical effect. It might in a few cases prevent weakly children going to work in a factory, but when such children are sent it is usually from dire necessity. 945. The ill-health of females has, I think, increased from working sewing-machines, and undoubtedly from the increase of female employment. There is far more ill-health among females now than there used to be. 946. Continuous sitting is bad for any one, especially for young people, and more especially for women. It is very unnatural for women to be tied down long to anything. They require

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variety; but, more than that, the constant movement of the legs at a sewing-machine causes congestion of the pelvis, and gives rise to pelvic troubles and uterine and ovarian diseases. 947. Constant standing for long hours causes relaxation of the ligaments of the pelvis and gives rise to similar complaints. 948. Anaemia is very common here. Its frequency is something extraordinary. I believe one out of every three suffers from it every year, and some almost continuously. They get better under treatment in a few months, and then gradually drop again into the same condition. I find it affects two classes in almost equal proportions—domestic servants and factory- or shop-girls. In proportion to their number I think domestic servants are as much affected by anaemia as any other class, and school-teachers largely suffer from the same complaint. 949. I might say something about the causes of sweating. Some believe it is due to the public rushing for cheap bargains. Now, Ido not think that has the remotest influence on sweating. In Dunedin here, if I pay a fancy or even an extravagant price for a suit of clothes, I have no guarantee they are not made by sweaters. Indeed, there are very few male tailors employed now. And I may state my experience recently in London. I there came in contact with a great many of the lower class of women in the special hospitals, especially at the Eye Hospital at Moorfields, and I found, to my great surprise, that there are women who could only make ss. or 6s. a week by working to the detriment of their health ; and, on making inquiry as to where they worked, I found that they worked for shopkeepers in the West End and in Eegent Street. The very wealthiest firms—the firms that charge a profit, I should say, of 200 per cent. —pay their workers the very lowest rates of wages. 950. The Tailoresses' Union here is a step in the right direction. I have spoken to a great many young women since it was formed, and they all admit that it has increased their wages considerably, and they approve of home work being stopped. They like to earn a decent wage during the day and to have the evenings to themselves. It is very necessary, if they are at work constantly during the day, that they should have the evenings to themselves. 951. I have had barmaids as patients pretty frequently. I fancy they were generally suffering from anaemia. They have all sorts of troubles, but chiefly anaemia, or, rather, it is not so much anaemia as that they are just in a broken-down condition from standing for long hours and breathing an unhealthy atmosphere. I consider their employment is one not suited for women to be engaged in, and I have known many loose women employed in low-class hotels in Dunedin. 952. The tendency of overwork is unquestionably to lead to vice. The health is reduced, and when the constitution is enfeebled the mind is not so able to resist temptation in any form. 953. I am quite satisfied there will be no amelioration of the condition of society until it is acknowledged that female labour in any shape or form for commercial purposes is a misfortune, and society does all in its power to reduce it to a minimum. In fact, societies of males, instead of striking for an increase of wages for themselves and so forth, should direct all their efforts to keeping back women from labour, and agitate that question. The labour-market is glutted, and glutted because men have to compete with their sisters. I mean to say that females were never intended for commercial labour. It is quite capable of proof that they were never intended to labour commercially, because they are then brought into competition with their brothers and fathers. 954. I have seen more misery brought about in Dunedin from imprudent marriages than from any other cause, leading to drink, prostitution, and every other evil. I have noticed this, and watched cases for years. In some cases a young couple will get married. The girl is nice-looking and accustomed to business, but she knows nothing about the economy of a house. This couple will not be long married till they get into debt; then a confinement or disease comes; and they are never out of hot water, but sink lower and lower. I have seen numerous cases of that kind in Dunedin arising simply because the woman was not brought up in a way that would make her a suitable helpmate to a working-man.

CHEISTCHUECH. Mr. John Kennedy examined. 955. I am Inspector appointed under the Employment of Females Act within the Eesident Magistrate's jurisdiction, Christchurch. 956. I make a half-yearly report. Ido not know what becomes of it afterwards. There is nothing in the Act that obliges me to make this report. 957. I think, taking the factories as a whole, that the law is fairly carried out. 958. The Kaiapoi mill is not in my jurisdiction. 959. I think I can give you copies of the half-yearly report. In giving my report I comment upon the various infringements of the Act, and suggest amendments. 960. There are about one hundred and forty employers of labour under the Employment of Females Act in Christchurch. 961. A good deal of boy-labour is employed in Christchurch between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, and some of them are employed very late. I have seen them to 9.30 at night, and they commence at Bin the morning. I know this happened in a printing establishment. 962. During the three years I have acted as Inspector under the Act I have laid forty informations, and most of them resulted in convictions. They were principally cases of keeping the hands after hours on Saturday afternoon. 963. I take particular notice of the ages of the children.

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964. I think twelve years is too young for girls to go to work, and I think parents should be obliged to show certificate of birth. 965. The latest movement is the Early-closing Association. 966. There are three unions—the Tailors' and Tailoresses' Union, the Bootmakers' Union, and the Printers' Union. 967. Subclause (2) of section 7, Factory Act, is fairly observed. In some factories the employes have rooms where they can have their meals, and in others they have none, and these latter have to go out into the streets and have their food, and this is very bad when it is bad weather. 968. The ventilation of the factories in my district is pretty fair, but I have had complaints about a few. 969. I have never had any cases in which the employers have refused to carry out my suggestions. 970. I have never noticed anything wrong about the closet-accommodation; but that belongs to the Inspector of Nuisances. 971. There are a considerable number of boys and girls under fourteen employed in the factories. The provisions of clause 8 are not always observed. 972. The provisions of clause 9 are fairly carried out. 973. I think the tendency is to improve as regards the employment of boys and girls. 974. The workers in private houses are the most difficult to look after. 975. As regards section 3 of the Act, I have suggested to the Eesident Magistrate that the section should be amended so as to define what ventilation means : it should be stated how many cubic feet there should be for each individual. 976. As regards section 5, I have suggested the insertion of the words " young persons " after "child," so as to prevent the employment of boys after 6 o'clock in the evening. 977. As regards salesmen, I have suggested that seats should be provided. 978. I have not noticed among the employes under my jurisdicton any particular signs of illhealth. 979. I would also suggest that a clause be inserted to punish wilful obstruction of the Inspector in the execution of his duty. In Victoria the penalty is £5 by day and £20 for obstruction at night; while here there is no penalty mentioned under the Act. The Eev. Thomas Flavell examined. 980. I am chairman of the committee of the Early-closing Association in Christchurch. 981. The Association has been in existence for about two months. The assistants of the following retail businesses are included as members : Drapers, clothiers, bootmakers, ironmongers, grocers, confectioners, watchmakers, and hardware establishments. 982. This Association is not yet a union. 983. The main aim is to shorten the hours of labour. 984. One aim is the uniform closing of shops at 6, Saturdays included. 985. The future aim is to close at 1 on Saturdays. 986. We are trying at an amicable settlement of the difficulty between the employers and the employes with all reasonable means. 987. This is rendered easier now in consequence of the masters having themselves formed an association ; so that we can treat with them as a body. 988. I may mention that the D.I.C. already closes at 6 o'clock every day, and the ironmongers have already fallen in with the suggestion that their establishments should be closed at 6 o'clock. 989. Most of the grocers have also formed an association lately, and have passed a resolution to close their shops at 6 o'clock, provided the movement is general. 990. I believe there are a fair number of employers who are in sympathy with the Earlyclosing Association. 991. There are branches being formed in the other centres, and we are anxious to act in concert with them, calling it a New Zealand association, embracing all the large centres. 992. The Association desires also to get the smaller towns near Christchurch to fall in with our objects, in connection with which a public meeting will shortly be held in Lyttelton for the purpose of forming a branch of the Association. 993. One of the main obstructions to the early-closing movement has been the clothing department, in which, the salesmen say, they do a large part of their business between 6 and 9 on Saturday night. They say they do more business then than during the rest of the week. 994. It is mainly the working-classes who shop after 6 o'clock. The reason given is that they get their wages paid on that day. 995. One change will have to be made —that is, to alter the pay-day. 996. The next thing will be the persuasion of all classes of the community to shop before 6 o'clock. 997. We hope to accomplish our aim without legislation. 998. We are most anxious to conserve the interests of the smaller shopkeepers outside of the town. 999. In view of the objects we have before us, we have asked Mr. Joyce, M.H.E., at present not to proceed with the third reading of the Shop Hours Bill. Miss A. P. examined. 1000. I am an assistant in a drapery establishment, and my principal object in coming here is to complain of having to stand all day long, and also to complain of Saturday-night work. 1001. We begin work at 9 a.m. and work till 6 p.m. every week-day, except Saturday, and then we work till half-past 9.

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1002. I have an hour for dinner, and have a twenty-minutes walk each way. On Saturdays we get forty minutes for dinner, and I then take some lunch with me. 1003. I have but recently entered into this business, and my wages are 10s. a week ; but we make a small commission on sales. 1004. I have had no holidays, but have only been there nine months. We get all the public holidays, and they are not deducted from our wages. 1005. We have no chairs for assistants, nor are assistants allowed to sit down during business hours. 1006. I can say that my health has suffered in consequence of standing so long. We might sit down sometimes without interfering with business. We are at times half a day without serving a, customer, —just stitching tickets on ; but have to stand while we do that. 1007. We are generally busiest from 11 till 12, and from 3t05, on the ordinary days. There is not a great deal done between 6 and 9on Saturdays. It is only yards of ribbon and pieces of frilling—all small cheques, for things that people could really do without. 1008. It is generally the workroom girls, who get the Saturday half-holiday, that come dressed up to shop on Saturday evenings, and they make the shop look full and busy. 1009. We are not allowed to sit down during the day ; there is no such thing as a seat behind the counter. 1010. I have been a shop assistant for five years, and can say that the same thing obtains in other places, where the hours are much longer. 1011. I had to leave my last place, where I was my own mistress and had better wages, on account of my health, which was failing, owing to long hours and constant standing. 1012. It is not really necessary to stand while sewing on tickets; but we have to do it. 1013. The proprietors give us no reason why we should not sit down, but I suppose they think we do not appear busy if we sit down. 1014. I do not think Saturday-night work necessary, and it is especially unnecessary in the winter-time. If the shops closed on Saturday evenings I do not think that would drive trade into the suburbs. 1015. We have made no representations to our employers about seats ; it is a recognised rule of the trade not to have them. 1016. All employes complain of not being allowed to sit down : that is, they complain to each other. 1017. We have remonstrated with the girls who get the Saturday half-holiday for themselves and then come and shop on Saturday evening. Miss A. Q. examined. 1018. I have been ten years in the drapery trade, and in my present place for two years. 1019. I make a similar complaint as to want of seats and keeping open on Saturday evening. 1020. The wages for a female shop-assistant go as high as £1 15s. per week, and I believe higher salaries are paid in the show-room. 1021. Millinery, dressmaking, and tailoring are carried on in the establishment in which I am, but, so far as I know, none of the factory hands come down and serve in the shop. 1022. Shop-assistants are frequently ill. I have been incapacitated at different times, and 1 think that this has resulted from the long standing, which is very injurious for women. 1023. I have felt the standing very much, and have had to go to the doctor about it. I was at the doctor's about a month ago, and I am fairly healthy if I am not standing so much. 1024. A reasonable amount of rest during business hours would, I think, improve the work; because you feel more fresh to serve a customer if you are not so very tired. That rest might be allowed if all could be persuaded to permit it. 1025. I think the hours in the large shops in Glasgow are about the same as here; but in small shops there the hours are longer. The climate here is much more trying than at Home. 1026. I have suffered from weakness of the back, and know of other girls who have suffered from anaemia. 1027. I never sit down from the time I go to business to the time I leave it, excepting during lunch-time. I have a twenty-minutes walk home, but I take the coach for it. 1028. We do not speak to our employers about the long standing. The employers, being married men, ought to know that it is very weakening for women to stand so much. 1029. In my opinion it is not at all necessary for us always to stand ; but employers think that if ladies saw us sitting down it would not appear business-like. 1030. If seats were provided I do not see why advantage should be taken of them for "loafing." I think if people are inclined to "loaf" they will do so whether they sit down or stand to do it; and, as we get advantages from the amount of business we transact, it would not pay to do less than we could. Mr. A. E. examined. 1031. lam a journeyman baker, and have been in the trade about five years. I have not been apprenticed, but I learned my trade with my father, who was in business for himself. 1032. Fifteen months ago I went to ——■ —-'s as carter and assistant baker for £1 a week and found. I took the place as second hand, the master himself doing the work of the first hand. 1033. After being there five months I complained of doing the cart and the bakehouse work as well, and my employer got another man to do the carting, and I went into the bakehouse altogether. The place was the lightest-worked in Christchurch. 1034. When I went with the cart the hours were from 6 in the morning to 7 in the evening; and in the bakehouse I worked from 6 in the morning till 6 in the evening.

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1035. There was no Sunday work, but I got no holidays excepting public holidays. I never worked overtime excepting twice when there was a rush of business. During the race week I worked from 5 o'clock in the morning till 10 o'clock at night, and did not ask to be paid or get paid for the overtime. 1036. The custom here is for the bakers to work twelve hours a day. 1037. Last November my employer brought a boy in, not as an apprentice but to learn the trade, and gave him ss. a week and found. After about two months it was found there was not enough work for the three, and, as the boy became useful, I got the sack, the master doing more work himself, and giving the boy who took my place 7s. 6d. a week. Since then I have been out of work. 1038. One of the worst customs here is that the same hands work in the bakehouses and drive out the carts. William Denne Meers examined. 1039. I have been for the last forty-five years in the manufacturing-clothing trade, and am well acquainted with it in Christchurch. I came to the colony twenty-one years ago to start the first clothing factory in it. I had a clothing factory in Dunedin seven years ago, and should be the proprietor of a factory to-day only for the action of the Union. 1040. One of the principal difficulties we have to contend with in Christchurch at the present time is the action of the Tailoresses' Union, in consequence of their claiming a wage that is 25 per cent, above that demanded in any other town in the colony. 1041. The hands have been called out from Messrs. Parker and Tribe's. That factory has now been closed four or five weeks, as it has been found impossible to pay this higher rate and to compete with manufacturers elsewhere. 1042. I should have closed an agreement to establish a business this morning had it not been for the decision of the Tailoresses' Association last evening not to accept the Dunedin log. 1043. Messrs. Parker and Tribe, with whom the question arose, wanted it settled by arbitration, but the tailoresses most positively objected to that. 1044. The effect of the higher log in Christchurch is that we cannot possibly compete with makers in other towns, and it has driven business entirely away. At the present time Parker and Tribe's hands receive strike-pay, and are walking the streets doing nothing, while the trade is being driven to Dunedin. 1045. One merchant in town here has sent several hundred pieces of tweed to Dunedin to be made up, but I am not at liberty to give the name of that merchant. 1046. There is now no clothing factory here except the Kaiapoi, and they are making up tweeds of their own manufacture at the Christchurch Union rates. 1047. I wish to bring before the Commission the injustice of employers having to provide a dining-room for their employes. That greatly increases the difficulties of employers, and there is really no advantage in it, though it means a cost to the manufacturer of nearly £l per week. 1048. I never could ascertain the reason for the passing of the Employment of Females Act; and when the Inspector tried to put into force in my factory the clause which says that employes shall leave the workroom during the dinner-hour, about twenty girls hustled him into the street, as he wanted them to be turned into the street when it was raining. 1049. Another injustice that I wish to speak about is that the employer is compelled to pay certain employes for all Government holidays. This makes an inequality between those who work piecework and those who are employed by the week; and it is an injustice to the employer, as the employes are not allowed to work overtime to make up for these holidays. I think they should work to make up for the holidays, or else lose their pay on those days. 1050. I admit that the employer when making his agreement with his hands knows that these holidays are to be paid for under the Act, and can take that fact into account. I estimated when I was in Dunedin that I was, because of this, paying my employes during the year an entire week for nothing. 1051. It used to be the practice to allow people to take work home, and it was a very great boon to a number of females to do it. That is not allowed now—the Union prevents it; and I think it is a hardship that it should be so. 1052. When I was in Dunedin I had the most respectable class of girls any man could wish to have, and there were some of them who took work home. I asked them why they took it home, and they said they had either mothers or sisters who could do the work there; there was always some one at home who could do the work, and who was unable to attend the factory. I found that scarcely any girls took work home for their own benefit, to do it themselves, but for some other members of the family to do ; but that is all stopped now. 1053. I do not know what has taken place of late in Dunedin, but, when I was in business there, there was no necessity for girls to take work home in order to make decent wages. 1054. When in Dunedin I had two sisters working for me at similar rates and at similar pay, and one made £1 3s. per week and the other not Bs. As a rule a factory is better without the idle girls who earn poor pay. 1055. I think the provisions of the Employment of Females Act require modification, and I think that factory hands should be allowed to take their meals in the factories. If the hands leave the factories at dinner-time they go outside and sit down anywhere to get their dinner, and have not got hot water for tea as they would have in the factories. 1056. The clause as to girls leaving the factories during dinner-hour, I should think, would be a wise one in England; but here the circumstances are entirely different. Some of the factories at Home are not fit for the employes to remain in; but that is not the case here. 1057. If trade is driven from one place to another it might come back again; but that would greatly depend upon whether the manufacturer starting here would have sufficient influence to induce the merchants in town to give him work.

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Charles Woodham examined. 1058. I am a baker and cook, and am now out of employment. 1059. Igo every day to labour-agents, and I find their terms vary from ss. to £1 and over. I will not pay these charges, as I consider them too high, and that there should be set prices. 1060. At Mr. Parker's and at Mr. McDonald's I was asked a fee of 10s. for obtaining a situation, and they would also get a fee from the employer. I did not pay that sum, and did not get the situation. 1061. They asked 10s., and guaranteed to get a situation; but if there is no situation the applicant has to wait till there is one. 1062. There are notices in the offices saying that the booking-fee is 2s. 6d., and they get that and as much as they can afterwards. 1063. I would suggest that labour-agents should be licensed, and all their fees fixed. They make all sorts of prices, and I have known them to get as much as £2 out of a young man for getting him a situation. James McDonald examined. 1064. I am a labour-agent. 1065. The old system was to make a charge of 2s. 6d. for booking-fee to persons seeking situations. One hundred might apply, and only two or three of these might succeed in securing a situation. 1066. I have therefore adopted a different system, and only charge those that obtain a situation. I make no charge now for registration. 1067. I charge for a man who gets a permanent situation from A per cent, to 2 per cent, on his annual wage —that is, for a good permanent situation. As much as 2 per cent, is very rarely charged. 1068. I myself am the judge of the class of situation, and as to the rate to be charged. 1069. I have all these notices as to my charges posted up in my window. 1070. With other labour-agents, I believe, the custom is to charge a booking-fee. 1071. If the applicant does not get the situation I return him his money. Francis Samuel Parker examined. 1072. I am a tailor by trade, and President of the Tailors' and Tailoresses' and Pressers' Union, and President of the Trades and Labour Council. 1073. During the last fifteen years there has been a Tailors' Union, except for an interim of about three years. 1074. We then observed the evils—the excessive employment of boy-labour and the employment of females —creeping in. 1075. One establishment that then employed nine men has three now and upwards of fifty girls. It is a tailoring establishment. Another that employed twenty-three men has only now five men and five boys, and two improvers. 1076. There are some establishments in which part of the work is put out and part done on the premises. We hope under our new Union rules to remedy these evils. 1077. In connection with the Kaiapoi Factory, a strike took place about three months ago. The average rate of wages for weekly hands was 15s. 9d., working every day of the week. This does not include overseers or table-hands. Two hundred pieceworkers, average rate 10s. 2d. per week; and thirty-five pressers, average rate £1 9s. 6d. This was before the strike. The strike lasted three weeks, and was terminated by the adoption of the rates and log of our Union. 1078. Pieceworkers now earn 30 per cent, more, and the weekly hands earn 12A per cent, and the pressers from 2£ to 15 per cent. more. 1079. I disagree with Mr. Meers when he says that the factory-hands should be allowed to remain indoors during meal-hours, as it would be conducive to their health for them to leave the premises, so that the factory could get thoroughly ventilated, and it would also prevent the employers' having any opportunity of working their hands during meal-hours. 1080. I consider that a dining-room should be provided in the factories for the hands to take their meals in. 1081. The Union disapproves of work being taken home. The Union thinks that all the work should be done at the factory during factory-hours, as when work is taken home girls work up to 2 o'clock in the morning. I know of one case in which, working five nights ranging up to 1 and 2 in the morning, and including the day-work, the wages amounted to only 15s. per week. The Union has put a stop to this sort of thing. 1082. All the tailors and tailoresses and pressers, except in one or two small establishments, are now within the Union. They would all join, but their employers threaten to dismiss them if they do so. In one establishment there are one man and twelve boys employed. The boys go back to work at night, and work from 7 to 10 and 11 o'clock at night. The boys are over fourteen years of age, and do not work more than four and a half hours at a stretch. 1083. We have a strike now with Messrs. Parker and Tribe. The Union called them out. Strikers are receiving from the Union 75 per cent, wages as strike-pay. We are trying to make the firm accept the tailors' Christchurch log. 1084. I have been to Dunedin and have inspected the Dunedin log, and have been over the factories, and noticed the mode of work, aud I am personally satisfied with their log, as I find that they are even making more wages than are received in Christchurch for similar work. Although the work done there is, in my opinion, inferior to Christchurch work, they make more wages. 1085. I think it would be advisable for the Kaiapoi directors to take into consideration the adoption of the Dunedin or New Zealand log.

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1086. It is my wish that a Union should be all the same for New Zealand, but the Union does not agree to that?: the Christchurch Union would like the other places to fall in with the Christchurch log. Master A. S. examined. 1087. lam fourteen and a half years of age, and have passed the Fifth Standard. I feed a lithographic machine. I left school a year and a half ago. 1088. I went to Weeks's bag-making. I worked at bag-making when I first went. I was there six months, and then I went to my present place. 1089. I began work at Weeks's at 8 o'clock and worked till 12, and from 12.30 till 5 p.m., having half an hour for dinner. I was here on piecework at 3d. a thousand for confectioners' bags on the bag-machine, and 4d. a hundredweight for sugar-bags. I could make Bd. or Is. 6d. a day, according to how the machine worked. My average wages were from 3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d. a week. At my present employment I earn ss. a week. The hours are from 8 to 1 and from 2 to 5.30, and to 6 o'clock on Fridays. 1090. At Weeks's we were allowed to take bags home to finish. We got 7d. a thousand for 41b. bags at home, and the girls lOd. a thousand for fib. bags. It took me three nights of two hours each to do a thousand. The girls averaged overtime about Is. 2d. per week. Mr. A. T. examined. 1091. I am a hairdresser, and work from 8 in the morning to 9 at night, and on Saturdays to 11. I have an hour for dinner and an hour for tea. I earn £2 10s. a week. 1092. My complaint is that my hours are too long. 1093. There are only about seven journeyman hairdressers in Christchurch. 1094. In our trade there is an apprenticeship of three years. Apprentices earn from ss. to 15s. a week. Boys commence about fifteen or sixteen years of age. 1095. lam not kept occupied all the time in the shop. It is simply a custom to keep open so long. 1096. All sorts of people come in at night. 1097. My master would close earlier if the others would close, but there is too much jealousy. Eobert Clark examined. 1098. I am a draper in W. Strange and Co.'s house, and am secretary to the New 7 Zealand Early-closing Association. I have charge of the dress department. I work from 9in the morning to 6at night, and to 9on Saturdays. It is not one of the late houses in the trade. Our principal is in favour of the early-closing movement. 1099. The persons who are the principal movers in the early-closing movement have from twenty to thirty years' experience in the general retail business, and are convinced that the general health and well-being of the employe will be conserved by early closing. There is no necessity as regards the public for keeping open so late. 1100. My experience is that the sinners in late shopping are not so much the poorer classes as the middle classes, who could come in any day of the week in reasonable hours. 1101. Although we have hopes that we may accomplish this reform without legislation, we have no hope of maintaining it without an Act of Parliament. 1102. The objection to early closing comes not so much from the suburban small trader as from one or two of the larger traders in this city. 1103. It is a custom in some establishments to stop their pay when assistants are sick. Mr. E. C. Brown examined. 1104. 1 am manager of the D.1.C., Christchurch. 1105. There are seasons of the year when girls must go back to prepare the goods for the business of the coming day —that is, marking, &c. 1106. In bringing the girls back we have to throw the whole of our shop open to the public, and therefore have to bring back the whole of our staff of assistants. The Act says that these girls cannot be employed when the shop is closed. We must open the shop before we can work any of these girls. 1107. I think the Employment of Females Act is not a protection to the girls, as it is supposed to be. At our establishment, which observes the best hours in Christchurch, we cannot bring back after hours two girls to do an hour's work without bringing back the whole of the staff and throwing the premises open to the public, while our opponents in business can open their doors every evening in the week and keep their staff all night if they like. 1108. We want the Act to protect the girls so that when we want a few girls to come back we need not bring the whole lot back. This is the outcome of a judgment of the Supreme Court. 1109. The Factory Act should be amended, in my opinion, so that clause 10 should omit reference to saleswomen from it. 1110. In busy seasons the Act works detrimentally to the interest of the girls in this way, when we are very busy in these departments—factory departments. In consequence of the law not allowing any departure whatever from specified hours, we are obliged to employ a large number of casual hands, which can only be employed in busy times. This works against the interests of the regular hands. I think, myself, that it is a very bad thing to employ these hands. The Act gives no latitude w-hatever for busy seasons to work longer hours. 1111. I know in Victoria that permits are granted to employers of labour—granted by the Eesident Magistrate —for working extended hours in busy times. In busy seasons a large influx of trade comes to these departments, and the girls have by law to knock off at two on Saturday afternoon. These permits, which are regulated by Act, allow so many days in the year

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and the hours to be worked. In England double the number of permits are allowed to that allowed in Victoria. 1112. We have always observed the 6 o'clock closing on Saturdays. 1113. Ido not approve at all of work being taken home. It should all be done in the factory. 1114. The statement of the Secretary of the Early-closing Association astonished me as regards the stoppage of half a day's pay for staying away from sickness. As far as I know such a state of things does not exist in all New Zealand; but lam sure that in all sickness even of many weeks' duration the wages have been paid weekly. 1115. As regards sitting down when the shop-girls are not busy, chairs are put for the girls' use. The girls very rarely occupy them. 1116. The hours are from 9 to 6, with an hour for lunch. 1117. In marking goods the girls generally sit down. 1118. Be holidays, the rule in Christchurch is that all shop-assistants get from one week to two weeks every year, and all public holidays, and in both cases they are paid full time. There are eight public holidays in the year. I consider the only hardship the employes have is the hours after 6 o'clock on Saturday. And as for the agitation for the Saturday half-holiday, Saturday being the Christchurch market-day, I think it impracticable and out of the question. 1119. The Early-closing Association has my full sympathy, but it must become a-general thing. 1120. I consider it most injurious for Parliament to interfere between business people and the public. CHAEIiES Partridge Hulbert examined. 1121. I am a hat manufacturer, and outfitter. 1122. I am here at the request of the Commission, to give evidence. 1123. I am President of the Drapers' and Clothiers' Association, but 1 am now simply speaking individually, and not as president. The Association has only recently been brought into existence, about the last six weeks. 1124. I am as much interested in the employes as the employers. 1125. With regard to early closing, I should like to say that the hours worked by the employes in the industry that I represent, which is a very large one in Christchurch, are very reasonable, and much less than in other parts of the world ; and 1 say that the men and women employed in the retail shops—drapery and outfitting—are the best paid and have the least real work, and less anxiety than in other trades in Christchurch. The employes themselves are not by any means unanimous with regard to Saturday closing, either in the afternoon or the evening. They have common-sense enough to see, many of them, that shutting up the town on Saturday " at an early hour would drive a considerable amount of trade away from the city. Christchurch is surrounded by a farming community, who arc possibly visiting Christchurch for the purpose of disposing of their produce, and they make their purchases, and so long as Saturday is the recognised pay-day and market-day the farmers come to town on that day, and it would be very foolish for the employes and employers to drive away the trade from the town. If Parliament should pass a law closing up the towns of New Zealand on a Saturday, I should almost expect that Parliament would pass another one closing the churches on a Sunday, as J think one is as great an interference with the liberty of the subject as the other. Where the female employees are worked eight hours a day, it is pretty generally known that domestic servants have to work eighteen hours, and have longer hours on their legs than shop-employees and harder work. This class of employment I consider wants looking into. The employes in mechanical trades have been suffering more than the employes in shops. 1126. I am a manufacturer ; and shop-assistants' hours are from 9 to 6 o'clock, and an hour for dinner, except on Saturdays, when it is 9 p.m., and sometimes later. 1127. I do not allow- work to be taken home, although I think in some cases it is a hardship, because where there is a family of invalids they could do a certain amount of work at home. lam not aware of the Dunedin Union allowing permits to take work home. 1128. I think the present Act considerably restricts trade. In small shops it is an interference, this closing on the Saturday afternoon, as it interferes with the wages. It may be wise in the case of children in large factories; but, as regards adult females, they should be left free to do as they like. 1129. I have been told by employers of labour that if they could import at the same price they would stop manufacturing. 1130. I only give my assistants the public holidays, but I never refuse a holiday to any one if they want one. I employ from fourteen to fifteen hands in the factory, and in the retail shop three assistants. 1131. I have been urging it upon the retailers that they should adopt a system of closing at 5 o'clock, instead of 6, excepting on Saturday. I would place the young men in retail trades on the same footing as regards closing as those that knock off work at 5 o'clock. I think that no injury would result to the public, as they would soon fall in with the earlier hour. As a matter of fact, no business is done between 5 and 6 o'clock. 1132. As a proof that the public appreciate the opportunity of shopping on Saturday, I am prepared to say that double the amount of trade is done on that day between the hours of 6 and 9 of that during any day in the week. 1133. There are two or three high-class establishments which are prepared to close at 6 o'clock on Saturday nights, the reason being that their class of customers have other opportunities of shopping, and do not as a rule shop on Saturday nights. But the large majority of shops which keep open certainly do a profitable business. 6—H. 5.

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1134. 1 have been told by the farmers that if the Christchurch tradesmen shut up their shops on Saturday afternoons and evenings it would be an intimation to them that we did not want to do business with them, and the farmers would deal with the small people near them. 1135. With regard to 5 o'clock closing, there are a very large proportion of the employes in the retail shops who would prefer closing at 5 on five days of the week than either on Saturday afternoon or evening. George Henry Blackwell examined. 1136. I am managing director of the Kaiapoi Woollen Manufacturing Company. 1137. The factory log under which we work is 27f per cent, on an average above the New Zealand log. Ido not know of any legitimate reason why our prices should be above those paid in Dunedin. We are aware that we have better supervision than in Dunedin. We expect a better finish than is given in Dunedin, for which we have at all times been prepared to pay. 1138. Our prices before any log was formed were considerably above Dunedin prices—about 20 to 25 per cent, higher. We understood, when we accepted this log from the Christchurch Union, that an effort would be made to raise the other logs in New Zealand to the same level. Efforts have been made, but have failed. The consequence is that we are isolated altogether, and necessarily this will divert trade. 1139. We are in communication with the local Union to settle the difference, our object being to secure uniformity throughout New Zealand. We have no reason to doubt our coming to a satistory conclusion. If we accept the Dunedin log we still hope to maintain the good standard of our clothing. 1140. We have spent about £750 in supplying motive-power for the sewing-machines, costing us annually about £210, without any deduction being made from the employees, whereas in Dunedin a deduction of 2d. per garment is made where steam-power is used to drive the sewing-machines. I think it is beneficial for the girls to have the machines worked by motive-power, as working by the pedal is injurious. 1141. I think the Act wants amending with respect to turning the employees during mealhours out of a factory, which is well ventilated, into sometimes wind and snow and rain. I know of one case in a factory in Christchurch where girls have applied to be admitted during meal-hours dripping wet, and have been refused in terms of the Act. Under the Act the Inspector has power to compel proper ventilation, and I think, if the room is properly ventilated, that the employees should be allowed to remain for meals. 1 would not permit the hands to work during meal-hours. We are paying £60 a year for the use of a room for half an hour during meal-hours as a diningroom for the employees at the factory in town. I think it a hardship to oblige employers to provide a room for half an hour to an hour for meals for dining purposes, when the factory is well ventilated. 1142. I think the Act should be amended so as to provide for the registration and proper supervision of all the sanitary arrangements aud buildings. 1143. I believe the Union will probably take a reasonable view of cases with regard to work, See., so that where, from domestic- reasons, employees are unable to work in the factory they can take work home. Further, I think the Act should bo universally applied. Frederick Charles Geraud examined. 1144. lam a journeyman compositor on the Lyttclton Times, and work on piecework. lam Secretary of the Typographical Association. 1145. Our hours are from 8 o'clock at night to 3 in the morning, and two hours in the day for distribution. 1146. Piecework is at the rate of lid. per 1,000 "ens." It is Id. less than Dunedin. I earn about £3 10s. a week: that is the average. 1147. Owing to the excessive competition which has been carried on for a number of years boys have been largely introduced. Our Association has just been formed. The boys are employed on all sorts of terms. The proportion is two boys to every man. That is in the jobbing offices. Boys are not allowed on the morning and evening newspapers. They are employed on the weekly papers. 1148. We have one establishment in which there have been female compositors lately introduced, and there is some trouble about it. Ido not think they should be allowed, as they are not fitted for the work. Only one branch is fitted for females : that is the type-setting. Female labour is not recognised by any typographical association in the world. 1149. Some firms take the boys on without being legally apprenticed. 1150. The Typographical Association are endeavouring to secure legal binding of apprentices, so as to insure competent tradesmen, and to limit the number. When the apprentices complete their term, though not legally bound, the Association have hitherto accepted them on a letter from their employers, showing they have served their six years. 1151. The relations between employer and employed in our business are now better than I have ever known them. There seems to be a general desire on the part of a majority of the employers to recognise our Union, and to work on the principles we have laid down in our regulations. 1152. I submit proposals which have been made to the masters for a new scale. If adopted they would be an increase of Id. on the rate paid to the newspaper compositors. 1153. Jobbing hands get from £2 10s. to £3 per week. 1154. I am confident of an amicable solution of the difficulty. These proposals have however been altogether rejected by one firm—that of Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs. 1155. The difficulty has arisen over the employment of female hands. Mr. Whitcombe has discharged the whole of his employes—the compositors and bookbinders—because they refused to leave their respective Unions. About eight or nine men are under notice.

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1156. A deputation from the Typographical Society waited on Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs for the purpose of settling the difficulty. Eventually we proposed to submit the whole of the matters in dispute, with the exception of the employment of females, to arbitration. This was declined. The points proposed to submit for arbitration were the proportion of apprentices, and minimum for 'stab, hands. 1157. The Association offered, if the firm would place the girls upon the ordinary terms upon which apprentices are taken, and, when they were out of their time, pledge themselves to put them on ordinary journeyman wages, we would be prepared to discuss the matter with them. This was declined. 1158. At the time Mr. Whitcombe discharged his men for being Unionists he was himself a member of the Master Printers' Association. 1159. Under our rules it is impossible for us to go out on strike until we have submitted the question to arbitration. 1160. I am entirely in favour of an official arbitrator being appointed, with technical knowledge, to deal with disputes. Master A. U. examined. 1161. I am sixteen years of age, and work at Whitcombe and Tombs's, but am not an apprentice. 1162. I was on piecework for some time, and at that 1 averaged 6s. or 7s. per week. Then 1 was put on day-work at ss. per week. I was messenger, and worked generally helping in the shop. 1163. I worked from 8 to 12, and from 1 till twenty minutes to 6, and on Saturdays from 8 to twenty minutes to 1. 1164. I worked a good deal of overtime, I should say for quite four months, and I got 4d. per night for four hours' overtime —that was, from 7 till 10 p.m. Whenever I made a mistake in making up my time I was fined 6d. 1166. Most of the other boys were fined more often than I was. If a person was fined more than once a week, that would show carelessness ; but nearly every week somebody was fined. 1167. I have been ill, and have put it down to overwork. There are plenty of windows round the workroom, but there is not much ventilation. The windows at the side of the buildings are casement-windows. 1168. I have been in my place fourteen months, and I went on the understanding that I was to learn the bookbinding trade. 1169. If I leave my present employment I do not know any place I could go to. 1170. Overtime at the rate I mentioned was compulsory. Master A. V. examined. 1171. I have been in the same situation as the last witness for fifteen mouths. 1172. Two boys were fined there for running round the shop during overtime. When running round one of them knocked down a binder's paring-stone. This made a noise, but no damage was done. For this each boy was fined 10s., or a week's wages for one and a week and a half's wages for the other. During that week the boys worked eleven hours and forty minutes per day, excepting on Saturday, when they worked four hours and forty minutes, and they received no wages. 1173. For overtime I was paid at the rate of sfd. for three hours—the same rate of pay that I received during the daytime. 1174. On another occasion a boy was fined a fortnight's wages, but his father made him leave rather than pay it. 1175. In the year I must have w-orked overtime during at least four months. 1176. There are no regulations or rules for us boys to go by stuck up in the shop. Master A. W. examined. 1177. I can corroborate what the two previous witnesses have said. 1178. I have been ill from overwork. When the window is open to ventilate the room the wind catches me right across the back. 1179. Ido not know what becomes of the fines. I did not know when I was going to work overtime, and when I went I did not know what 1 was going to get for it. John Pearson Cooper examined. 1180. lam a printer employed at Whitcombe and Tombs's. .1 wish to bring before the Commission the system of fines. 1181. The boys, girls, and men are fined alike for very trifling offences. One man was fined Is. for a finger-mark on a book, and a girl was fined 6d. for putting two covers on a pamphlet. 1182. I produce notes of a lot of these fines, the notes being put amongst the wages as representing the amounts mentioned in them, and received by the employes instead of cash. 1183. A boy was fined 6d. for not putting his time on the doc, and another for not having his overtime doc. initialled. Here is one showing that a young fellow was fined £1 for skylarking. He was a young man employed in the shop. I believe it was a case of one young man living to get a ruler from another. The other was getting 7s. 6d. a week, and so he was only fined ss. 1184. These fines have been protested against over and over again, but without any effect. Here is one showing 6d. for talking, and a boy 10s. for skylarking—that was, for throwing a pellet of paper. Another case is where a girl was engaged to do embossing. The firm gave a certain price for a long number —I think 20,000 envelopes—and the work took a longer time than they estimated. They charged her for the extra time it took. I produce the account they rendered her for

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£1 12s. 2d., which is the amount they estimated they had lost through the length of time the job took. The account is indorsed by the girl with this explanation :" In this case the machine broke down twice and hindered me. as it was not working well." The managing director has to-day found out that the fines of £1 and ss. for skylarking were unjust fines, for he is going to refund them ; and he has told the girl that he would say nothing more about the account for the envelopes. The account was rendered on the 7th November last. 1185. There are nineteen girls employed in bookbinding, &c, and most of them have been fined for talking and for other offences at various times. From my experience of the trade, I say undoubtedly that these fines are extortionate. There are six girls employed in the composing-room in addition to the nineteen I have mentioned. 1186. I have worked under Mr. Tombs for several years, and was apprenticed to him. I never knew him to introduce such a system of fines, and I have the highest opinion of him. 1187. I have worked in other places, and my opinion with regard to fines is that such a system of fining as this is unknown in other offices. I think that the fines fall too heavily upon those who get small wages. The fines do not go to any sick or charitable fund connected with the operatives. 1188. Boys and men are fined the same amount, without regard to the proportion their wages bear to the penalty inflicted—that is, so far as mistakes on " docs." are concerned. 1189. I have known of no such system of fining in any other printing establishment, and no such fines for " skylarking." In fact, I think that no practical printer who started on his own account would think of imposing such fines. Mr. Whitcombe probably does it with the idea of insuring carefulness; but the system defeats its own object, for it takes the heart out of boys to treat them in that way . 1190. There are no bonuses to those who escape making mistakes. 1191. If the boys are absent from illness or any other cause —if only for an hour—their wages are stopped to the extent of their absence. The same applies to girls and men employed there. 1192. When the Union was formed Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs were made aware of the fact, and offered no objection to it at the time. Certain propositions were sent up by the Canterbury Typographical Society to the firm, saying that certain regulations would come into force on a given day. These were principally the regulation of the proportion of boys to men in the establishment. Mr. Whitcombe, on receipt of this letter, called us down, and told us he would not recognise the Society ; that he had determined to run the establishment on non-union principles. After interviewing us once or twice he consented to receive a deputation from the Society. The deputation waited upon him, but could not make any better arrangement with him, and he said he would have to fight the matter out. He said it was not so much the printers he objected to, but that if he gave in to them he should have the binders with certain grievances wanting redress, whereby he would lose a certain amount of work. He said he had contracts in hand, and that if he acceded to the requests of the binders he would have to ask an advance of 25 per cent., and consequently should lose the work. 1193. The establishment is now closed to Union hands, all the Union people being under notice to leave. Mr. W 7 hitcombe declined to listen to the binders merely because they belong to the Union. 1194. In the composing-room there are a foreman, three journeymen, two printers, and six girls. The wages to the journeymen are £3 per week, and one receives £2 10s. Five of the girls get 7s. 6d. per week, and one 10s., I believe. I believe the girls are from sixteen to eighteen years of age. These girls are supposed to be learning. They have served a little over twelve months. James Mclntosh examined. 1195. I am a bookbinder, and work at the Tunes Office. 1196. The principal thing I have to come to you for has reference to the " lock-out " at Whitcombe and Tombs's, 1 being President of the Bookbinders' Society. 1197. Without any previous intimation Mr. Whitcombe sent for his bookbinders and told them it had come to the knowledge of his directors that they as bookbinders were now members of a trade society, and that his directors had come to the decision to employ no Society men at all. That was on Thursday, the 27th of February. The option was given them to resign from the Society or to go out. 1198. On the following day Mr. Whitcombe sent a message through one of the hands that he would receive a deputation from the Society if their proposal contained a guarantee. On Monday, the 3rd March, Mr. Whitcombe was requested to receive a deputation, but declined to do so ; and before we had any chance of making proposals he sent for bis foreman bookbinder and told him he must give an answer within two hours whether he would belong to the Society or remain in Whitcombe and Tombs's employ. The foreman came and asked the Society what should be done, and following the precedent of other societies in New Zealand we told him that it would be fittest for him to remain a member of the Society ; and he went back and told Mr. Whitcombe so, and Mr. Whitcombe said " Then, of course, you cannot remain in our employ." 1199. The whole of this trouble emanates from Whitcombe and Tombs. The Society were not asking for an increase of wages, or a decrease of hours, or for anything, and were making no complaint ; nor were we aware of any dissatisfaction on the part of the employes. 1200. The Times and Press Offices, and Mr. J. T. Smith and Co., are working Union hands without objection. 1201. Bookbinders now earn in Christchurch from £2 10s. to £4 per week. 1202. I know that at the time Mr. Whitcombe refused to accept Union hands he was himself a member of the Master Printers' Association,

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Thomas E. Cooper examined. 1203. I am at work at Whitcombe and Tombs's as a journeyman paper-ruler, a branch of the binding trade. 1204. I corroborate the evidence of the previous witness as to the excessive amount of the fines imposed. 1205. I know a case in which a boy had to pay for work to the extent of £1 135., though I am positive that it was not the boy's fault that the work turned out badly. At that time we had run out of a particular kind of ink, called " steel blue," and the cause of the work being defective was that bad ink was supplied by Mr. Whitcombe to the boy. The amount was taken off in sums of 2s. 6d. per week, and the reduction ih salary was maintained for a considerable time after the amount charged against him for this had been fully paid. 1206. I know of a case in which an accident occurred in the room, and not only was the time while he went for relief deducted from the wages of the person who suffered, but the same was done in the case of the one who went with him. 1207. There was another case of a boy who had the end of his finger taken off through an accident caused by another boy. This boy's wages were "docked," and when he returned from the hospital they refused to take him on again. 1208. I can give particulars of a number of cases in which fines have been imposed for trifling offences. 1209. These fines are not appropriated to any purpose in the interests of the employes. 1 have asked what becomes of these fines, and have been told that they go towards the sick fund. We have no sick fund. I have known men in the employment of the firm to be sick, and have been sick myself while in their employ, but have never got anything out of an office sick fund, and have never known anybody to get anything out of such a fund. 1210. Ido not consider the place the girls work in is fit for girls. It was made out of an old stable and part of a bottling-store, and is badly ventilated. During the summer wet sacks have to be put on the roof. During one afternoon six girls had to leave, as they could not stand the heat of the room. Arthur Andrews examined. 1211. I am a bookbinder, working at Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs's, and am also under notice to leave". I can corroborate fully the evidence which has been given by my fellowemployes. Mr. Edward McCleary examined. 1212. I was foreman in the machine department of Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs. I can corroborate what has been said by the previous witnesses. I left that employment on the 24th December last. 1213. The practices narrated by the previous witnesses were in vogue when I was there, both as regards fines and long hours. The boys worked eleven hours and forty minutes a day for four solid months, and I had on several occasions to send boys away in consequence of their being ill. 1214. The fines and penalties for defective work are unjust, and I never knew of them in any other office. 1215. The practice in other offices is that when work is spoilt through accidents, or even from blunders, that is a loss the office takes; but if these things occurred often, that would show incompetence on the part of the hands, and they would have to leave, so that efficient men could be employed. Mr. A. X. examined. 1216. I am a shop-assistant, and work at 's. I work from Bin the morning till 9at night, and till 11 p.m. on Saturdays. I get an hour for dinner and an hour for tea. 1217. I have been in my present place for about four months, and in the business for four years. I get 17s. 6d. per week, and one night in the week I get off at 6 p.m., and sometimes I get an extra night off at 6 p.m. 1218. I have worked in another shop from 8.30 a.m. till 8 p.m. every night, excepting Saturdays, and on Saturdays till 11 p.m., and have worked there till a quarter past 12 onJSaturday nights. 1219. There were one young man and about five boys and girls to do the work there, and the boys had to work those hours, and are working them now. 1220. It is two years since I was there, and lam now nearly nineteen. Boys just over fourteen years of age worked those hours. The girls worked from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. 1221. On Saturday night, working till 11 o'clock, you feel as if you could hardly stand up. It has often made me feel very ill, but I have never knocked off work. 1222. Working so late on Saturday night robs one of Sunday. 1223. Most of the employers, my own included, want to close at 6 p.m. on all nights but Saturday, and would do so were it not that one or two firms stick out. 1224. Circulars have been sent round in favour of early closing, and all have signed them with the exception of two. There are nine establishments in the trade in which lam employed-that now keep open here till 9 p.m. on ordinary week-days, and seven of these want to shut up at 6 p.m., and would do so if the other two would also agree to close.

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Mr. George H. Whitcombe examined. 1225. I wish to make a statement in writing, which is as follows: — " Christchurch, March, 1890.—Mr. G. H. Whitcombe, manager of Whitcombe and Tombs (Limited), printers and manufacturing stationers, wished it stated that he gave his evidence at the request of the Commission. At the same time he would take this opportunity of placing before the public a statement of the misunderstanding which had arisen between themselves and a portion of their employes. " General Scope of the Business. —Their business was formed on co-operative principles, and at the time of the formation inducements were held out to employ6s to become shareholders, which they did in several cases, but only a few had held on to their shares. It was generally understood that schoolmasters held shares in their company: this was incorrect; not a single schoolmaster under the Board of Education had any interest whatever in the company. They published a balance which would show what profits they made. Their trade was unlike that of any other - printers at present established in the colony, and they occupied much the same position as that of wholesale manufacturing stationers in Europe, because their principal trade was in supplying and manufacturing for the stationers of the colony. Their directors worked very hard in the direction of getting trade diverted from the Australian Colonies and Europe, and had after a great struggle succeeded in obtaining several large contracts for manufactured stationery ; they had also worked to get duties put on classes of goods that could be manufactured in the colony. This had resulted in the employment of a large number of boys and girls in order to successfully compete with foreign labour. They had also successfully introduced a series of local diaries, which had grown to such dimensions as to give employment to a large staff nine months out of every year. " The Canterbury Typographical Association. —The present dispute did not emanate from the company's office. There was, with some few exceptions, the best possible feeling and mutual esteem between employer and employe, some of whom were old and valued servants. For many years a great amount of jealousy existed between some of the other offices, and he attributed a great deal of the trouble to this ; their own people were being led by the other offices. The company had always paid the highest wages in the trade. Up to within a month or so the current wages paid for compositors ranged from 50s. to 555., whilst they had for years past paid 605., and did so still, and had only one compositor, a distributing hand, who was paid less. They were the only office that paid such high wages. If they were left alone they could settle their differences with their own people without the least difficulty, but the Society stepped in and said, ' You must not do it.' With regard to the employment of female labour, his attention had been drawn to a letter in the columns of one of the morning papers, and also the evidence given by the Secretary of the Society. He might state that he did not intend to reply to attacks made by members of other offices ; but, to put themselves right with the public, he would, state the facts of the case. Some eighteen months ago competition was so keen that master-printers had to reduce the wages paid their compositors, and, finding that owing to the high rates paid to their men the company lost a great deal of their work, they called them together, and placed the matter before them, intimating that they intended introducing female labour to counteract the difficulty, and asked them to state if they were still w-illing to continue in their employ under the circumstances. They asked for a few days to consider the matter, and he understood it was placed before the Society, and they agreed to work under the newarrangement. It was generally thought that the girls would prove a failure, instead of which they have proved a great success. He thought it strange that the Society should object to them now. In Auckland a large staff of female compositors was employed in the Evening Star office, to great advantage both to employer and the girls. Two years ago he visited all the principal printing offices of America, and female compositors were largely employed. The rate of wages paid there was less than that paid the men. Female compositors are also employed in England, but not to the same extent. He did not consider it unhealthy employment—quite the contrary, as could be seen by going through their factory. The Apprentice Act as at present constituted is generally admitted by all employers in every trade as unworkable. Masters have no control over them, and in mixed factories like theirs it is impossible to employ male apprentices. In addition to this, females were more intelligent and easier to teach. As a matter of fact, they did not think their female compositors had ever been fined. The female compositors are worked by themselves, and come to work 10 minutes after the men, and leave 5 minutes before them. They had no intention of turning them off when their time of apprenticeship was up, and would never take on more than they could always find work for. When their apprenticeship was up they would be treated in the same liberal way as all the other employes of the company. With regard to the Master Printers' Association, they were induced to join it by other offices for the purpose of improving the existing state of trade, by which the men directly benefited. "Difference with the Bookbinders. —On Tuesday afternoon he was told by one of the master printers that there was a Bookbinders' Society, and that they contemplated taking a somewhat similar action as those of the Typographical Association as regards the apprentice-question. This was the first intimation he had that there was such a Society, and he was surprised to learn further that the foreman of the department had joined the Society. It was considered by the managers that the foreman could not hold the position he did with the company and be at the same time a member of the men's Society. The foreman himself admitted that he could not be impartial to both, but would be biassed in one or other direction. Under these circumstances he was asked either to resign his position or leave the Society. He (Mr. Whitcombe) was told by the foreman that he had placed his position unreservedly before the Society, who had decided that he must remain with them. He (Mr. Whitcombe) thought the whole trouble was caused by the Society's action in insisting on the retaining of the company's foreman. A great amount of capital was being made out of their system of fines, but the whole amount collected since the formation of the

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company (some seven years) only amounted to £17 ss. 3d. An account was kept distinct, and could be verified by an auditor. It would be seen that it was much overstated. Fines are inflicted in all factories working under similar conditions. They had no sick fund, nor could one be instituted except in factories employing a much larger number of workmen. There was a great deal of carelessness amongst workpeople that could only be met by fines. They did a great deal of work for the banks, and mistakes occurring in their forms might render the banks liable to heavy actions for damages. Skylarking could not be allowed in mixed factories, but no man employed in their factory had ever been fined £1 for this offence. There was a great deal of overtime-work last year, owing to pressure brought on the company by some of their contracts. He did not like the overtime system, as the company lost heavily by it, as it took it out of their men, besides the extra expense of gas motive-power. That was the reason they engaged their foremen by the year and would not pay them for overtime. No overtime had been worked this year so far: there was not enough ordinary work, unfortunately, to keep the hands going during the ordinary hours. The ventilation of all the rooms was good, and he invited the Commissioners to inspect the factory. It was correctly stated that an embossing girl had been charged £1 12s. 2d. for embossing 20,000 envelopes, but under the following circumstances : The work was taken at the associated printers' tariff-rate, and had resulted in a loss of £1 12s. 2d., which their books would show. The hardship to the oompany was that they also lost the profit which should have accrued on the sale of the envelopes. At that time the girl was paid £1 per week. The same work has since been taken at the same rate, the girl being on piecework, and the number of envelopes increased from 20,000 to 25,000. The result was that the 25,000 cost £2 2s. less than the 20,000, and the girl averaged wages at the rate of £1 ss. a week for the time worked, leaving a fair return to the company on the work and the ordinary profit on the sale of the envelopes. The machine has been stated to be at fault: that is not the case ; it was in perfect order at the time, and the following week the girl embossed the same number of envelopes in half the time. The total wages paid by the company for the present year was £5,133 18s. lid., and the lines for the same period £6 Bs. Bd. " Kuril/ Closing. —They closed their retail shop at 6 o'clock every night, including Saturdays, and had done so for years. In addition to this, they allowed their assistants a half-holiday every alternate Saturday." 1226. We pay for all holidays under the Act those to whom the Act applies. Journeymen and others we do not pay. 1227. The notice to the bookbinders came to us owing to the action of their foreman. 1228. I do not think any other local office is worked on the same basis as ours, because there are no offices working under the same conditions; but if you go to the large factories in Melbourne or England, or other large centres, working under the same circumstances as ours, you will find the same system of fines inflicted. 1229. It is correct that the same rates of fines are inflicted upon boys who get a small rate as upon journeymen. The fines, as a rule, are 6d. or Is. Ido not know that we could very w r ell alter them. 1230. It might have happened in the case of a lad who was skylarking in the factory that he was fined as much as a week and a half's wages. The fines are imposed for the purpose of maintaining discipline, and not to remunerate the company for losses caused. 1231. The fines would fall more heavily upon the boys than upon the men. Wrong entries in "docs." would mean a very serious item to the company, and it might mean charging one customer for woik done for another. 1232. We do not take any as compositors unless they show a certificate that they have passed the Sixth Standard, and in future I think we shall not take boys to learn bookbinding unless they have passed the Fifth Standard. James Bichard Triggs examined. 1233. I am a partner in Messrs. Ballantyne and Co's.,and have charge of the clothing and hatmanufacturing departments. I wish to state that I am present at the request of the Commission. 1234. There is one great hardship in the Factory Act, and that is the provision rendering it necessary that hands shall leave the factory during meal-hours. I have known girls catch cold during the winter-time through having to leave the workroom. 1235. Even where there is a room supplied to be used as a dining-room it is difficult to keep it warm without expense. We have a separate cottage, but the hands object to go there. In our business the milliners will not mix with the dressmakers, or the dressmakers with the tailoresses, and so we should require to find three or four different rooms for them, and where land is expensive, as in the centre of a city, that is rather a difficult matter. 1236. I do not know that it is altogether pride that makes them object to mix with each other, but they are strangers to each other. You can quite understand that where there are two hundred hands employed they would not know one another. Where the workrooms are well ventilated, and their staying in them would not interfere with the health of the girls, I see no objection to their being allowed to remain in the factories during meal-hour : iv fact, it would be to the advantage of the employes. 1237. As far as I know, the employes prefer having their meals in certain workrooms, and certainly in our workroom ; but I have seen workrooms I think it would not be wise for them to stay in. 1238. I think in the Act provision should be made so that where the workrooms are healthy enough, and the class of establishment is such that no unfair advantage would be likely to be taken of the permission, under proper supervision, the employes should be allowed to take their meals in the factory-rooms.

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1239. Our hands are on weekly wages, only four or five being piece-Workers. 1240. In all other respects I consider the Act is very satisfactory indeed. 1241. There are times when it would be a great convenience for us to be able to work longer hours, but I think that would be likely to lead to abuses. Permits I think would lead to a lot of abuse, for the Inspector could not be everywhere, and advantage would be taken. In the interests of employees I think there should be no permits for overtime at all. 1242. W 7 e have to employ extra hands in busy times, but have no difficulty in getting them. In the clothing I have had the same number of hands all through for years. 1243. We pay for legal holidays, but stop three days at Christmas. 1244. I consider we have early closing now, as our establishment keeps open from 9 a.m. till 6 p.m., and till 9 p.m. on Saturdays. 1245. Drapers' assistants are better off in this country than in any other part of the world. 1246. If our girls are tired they may sit down at any time they like ; and if they have ticketing to do they can always sit down to do it. I have never spoken to them about sitting down. 1247. We have a waiting-room upstairs where they may sit down if they require to, and there is a couch there they may lie on if they are not feeling very well. 1248. There is no objection whatever to our female assistants sitting down when they can do so without interfering with business; and there are opportunities when that may be done. I will make the suggestion to the heads of the departments to tell them they may do so. 1249. I consider it is necessary for the convenience of the public to keep open till 9 p.m. on one night of the week —that night being Saturday. 1250. In the drapery department we are generally busy between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. in the summer, but I think the employers would gain by closing at 5 o'clock on all nights but Saturday. 1251. We have never had any disputes with our employees, and we believe they are perfectly well satisfied with their hours ; but, of course, in every business there are agitators. I can imagine other places where the hands are not satisfied. 1252. If there were a serious difficulty I should be inclined to refer it to outside arbitration. 1253. If the Tailors' Union submitted their dispute to arbitration I think it would be far more satisfactory to both sides. George James Anderson examined. 1254. lam Vice-president of the Typographical Association. I wish to explain that the Typographical Association have no desire for a strike, but that the action of Whitcombe and Tombs is, in our opinion at any rate, practically a lock-out. Mr. Joseph Benjamin Jackson examined. 1255. I am a journeyman benchman, and President of the Christchurch Operative Bootmakers' Union. 1256. We have a Union log, and by that we work. We have one boy to four men—that is, in the benching- and finishing-rooms—and one boy to three men in the clicking-room, and two to five or six or seven. 1257. The strength of our Union is 180 men : that includes benchers, clickers, and finishers. Females are not included. The women are simply in the upper department. 1258. There are four Union factories. There are about close on fifty non-union men, working in about four non-union shops. 1259. The proportion of boy- to man-labour in non-union shops is one to one. In one or two cases it is actually more. 1260. Non-union shops allow work to be taken home. 1261. In two branches the work is piecework, but in the clicking department it is weekly wages. We do not know whether the non-unionists have piecework. 1262. In non-union shops the men are not paid the Union rate of wages. 1263. Our log is different from the Dunedin log. Each town has its own log. 1264. The minimum wages for clickers is £1 15s. 1265. We struck an average for the four busiest weeks of the year, and the average for benchmen was £1 125.; finishers, £2 3s. 1266. I have never known of any boards of arbitration which have been anything but a farce. Personally speaking, we are better with the power we have for enforcing our claims. 1267. There are three points upon which we can, as a local Union, strike at once: these are infringement of boy regulations, employment of non-union hands in Union shops, reduction of wages. Any others we must submit to the decision of the Trades aud Labour Council and the Federated Bootmakers' Union. 1268. We work forty-eight hours a week. 1269. The girls in boot-factories are in separate rooms altogether. 1270. The sanitary arrangements are fairly good. I have worked in all the Union shops here. The closets are separate for the males and females. 1271. In the four large centres there are different prices. Ours is the second lowest, Auckland being the lowest; but they can make as much under their log as we can under ours, as their work is not so good as ours. 1272. It is the intention of the four federated Unions to get out a uniform statement for NewZealand. 1273. The boys are not legally bound to an apprenticeship. It would be far better for the masters and the Union if they were, for it would make them better tradesmen. It is the rule in some shops to give them 75 per cent, of their earnings after they have served six months. Appren-

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tices having served their time in Union shops are taken on in non-union shops at lower wages than journeymen. 1274. In the non-union shops they work fifty hours. 1275. The Union has pledged itself not to shop after 6 o'clock. William Joseph Osborne examined. 1276. lam Secretary of the Christchurch Operative Bootmakers' Association. lam a journeyman bootmaker. 1277. We formed a Union in consequence of different factories cutting down the price. 1278. Many of us were obliged to take our work home before the Union started, because we could not got work inside the factories, it not being the interest of the employers to provide us with rooms and gas. The evil of taking work home is that it allows of sweating, and also permits of men doing work cheaper. I have known an instance myself of a man employing others and profiting from them without doing any work himself. This was before the Union. It leads also to nightwork, and to very long hours. I have myself been working till 1 and 2 o'clock before the Union statement was fixed. 1279. In other respects I corroborate what has been said by the President. William A. Tribe examined. 1280. I am of the firm of Messrs. Parker and Tribe, clothiers and general outfitters, in Cashel Street. 1281. We were in the business of clothing manufacturers, and were compelled to give it up on account of the demands of the Union, which were per cent, beyond what was paid in anyother part of New Zealand. I produce a newspaper extract, showing the comparison between Christchurch and Dunedin logs. We have given the business up. In consequence of our refusal to agree to their terms the Tailors' Union called out the men. We employed about forty hands. 1282. Before we gave up we tried to conciliate in every way. The Union would not entertain any other log but the Christchurch log. The Dunedin log was never offered to me to work by. One deputation from the Union informed me that it was no use to offer the Dunedin log, as that would not be accepted or entertained by the Union. The hands were willing to take the Dunedin log, but were called out by the Union, the reason being that the acceptance of the Dunedin log would mix up the other logs in Christchurch. Since then my employees have agreed to work under the Dunedin log, and this has enabled me to sell my business. 1283. By closing this factory the work has gone out of the place. The average of the female earnings was 14s. 6d. a week for forty hands. Apprentices get 3s. 6d. ; adult hands, to £1 2s. 6d. These hands have received strike-pay since they went out. 1284. I think the questions of dispute between employer and employe in all trades, as far as I know, should be compulsorily submitted to arbitration. I offered arbitration in this case, and was refused. Had arbitration been accepted the matter would have been settled. I think the arbitrators should be chosen one from each side, and an umpire should probably be some official permanent referee. 1285. I think the Employment of Females Act is rather unfair to the employes as well as to the employer. It gives the female employees no opportunity of making more money during the busy time by working overtime, as they lose time during the slack times. The trades fluctuate very much in this colony. 1286. At times I think the difficulty about overtime might be removed by permits being granted by the Inspector, or any one else got at easily. I do not know anything about the permit-system in Victoria. The difficulty could not be met by taking on extra hands at busy times, as these hands have not experience. Ido not think the permits should exceed twenty in the year. I think it very unfair in the Act that employers are compelled to pay for holidays. Ido not think it fair for wages to be given for holidays except Christmas and Good Friday, as they are considered Sundays. It is also unfair to the pieceworkers. 1287. I think it a very necessary thing that work should be taken home by hands on their application. Some abuses have happened in non-union houses. This could not occur in Union houses and bring down their prices. 1288. If the factory is badly ventilated the exclusion of the employes during meal-hours is a good thing. If, however, the factories are well ventilated I do not think it necessary for the employes to leave the premises, it being a large tax upon the employers —providing dining-rooms. Mr. A. Y. examined. 1289. I am a journeyman shoemaker, for five years, and four years on my own account. 1290. From the start it was bad. Nothing a week for a year, then ss. a week for two years ; for the remainder 10s. I was not a bound apprentice. I was " bottoming " —that is, putting on soles—and during the four years I was only taught one branch. I did not learn the rest of the trade. When I wanted tops I went to the clicker. In the factory it takes eight men to make a boot. For four years I worked for myself; latterly I employed a man and boy. My experience was that I made nothing at all, only bread and butter. Ido not drink, and smoke only 9d. a week; do not go to races ; and do not spend £2 a year on amusement. 1291. I could make 6s. a day if I got work, but my experience was that I could not get the work to employ me all day. I just got enough to pay my rent. I worked fourteen hours a day on my own account, and when apprenticed from eight to nine hours. 1292. A very good man can bottom a pair of boots in nine hours, and he would earn 6s. 6d., at that. I could not bottom six pairs in six days. 7—H. 5.

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1293. I reckon I worked half-time, and averaged 3s. a day during the four years. I came out with nothing. I averaged, I suppose, 15s. a week —not more. 1294. It is impossible to make Is. an hour in Christchurch all the year round. 1295. There are twice as many bootmakers as are wanted. I have practically thrown away thirteen years of my life. 1296. 1 am living at home with my father, mother, and sister—all adults. The wages that are coming in are £1 ss. a week. We are living comfortably, and pay ss. a week rent, and owe no man anything. Of course, we can put nothing by for sickness or anything else. Mr. Matthew Alexander Baxter examined. 1297. 1 am a presser, and am Secretary of the Tailors' Union. 1298. Prior to last June the trade was so bad with respect to the low wages paid to workers that the operatives decided, in order to protect themselves, to form a union. This state of things was greatly brought about in town by " sweaters"—that is, small " bosses." The Kaiapoi Factory employed a large number of hands, and were forced to come down to compete with these outside parties ; and so they introduced very low prices for the work they were doing. 1299. To show how bad trade was, and the small amount that hands could earn, I can tell you that thirty-live men employed in the Kaiapoi Factory averaged for twelve months £1 2s. per week. These were weekly-wage men. They had only about ten months' work, and, running it out for the year, that is what it came to. The lowest wage was 61, and the highest was £2 10s. All these were wages-men. 1300. Next, there were eighty female workers, and their average for twelve months was 12s. per week. The highest was £1 55., aud the lowest 7s. 6d. That average is for the year. The average weekly w T age during the time they were at work was 15s. 9d. 1301. There are two hundred pieceworkers, and their average wage for ten months was 12s. a week, or, taking it for twelve months, 10s. per week. This wage had to be made up by working at home after hours. A great many girls took work home to make .enough to keep them decently, and worked at it till 10, 11, 12, or 1 o'clock, and they were then allowed to do so by the company. 1302. This was up to June last, when the Union was formed ; and the Union interfered and would not allow work to be taken home, but decided that all work should be done in the factor}-. 1303. I have known employes complain of not being allowed to take work home under the Union rules. Some, who had perhaps a father working in the factory and one or two sisters at home, would take a good quantity of work home, and the others would do it, and so add largely to the weekly wage, while others who were working in the factory could not get work enough, but had to stay about idle during the daj . 1304. The Union makes an exception at the present time in the case of invalids, and in cases where the earning of the money is a matter of great consequence, and gives permits in such cases for work to be taken home; but in all other cases the work must bo done in the factory. Now all are benefited, but before the few were benefited to the injury of the majority. The Union would be ready to give its consent to work being taken home under special circumstances, where the necessities of the family required it. 1305. There was a great amount of abuse with refeience to apprentices. The company had a great many of them, and the workers complained of the large percentage of apprentices employed. This is the way in which they were taught their trade : A young girl would serve three months for nothing; after that she would get 2s. (id. per week; and the highest she would receive would be 7s. 6d., even if she remained at the trade for two years. The difficulty was this: that as soon as they could earn ss. or 7s. (id. per week they would be put on piecework, to their own immediate advantage, but before they completed their apprenticeship or gained the knowledge of how to make a garment. Apprentices should be bound, in order that they might be turned out better workers. 1306. I have known girls who have gone into shops at £1 a week, and on being turned adrift they have had to accept 7s. (id. a. week, and had no means of going further. They have to make a living, and, of course, offer their services at a lower rate in order to obtain work. 1807. I think girls should show a certificate of age when they become apprenticed. I know of one boy who has served an apprenticeship for four years, and now he is only fifteen years old. 1308. I can mention the case of a girl twenty years of age who worked for the Kaiapoi Factory, and was able to earn only 12s. a week by working to 1 o'clock in the morning. This is absolutely correct. That was before the Union, and the girl was strong and well at the time. 1309. There are four shops in this city where sweating is carried on. The proprietors go round the various establishments and tender for making up, offering to make up a suit for £1 ss. or£l 6s. ; and to do that they must take it out of labour. To show that these low prices were rampant, there are no two shops paying alike. 1310. We have to a large extent remedied these evils. The low rates in factories have been remedied by the log, but that does not apply to the shops. We have not dealt with the shops as yet. 1311. One girl who was getting £1 a week in a shop went to another, and for exactly the same work was offered lis. 3d., and force of circumstances compelled her to take it. 1312. Even as regards the factories there is need for the existence of the Union. A man named , who was discharged three or four months ago for some frivolous conduct, was taken back again, and, though he did the same work as previously, he found that he was reduced 7s. 6d. per week. He got £1 10s.. instead of 81 17s. (id. as formerly. Directly the Union heard of it they wrote to the directors of the company, and asked that the man should be put on in accordance with the log. Unless the employes have some protection they are in danger of having their wages brought down.

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1313. There is an allowance for competency : those not competent are put on a reduced scale. 1314. The managing director of the Kaiapoi Company stated that they were paying 27i per cent, on an average higher than the Dunedin log. Thai may be so, but at tin- same time they get 27* per cent, more labour out of the workers. 1315. He also said to you that before the Union they were paying too high for the work they were getting done, and that he could not give any legitimate reason why it was so. The operatives will tell you they were paying none too high for the work, and that if they were paying higher than Dunedin they were getting their work done accordingly. 1316. What they want to do is to lower the prices to the same level as Dunedin, but to have the work done as it is being done now. What the Union contends for is, that if fourpennyworth of work is got, 4d. should be paid for it, and not the price paid elsewhere for a less amount of work. This is a question that is now before the Union, and no doubt it will bring a lot of trouble. The employers are trying to have the work done well and cheaply at the sacrifice of their employes. L 317. The Employment of Females Act should he carried out in its entirety: that and the Union are all the employes have to look to for protection. 1318. The girls do not approve of the clause which obliges them to be shut out of the factory during meal-hours. If they were allowed to remain in during that time I think the supervision of the Union, in conjunction with that of the Inspector, would check work being done during the dinner-time. 1319. The operatives complain that there are too many workers in the top story of the Kaiapoi Factory. I understand their complaint is that they are too closely packed. The Act ought to provide for sanitary arrangements. 1320. With reference to arbitration, I would suggest that it would be well that the Eesident Magistrate should be made the Chairman of the Board of Arbitration, and that an equal number of members should be appointed by employers and employed. 1321. I think it would be well to have a Board of Conciliation, to which matters could be referred before they came before the Board of Arbitration. I do not think our Union would be sufficient without such a Board, but I think that the Trades and Labour Council would be the Board of Conciliation. 1322. One of the greatest evils of the trade is in connection with the so-called apprentices. The boys serve four years, the girls from eight months to two years —usually two years—and after that they are sent adrift and others are taken on in their places. Whether there is or is not work for them, the apprentices who have served their time are put off the tables. This is a great injustice. 1323. The labour-market is overstocked, and has been overstocked, both with male and female operatives. Some of them go to the other side. lam aware that a number of young men have gone away to .Melbourne and to Sydney. Employers should retain apprentices after they have served their time. In some cases the trade-profit would well enable employers to do that. 1324. It has been the practice of the Kaiapoi Company to put workers on piecework before the time for fully learning their trade has expired. 1325. The way rates of labour are reduced is this : A goes round the big shops and asks if they want anything made up, and offers to do it at such-and-such prices. He takes the contract, goes home, cuts the work out, finds the trimming, and gives the employes a very small proportion of what he gets as their wages. This is the evil that the Union is going to grapple with. 1326. I think the present Act goes far enough, and that these are matters that should be settled by the various unions. I think the sanitary arrangements of factories should come under the inspection of the Inspector of Factories. 1327. The minimum a married man with a small family should earn is £2 per week. I have come to that conclusion from an estimate of the cost of living. And out of that I should allow 7s. for rent. 1328. What girls used to earn before the log was 10s. or 12s. a week working for the factoryhours, aud then several hours at home; and they now earn that wage during the eight hours per day—the factory-hours. Miss A. Z. examined. 1329. I am a vest-hand working at the Kaiapoi Clothing Factory, and have been there for eight years at piecework. 1330. Before the log came into force I was able to make 10s. a week all the year round—that is, without taking work home—and at busy times 15s. a week! Under the present log in busy times I can make £1 per week. That is in consequence of the better prices now given. The amount of work I produce is about the same. I used to take work home and work till 10 o'clock three nights of the week —good steady work, the same as at the factory—and that enabled me to earn 15s. a week. My health did not suffer from it, but 1 would not work those long hours now. 1 can now earn £1 a week during factory-hours. Ido not want to be allowed to take work home. LB3l. I should prefer to be allowed to remain in the factory during meal-hours, but I do not wish to work in the dinner-hour. Some of the hands, I believe, would sooner work in the dinnertime. 1332. 1 do not think there would be any bad effect from the girls remaining in the factory during meal-hours instead of going into the dining-room. We are not crowded in our department, which is the second story, but the top story is very crowded. I think generally the girls would far sooner remain in the factory during the dinner-hour. 1333. I should prefer to have an hour for dinner and to work till 6 p.m. instead of to 5.30,

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Miss B. A. examined. 1334. lam a tailoress at 's. lam in the trousers department, and have been working there for about five months. I was previously in the Kaiapoi Factory, and worked there for about seven years. 1335. I agree with Miss A. Z. as to the wages under the old log. In our factory we are not working under Union rules. The best I earned at piecework at the Kaiapoi Factory was 15s. a week—taking work home and working till 10 and 11 o'clock at night. I started work at home at 7.30 and sometimes at 8, and worked for two or three hours. As a rule I did three hours' work at home three nights each week. 1336. If they have full work where I am I can earn 15s. or 16s. a week without taking work home—that is because the prices are better, and lam doing a better class of work. I should reckon myself a medium hand, as I knew nothing but factory-work till lately. 1337. Ido not take work home now, and do not wish to be allowed to do so. When in the factory I was reckoned among the first hands. Even to gain increased wages Ido not wish to take work home, as I believe it would be injurious to my health. I have not suffered from working long hours, but I have heard girls complain that they were suffering from taking work home. I took work home because it was such a small wage if I did not. lam very well content with the wages I can earn now. I live with my father and mother. 1338. I think girls ought to leave the workroom in the dinner-hour, so that the place may be well ventilated. I know there are not many of my opinion, but I think they should leave the rooms. If a number of girls stayed it would be very hard to keep them from working. 1339. I think there should be more ventilators in the roof of the Kaiapoi Factory. I should think the operatives were working too close together in the top story of that factory, even if the ventilation were improved. I know that sometimes there is hardly an arm's length between them —they are very close in some places. The foul air rises through the w r ell in the middle of the factory. 1340. In other respects I agree with the evidence given by the previous witness, Miss A. Z. Miss B. B. examined. 1341. lam a vest-hand at the Kaiapoi Factory, and am working on the second story. I agree with what Miss A. Z. has said. I can earn 16s. a week on an average. My average before the log was 10s. I am not turning out more work now than then. I should rather have an hour for dinner and go home. I think it would be better to let us stay in the factory during meal-hours. There is not room enough in the dining-room for all the workers. Miss B. C, Miss B. D., Miss B. E., and Miss B. F., examined together. 1342. Agreed with the evidence given by Miss A. Z. and Miss B. B. The proportion of the increase in the wages since the log had come into force had been correctly stated by the previous witnesses. They would all prefer to have their meals inside the factory, and none of them wished to take work home. They wished to say they objected to the administration of the sick fund, and thought that the operatives should have some say in its management. There was no system of fines known in the factory. Miss B. G. examined. 1343. lam a coat-hand in 's, and have been there five months. With one exception, I have made not less than £1 per week. The new log has not come into force in any of the shops, and I believe our place is reckoned a shop. 1344. Our workroom is well ventilated. 1345. For those who can go home an hour for dinner would be better. 1346. We have only the workroom, no dining-room. 1347. I worked at 's, and the ventilation there was bad. W 7 e worked in a little back room—a sort of a kitchen. Miss B. H. examined. 1348. The system in operation in our dressmaking-room is to engage apprentices for the first year for nothing. After that they get 4s. per week, and in other places not so much. That is the most they get anywhere. When they have been twelve months or more at that they ask for a rise, but very frequently they never get it. 1349. Sometimes they do get more. I know a girl who has been at the work nine years, and she gets £1 per week. • 1350. I suppose the reason the hands do not get more is that the firms cannot afford to give more. Nearly the whole of the money goes to the head of the room, and so I suppose they cannot give much to the others. 1351. I get 15s. per week, and have been at the work a good many years. A good many do not get that amount; they get 14s. or 12s. 1352. My complaint is that too many apprentices are taken, and sufficient remuneration is not given to them. 1353. Our workroom is nice, healthy, and comfortable. I have been at the D.1.C., and that is a good room too. 1354. I think it is better to leave the workroom during the dinner-time. When there are such a number of girls together it must be injurious for them to remain in one room all the time. When we go out the windows are generally opened, and then the room is nice and fresh when we go back.

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Mr. B. I. examined. 1355. I have been here since 1874. When I came here I had £3 10s. a week; now I only get £1 15s. I work from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The same class of men are not employed now as formerly, and a worse class of work has been introduced. I blame the men. 1356. I complain of the evil of boy-labour. The boys are not bound as apprentices, and they arc kept at work while the men are idle. 1357. There are thirteen men employed at our place, but there is only enough work for eight. The men are paid by piecework. 1358. In Dunedin there is a vast difference in the class of work, and I could make better wages in England than I can here. The boys should be bound. They do not agree to a term of years, and do not learn a trade. used to employ fourteen men, and now his work is done by I—, who has one man and thirteen boys. The latter works his people until 11 or 12 o'clock at night, and his brother-in-law is working on the same lines, and gets the boys back to work on various pleas. 's boys sometimes go as improvers to other firms. 1359. At Home the boys learn the whole trade, here they do not. The system of improvers is a curse. It is an advantage to the masters not to apprentice boys. There ought to be a law to compel the masters to apprentice boys. The boys are not apprenticed in any shop. 1360. Ido not approve of work being taken home. I do not think the unions are able to manage without parliamentary aid. Workshops for men as well as for women should be inspected, registered, and ventilated. One boy to five men would be a sufficient proportion. 1361. The closet-accommodation in many shops is bad. 1362. In connection with the question of boy-labour, I say that the public get no advantage. The garments are not sold any cheaper, and men are displaced for the greed of the employers. Mr. B. J. examined. 1363. lam a tailor, and worked with Mr. some years ago. He had eight or nine boys working, from fourteen to eighteen years of age. He used to have them there at 5 a.m., and keep them till 9or 10 p.m. —or sixteen or seventeen hours a day. Their wages ran from ss. to £1 ss. per week. They were not, to my knowledge, paid for overtime. The room was 14ft. by 16ft. All these boys worked in it, and two men. 1364. Mr. worked for Mr. . The boys did all the work, but the former finished off. It was a case of one lad under another. was a middleman. His work came from those shops which got big prices. He would keep the boys in the shop to make up for the loss of Saturday afternoon. There are about eleven boys working there now under the same conditions. I agree with the evidence given by B. I. in his supplementary remarks. Mr. B. K. examined. 1365. lam a draper's assistant at 's. I have about twenty years' experience in this colony and the old country—lreland. 1366. I consider that drapers' assistants are quite as well off in Ireland as here. The hours are, in the latter, in the principal cities, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays included, there being no distinction for market-days. The competent shop-hands average £2 a week and found. 1367. I consider it impossible to close at 5 o'clock in the afternoon on ordinary days. 1368. The trade has fallen off on Saturdays between 6 and 10 very largely—it is presumed in consequence of the early-closing movement. Mr. B. L. examined. 1369. lam deputed to appear before the Commission on behalf of the Bootmakers' Union. I am an operative bootmaker in a Union factory. 1370. I do not know of any sweating, as understood in London, in the three departments; but I should like to call the attention of the Commission to the female department. In a certain factory a kind of sweating takes place, the work given out in the machinists' branch to the middleman in his own premises. There is a bonus system. They receive a smaller rate per week than elsewhere. The girls do not know the scale on which the bonus is made up. In some cases the girls find that they have not got a bonus coming to them, and consequently work at a lower rate of wages. This applies to upwards of forty girls in the factory. 1371. In the past prominent members of the Union have been dismissed suddenly without any reason. Master bootmakers tried to boycott one of the officers, as they considered him obnoxious. 1372. I consider forty-eight hours a week would be sufficient for all trades, and should be fixed by Act. The minimum wage for juveniles and the proportion of apprentices to adults should be fixed by Act. Mr. B. M. examined. 1373. lam a journeyman bootmaker working in a Union factory. I was working in a nonunion factory, but have joined the Union since. 1374. I was suspected of being a Union man, and got my discharge with others. 1375. In the non-union shop I earned from £1 to £1 55., working fifty hours in the week. lam earning now from £1 ss. to £1 10s. for forty-eight hours a week. 1376. In the non-union shop the proportion of boys to men is as one to one and a half—that is in the benching; and the boys have the preference of the work, keeping the men waiting. Finishers, one boy to one man ; clickers, two boys to one man. This is from my own personal experience. 1377. On certain lines the non-union shops make bluchers at 2d. per pair less. This boot is in very general use, the price being 20 per cent, less than Union rates. Also women's, youths, and children's, Id. less. 1378. The workroom in the non-union shop referred to is very hot in the summer, the roof being low and of galvanised iron.

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Mr. B. N. examined. 1379. I am a drysalter at Belfast —Henry Berry and Co. 1380. lam at present locked out because I joined a labour union and I asked for overtime. I was earning £1 10s. per week. We worked from Bto 7.30 or 8 ; the average would be about ten hours and a half a day, Saturday included. The trade is converting the sheep-runners into sausageskins—very dirty and wet trade. 1381. The reason we were locked out was because we asked for more wages and overtime. Mr. B. 0. examined. 1382. lam a drysalter at Henry Berry and Co.'s, at Belfast. I corroborate everything that Mr. B. N. has said. Mr. B. P. examined. 1383. lam a drapers' assistant, working in 's. I have been nine years in the trade. 1384. With regard to early closing, the shop-assistants are unanimous as regards early closing on Saturday. Our firm advise us (the shop-assistants) to form a union. 1385. Majority of cases, wages of assistants are £2 to £3 per week ; an exceptional man can get more. 1386. I know of a case where a man made during ordinal-)- hours £1 ss. a week. He was on commission. This handicaps an employer who pays good wages. Mr. B. Q. examined. 1387. lam seventeen years of age, and have worked for , a tailor. I worked for him for about three years. He used to get me there sometimes at 5 o'clock in the morning, and keep me at work till 9at night. I have been at work four years. 1388. I had an hour for dinner and an hour for tea. 1:189. At first I got ss. a week, aud after about twelve months I got 6s. a week. I had no overtime given me, hut sometimes my master would give me 6d. for myself, but that was very seldom. Once he gave me 2s. (id. as a Christmas-box. 1390. was a very religious man. I had tea given me three times while there. The room we worked in was in the dwelling-house, but after a time he built a separate workroom. No journeyman was employed. There were two boys, an improver, and myself there. Mr. worked for Mr. . The hours of work were very long. I never saw the Inspector at the factory. Mr. B. E. examined. 1391. I have been working for a tailor named , and worked for him five years. The hours were supposed to be from 8 to 6 p.m., but we worked till 10 or 11 at night. 1392. There were seven boys working there during my time ; now I believe there are eleven or twelve. himself is the only man engaged. His work came from 's. My wages at first were 9s. per week, but the last year they were increased to £1 10s. —that was the fifth year. 1393. I never got overtime payments, but sometimes he would give me a shilling or two. Some of the other boys were getting ss. per week. 1394. — used to make us mend drawers, darn stockings, do household work, ironing, &c. He has been carrying on this system, to my knowledge, for eleven years. He never made any attempt to teach me my trade. The boys were bound apprentices. 1395. 's brother-in-law has started business on the same principle as himself. 1396. When the apprentices are out of their time they are not fit to take a first-class place. I had to go as an improver for eighteen months after I left his employment, and had served the full time, five years, with him, for which period I was his bound apprentice. Mr. B. S. examined. 1397. I can corroborate what the previous witness has stated. The boys worked the hours, and were treated as mentioned by him.

AUCKLAND. Tuesday, 25th March, 1890. Eichard Gamble examined. 1398. I am a sergeant of police, and the person appointed under " The Employment of Females Act, 1881," to inspect factories, &c. 1399. I have been about nine years thus employed. 1400. Some of the factories are very well suited for the purpose, others are not, not having been built with the object of being employed as factories, both as regards ventilation, and sanitation, and space per individual. I can produce a list of most of the factories. 1401. I think, altogether there are about eight or nine hundred girls at work in Auckland under the Factory Act. This is not including shop-girls. Dressmaking, tailoring, bootmaking, jam, lollies, waterproof clothing, saddlery, broom-making, upholstering, tobacco- and cigar-making are the principal industries in Auckland.

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1402. I find the number of girls in these factories varies much according to the season of the year. 1403. As a rule the employers of labour are very willing to assist me in carrying out the provisions of the Act. 1404. I have instituted a great many prosecutions under the Act. The principal offences are, not posting up notices, or not furnishing a copy of the notices; but the most prosecutions have arisen from working the girls after 2 o'clock on Saturday, only two or three for working after hours on other days. I have very great difficulties in carrying out the provisions of the Act in consequence of the Act not being definite enough. Wherever a defence is made by a solicitor a technical point is raised, and the case falls through. I would have taken more cases into Court but for this. 1405. In a good many factories work is taken home. I know of this as a fact. On more than one occasion when I have summoned an employer for allowing a person to work after 2 o'clock in the factory on Saturday, I have been met with this objection that the girl swore she was not working for the factory but for her mother. 1406. In some cases the closet arrangements are very deficient. I have very bad complaints made to me. I think this ought to come under my jurisdiction. 1407. I find men, boys, and girls working together without separate accommodation. I visited one factory where there were six or seven men working in less than 10ft. square, with a sloping iron roof, and the heat most oppressive. Of course I had no right to interfere in this matter. 1408. I have heard of milliners being brought down after, the hour of closing to work in the shop connected with the factory; and I see nothing in the Act to prevent this. 140.). Some factories allow their hands to remain in the rooms during meal-hours. lam not prepared to say that I have the power to prevent this. In some of the better class of factories excellent provision is made for the hands for meal-hours. 1410. I am not aware of any sweating here. The only thing the employers do is to let employes take work home during the busy season. 1411. I know of my own knowledge that in one particular factory girls are taken on for twelve months without wages; then, as soon as they ask for wages, they are told they can take holidays ; and, ol course, this means dispensing with their services. Harry Warner Farnall examined. 1412. I am Secretary of the Trades and Labour Council, Auckland District, also Secretary of Knights of Labour and of the Tailoresses' Union. 1413. It is more especially in the clothing trade that grievances exist. The tailoresses have formed themselves into a Union to better themselves. 1414. With regard to the tailoresses. there seems a difficulty in getting them to come forward to give evidence, lest their evidence should injure them with their employers—that is, if it got known. I have been endeavouring to induce them to come forward to give evidence, assuring them that it will be regarded as strictly private. 1415. There are complaints with regard to the railway servants, more particularly the platelayers and engine-drivers. Since the railways have been handed over to the Commissioners any influence that the Trades and Labour Council was able to exercise before has practically ceased. The complaints are long hours and low pay. 1416. Nearly every trade complains about the boy- and girl-labour taking the place of adultlabour. 1417. I have heard of individual cases where girls have been employed under the age allowed by law. 1418. The Trades and Labour Council itself has always been against strikes, except when arbitration failed and a strike was deemed to be necessary. 1 think that tho Trades and Labour Council at present exercises all the functions that any Hoard of Conciliation or Arbitration could do. The bootmakers bad a strike recently, and the employers gained the day, because there were enough non-union men for them to take on. The bootmakers after consulting the Council, on a previous occasion, were victorious, because they had help from the Council. 1419. The Trades aud Labour Council consists of delegates from other trades who are affiliated to the Council. No employers are admitted on the Council. 1420. All the Unionists have joined together to stop shopping after 6, so as to help the earlyclosing movement. 1421. It would be much better to have an Inspector who is an expert in the industryinspected, because it is very easy to hoodwink a man who knows nothing about the customs of employers. 1422. The real cause of the depression in this colony, they thought, was the fact that all the best and most accessible land in the colony was monopolized in large blocks by a few individuals, who held it at a price that any one wishing to occupy and use it could not afford to pay. If a land-tax were imposed, and the present liberal land-laws continued, an exodus would take place from the cities, settlement would be encouraged, and the cities would be relieved of their surplus population. Mr. B. T. examined. 1423. I am a journeyman baker in Auckland, and I previously worked in a shop in Auckland where I worked eighteen hours a day, and sometimes nineteen hours, beginning at 2 a.m. to 8 or 9 at night, and half an hour for meals. The place was very small and hot, but pretty well ventilated. My complaint is the very long hours. * 1424. I got £1 10s. a week and kept. I was second hand. 1 125. When we asked our employer to shorten the hours he said he could not do it.

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1426. I work nine or ten hours now, beginning at 3 a.m. and work to 12 in the morning We have formed a Union, but our old employers would not join it. The Union hours are ten a day. Forty-two masters signed the articles of the Union, and six refused. There are very few employes that have not joined the Union, but some of those that joined the Union have broken their pledge from fear of being dismissed. 1427. lam now getting £1 17s. a w-eek and board. I have no complaints to make now. 1428. The Union consists of forty-eight members, and is affiliated to the Trades and Labour Council. 1429. Our great complaint is the number of boys in the trade. In some shops the proportion is three boys to one man. The Union provides for one boy to two men, but our Union is not strong enough yet to enforce this. The ages of the boys range from fourteen to eighteen years, and their work commences at 3 a.m. and continues to 6 in the evening. I know of a case where a boy works twenty-four hours out of the twenty-four, but this is only at particular times. The wages of the boys are from 6s. to 7s. 6d. a week and found. Mr. B. U. examined. 1430. I am a journeyman baker. I had no indentures. I have been about five years at the trade. lam now earning 15s. a week. I work at same place as previous witness, and have worked at the place he formerly worked in. I corroborate what the previous witness has said. I earned ss. a week at first, then 7s. 6d., and for last eight months 10s. Then I left. On an average I worked nineteen hours a day—that is, before the Union. The Union has benefited us a little in the way of shortening the hours of labour, but has not increased the wages. 1431. The place I work in now is well ventilated, and I am satisfied with my present employment. 1432. Our Union has not yet adopted a scale of wages, and have no log. 1433. At a shop I have worked in I got 6s. a week, and if I did not spend half of it on beer for the men and master—the master particularly—l should have been discharged. ■ Mr. B. V. examined. 1434. I am a journeyman baker, and I worked at the same places as the two previous witnesses, and have heard what they have said, and it is quite correct. 1435. My average hours per week was 108 to 112. I earned £1 ss. a week and found. lam now out of work, and have been for the last three months. I was discharged because I objected to the long hours. 1436. On some occasions I worked twenty-two hours and eighteen hours, off and on, per day for two or three days in the week, during fourteen days. 1437. The Union has improved matters considerably. Fred. Freeman examined. 1438. I am a journeyman baker, Treasurer of the Bakers' Union, and delegate from the Bakers' Union to the Trades and Labour Council. 1439. I have been seven years in the trade in New Zealand, and I have worked sixteen or eighteen hours a day regularly for two years; but for the past three months I have not worked more than ten hours—that is, since the formation of the Union. 1440. In consequence of an agitation amongst the bakers, the Trades and Labour Council took up our cause, and we formed a Union. This Union comprises all in our trade except, I think, two or three. Although the Union has been formed, Ido not think it is sufficient to regulate the hours of labour. There are still men working twelve and fourteen hours a day : some of these might be non-union men. Ido not know myself what remedy to propose. Ido not think the hours of labour in our trade can be shortened without legislative enactment. 1441. There are several small bakers that employ no one, doing all the work themselves, and the others employ men like me, and if we said we would not work these long hours they would shut up their shops, and we would be thrown out of employment. 1442. I heard an old man who is now in the Eefttge say he had worked tw-enty-five hours for a day's pay at the baking trade. William Ellison Stevenson examined. 1443. I am a journeyman baker, Secretary of the Bakers' Union, and a delegate to the Trades and Labour Council. 1444. I corroborate what previous witnesses have said. lam one of those who are suffering in consequence of the employment of boy-labour. I was working at one time twelve hours a day for seven or eight months. I earned £2 a week. Since then I have been working for £1 10s. without board. A boy was taken on in my place at half my wages. He might have been at the trade eighteen months. It would take a boy four or five years to learn the trade before he became a journeyman. 1445. The boys work longer hours than we men. They get 10s. a week and board. 1446. The Union has only fixed the hours, but not the wages. Now, the Union has fixed one boy to two men, but the Union has not been able to enforce this. In the largest bakehouse there are four men to two boys. 1447. The Union has not considered the question of Boards of Arbitration or Conciliation.

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Thomas Preston examined. 1448. I am a journeyman tailor, President of the Tailors' Society, and delegate to the Trades and Labour Council. 1449. The hours worked by the trade are nine a day, and there is no breach of this. 1450. We complain of the great number of boys that have come into the trade of late years. 1451. The best tailors' prices for making, exclusive of material, are—trousers, 6s. 6d.; vests, 65.; coats, 195.: total, £1 lis. 6d. Manufacturers of slops pay for trousers 9d., vests 4d., coats Is. 2d.: total, 2s. 3d. 1452. The influx of female labour has driven away all the men over to the other side—that is, cheap slops have checked the importation of English slops. 1453. The tailors have nothing to complain of except the boy-labour. 1454. The establishment of factories and cheap shops getting private orders has reduced our wages 10s. or 15s. George Mcßride examined. 1455. I am a merchant-tailor and clothing-manufacturer. I introduced clothing-manufacture in New Zealand. 1456. I employ about a hundred males and females, chiefly on weekly wages. The majority are women. 1457. By the tailors' log apprentices receive at first 2s. 6d., which is the minimum, to 12s. My log for apprentices is—girls start at ss. to £1; boys start at 7s. 6d. to £1 10s. I have had hands with me for fifteen years. I have only been six years in Auckland, and I have the majority with me still, that I started with in Auckland. 1458. I do not let out work outside by own hands, and I think this sort of thing ought to be put a stop to by Act of Parliament. I can get my work done £1 to £2 10s. cheaper by outside work. lam very particular about the age of my apprentices when starting. All my hands are indentured at first. I refuse to teach any one the trade unless they are properly apprenticed—four years for a girl without previous experience, and two years for a girl with experience ; four years for a boy. This has only come in the last six months. I have great difficulty in getting good female labour. Wages are not considered when we get a real good hand. A girl can earn £1 10s. a week. I could beat the imported article out of the market. It is the want of knowledge on the part of the consumer. We can make the clothing cheaper under protection than without it. It has cheapened the clothing 20 per cent., and the consumer ought to get the benefit. The employes get the benefit by having constant work. In some cases the rate of wages has come down. 1459. About one-eighth of the work is done by piecework. 1460. I work my hands the factory hours. 1461. I have not had time to go through the log prices yet, but so far, I think, it has reduced the apprentices wages about 100 per cent. 1462. All my weekly wages are above the log wages. 1463. The Factory Act is generally very suitable. It is hardly fair to apply it to only part of a trade. 1464. I have never known a tailoress to be out of work in Auckland. I get all my girls from Dunedin : that is where I was before. I find that more work can be got out of them. I think it must be the climate. 1465. I was once fined for a boy walking across the factory to get a glass of water. Girls can for a lark get their employer into trouble by going into the shop at meal-hours; and if the Inspector sees them I have no redress. 1466. It is better for the employers to have well-ventilated factories, as they can get more work out of their employes. 1467. We have one closet for men and one for women, and each have different access. 1468. We have a retail shop, and always close it at 6 o'clock, aud 9 o'clock on Saturdays. Would like to close at 2on Saturdays if it became general. I think it is too long to 9on Saturdays. 1469. With regard to overtime, I think permits should be granted to allow overtime. 1470. Taking work home and doing it out of the shop by strange hands has brought down the price of overalls from- 18s. to 7s. 6d. We do not object to our own hands taking work home. We do not give permission, but we know that it is done. We do not give work to people who are not in the shop. I know that it is a violation of the spirit of the Act. 1471. I pay some girls £1 10s. per week, but if they were paid by piecework they would receive £2 10s. The girls as a rule object to work piecework. 1472. No one has ever been " sacked " after serving their apprenticeship. Eichard Mills examined. 1473. I am a journeyman tailor —President of the Tailoresses' Union, delegate to the Trades and Labour Council. I work in Hallenstein's. 1474. The Union is just starting. We are accepting the Dunedin log, which comes into operation next Monday. 1475. I find from inquiries and from personal knowledge—l was working in a factory for two years —that there is a great deal of work given out. 1476. In reply to the evidence given by Mr. Mcßride, 1 wish to confute some of his statements. 1 was one of a deputation from our society to Mr. Mcßride with reference to the Dunedin log for his approval. He said that his own scale of pay was higher than that of the log, but he declined the right of the society to overlook his work or scale of wages. He also said if any one inside his establishment gave evidence of what goes on they would be instantly dismissed. He said his girls B—H. 5.

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got £1 10s. per week and might make £2 18s. I know of my own knowledge that this is not so. I have good reason to believe that there is proper indenture given to apprentices. All have joined the Union except those that have agreements. 1477. There is not much work given out to employes in factories to take home, except at Mcßride's. I know of a woman working outside at completed drill trousers at 2s. 6d. a dozen who could make a pair in an hour and a half. She has been working at the place for a considerable time. She would have to work eighteen hours a day to make 7s. or Bs. a week. As yet this is the only case I know of. There is no stocking-knitting done in Auckland. 1478. The factories are very good. Some are rather crowded. Speaking fairly, I think they are rather good rooms. 1479. I think our Union will be successful. 1480. Women coat-makers are usually paid weekly wages of £1. 1481. Drill trousers are not completed for 9d. It would cost Is. Id., not including cutting. Vests, Is. altogether. 1482. We want public sympathy to advance our cause. Mr. B. W. examined. 1483. I am a millwright and barrow-maker. 1484. I know that there are boys working at the Auckland Fibre Company's works at Mechanics' Bay who are employed are eleven years of age. The average is three men to forty boys. I should say that there are about twenty boys under fourteen years of age. I was never in the works. The boys have no opportunity of going to school. I know some of the boys personally. Their hours are from 7 to 6, and now from 8 to 6 in the evening, with one hour in between for a spell. Mr. B. X. examined. 1485. I work in a meat-preserving factory. 148 G. We complain of the long hours—from 6to 6, Saturdays included. Any holidays we have we have to make up by working at night, but not for the statute holidays. We have three-quarters of an hour for breakfast, and three-quarters of an hour for dinner. The place is very hot to work in. 1487. The average wages are £1 10s. Mr. B. Y. examined. 1488. I work in the above factory with B. X., and corroborate everything he said. Mr. B. Z. examined. 1489. I work in the above factory with B. X. and B. V., and corroborate everything that IJ. X. said. Mr. Eobert French examined. 1490. lam a master grocer. lam a member of the Shops Hours Bill Committee, and member of the Early-closing Society, and Knights of Labour. 1491. I want to speak particularly about the early-closing movement. Some three years ago the Shop Hours Bill Committee thought they would test the feeling of the shopkeepers about the Bill. The reason we prepared the Shop Hours Bill was, because voluntary efforts had failed. We employed two canvassers to canvass the shopkeepers. They visited 789 shops, and found 585 thoroughly supporting the 8i11—535 supported the 6 o'clock closing, 50 7 o'clock ; and 204 more or less opposed the Bill altogether. We considered this highly successful. The exceptions fairly governed all the fair objections that might be made to the Bill. Mr. Joyce, M.H.E. for Lyttelton, had charge of it, and it had the approval of most of the members for Auckland. In Christchurch the drapers only were considered, but in Auckland the whole of the trades are considered. Only last January, of this year, the canvass was made of the trades to see what success a voluntary movement would have. The result was highly satisfactory. Accordingly, 7 o'clock, and 10 o'clock on Saturdays, was adopted. We except the chemists and druggists, refreshment-houses, fruiterers, newsvendors, and tobacconists. The last canvass has convinced some of those tradesmen that were against it before. 1492. We have great promise of support from the public. All the Unions have promised not to shop after 7 o'clock. I say, from what I have observed and what I have heard, that the nighttrade is practically killed in Auckland. Joseph Ehrman examined. 1493. I am the proprietor of the Australian Clothing Manufactory, of Auckland. 1494. I have between seventy and seventy-five males and females in my employ, of which nine are males. My business is only wholesale : have nothing to do with the retail business. 1495. All my hands are on weekly wages except eight finishers. 1496. The average wage is from ss. to £1 10s. I have very few apprentices —about five or six. They are not articled. My previous practice was—first three months, nothing; next three months, 2s. 6d.; next, ss. As a rule they all remained with me, and they got paid according to their abilities. As a rule girls left me when they had learned their trade, and went to other places. 1497. The warehouse always gave me their work, but on condition that I gave none of it out to others. All the work is done inside the factory. I have never given work out. Ido not allow my employes to take work home. lam perfectly satisfied with the Dunedin log. It will be a big advance on the wages I give now. I think it is very fair, with the exception that pressers, no matter how proficient or otherwise, receive a fixed wage, and in a small community like this I cannot choose my men. I think pressor's work is very unsuitable for women.

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1498. I work the factory hours. 1499. I have built rooms for my employes, 148 ft. by 40ft., to have their meals in. It is properly ventilated for them. I object to them having their lunch in the factory, because of the food they drop, and so attract vermin. 1500. The girls seem to be satisfied with the Act. I treat the girls with kindness, and they treat me well. 1501. The machines are worked by pedal. 1502. I never paid for holidays, statute or otherwise. I have never been asked to pay them. 1503. Everything Mr. Mcßride stated in his evidence is untrue, and I could not help coining down here to refute it. Miss C. A. examined. 1504. lam a coat and vest baud. I have been about eighteen months with Mr. Ehrman. I was previously with Mcßride for twelve months, where I was paid, in piecew-ork, 7s. or Bs. a week. lam now getting 10s.; and my hours are 8.30 to 12.30, and 1.30 to 5.30, and the same at Mcßride's. I was not compelled to take work home. I took the work home every other night just to finish a job, and worked about one hour and a half to two hours. I was obliged to do this to make my wages. I live at homo with my parents. I do not know what board and lodging costs here. I never take work home to do at Mr. Ehrman's, as he does not allow it. lam satisfied with my wages. Miss C. B. examined. 1505. I am a coat hand. 1 heard what the last witness said, and I corroborate what she said. 1506. I earn 12s. a week, and I formerly worked at Mcßride's at piecework for nine or ten months ; then I took work home to make up my wages, and worked two hours at home. I used to suffer in my health. lam not allowed to take work home now from the place where I work. 1 was past fifteen when I started at Mcßride's at ss. a week. The price I got for piecework was Is. 3d. for finishing before, then Is. Miss C. C. examined. 1507. lam a vest and coat hand, earning 14s. a week, at Ehrman's factory. Before this I worked at Mcßride's, where I got at first ss. a week for two or three months. Then I went to piecework, and earned Bs., 95., and 10s. I took work home every other night to make up the wages. I found it very trying to my health. Two or three times I was laid up. All machines are worked by pedals. Often I could not get work from the machinist in time ; so this would throw me late in the day. lam in much better health now in my present place. I heard what the other witnesses said, and corroborate everything. 1508. There is a room underground. It is cold and very damp there. It is cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Some girls left because of the dampness. Miss C. D. examined. 1509. lam a trouser machinist. I worked six months at Clark's at 12s. a week. I did not take work home. I worked with the pedal. It did not disagree with me. I was at Mcßride's before at 10s. a week, and when there did not take work home. I did not take any work home because the police would hear of it. 1510. On every other Saturday we all had to work after 2 o'clock—only the trousers hands. Mr. Mcßride used to bring in a lot of work, more than we could possibly do in the time, so we had to work in the afternoon. On some occasions the girls had to go on a roof over the gum-store by the window. Ido not know whether this is done now. I was working at piecework at Ehrman's, but now am getting 15s. a week wages. lam quite satisfied at this. I would far rather work timework than piecework, and one knows exactly what you are getting, and do not have to work too hard. 1511. I have heard what the other witnesses have said, and corroborate. Miss C. E. examined. 1512. lam a trouser finisher. I have been at Ehrman's for six months; before that at Mcßride's for about nine months. 1 was working piecework there. The most I made was 10s. a week. I never took work home. I make at Ehrman's now 13s. a week at piecework. 1513. Mcßride gives for tweeds 4d. for finishing, but do not have to make the button-holes. Now I make the button-holes and get 6d. Mcßride gave for finishing special orders 7d. I never knew of his giving 9d. He had no men on the premises, only pressers. 1514. When I began work in another establishment the terms were three months for nothing, three months for 2s. 6d., and six months for 55.; then on piecework. My health has been good, I feel no ill effects from the work. All of us live at home. Those that board live with friends, paying 10s. a week. I have never worked downstairs in the cellar at Mcßride's. I was asked to go down, but refused, because it was damp and in the middle of winter. 1515. I know Mcßride used to give a girl £1 a week to stop on Saturdays till 9 p.m. She used to be called a saleswoman, but she sewed all the time. Isaac Hill examined. 1516. I am a saddler. I want to bring under the notice of the Commission the system of employing boys in the saddler's trade. There are six shops, emptying eighty-three boys, four girls, and twenty-seven men. The boys average 7s. 6d. a week, working fifty hours. Some of them are indentured, but in most shops they are not. It is according to the season they are taken on and

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put off. This does not tend to their learning the trade. Some of these indentures do not hold water, as some have been in the law-courts and found so to the loss of the boys. My opinion is that there ought to be three men to one boy. Some time ago there were many men out of employment, but they have all gone away now. We have no trades union in New Zealand, and do not belong to any union. Some work by piecework, others wages. The average earnings per week for a man is £2, for girls 6s. Boys start at ss. a week, as a rule. Some may be a little less. They get rises of 2s. 6d. every year up to five years; then fault is found with them without they earn 10s., and fresh hands are taken on. Mr. C. F. examined. 1517. I heard the last witness, and corroborate everything he said with reference to men's wages, and how they have been reduced so much. Four years ago a journeyman saddler averaged £2 10s. a week. I did this myself. Finding things getting bad I went across to the other side. After some time I came back again, things being much better there than in New Zealand. The standard wage in Melbourne is £2 10s., average piecework £2 175., working forty-eight hours per week. The cost of living would be a little dearer there—perhaps ss. a week more. My family being in New Zealand, I came back, having been offered my old w 7 ages. I would not receive less than £2 55., having been offered £1 15s. The reasons for the tendency of wages to fall is the boy-labour and competition amongst the masters. As far as I know, the shops are all well ventilated. 1518. In a Queen Street shop I know of saddles being made at ss. complete. Mr. C. G. examined. 1519. lam a journeyman saddler. Having heard what the last witness has said, I corroborate. I was never apprenticed at all to my trade. I have worked at piecework, making on an average £1 4s. 6d. a week, working in a shop nine hours per day with a boy under me. I made one class of harness for 15s. for a full set, buggy, gig, and cab harness. The Melbourne log price for bridles is £1 Is., and I get 2s. 6d., all the work being hand-stitched. Shaft-tugs Is. 6d. per pair, the cheapest Melbourne price being 3s. 3d. I make cab, buggy, and gig saddles for 4s. 6d. and ss. Mr. C. H. examined. 1520. 1 am a journeyman saddler, and have heard what the previous witnesses have said, and corroborate. In a certain factory in Auckland, the measurement of which is 14ft. by 12ft., there are seven peojile working. It has an iron roof, and is very hot in summer. The closets are in very bad order, and we have had cases of typhoid fever traced to it. 1521. The practice in the trade in certain shops is that after two years a boy is supposed to be able to make a saddle at the end of that time. Three boys are placed under him, and they have to make between them twenty-four saddles in the week. I have known them to work two or three nights in the week. This annoyed the neighbours so much that they got up a petition to the Council about it. 1522. There is one closet for the lot, male and female. We do not think it any good forming a Union while there are so many boys employed in the trade. Mr. C. L. examined. 1523. 1 am a journeyman saddler. I have heard what the last witness said, and corroborate. 1524. The shop I worked in there were seven boys and no men. It is Mr. Kennedy's. Making a collar costs 7s. 6d., taking a good man about four hours and a half. He sells them for 12s. 6d. If men were employed he could not sell them under 18s. at the very least. Frederick Massey examined. 1525. I am managing-man and cutter at Fowlds's, Victoria Arcade. I am giving evidence generally as to the mode adopted by the trade. The practice is to take girls on three months on probation; then they are apprenticed, but not indentured. Then they get 2s. 6d. per week, rising every three months 2s. 6d. Girls who have served their so-called apprenticeship in a factory, when they go to the order-trade they have to start learning again. I do not allow work to be taken home. Ido not think there is need for it if the shop is properly managed. In my shop there are seven girls, one man, and three lads. Two closets, one for each sex, of the very best. I have never discharged any of my apprentices if they are good girls. None of the girls go out of the factory for their meals. I think it is a great injustice to turn them out. 1526. I have never found any difficulty in getting good tailoresses for 15s. a week. I think the statement that a girl could earn £2 18s. a week with the assistance of two apprentices is "rot." There is no system of teaching girls in the trade. They pick it up as they can themselves. George William Wilcock examined. 1527. I am a tailor by trade. With regard to Mcßride's, I applied to him for a job of making coats. He said he would give me 2s. 6d. for each. I started work, and he gave me two coats. I had been working in the order-shop before. I found I could not make a living at the price. It takes a day to make a sac-coat. 1528. The tailoring trade being slack, I have taken to chimney-sw-eeping, and find chimneysweeping a good thing.

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Kate Mcllhone examined. 1529. I am a tailoress in Mcßride's and have been there twelve months. 1530. I served for three months at 2s. 6d. a week, and then I became an indentured apprentice. For the first six months I was to get ss. per week, and 2s. 6d. rise every six months for four years. I produce my indentures, which show that for the last year but one lam to work a full year at 17s. 6d. per week, and after that I receive £1. 1531. I could not sew at all when I went to Mr. Mcßride's, and I got 2s. (id. a week for three months while I was being taught. Then I became an apprentice. 1532. I have nothing at all to complain of. I have got on very well and have been paid well, aud if I had been in any other shop I do not think I should be getting the money I get now. 1533. There is a person told off specially to teach apprentices : they have not to pick up information as they can, but are taught by a young lady. 1534. I have never worked overtime or taken work home. 1535. I was fifteen years old when I went to Mcßride's. 153n. I know that girls have come to Mcßride's not knowing anything, and 1 have known them earn 12s. a week in three months at piecework, when they would be only getting 2s. 6d. a week according to their own log. 1537. I have never seen anybody on the roof, and do not know that anybody not an acrobat could get on it. Ido not think they could get on the roof. 1538. I would rather work in the cellar than upstairs, even in the winter time. It is a perfectly dry and comfortable place. George Mcßride recalled and examined. 1539. The girls from Ehrman's were taught all they knew in about a week—that is, from one day to a week—and they were employed at the lowest grade of wholesale work only. According to the log they would have been entitled to 2s. 6d. per week for the first three months. My terms enabled the slowest of them to earn 12s. per week in that time. Many of the best class would be able to earn £1 a week in that time. 1540. There is no truth in the statement of the girl who said she made a coat right through for me for Is. 3d. No girl has ever made a coat right through for me at any time or for any price. Girls do not make coats right through in my establishment. 1541. Wilcox came [to me not as a coat-maker, but as a coat hand. He did not get 2s. 6d. for finishing a coat, only 2s. 3d., and the only two he finished had to be given to a girl at 10s. a week to finish properly. A girl can finish twenty-four a week, and 2s. 3d. per coat was the then price. Twenty-four could be finished in a week within ordinary hours. 1542. I find I made a slight mistake in saying that the highest wages I paid to girls was £110s. per week. I find I have been paying £1 15s. to a machinist for years ; but I have no girl getting more than £1 10s. a week now. 1543. The girl I mentioned as getting £1 per week as machinist is an apprentice who has been with we a year or eighteen months, and the log would only entitle her to 10s. 1544. The lowest paid female coat hand in my shop has CI ss. a week. That is, a girl out of her time. lam not talking of apprentices. 1545. A girl came to me on the 6th July, 1885, aud in nine weeks she earned £1 15s. per week. and since then has earned considerably more. The prices are higher now than then, and she would now make 6s. or Bs. a week more. 1546. The price of some work has remained stationary, hut the best class of work has increased in price exactly 100 per cent, within the last six years. The common class of work in wholesale houses has gone down in price very much. 1547. I know nothing about girls going on the roof, and never heard of it till I saw the statement had been made. Ido not think anybody without wings could get on the roof. There is no gum-shed there the roof of which they could get on. I say most emphatically that I have been no party to any one going on the roof, but I do not know what girls may have done for a lark. 1548. The cellar has nothing to do with the workers. One part is kept for empty cases, and the girls have simply to pass through it to go to a necessary place. 1549. After heavy flood the water may come into the cellar, but it will not stay there long. 1550. Three girls work in one end of the cellar in a room specially spaced off. and they have been asked by me to leave it, but they will not—it is so much cooler and pleasanter to work in than the shop. Arthur Baker examined. 1551. 1 produce myjindentures. I have been working for Mr. Mcßride for about two years and a half, and am now nearly sixteen years of age. Before I was fourteen years I was page-boy at the door. lam apprenticed to the cutting. 1552. The indentures show that from the 29th October, 1888, I was to receive 7s. 6d. per week, and that my wages were to increase 2s. 6d. per week every six months to the 29th October, 1893. The last six months lam to receive £1 10s. per week. 1553. I got my rises when due,- and they have twice been given to me two or three months before they were due. Mr. Mcßride has said I was worth it, and that he would give it to me at once. 1554. I have never worked overtime,, aud have never heard of any one going on the roof to work, but think that statement was invented. 9—H. 5.

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John Bridge water examined. 1555. I am a commission agent and manufacturer of underclothing. 1556. It is more effective to get the public to aid the early-closing movement than any other mode. By Act of Parliament you cannot compel a man to close his shop after a certain hour, as he would keep his shop open himself. If any legislation is necessary, it is to restrict the hours of labour. There is nothing at present in the law to prevent an employer keeping his assistants from 8 in the morning to 12 at night. The Employment of Females Act should be extended to shopassistants. 1557. I have great difficulty in getting competent hands in the shirtniaking. Burnett Charles Beale examined. 1558. lam a medical practitioner practising in Auckland. I am also M.E.C.S. 1559. In my practice I have had many factory hands, and have noticed in some of them a tendency to incipient consumption and like diseases. 1560. I attribute that condition to overcrowded rooms, in vitiated atmosphere, and perhaps bad housing at night and insufficient nutritive food. I think 600 cubic feet of space for every individual necessary for health. I would consider 140 cubic feet for each individual would aggravate disease. I have noticed anaemia and chlorosis in some of my patients who are factory hands. I consider this is from insufficient food. William Johnston examined. 1561. lam manager of the Auckland Fibre Company. Our full number is 90 boys and youths and 12 men. The last pay-day it was 12 men and 59 boys and youths. We are making alterations, and after Easter we shall have the full number of the staff. 1562. The working-hours are 48 per week, and never were otherwise, beginning at 7.50 and working to a quarter past 12, resuming at 1, and knocking off at a quarter past 5 : that is on ordinary days, and knocking off on Saturday at 12.30 p.m. During last summer months we worked 54 hours per week, 6 hours being overtime, but for this they got paid a full day. 1563. With regard to the age, we question the boys very closely when they come. 1564. Of fifty-nine boys, four receive 145., three 10s., four 95., thirteen Bs., twenty-three 75., and seven 6s. and ss. (id. After Easter, when we resume with the full staff, the additional boys will be of the class to whom we pay Bs. a week. We do not have piece-work, all wages. One boy is detailed half an hour before dinner-time to collect the food that requires heating. We have a hot hearth for the purpose. 1565. Half the raw material used is New Zealand produce. There is a great deal of badlydressed flax, and in its manufacture there is a good deal of dust flying about. We only take the best-dressed flax. 1566. In coming here I only wished to contradict statements that have been made by certain persons before the Commission. Mr. C. M. examined. 1567. lam a compositor by trade. Our complaint is of the undue proportion of boys to men. lam the only man out of a staff of eleven. We look on the proprietor of the Star as the greatest offender in this matter. He employs an overseer and a sub-overseer, three journeymen, and from forty-five to fifty girls. The Star also brings out the Family Friend and the Farmer. The work that is given to the men is what the girls cannot do. The girls' ages range from fourteen to twentythree, and their wages from 2s. 6d. to £1 per week, with perhaps one or two exceptions who receive £1 ss. 1568. In the Star jobbing-room there are fifteen journeymen, and a boy to every man as near as possible —more if anything. There is no piecework. All the boys are indentured. After they have served it is optional whether they go on for another year at reduced wages, or leave. They have to stop the year at the same wage as they made the previous year. A boy is not treated as a journeyman until he goes to another place. 1569. The recognised wages for journeymen is £2 10s., and for piecework Is. per 1,000. f570. In the Herald office there are no girls employed except at bookbinding. Apprentices can learn better on weekly papers, or in jobbing-rooms, than on daily papers. The Society allows one boy to three men, but no boys on daily papers. In the Herald the proportion of boys to men is greater. 1571. The ventilation is very bad in the Herald office. In the Star office it is all right. The Herald paper is worked fairly well. Two boys who work in the day-time are in the habit of coming back at night. Ido not know whether they are compelled to do so. They work at setting advertisements which should be done by men, and if the boys who are worked so late at night are late in the morning, 9d. is knocked off them, that being overtime rates. 1572. I know this for a fact: when a girl has served a certain number of years, and her earnings are beyond £1 a week, she is found fault with for some trivial mistake and sacked. 1573. We consider McCulloch's is the fairest at present in the trade. They have to take cheap labour to compete with the larger houses. 1574. I have given my evidence at the request of the Society. Mr. C. N. examined. 1575. lam a draper's assistant. I complain of the long hours, which are sixty-four a week. In addition I spend nine hours in walking backwards and forwards to my place of residence. Two hands a week get off at 6 o'clock, three hands at 9 ; Saturdays at 11 o'clock. On the eve of holidays I have worked to half-past 12 and twenty minutes to 1. In places outside of Queen Street

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the difficulty of early closing lies. The result of a canvass taken ih January of this year was, 281 shopkeepers were in favour of closing at 6 p.m. Of this number 139 were in favour of closing at 9 p.m. on Saturdays, and 59 at 10 ;36 wanted a half-holiday. 199 were in favour of closing at 7 p.m. five days a week. 109 shopkeepers were against early closing, and 587 were in favour of it; total, 638. I think the only way the early-closing movement can be made a success is by Act of Parliament. Miss C. 0. examined. 1576. lam a coat hand, but have been a machinist button-holer. I see by the papers that Mr. Mcßride says that he has come down to log prices for button-holing. Mcßride paid 4d. a dozen for slop-vest holes, and 6d. for coats; sd. a dozen for order vests, and Bd. for order coats. I observe that the tailoresses' log is higher than that. The log comes into force to-morrow (Ist April). Button-holing for order coats will be Is., and 6d. for order vests ; Bd. for slop coats, and sd. for slop vests. I do not think I had a half-holiday on a Saturday afternoon for the three months I was working at Mr. Mcßride's, because we had to stay and finish the work. We locked ourselves in a room so that the Inspector could not find us. Mcßride has seen us working there after 2 o'clock on Saturday afternoon. I often took work home to do. He used to say we must take work home to finish. Miss C. P. examined. 1577. lam a trousers machinist. I used to do order work and slop work. I was a year and four months at Mcßride's. I used to get 4d. a pair for slop trousers, machining only ; and w-orked eight hours a day. I made 10s. a week at this. Our position will be improved when the log comes in vogue, as the price will be for machining. Some of the order trousers take a day to make two pairs, in consequence of the extra work in them, and that would be Is. 2d. for a day's wage, working very hard. I could earn from 12s. to 15s. a week without taking work home. Ido not think the Union log will affect us much, as we get 6d. a pair for machining trousers. I think the log price will be rather worse for my own class of work. I never shop late at night except on Saturdays. I have joined the Union. Miss C. Q. examined. 1578. lam working at Mcßride's. What I want to say is that he never gave 2s. 3d. for any slop coat. He gives Is. 3d. for cover coats and Is. Id. for sac coats ; boys' knicker coats, 9d. This does not include button-holing machining. Vests 6d., 7d.. By the log it will be Is. Bd. for sac coats, 2s. 3d. for overcoats, lid. for vests. 1579. I shall be benefited by the log because lam a coat and vest hand. It will also benefit trousers hands in the factories. I have never worked overtime at Mcßride's on Saturdays or any other day. I live with friends. If I had a room it would cost 10s. a week, board and lodging with a friend. A girl could lodge at a boardinghouse for 12s. a week. In addition, I may mention that we have always been obliged to do our own pressing. This by the log will be done by proper pressers. lam a unionist. Mr. C. E. examined. 1580. lam an overseer in a tailoring establishment. I used to work at Mcßride's, and I was present on one Saturday afternoon some time ago when the finishers and button-holers went out on the roof to finish off trousers and button-hole coats. They stopped there two hours at the least. 1581. Before last Christinas large parcels of work were sent out to the hands at their own homes, and one messenger-boy was kept running to and fro with the work as it was finished. This was after hours. A lad who is certainly not twenty has now full charge of the pressing department, and the man whose place he took is a handy man, and comes in for odd jobs. 1582. In the winter the sea-water comes up through the floor. The Inspector under the Act has no doubt been to see it. I think the Act is all for the benefit of the employes, and that they should be provided with separate apartments for their lunch. Eichard Campbell recalled. 1583. Through the evidence given before this Commission last Thursday I and another hand who work at Helby's Meat-preserving Works, Shortland Street, having been suspected of giving evidence by Mr. Wiseman, who has the contract from Mr. Helby, were dismissed from that employment, and the whole of the rest of the men there employed also were discharged because they demanded in a body shorter hours and more wages. The way it got to Mr. Wiseman's ears was that he heard two men talking behind the shed. There was no place to take our meals in the factory. Where we work the temperature is 110°. Several other workmen also corroborated this witness. Walter Bousfield examined. 1584. lam cook in a sixpenny eating-house at the Eailway Dining-rooms. I have to get my fire alight by 6 o'clock in the morning and work till 7in the evening. No meal-hours are allowed. I get my food as I can. I get an hour to myself in the afternoon. I have no complaint to make about my kitchen. My experience of other places is worse. I have worked from sor 6 in the morning till 10 at night. My wages are 12s. a week, as I have only just left the Hospital, and am rheumatic. The average of other places is 15s. to £1. A housemaid would earn 13s. working about the same hours. The charges are 9d. for bed and 6d. for meals. I am a member of the Knights of Labour. I do not complain so much about myself, as I think lam well treated, but I have come forward to give confidence to others who are in a far worse condition than myself.

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Miss C. S. examined. 1585. 1 am a tailoress, and was at Mcßride's two years ago. 1586. Eight of us used to go out on the roof to work on Saturday afternoon till 5, (i, and 7 at night. We worked on the roof every Saturday except about two or three to avoid Gamble, the Inspector. He came twice while we were on the roof, but he did not see us. lam working at Marauds now. He wanted me to make nine coats a day, and to do this we would have to work till 12 at night. 1587. The Union started to-day (Ist April). I do not know how it will work, but I think it will help us. lam quite moderate in my statements. Miss C. T. examined. 1588. lam a machinist at Marauds. I never worked at Mcßride's. An attempt was made to induce me to machine tweed trousers at 2Jd. a pair. Ido not think I could make six pairs a day working very hard, and earning Is. 3d. a day. I have, joined the Union. I think it will be a benefit. 158!). Some girls that I know, about sixteen to twenty-five years of age, earn ss. to 9s. a week. They were finishers. I mention the case of two girls, which has come under my own knowledge, who mad.- Is. 9d. and ss. 3d. a week respectively last week.

Tuesday, Ist April, 1890. Mrs. Freeman examined. 1590. I was a waitress at a restaurant at one time. My hours were 7.30 in the morning to 8 at night; and 11 on Saturday nights; ten minutes for meals ; and was on my legs all the time. My wages were 12s. a week ; now the rate is 7s. to Bs. Harry Waite (Master Tinsmith) examined. 1591. T have bad several apprentices, and the first were bound for five years. The Act here provides that they shall be bound for five years, but in the Old Country the period is seven years. It is impossible to keep boys bound here for five years. You get no benefit from them, and the result is that they are put to the work they can do best without their being taught the trade. 1592. Under the Apprentices Act in England the boy who is bound to a trade has redress. He can sue his master if he is not taught his trade. Here you cannot do that. If a boy is fifteen years old when he begins, at nineteen he can turn round and say, " I am not going to stop any longer;'' and he can do that though his time is not up; so that no one now will take on apprentices. 1593. The Master and Apprentices Act is unworkable : the master can get out of it, and the boys can escape still more easily, and the result is that there are no apprentices. 1594. I had some boys bound for seven years, and one of them, when he became nineteen years of age, refused to work any longer for me unless 1 paid him £2 a week. I took the case into Court, and lost it. Two of the other boys served me the same way, but they were not such good workmen, as they had not served so long as the other boy. L 596. Tie- best tradesmen can always command good wages in Auckland. 1596. Apprentices are paid Bs., 125., 165., and £1 per week, the £1 being for the last two years. 1597. Two of those who left me started as masters, and commenced the cutting trade. They employed hoys, and they kept at one machine going from Monday morning till Saturday night. The boys were thus as useful as men, and their employers cut down everything. 1598. It is not in this trade alone, but in others, that this system prevails. 1599. I believe, if the Masters and Apprentices Act was made more stringent, so that the apprentice could sue the master for not fulfilling his contract, and the master could sue the apprentice, that would do away with a lot of this cutting and competition. 1600. A good workman will not work here for less than good wages, and a good man has recently refused to take from me Bs. a day, and is now getting 9s. 1601. If boys were taught properly masters would be forced to pay good wages, and this they are always pleased to do, as they get better work. 1602. Good tradesmen now get about Bs. a day, but there are many working for ss. owing to boy-competition. I have as good a tradesman as there is in the Province of Auckland working for 6s. a day, and it is all I can afford to pay him owing to boy-competition. 1603. The only way we can compete with slop cutting tradesmen is to employ machines and boys as they do. 1604. I believe in the English law that there should be one boy to two men. 1605. I believe that an amendment of the Apprentices Act would remedy a good many of the evils, not only in my trade, but in other trades: in the boot-making, for instance, where a boy nowonly learns to make a part, never the whole, of a boot. 1606. In Melbourne I had one boy doing nothing else than making pint pannikins for five years, but in England if a boy is not taught his trade thoroughly the parents could sue for heavy damages. 1607. I have no idea why the Apprentices Act should have been so altered. 1608. When I started it was a very difficult thing to get good boys as apprentices, because people would say, " I do not care about my boy becoming a mechanic ; my boy is going to be a lawyer."

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1609. The hours in our trade are eight per day. 1 was the first to introduce the Saturday half-holiday here. Our hours are forty-five a week. If we have overtime we pay time and half for it, and double time after 1) p.m. 1010. I think forty-eight hours a fair week's work, 1611. I think good might be done by amending the law as to apprentices, providing for compensation for non-fulfilment of contract on either side. At Home apprentices can be kept until they have served out their time, and, as a rule, they are bound at fourteen. I commenced at fifteen, and paid £30 as premium to learn the trade, and if the seven years cannot be completed allowance has to be made for that in the amount of the premium.

Thursday, 3rd April, 1890. John McLachlan examined. 1612. I have been all my life in Auckland, and have been in business as a draper in Queen Street for over twenty-four years. 1613. For the first few years I kept open late—that is, to any hour from 9to 11 p.m. For the last fifteen years I have closed at 6 p.m. in deference to what was called the Early-closing Association, who, as soon as they had achieved their object, seemed to forget the interests of their employers, and appeared to die out. 1614. The result of the early closing in Queen Street was the opening of a number of shops in the suburbs, till now they greatly outnumber those in Queen Street, and have taken a large portion of the business. 1615. I know and could give the names of customers who dealt with me fifteen years ago who now deal at shops in Karangahape Eoad, and I am convinced that if I kept open late now I could get some of them back. Not only have I lost the night trade, but I have lost the day trade of these same customers. 1616. I would say further that there is no doubt but that it is a convenience to the public to be able to shop after 7 p.m., and that, although I have for the last fifteen years closed at 6 p.m., I do not particularly advocate early closing. At the same time lam aware that, in the interests of the health of both employers and employed, it would be well if early closing could be achieved without great inconvenience to the public ; but at the same time I am equally convinced that it will never be so achieved without legislation, and that legislation is not an interference with the liberty of the subject, but rather the reverse. 1617. I am somewhat at a loss to understand why members of Parliament, who are not apparently parties interested, should oppose a Bill which the shopkeepers themselves are greatly in favour of, especially those of Auckland. For myself, I would be only too glad to be bound to a specific number of hours, or to particular hours. 1618. I think it would tend to the improvement of trade, both as regards buyers and sellers, that shopkeepers should be licensed. I think that by licensing you would prevent many going into the trade who have no capital, and that it would prevent the great competition which at present exists. I refer more particularly to the drapery trade. Almost every shop now sells some article that a draper keeps, with perhaps the exception of grocers. I think the Government might do away with the property-tax, and license the shopkeepers. I would he willing to pay £100 a year for a license, and think it would benefit me. Some might object because it would protect me in my business, but 1 think it would be no great monopoly—there would be plenty willing to pay it. It is true it would affect people of small capital; but it is that aspect of the question that makes me think it would lie advisable to license shopkeepers, because it is the number who start knowing nothing of the trade and having really nothing to start upon that has caused the great number of failures during the last three or four years. I think it is not only the depressed times, but undue competition, that has caused so many failures. 1619. For years the shops dealing in drapery and similar articles were principally in Queen Street, and would number from twenty to thirty. There are now, I have on the information of a wholesale agent, from two to three hundred dealing in drapery in Auckland and its surroundings. It seems to me the ratio of increase is much greater in the shops than in the population. 1620. As the population increases, and as the shops increase, so will the tendency to keep open late; therefore lam convinced that, while there is now a popular outcry against keeping open late, and while this may result in a certain amount of early closing, the ultimate result will be, as I have noticed it in all large towns —in London, Glasgow, Sydney, and Melbourne—to keep open later and later till they are open to almost 12 o'clock every night in some parts of the cities. Nothing will prevent this but legislation :of that lam convinced. There would have to be exceptions', but lam not prepared to say what the exceptions should be. 1621. I feel convinced that some restrictions would be beneficial both to the community and to the shopkeeper: licensing would regulate business, and give it a higher tone. While, logically, it might be impossible to apply this system to all businesses, we find that there are certain businesses now carried on under great restrictions, and successfully carried on : the greater the restriction, apparently, the greater the success, because of course it tends to restrict the trade. 1622. Fruit-shops are kept open late because there are people going about with leisure and money who buy late, and it would pay for the same reason to keep other shops open. Igo as far as saying that, for the convenience of the public, it would be better if shops and all public institutions, such as libraries, were open on holidays and closed on other days. If the convenience of the public is to be consulted, the time for shops to be open is when the public are at liberty; and that explains why night shopping is done. If we consulted only public convenience we should get no holidays.

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1623. I might add an incident in my personal experience. In 1889 I had about one-third of the trade that I had in 1869, though now I have double the stock. I ascribe a good deal of the difference to the fact that I shut up at 6 o'clock in 1889, and that I kept open to 9, 10, or 11 p.m. in 1869. The competition, I think, was caused by shopkeepers in Queen Street closing early, and driving the trade into Karangahape Eoad. If we were to open at night there would be less trade done in Karangahape Eoad, and if the Queen Street shopkeepers take my advice they will every one keep open as long as the shops in Karangahape Eoad. The tramways, I think, act both ways. They take some people out of town, but they bring others in. The shops in Karangahape Eoad induce population, and the population induce shops; they act and react on each other. Miss C. I. examined. 1624. I am a coat hand at Mcßride's. 1625. I am in weekly wages at £1 10s., and have been with Mcßride six years, and am one of the older hands. 1626. When a rush takes place I take work home. 1627. I am not paid extra for this. 1628. Measure-work is paid very well in our shop, but the wholesale work is not paid so well. 1629. I have worked at piecework. 1630. I have made a lot more than £1 10s. a week at timework. 1631. £1 10s. is the pay of a first-class dressmaker. Good hands are scarce, and employers do not readily send them away. 1632. Work is not given outside our factory. 1633. The hands have worked all hours. 1634. Sometimes we work after 2 o'clock on Saturday afternoons. 1635. We object to being turned out of the room at lunch-hour. 1636. I never went on the roof to work to get out of the way of the Inspector. I would have heard of it. 1637. I have never worked in the cellar. 1638. I think the adoption of the Dunedin log will be a great help to the wholesale workers. 1639. I have not joined the Union. 1640. The statement made that Mr. Mcßride had threatened to discharge any one who joined the Union is not correct. George Goldie examined. 1641. I am Inspector of Nuisances for the City of Auckland since 1872. 1642. In 1887 I inspected forty-five factories, and out of these I found that eighteen had defective closets, and twenty-seven correct. 1643. I issued eighteen notices to provide proper conveniences for males and females under clause 296 of the Municipal Corporations Act. 1644. All the notices were complied with, and I am not sensible of any insanitary conditions within the city. 1645. I inspected the factories on the 23rd January last. 1646. I know a factory, where fourteen young females are working at sewing-machines, 21ft. by lift, and Bft. 6in., which gives cubic feet space, and little more than 140 cubic feet for each individual, when it ought to be 600 cubic feet for each individual. Some alterations have been made since the 11th March, but it is for the Health Officer to say whether it is enough. 1647. Everything connected with the closets in Auckland is quite to my satisfaction, so far as I am aware, and there is nothing to complain of. Miss C. K. examined. 1648. I am a coat improver. 1649. I have been two years at the trade—first apprenticed to Mr. Clark, aud now I am bound to Mcßride for two years as an improver. I get from 10s., second year 15s. 1650. I very seldom take work home. 1651..My hours are from 8.30. to 5.30. 1652. I never work overtime. 1653. I never heard of any girls going on the roof. 1654. The longest time I ever worked at home was one hour. 1655. If we are ever sick he always pays us. 1656. We work at home entirely out of goodwill. 1657. 1 corroborate everything that the iast witness has said.

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WELLINGTON. Saturday, 19th April, 1890. Alexander Williamson examined. 1658. lam Vice-President of the Engineers' Society. They are greatly troubled about boylabour. The Society numbers twenty-six, and two shops are not represented in the Union who are employing a great number of boys. I have nothing to complain of as to wages. Consider that if boys were indentured it would tend to solve the difficulty. I have not thought seriously as to what was to become of the boys. I make about £3 ss. a week, including overtime. I work eight hours a day. Our Society is not represented all through the colony. We are working on the basis of rules copied from the Amalgamated Society. 1659. Never have been any bad accidents in our shop. Most of the hands are in an accident firm. One boy had his finger badly hurt, and was away from work for three months and received £1 a week. 1660. Some of the boys have paid premiums. lam sure some of the boys would never learn. As to any particular trouble being spent by the masters in teaching the boys I cannot say. William Cliff examined. 1661. I am President of the Boiler-makers' Association. The Society number thirty in Wellington. I have no complaints to make, all the shops except one recognising the Union. lam satisfied with the question of wages and hours, and also apprentices: they only allow one to three men. Before the Union was formed there were all classes of wages, and things were not at all satisfactory. The hours now are eight; then there is overtime, for which we receive—the first two hours, time and a quarter; after that, time and a half. The wages for boiler-makers are 10s. a day. I have belonged to the Union for six years. 1662. I believe in courts of arbitration for settling difficulties. 1663. In regard to the apprentices, I consider they should be bound for five years, as I consider a lad could not learn his business under that time. He is not worth much to his master the first three years; it is only the last two years that the master derives any benefit. The Association stops men going into the trade unless they have served five years. Such a man must be a competent man. There have been no accidents in my shop through neglect. When an accident overtakes them the master is responsible. 1664. I consider the question as to what was to become of the boys a very difficult one to solve. Of course each trade was looking after its own interests. I consider it comes back to the old question of settlement on the land.

Monday, 21st April, 1890. Mr. D. G. examined. 1665. I am a painter and paperhanger, and have taken sub-contracts, and it is in connection with this matter that I wish to make a complaint. I find when I take these sub-contracts that I am not secured enough, and I think we need some protection. I have many times found it next to impossible to get my money after the work has been completed, and under these circumstances I think there is great room for improvement in the existing law, so that persons like myself should be secured. As an instance, I gave a tender for two small jobs, which was accepted. After completion I found that the chief contractor gave so many orders on the proprietor that nearly all the money was gone, and there was not enough left to pay every one. Surely in matters like these we require some protection. I think the proprietor of a building should be made liable for all the material put into it. I consider the architects in some instances were to blame, because there were some architects in this town who would induce a person to build by telling him that the house could be built for less than it really could, and the consequence was that the job was taken at a low price by some man who had no money to carry it out. 1666. I believe that if contractors were under the scope of the Workmen's Wages Act it would give some protection, and be beneficial to persons taking small sub-contracts. 1667. I would point out that the contractor always had a security, because, if necessary, he could seize the building, and even the materials placed there by the sub-contractor. 1668. I think when a man is going to build a house he should give the job to a responsible person. Such a course as that would be of great service to us; and of course the sub-contractor should be equally responsible. The proprietor should, I think, be made responsible for the amount of the sub-contractor. There are some specifications where sub-contracting is not allowed. I maintain that no contract should be let unless the contractor has the necessary money to pay all subcontracts. The shops and the timber-merchants are secured before they let anything go away, but the unfortunate sub-contractor has no claim at all, and sometimes does not get a penny till the whole work is done, while the shops and timber-merchants get 75 per cent, before they let anything leave. 1669. If a man when he built a house called for separate tenders it would be a great assistance to. us. 1670. We cannot afford to abstain from taking contracts. When a man has a family to keep what is he to do ? I acknowledge it would be a great relief to all of us if the contractor were put under the provisions of the Workmen's Wages Act. 1671. I will endeavour in the meantime to consult with my fellow-contractors, with the object of bringing something before the Commissioners.

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Tuesday, 22nd April, 1890. James Martin examined. 1672. 1 am Secretary of the Wellington 'Bus Company, and wish to make it public that our company does no work on Sunday. 1673. The longest time any of the drivers or guards get is about nine hours a day. 1674. The company is worked according to a regular time-table. 1675. Tlie first boys come on at 6.40 a.m., and the last comes in at 10.30 p.m. But I must add that the boy who comes on early this morning comes later to-morrow. 1676. The drivers work the same hours as the guards. 1677. We have no 'bus running on Sundays. In fact we are bound by the articles of the association not to work on Sunday. 1678. We have three shifts. 1679. The head groom and second groom of course have about an hour's work on Sunday attending to the horses. This is all that is done on Sunday. Daniel O'Eourke examined. 1680. 1 am Inspector of Factories for Wellington under the Employment of Females and Others Act. L6Bl. I have been Inspector for three year--. 1682. I have a list of the various factories, with the number of girls employed under the Act. 1683. I consider the Act works well enough here. There is a difficulty in regard to Saturday afternoon. I find there is a tendency to keep girls after the proper time. 1684. During the time 1 have been Inspector I have laid eleven informations—one for employing after 6 o'clock. 1685. In various cases I found girls on the premises after time, but not working. The proprietor has constructed a means of communication between the shop and the workroom, and directly 1 appear it is made known, and the work at once ceases. L 686. Out of the eleven informations I laid I obtained nine convictions. 1687. As regards the clause in the Act referring to ventilation, I consider it wants improving. The clause is not definite enough. L6BB. 1 have only found four or five instances where a child under fourteen was employed, and in those cases they were not altogether in the factory, being at work-as messengers. 1689. As a whole, 1 find the room and ventilation pretty good There were only two reports of insufficient ventilation. I know of one place where four girls are kept at work in a room which is used as a bedroom at night. I have spoken to the proprietor, but he seems to take no notice of it. There is nothing in the Act—no clause which he can be brought under. I have spoken to the Inspector of Nuisances about it. 1690. As regards the sanitary condition of the factories, I have nothing to do with it. I believe the sanitary arrangements are good, and are kept separate, the girls having separate accommodation to themselves. 169 i. 1 know of no place where work is carried on in places situated underground or in unhealthy places. 1692. 1 consider some accommodation should he given to the girls tor their mid-day meal, instead of compelling them to leave the workroom, especially in wet weather. 1 think the majority of the girls go home to lunch. 1693. I think the Act should lie so amended that, in the event of the Inspector finding any one at work after hours, he could take proceedings. As the Act is at present, unless you find the girls actually at work you can do next to nothing. 1694. I do not think there is a tendency in Wellington on the part of parents to put young children into factories. 1695. I have seen milliners employed after factory hours on Saturdays, in places where they are employed both as milliners and assistants, but never the factory hands. 1696. I have found that once bringing an employer before the Court has a good result. One experiment has been sufficient. 1697. On one occasion I went to a place, but the doors were closed, and I dare not go in. I think the Act might be amended so that there would be an improvement in that direction. For instance, au employer told me he would have the door bolted to prevent me from coming in. I think the Act might fie amended so as to give an Inspector the right of access. L 698. t am employed in the Eesident Magistrate's Court, and that of course takes up a lot of my time, so that really I have not the necessary time at my disposal to properly carry out the duties of Inspector under the Factories Act. 1 think the Inspector of Weights and Measures could perform the duties more satisfactorily. L 699. I have no definite time to inspect, but I generally go round of a Saturday. 1700. Generally speaking, the proprietors offer no objection to my looking over the premises. 1701. I believe the primary object in keeping longer hours is to get more work out of the girls. 1702. I think it would be a good provision iv the Act to have a clause inserted allowing the girls overtime. 17(13. I have visited all the places in the city which come under the provisions of the Act. 1704. Shirt-making is generally carried on in private houses. 1705. Under the present state of the law I do not think it is possible for any one else to do more than 1 have done.

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Mr. D. I. examined. 1706. I am an apprentice, aged sixteen, at the New Zealand Times office. 1707. I am indentured, but paid no premium. 1708. I did not know, until after I had signed articles, thai I should not learn jobbing. 1709. I have only been on the New Zealand Times fifteen months. 1710. There were two boys who got the majority of setting up advertisements. 1711. I live with my parents, and get 7s. (id. per week. Mrs. S. examined. 1712. I am a machine shirt hand, working in my own house, with an assistant inside and a girl outside. I cut the shirts out, and give it to the girl outside. Ido work for some of the principal houses in town. 1713. My complaint is, lowness of the prices paid. 1714. The Tailoresses' Union does not include shirt-makers. 1715. I have had as many as twelve hands working for me. 1716. I get 75., Bs., and 9s. a dozen ; it all depends on the quality. Buttons are found. 1717. I have been to a certain house to get work, and they would not give me my price, 7s. 6d., as they said they could get the work done cheaper. I did not take the work. 1718. I make from £1 ss. to £1 10s. a week by myself alone. 1719. It takes me eleven hours to do twelve shirts, and one must be a good hand to do this. It takes me an hour to cut out twelve shirts, and eight hours to machine, and three hours to finish them off. 1720. lam not always fully employed, because others do the work cheaper. I can make 9d. an hour at shirts : this includes finishing off. I give my girl 12s. a week, working from Bto 5. 1721. I give the girl that works outside for me ss. for the quantity that I get 7s. for, and 7s. for what I get 9s. for. She can do eleven a day, and can make £1 a week if fully employed. I take the difference for the cutting, and the trouble of getting the work. 1722. At a certain house I get the shirts fully cut out, and get ss. a dozen. Three years ago I received (is. for a dozen, and could earn £2 10s. 1723. My husband is a storeman, and earns ClO a month. 1724. There is no vexatious fault-finding on the part of my employer. 1725. It takes 3J yards to make a shirt: at Bd. a yard that is 2s. 6d. 1726. Working at night-shirts, 1 can earn 7s. 6d., with an assistant. Mr. D. L. examined. 1727. I am a master painter. 1728. I see you have already had some evidence from the masters' point of view. I want to give evidence from the other point of view. 1729. There is not an old man employed by a master painter in the town. The trade is in a had state. The old hands go about getting jobs for themselves. They cannot get employment as journeymen. The masters get young men called " improvers" to work for them. 1730. Four years ago a friend of mine got the contract for painting the llutt bridge, and he employed seven or eight men who were casuals. When the job was finished some of them turned journeymen, and some as masters. 1731. I think a proper tradesman's wages is 9s. —that is the standard wages. These other men get (is. or 7s. a day. 1732. The majority of painters' work about Wellington is little more than labourers' work. There is very little skilled labour required. 1733. I have been at the trade since 1844, and been here since the seat of Government was changed —occasionally. 1734. We have tried to form a Society several times, but it has been a failure. 1735. The only way to help us is for the masters to join with the journeymen to employ none but journeymen. 1736. A contractor cannot compel an architect by law to give him a final certificate for work done, except by going to the Supreme Court. Mr. D. K. examined. 1737. I am a groom in the Tram Company's employ. 1738. I wish to corroborate the evidence of a former witness about the hours on the trams. 1739. Another grievance we have is that we are paid at the end of the month, and so done out of a week's wages in every three months. But our agreement is £6 a month. 1740. Our hours are from 5 or 6 in the morning to 8 at night. 1741. I have no complaints to make about Sunday horns. I do not think any unnecessary work is done on Sundays, as any one who has to do with horses has to work on Sundays. Mr. examined. 1742. I have been assistant groom, in the (Bus) Company. 1743. My complaint is the long hours we worked—from 5.30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and one night a week off from 8. We worked on Sundays four hours in the morning, and three in the evening, j earned tl ss. a week. The first groom got £2. The hours for the drivers were (i.40 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays, on Tuesdays 7.20 a.m. to 9.30 p.m., on Wednesdays 8 a.m. to 10.20 p.m., and so on through the week. Drivers' wages are £2. 10— H. 5.

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1744. For the conductors the hours are the same, and they earn £1 ss. 1745. There are plenty of applicants for every vacancy. 1746. An hour for each meal. 1747. The only remedy is to have more men. 1748. I do not know whether the concern is paying or not. Mr. C. B. Eobinson examined. 1749. I am Secretary of the Early Closing Association, Wellington branch, and draper's assistant at Te Aro House. 1750. I am of opinion that late hours are not necessary to the public, if the shops were opened for eight hours. A portion of the public leave everything to the very last moment. 1751. Grocers' hours are from 8 in the morning to 9 at night, and 11 on Saturdays. 1752. The boot trade is the same, and the small-goods trade. 1753. Ironmongers and the large drapers have shorter hours; they close at 6 on week-days and 2 on Saturdays. 1754. I know of women who have been laid up through their standing for eight or nine hours a da)-. I can produce evidence to that effect if necessary. I think both physically and morally it affects the women to go home after closing at 10. 1755. Twenty-five per cent, of the trade done on Saturday is dove between 6 and 10 in the evening, and a great many people shop who could come earlier in the day. About 50 per cent, are working-classes. 1756. A number of the employers arc in favour of the early-closing movement. 1757. The workgirls are paid on Mondays in my house, and the men are paid monthly. We have thought of asking for an earlier day for payment of the weekly wages, but the Knights of Labour want it on Monday. 1758. I think that the Factory Act should include the shopgirls as well, and I do not see any reason why the Act should not apply to men. 1759. We are affiliated to the Trades and Labour Council. 1760. There are no complaints of pay to the assistants. The pay ranges from £1 to £4 a week. 1761. Saleswomen start at sixteen and seventeen years of age, and first year 2s. 6d., and yearly raised 2s. 6d., also receiving a commission amounting to about 2s. 6d. a week. In our sales department there are six—head saleswoman, £3 10s. to £4 ; next one, £2 15s. or £3; down to £1 10s. 1762. Forty girls are employed in the dressmaking; the average adult hand gets 12s. 6d. a week on time. At five years' service a girl would earn 12s. 6d. There are half a dozen in the millinery, and they get the same. 1763. The sanitary arrangements of all the factories that I am acquainted with in Wellington are very good. There are separate closets for the men and women. 1764. I think that fruit- and pastry-shops should be exempt from the early-closing movement, and the Act should apply to the town as well as to the country. 1765. We quite agree with the Christchurch Early Closing Association: that Mr. Joyce should drop the Bill, and bring in a Bill of stronger measure. Mr. D. F. examined. 1766. I am a plumber by trade, and belong to the Union. 1767. I am requested by the President of our Union to come here and speak. 1768. I am foreman at —'s. I am paid by the week. 1769. The men earn 10s. a day, and work forty-six hours, and there are about twenty-three. 1770. There is only one apprentice. The master does not seem to like indenturing apprentices. In my opinion it would be better for the boys to be apprenticed, as they would then learn the trade. Boys start at 7s. a week, they being fifteen or fourteen years of age, and get 2s. a year rise. 1771. In Wellington there have been a lot of unqualified and incompetent workmen turned out. Every man takes out a boy with him, and when the boy gets too much wages the employer cannot afford to pay him: the consequence is that the boy himself goes out. 1772. There are forty boys and twenty-five lads in Wellington at the trade, who, under the present organization, have not had au opportunity of fully learning their trade. 1773. There are thirty-eight master and journeyman plumbers in Wellington, and out of this there are thirty-one themselves workers, some of these being in partnership. 1774. There is a lot of defective plumbing done. 1775. Men who are not efficient plumbers start in business, and they employ unskilled workmen, the result being that when called upon to deal with sanitary arrangements about a house they arc not competent, and in consequence of this a large amount of the sickness is attributable to this. 1776. I know several men who are bosses would willingly work for another boss if they could be guaranteed constant work. 1777. Boys ought to be bound for six years. 1778. There is a good deal of dissatisfaction in Wellington in the plumbing line. I think the complaint is just. 1779. The masters have agreed to the Union rules, one boy to one man, and promised to agree to employ Union men only, so that the Union could create a fund whereby to assist any workmen out of work through slackness—to keep them from starting in business.

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1780. In my opinion before a man becomes a journeyman he should have to pass an examination. 1781. I know in one establislnrtent there is a night school to teach the boys their trades. 1782. The Union has been established fifteen months. W. Crawford, an ex-Bus-driver, examined. 1783. I was in the service for five months. 1784. First 'bus leaves Newtow 7 n at 6.30 a.m. I got thirty-five minutes for dinner; one hour for tea. Leave off at 9.40 p.m. 1785. Next day start at 7.15 a.m. An hour and twenty minutes for dinner, one hour for tea, and get finished by 10.5 p.m. 1786. Next day we start at 7.25 a.m., get forty minutes for dinner, and get finished at 11 p.m. The man that leaves off at 11 p.m. starts at 6.30 next morning. 1787. It would take a couple of men about three hours to groom the company's horses on Sunday morning. The horses are never washed after the last trip. Mr. G. H. examined. 1788. I am an apprentice compositor on the New Zealand Times. I was indentured, but cannot say if the agreement is a legal one. I complain that lam not taught the trade in all its branches, and that boys are taken on not indentured. I was indentured for five years. Am now seventeen years old, and was apprenticed when I was twelve years of age. Since I have been there the proprietor, Mr. Harris, has let the jobbing-office, so that I am debarred from learning that branch of the trade. 1789. I thought when I went there that I should be taught jobbing and general newspaper work, instead of which I am kept setting up reprint for the weekly Mail. 1790. I did not include machining in my instructions. 1791. I have not learnt newspaper work, because I do not get the chance of being taught. 1792. Ido not think it is fair that apprentices should be taken on without being indentured. 1793. I receive £1 7s. 6d. a Week. Mrs. Nelson examined. 1794. I am a trousers machinist. 1795. I have worked for Cathie at piece-work, our hours being eight. 1796. I took work home four or five times a week. 1797. Not taking work home I could earn sometimes Bs., 125., and 14s. a week. Taking work home I could make six or seven pair a day. 1798. The most efficient trousers-finisher could earn 10s. weekly. Others, at piecework would earn 10s. to 12s. 1799. The reason why an efficient pieceworker is put on timework is because she earns too much money at piecework. 1800. I think my employer is fair to us, but she gives the lowest price in Wellington. Thompson and Shannon give 2d. more a pair. I have seen some of Thompson's work, and it is just the same. 1801. I do not think the remuneration is enough for eight hours' work a day—£l ss. a week ought to be given. No work ought to be taken home. Sometimes the girls are obliged to take work home. 1802.' I am not a skilled trousers machinist. 1803. The best skilled hand would earn about £1 Is. a week. 1804. Mr. Nelson earns £10 a month. Why I went to work was because I have to keep two of my relatives. 1805. There were about thirty or thirty-three hands employed when I left. 1806. Ido not consider it a good factory. It is badly lighted and ventilated. There were proper conveniences. 1807. We took our lunch in the workroom, but most of the girls went home. 1808. Those who have no homes pay 12s. weekly for their board. 1809. I do not think factory girls would make good wives. 1810. I have known a good many cases of ill-health among factory hands. I myself was very ill through working the machine. 1811. My complaint is that the hours should be shortened and the wages higher. Charles James examined. 1812. lam Secretary to the Society of Engineers. The only complaint I have is in connection with the large number of boys employed in the trade. I consider if the limit was made of one boy to a man it would be far better. 1813. The boys at present have not a fair chance of being taught their trade, there being too many. 1814. I consider the wages given are fair enough, and there is also plenty of employment; but, of course, we can get a day off when the work gets slack. Miss D. D. examined. 1815. lam at present at work making button-holes, and am paid 6d. per dozen for them. I am not a skilled hand, and I average from four to five dozen a week—that is, of course, according to the class of work. 1816. I commence work at 8 a.m. and leave off at 5 p.m., and in that time I earn about 15s. a week. I once earned 235., but only once. Last week I only earned 7s.

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1817. I have known my sister, who is quicker than I, to earn £1 a week, but not without talcing work homo. When I had found it impossible to finish my work in the ordinary workinghours 1 have taken it home to complete it. The girls as a, rule object to take work home. I would far sooner not take work home if I could make enough money in the, eight hours to keep me. 1818. I have only been at work six weeks. 1819. In regard to the question of apprentices, I think there are too many. 1820. I consider the price paid for special is trousers not high enough. There are other factories doing the same kind of work. I know one place where they were paying 25., and another Is. 6d. 1821. I believe Thompson's factory is the only one that pays 2s. 1822. I belong to the Trades Union, and joined it just after I commenced work last November. 1823. I have seen the log, but it has not come into force here yet. 1824. I am aware, according to the rules, it is not allowable to take work home. 1825. I live at home. 1826. As to ventilation, I consider it is good enough. Joseph Allan examined. 1827. I am Presitlent of the Bakers' Union, which came into force, on the 2nd January. 1828. J put in a list of the hours worked and wages earned before the Union started. 1829. Since the Union has been re-formed we work fifty-seven hours a week, and the scale of wages is a little better. All hands are now working on " dry pay " —that is, pay without board. 1830. Sunday work covers all statute holidays; we are paid for all statute holidays. 1831. We want to go in for the eight-hours system. In Dunedin and Oamaru they work eight hours. I have lately been down in Dunedin and Oamaru, and found that the eight-hours system was giving general satisfaction, the men receiving the same pay as we who worked fifty-seven hours a week. The masters say they would not go back to the old hours.

Thursday, 24th April, 1890. Mr. D. M. examined. 1832. lam a night porter by occupation at present, but a shoeing-smith by trade. I commence work as night porter at 11.30 p.m., and continue to work till 2 p.m. the following day. 1833. My wages are £1 per week and found. 1834. I commence cleaning boots at 11.30 p.m., and call the servants at 5 a.m., and am then kept cleaning windows and other odd jobs until 2 p.m. 1835. I never get to bed before 3 p.m. 1836. None of the other servants in the hotel have such long hours as I have. 1837. I would not grumble if my wages were another 10s. 1838. I never by any means get a tip, but in some places night porters make as much as their wages from tips. 1839. Some hotels pay better than others. There is no work about here for shoeing-smiths. I have followed my trade in this country, but things got dull and I had to leave. I was then getting Bs. a day besides overtime. Miss D. C. examined. 1840. I am a vest hand, working at 's. 1841. I am on piecework. 1842. I work from 8 till 5. 1843. I make four slop vests at Sd: that is 2s. Bd. for the day, Is. Cd. each for tweed vests, and 2s. for bound ones. 1844. I take work home once or twice a week, and work for an hour. 1845. There is no objection on the part of my employer to take work home. It is a common practice. 1846. There are about thirty girls, most on piecework, taking work home. 1847. There are ten apprentices : nothing for first three months, and 2s. 6d. rise every three months. 1848. The apprentices are kept fully employed, and the pieceworkers get nothing when there is a slack time. 1849. I earn about 18s. a week at slopwork and special work. I get more specials than the others, and for that reason I am able to get better wages. 1850. The regular trousers hands could do a little more—7d. ; these are hand-sewn. I could do about three of these a day. 1851. There is a very good light, and the sanitary arrangements are nothing to complain of. 1852. I have my lunch in the factory ; the others go home who live near. 1853. I have not noticed the Inspector visiting the factory. 1854. I am perfectly satisfied with the wages I earn. 1855. If I have a bad week I earn from Bs. to 18s., but never lower than Bs. 1856. I think it would be a hardship to be turned out at dinner-time ; but there is a cuttingroom to take our dinner in. 1857. About two years ago I got lOd. for what I only get 7d. for now. 1858. The girls still take work home, and the Union does not interfere. I don't know whether it is against the rules of the Union. I think it is a good provision in the Union regulations that prevents work being taken home. It will stop very long hours.

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Miss D. E. examined. 1859. I am a dressmaker now, but it was in relation to domestic servants that I wished to make a complaint. When in that capacity 1 used to work sixteen hours a day. I was allowed one night a week off', and regularly every other Saturday and Sunday night. My wages were 9s. a week. I commenced work at 6.30 a.m., and left off at 11 p.m., and was working all the time, either ironing or sewing or something after the ordinary housework was done. I was well cared for, but I objected to the long hours. I consider the mistress of the house should assist, and so lighten the work. I have been in service at four different houses, and three of the mistresses were tyrants. I consider the hours of domestic servants should be regulated the same as those of lumpers on the wharf. Mistresses should be compelled to keep more than one servant when necessary. Ido not find fault with the wages, but think the work should be reduced so as to make the hours less. 1860. lam only just starting dressmaking, and am kept by my mother. I went to another place as improver at 3s. a week, and am there now. lam not yet a competent hand, but my brother is going to pay a premium for me to learn the trade. 1861. It is the hard work and not pride which causes girls to give up being domestic servants and go into factories. I would sooner be a servant if I could get a good mistress. Mrs. N. examined. 1862. I am a shirt-maker, living in Taranaki Street. I work for . L 863. 1 employ nine hands—five girls working for me in my house, and four outside. Two of these are married women. 1864. I get 6s. 6d. a dozen for cotton shirts, 7s. (id. a dozen, for unions and 9s. 6d. for crimeans, finding buttons and silk feathering for the crimeans. About Is. (is. will pay for all the extras. I have to cut out the shirts, and I give tho shirts out to the girls, finding cotton and everything for them, and give them ss. a dozen for Crimean shirts, 4s. 6d. for unions, and 4s. for cottons. I provide the machines also. 1865. I make two dozen Crimean shirts for Te Aro House every week. 1866. 1 turn out fifteen dozen shirts a week, including inside and outside. 1867. The outside hands earn from 10s. to 14s. a week. The married women earn less. 1868. I pay Is. 6d. a dozen to finish cottons, and 2s. for crimeans. 1869. I have worked for , and I got only 3s. 9d. for making and finishing cotton shirts, and finding everything, for which he received 6s. 6d. 1870. These girls could turn out twelve in the day, both inside and outside. One girl could make fourteen. 1871. I make flannel pants and unders. At this the girls make from 15s. to 16s. if they are on a whole week. The prices are 2s. 6d. a dozen, and Is. 3d. for finishing. 1872. I have never seen the Inspector in my premises. 1873. f have been at this work since last June. Mr. D. 0. examined. 1874. I am a printer by trade. 1875. I came to Wellington on Easter Monday last year. 1876. I went to a livery stable at first. I had to work some time for nothing, and then ss. a week. I had to work from sin the morning to 10 or 11 at night. 1877. I had not been accustomed to this sort of work. 1878. I got ill here, and got on to a farm, and milked cows. I never milked cows before. 1879. I had porridge before breakfast, and then breakfast about, 10 a.m., and I worked from 5 to 10 at night, but on churning days I worked to 2 next morning. 1880. I am nineteen years of age. 1881. 1 was engaged by the week. Mr. D. P. examined. 1882. I am a cabinetmaker. 1883. My complaint is about the number of boys employed in (he trade. 1884. I have no complaint to make about the shop I work in : it is only about the number of tradesmen idle about the town, while boys are employed in their places. 1885. The ages of these boys are from twelve to twenty, working at wages from 7s. 6d. to 255. 1886. I reckon one boy to every three men is sufficient. 1887. Cabinetmakers have no Union except the Knights of Labour. Mr. D. Q. examined. 1888. I am a cabinetmaker. 1889. I know of a shop in Wellington which employs over twenty boys and four men. 1890. The boys' wages range from 7s. (id. to 255. 1891. I agree with former witness's statement as to proportion of hoys to men ; that number of boys would keep up the supply for the Wellington trade. 1892. The standard wages for cabinetmakers, upholsterers, and polishers is 9s. a day for eight hours' work. 1893. I was born in the colony. 1894. In most case's boys are legally indentured for four years, and earn 7s. (id. at first, increasing by degrees to £1. 1895. In most cases the boys are really not taught; the masters do not take the trouble to teach them.

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1896. There are about twenty men employed in all the branches appertaining to the cabinetmaking trade in the shops, and about the same number working at home. There are about fifty boys employed in the trade. As soon as the boys ask for wages in most cases they get a holiday, and others take their place. Miss D. E. examined. 1897. I am a cook. 1898. My complaint is, the charges made by the registry offices in Wellington. A charge of 2s. 6d. is made in the first instance, and then if a situation is secured half a week's wages have to be paid, and in some instances when half a week's wages are paid they neglect to fulfil the contract. This is my own experience; and there is no redress, because it is not worth while to appear in Court to recover. 1899. In Melbourne, where I had several situations, I never paid until I got the situation. 1900. My reason why I come here is because no notice is taken of a servant's letter in any of the papers. I have myself written. Patrick H. Duncan examined. 1901. lam Sanitary Inspector under the Corporation. It is my duty as Inspector to inspect the, factories as regards their waterclosets and ventilation. As a rule I find them in good order, and generally speaking the sanitary arrangements are good. I have recommended in one or two cases slight alterations should he made for the purpose of giving additional ventilation, and my suggestions were always carried out. 1902. I have never come across a single place which in my opinion was unsuitable for either man or woman to work in. I may say, however, that I have not examined all the factories in the city, because I have given more of my time looking after the general condition of the town. 1903. Every facility has been offered me by the proprietors for the purpose of inspecting the premises, and every attention was paid to any suggestions I made. 1904. I know the Inspector under the Factories Act. 1905. I do not consider sufficient time has been given to thoroughly ascertain the condition of all the factories that come within the scope of the Act. 1906. As the Act is at present, it really requires two persons to carry it out. There would be no difficulty if the Inspector under the Factories Act were appointed an Inspector under the Public Health Act like myself. 1907. As the law at present stands it takes both the Inspectors tinder the Factories Act and myself to make a proper inspection. 1908. I have not noticed any overcrowding in any of the factories. 1909. I have visited, in conjunction with Constable O'Eourke, the workshop in Manners Street in which the family slept. 1910. Four girls worked there during the day ; but, as I found the place splendidly ventilated, I did not consider the proprietor should be proceeded against. 1911. The other Inspector considered it worse than I did. 1912. It was he who reported the matter to me. 1913. I found a quantity of secondhand articles hanging about, but as there was such a fine current of fresh air running through the room I took no proceedings. 1914. I have been Inspector under the Corporation for fourteen months. F. W. Beaumont examined. 1915. lam a plumber, and complain of the present system of letting sub-contracts. Men of no means successfully undermine all legitimate trading, the only qualification being to get the lowest tender, and then sweat away by sub-letting. It would be right enough if the proprietor always let his contract to men able to take the risk of the estimate of cost, but we in the trade often notice that work is being done below actual cost, and this frequently means loss to the subcontractor. I should like to see proprietors held responsible for all the work done. 1916. I know one sub-contractor who lost £200 because the contractor failed. The proprietor got his work done, though the sub-contractor, a plumber, did not get his money. The way contracts are let now- is very unsatisfactory, because a sub-contractor does not know until the whole work is completed whether lie will get his money or not. I think if the proprietor consulted his architect before letting the contract much of the present difficulty would be avoided. 1917. My remarks only refer to small private contracts of £400 to £500. Harry McEwen examined. 1918. My father is a hoot manufacturer in London. I learnt with him for eighteen months. 1919. 1 was led to come here by promises made by Mr. Courtenay that I could get on a farm at Taranaki —nothing for the first month, and ss. for the next month per w-eek, and then what I was worth. 1920. Since I have been here I have had an offer of employment from Mr. Hannah, a bootmaker in Wellington. Mr. Hannah said he could give me work; but the Union would not allow him to take me on. To go as an apprentice, I could not keep myself on the wages. William McEwen examined. 1921. I am twin brother to last witness, and corroborate what he said. 1922. 1 have been three years in the boot trade with my father. 1923. I passed the Seventh Standard of the London Board School. 1924. I have a letter to Mr. M . Jell, of New Plymouth. He is a dairy-farmer. 1925. We have another letter to Mr. Cook.

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William P. McGirr examined. 1926. I am President of the Typographical Society, Wellington Branch, and am working in the Government Printing Office. 1927. The Society numbers eighty members, but varies very much, according to the sittings of Parliament. 1928. I have no complaint to make as far as wages are concerned, but it is the undue proportion of boys employed to men. One establishment, 's, employs seven boys, and their total wages together are £2 6s. per week. Two of these boys have been three years at the trade—wages at present, Bs. The other five, who have been at the trade for shorter periods, receive 6s. per week. Six of these boys have to work three or four hours extra every Thursday evening, without extra pay. Ages range from fifteen to seventeen. Three females employed as compositors. It had been the practice for the boys to take cases home at night, and bring down the matter in the morning; but this seems to have been discontinued lately. With the exception of the foreman, machinist, and another, the boys and females comprise the mechanical staff. With regard to the other offices, the only thing I can see which might be mentioned is the undue proportion of boy-labour, although not such glaring cases as —'s. Messrs. have an undue proportion of boys. There is one man in their office at £3—foreman, and six or seven boys at type-setting. 1929. Apprentices are not legally bound. There is a verbal agreement for six years, earning from Bs. upwards, and the last year 30s. They approve of all our rules except that as to the proportion of boys. 1930. There are a few journeyman printers out of employment during the recess. 1931. I think that the Apprentice Act should be enforced. 1932. There are only about two non-union men in Wellington excepting those on the New Zealand Times office and Press office. 1933. In the Evening Post there are twenty-two men bringing out the paper; and in the Press two men receiving journeyman's wages, and a large number of boys to bring out the paper. 1934. The Union has improved our position very much in the last two years, and I think the unfair employers are feeling the influence of the Union. 1935. The public do not care what sort of work they get, as long as they get it cheap. Mrs. C. Y. examined. 1936. lam a shirtmaker, and do work for Mrs. , and just a few for Mrs. . I have not worked for any one else. 1937. Mrs. gets her work, 1 believe, from Sargood's, but I could not say for certain. 1938. I work in my own home. I only do cottons, and work alone. Ido the machining, and sometimes the finishing, but principally the stitching. 1939. For machining I get 2s. 6d. a dozen, and if I finish them off I get another Is. 6d., making 4s. a dozen. Ido not know what Mrs. gets. 1940. I saw what was reported in the paper last night. Four shillings a dozen was mentioned, and that is the same that lam getting. lam perfectly satisfied with the price lam getting. 1941. I have never put in a full week at the work ; but I reckon I could do a shirt in an hour— machine and finish it by sticking close at it. That would be Id. an hour, or 2s. Bd. for a day of eight hours. I could stitch up a dozen a day. 1942. lam quoting Mrs. 's price. .Mrs. gave me ss. a dozen for making throughout. She was getting them from Thompson's, and asked mo to do a few. She gave me the same that she was getting for them. She told me it was the same she was getting. There was no difference in the work on those I got ss. and those I am now getting 4s. for. 1943. I have not heard of any one in the same position as myself giving work to any one else. 1944. I have a husband. If I had not I suppose I should have to keep my family on what I could earn at this. As it is, I do not work hard at it. One week 1 earned 12s. of Mrs. ; it is all according to how my house runs. I dare say lam able to earn, one week with another, 10s. a week ; it depends upon the time I give to it. 1945. If I had to depend upon this for a livelihood I could not provide for my family on what I could earn. There are others who have to depend upon it for a living. If Mrs. were paid more she could give more, I suppose. I have heard of people giving less than 45.; one man I believe pays 3s. 9d. 1946. I could not say how the disparity of prices comes in. 1 expect the reductions come from the warehouses and from the people applying for work. 1947. I have made a few flour-bags. I made them for Mrs. . I had 111 in the morning, and from 8 to 1 I did the gross, for which I believe I am to get Is. I did not work at it continuously. I had to prepare dinner, and I dare say I got up half a dozen times. 1948. Ido not attach much value to this employment. Ido it for pastime and pocket-money. It is not a matter of great consequence. I do not look upon it as a serious matter, so far as lam concerned. Thomas GEORGE KBRSHAW examined. 1949. I am working at Mr. Tracey's, Willis Street, and have, been there for about eighteen month, working on piecework. 1 was working at a weekly wage for some time, but prefer piecework. He gave me £2 10s. a week, but at piecework I can earn £3 sometimes, and never less than £2 10s. per week. In a full week I earn between £2 10s. and £3 ; and if I work overtime I have extra money. 1950. At the present time we are supposed to get time and a quarter for overtime. We have not had to enforce this, but we shall do so. There is a rule of the Society that if a man works overtime he shall have 3d. per hour over and above what he may earn during the overtime.

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1951. There are only two working with me in the one department—three altogether. Ido the whole thing right through—benching, finishing, and everything. In a small shop it is different from working in a large factory where there are different branches for benching and finishing. Ido all—■ put up and finish myself. 1952. They have a clicker working sometimes, but not regularly, because the shop is not large enough. They have a machinist, but no girls and no boys. The machinist is a woman of twenty, and she is paid at the rate of £1 l.s. per week for working the factory hours. 1953. Our accommodation is very fair, and the sanitation good. We have just had alterations made making it better. We have the regulations stuck up, and the " statement." 1954. I worked for Mr. Hannah for three years, for Mr. Hunt, when he was manufacturing here, for years, and Mr. Staples two years. 1955. Mr. Hannah's workshop was very good, all but one department; the henchmen had a very good room, and so had the machinists ; part of the finishers had a good room, but one of the finishing-rooms was not at all good. Ido not think it is a proper place for men to work in; it is too crowded. The room is lift, by 17ft., aud there are twelve men working in it, sitting down. The walls are not more than sft. high, and the roof goes up from that again. That was so when I was there, and it is the same now. I know this of my own knowledge, for I have been there ; I was in the shop this morning. The henchmen have as much room there as anywhere, I think. When I was working there 1 could work pretty comfortably. If the men had another six inches of room each it would not hurt them, but I do not think they are overcrowded. If two men happened to get on the same side of the bench they would hit one another when working ; but I have never known an accident to happen in consequence of this. 1956. I have never worked in Lindsay's shop. I have been there. It is not a very good shop ; in fact it is the worst of all the shops in the Union. It is not a new place ;it has been there for years. The workshop is at the back of the front sho2>, a little place off it. When the front place was burnt down, that was not burnt; it has been there for fifteen years. The men there are more crowded, and it is badly ventilated, as far as I could see of it, and altogether it is not a nice place to work in. I say it is the worst because the others are all better. 1957. I could not give the exact size, but I should say the bench-room is not more than Bft. by 12ft. I am not sure how many men are working there now. I have not been there for a few months, but I think that about five men are working there. In the other department there are, four men working, but that is big enough. There is a lot of machinery in it, and it makes it cramped up for the men ; but the place would be large enough if the machinery were out of it. The machinery must have room : you cannot put that in too small a space. 1958. I have never seen the Inspector in a factory since I have been in New Zealand. I would not say the Inspector does not visit factories, only that I have not seen him. 1959. lam sure the Union has done good to our trade. It has brought a uniform statement for the trade in our town. One employer was paying a high rate, another a low rate of wages. In consequence of the Union each employer has to pay the same amount, and the Union has regulated the number of boys. The over-employment of boys was our greatest drawback. 1960. In one firm here at one time about twelve boys to two men were employed. We have altered all that sort of thing now, and they can only have one boy to every four men. That was our chief grievance, because there was a lot of employment for boys and none for men. Now we are only just feeling the benefit of it. 1961. Our Union started here four aud a half years since. The employers did not have a chance of objecting to the Union. We did everything in private till we got pretty well hound together. As soon as they found out we were in it there was a lot of talking. They threatened to reduce the statement, and that caused a strike for two or three weeks ; but it did not last very long, and we got our statement as we drew it up. 1962. I think tin; large manufacturers approve of the Union, and that the small ones would sooner be without it, because they would get their work done cheaper if it were not for the Union. Before, a large body of men could make the master pay by refusing to do the work ; but the small employers could get along better, because a refusal to work would not inconvenience them to the same extent. 1963. At present we have no objection further than to accommodation. We have no real grievance at all. The girls have very good places to work in, as far as I know. Of course, things are far different now from wdiat they were a few years ago. The shops a few years ago were very bad, but they have improved considerably. The closet accommodation is, I believe, satisfactory—patent closets. Where lam working it is not a patent; but I believe they are going to put one in. In the large places there is separate accommodation for men aud girls. 1964. The lads are bound apprentices ; but I do not know if they are legally bound. They have papers with stamps on them, so I take it they are proper indentures ; they used to be when I was at Hannah's, for I had one in my possession. I think boys should be bound, and that masters should be obliged to teach them their trade. Ido not think a master should be allowed to discharge a hoy until he has learnt his trade properly. If a boy is dull, of course that is not the master's fault; but if any ordinary boy is bound for four years, as most boys are, I think he should know his trade when his time is up. 1965. Under the present system it is possible for a boy to learn his trade. A master who employs apprentices has a man to look after them. 1966. A boy only learns one branch of the trade, and could not learn the whole of it in the time. It would take four or five years to learn the clicking alone; the benching and finishing would take another six or seven years. Clicking is a branch apart from the others altogether. It is not oik! out of fifty that ever learns it. Clicking is the cutting-out of the uppers, ready for the machinist. That is a branch of trade in itself, and always has been.

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1967. We consider that one boy to four men is quite ample to keep the supply of workmen up to the demand for them. 1968. Ido not know that a permanent Board of Arbitration would be an advantage. I think the arbitrators should be elected as the need arises for them. Miss C. X. examined. 1969. I work at 's, and am a shirtmaker. I was employed by Mrs. at same work. I got ss. a week, and used to start at 8 in the morning, and sometimes did not knock off till halfpast Bor9 at night. There was no one but myself working there. I used to get my meals till I got short hours, and then I worked from 8 till half-past 5. 1970. Within the factory hours I believe I could make eight or nine shirts a day. At the hours I first worked for Mrs. I could have done twelve a day—that was, working from 8 in the morning till half-past Bat night. On Saturdays I used to work the same hours. 1971. t was not quite sixteen when I went there. We worked hand-in-hand ; I did not finish a shirt completely. 1972. I worked for Mrs. at flour-bag-making. The bags are paid for at the rate of Is. 3d. a gross, and I made about Bs. a week, working from 8 till 5 as hard as ever I could go at it. The material is very poor and dusty. You get as if you w r ere covered with flour after working at it. I was only two or three weeks at it. Ido not believe it was healthy, because of the dust. There were two others working at it besides myself, and the dust was something awful when two or three machines were going. 1973. When I got the short hours at Mrs. —'s I had the finishing to take home, and got 9d. a dozen for finishing. Mrs. used to give me a dozen shirts at night to do, at 9d. a dozen. It would take from about 7 to 10.30 p.m. to do them. 1974. Mrs. does not give Is. 6d. a dozen for finishing, but Is. 3d. That is all the finishers get now. That is the Union price. 1975. Where I am now I work from half-past 8 till 5, and am on piecework. I take no work home. lam sometimes on shirts and sometimes on coats. I am on capes now. I get a little of all sorts. lam constantly employed, and last week I earned 65., and there was one day out of the week ; it was not a full week. 1976. When I went to the place first I had 10s. a week. Then I went to piecework, and when on coats and shirts in a full week I made 10s. 1977. lam living with my parents. We get the Union price, 2s. 6d. a dozen for machining cotton shirts. lam not aware that my employer sends work out of the shop. 1978. Ido not see that the Tailoresses' Union has done us any good. It has only given us 6d. a dozen on shirts, and that is not much. Ido not think the tailors' log has done good. I believe it has kept the prices steadier. 1979. We work in a room that is well ventilated and kept clean, and that has plenty of light and space. 1980. I have never seen the Inspector in our factory. 1981. The factory hours are not posted up in our workroom. Mr. C. W. examined. 1982. lam a tailor, and work at Mr. 's. The working-hours set down by the Society, from 8 in the morning to 6 at night, 1 am sorry to say are not observed. 1983. Sometimes we start at 4 o'clock on Monday morning and work till 10, 11, or 12 at night, and the same every succeeding day, and sometimes all night through on Friday night up to 2 o'clock on Saturday afternoon. 1984. This is at piecework, and supposing we put in a full week under these conditions I should make £4 perhaps, sometimes ; it depends a great deal upon the class of work we are upon. The wages would be from £3 to £5 for those hours. 1985. All the shops do not work piecework, only three. In the others the employes have fixed wages. 1986. Most shops employ females and men too. In one shop there are something like twentytwo girls and four men. The men receive £3 and £3 3s. per week. 1987. There is no overtime observed in our place ; we work throughout at the same rates. 1988. At some seasons of the year there is a rush of work, and employers find men willing to work the hours I have mentioned, and consider they are not justified in taking on extra hands for two or three weeks. The work is given, and the men are anxious to make as much as possible. 1989. The average rate is Is. per hour; but on some classes of work you could not earn more than 9d.; on some others you might perhaps earn Is. 2d. or Is. 3d. per hour. 1990. There are great evils existing in the smaller shops, one of them being the giving work out to be done by people in their homes instead of on the shop premises. This is not done in our shop, but it was some years ago. 1991. Men used to take work home, work at it themselves, and employ their wives, sisters, and daughters at it. That has been stopped; the Society has had that good effect. 1992. Both systems—working overtime and taking work home—are bad ; I do not knowexactly which is worse. We could get more tailors, but the amount of work, taken all the year round would not warrant it. As it is, sometimes we go out on Saturday without earning a penny, because there is no work. It fluctuates to that extent. 1993. The busy period comes at different seasons of the year—at Easter and Christmas, and if there are any big holidays or general sports ; but particularly at Christmas and Easter. 11— H. 5.

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1994. Mine is all order-work ; but there is " sweating " in our trade, if I understand the term. Nearly every draper in town takes orders, hands the order over to a manufacturer; the manufacturer cuts out the garments, and gives them to people to be made up in their homes at low rates. 1995. There are a good many taking work in this way. In Willis Street there are Murphy, Green, and Simpson ;in Manners Street, Scott and Cathie. These men take work out of the warehouses, and then divide it in that way. 1996. In drapers' shops they take orders, and give them to these people to make up ; they do not keep tailors. Then these people—Cathie, Scott, and others —again give the work out to girls to make, though some of them keep tailors on the premises. 1997. The thing w r orks out in this way : The draper takes an order for a suit of clothes at, say, £3. He passes it on to a girl, who makes the trousers and gets 2s. for making them. The cost of the material would be—tweed, lis.; linings, &c, 35.; for making trousers, 25.; vest,2s.; coat, 45.: total, 225. That is made by girls. 1998. The warehouses take this way of doing business: They ask a man to do a thing at a certain price, and, if he can do it, then they go to some one else, and ask him if it can be done for less. It is a cut-throat business throughout. 1999. In the better class of work, say a five-guinea suit, such as would be made in au " order " shop, the cost of the material would be £1 10s. 3d., linings and trimmings 7s. 6d. for the suit; the workman gets for the trousers Bs. 6d., for vest 7s. 9d. and for coat £1 3s. 6d. : total, £3 17s. 6d. This better-class work is not " sweated " at all. 2000. We have found the Union do good to the trade. Previously, the men, some of them, used to walk about on Monday and Tuesday, through their lazy or drinking habits, then work a day at the shop, and take work home and engage their wives or sisters on this work. The Union has had the effect of putting a stop to this state of things, as work is not allowed to be taken off the premises at all. 2001. The great evil we have to contend with is the system of overtime and working all night, in some cases without receiving extra pay. The working at night militates against working to our own benefit or credit the next day. Men cannot get through work to correspond with the number of hours they put in. 2002. The Union has had the effect of putting a stop to a practice which encouraged drunkenness, and has, I believe, prevented wages being reduced. The wages, I think I have shown, are quite small enough. 2003. Our workshop is a good one. The ceiling is too low, and the ventilation not sufficient, but as regards room and convenience it is all that is wanted. 2004. I have never seen the Inspector in the workshop. He has not been there since I have been there. 2005. I have been in other shops in town. In one that I worked in for several months, the room is almost beyond description. It is a miserable place, and requires to be seen to be understood. 2006. The Union has been able to settle any differences we have had with our employers. 2007. Boy-labour does not affect us ; girl-labour is our difficulty. The girls have formed a Union of their own here, and, as soon as that gets into fair working order, I believe that will, to a certain extent, sweep away the abuses that affect us. At all events it will moderate them. Duncan Cameron examined. 2008. I have been an employer of labour myself in the saddlery business. 2009. The trouble in connection with the saddlery business here is the excess of boy-labour. 2010. I think, if there were an Act brought in compelling masters to have every boy indentured, they would be compelled to teach the boys, or the boys would have a remedy against the masters, and come upon them for damages. 2011. As it is now, the boys go into shops for two or three years. They have nothing to bind them, and they perhaps think themselves a bit clever, and want an increase of wages. The master will not give it, and they go out and, likely, start themselves, botch at the trade, and, likely, throw and keep good men out of work. 2012. It does not matter if people have only a smattering of the trade, they compete against good men and throw them out. Such men can run against a good house, so that its proprietor has to reduce the men, or cut in and employ boy-labour also. 2013. The whole difficulty is the employment of boy-labour. The whole thing is hanging to that, the public being willing to buy a badly-constructed article. 2014. I think boys should not be allowed to learn a trade unless they arc properly indentured apprentices. I know- that there are good journeymen in our trade walking about New Zealand in want of employment, in consequence of the excess of boy-labour. Mr. D. B. examined. 2015. I have been in the employ of the Tramway Company. 2016. We started at 6.30 a.m., and knocked off at 7.30 at night. The next day we started at 7.20 a.m., and knocked off at 12, midnight. You would leave the Government Buildings at 11 o'clock; but by the time one got to Newtown and back it would be 12 o'clock, or close to it. The next day you would start at a quarter to Bin the morning, and knock off at 8.30 p.m. The fifth morning you went back to where you started. 2017. We got £9 a month. The conductors had the same hours, and always stuck to the car. Some of the conductors got £4, some £5, and some £6 a month. That would include conductors' commissions.

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2018. The stablemen started at 5 o'clock in the morning, and left off at 5 o'clock one night and at 8 o'clock the next, alternating. One might be a bit late in the morning, but not an hour, because the first team goes out at 6.30 a.m., and they have to be fed: perhaps five, or ten, or fifteen minutes late, and then some one else in the stable would have fed the horses. 2019. Some boys were employed at stablework, but not constantly ; they would generally be out relieving the conductors for dinner and tea. The stablemen would get £9 a month, and the boys about the same as the conductors. 2020. When number one, you get forty minutes for breakfast, an hour for dinner, and an hour for tea, excepting on Saturdays, when you get twenty minutes. 2021. The feeling among the tramway employes is that the hours are too long. 2022. Sunday work I believe has changed. They only work every other Sunday now, and then for about four hours. The grooms have to do on Sundays pretty well the same work as on week-days ; but in the afternoons they have two or three hours off. 2023. There is no such thing as overtime in connection with this work, and nothing for Sunday work. 2024. There is no system of fining in connection with this company; when they want to discharge you, away you go. You sign to get three days' pay or to give three days' notice. 2025. I have not worked for the new company. 2026. The long hours are due to a desire to curtail the expenditure. 2027. The greatest number of hours I put in I worked during the last three days I was in the tramway service. I worked fifteen hours one day, sixteen hours the next, and seventeen the next. 2028. I could not say the Tram Company is paying now, but it has been paying. Of course there is a lot of opposition against it now, and I do not believe it does pay. 2029. It would not lead to a large increase of expenditure to remedy the long hours. Two men, I think, would suffice. I think, if there were two men to relieve those on the cars and two extra boys, they would all be satisfied. There are eight drivers and eight conductors on the trams. 2030. At one time there was a night driver kept. This man would go out and relieve the man who had had the long day. He would take up his car at 7.20 p.m., and drive the last car at night. Now the day driver has to drive his shift right through. 2031. At the start the company's hours were very good. The hours have not been improved during the last eight months. I know they are worse than when I left. Luke Browett examined. 2032. I am a bootmaker, and come here at the request of the Bootmakers' Society. 2033. There is no sweating in our trade that I am aware of—not in any of the Society shops, at any rate. 2034. lam a benchman. It is all piecework, barring cases where men are foremen over boys, or anything like that. We then allow one day worker for each branch—say, one benching and one finishing—but no more, a sort of foreman teaching the lads. 2035. We have one boy to four men. That rule is observed in benching and finishing. In clicking they have no " statement" in this place, but they are not overcrowded with boys. They find boys do not pay. 2036. The men work fifty hours per week, and the boys the ordinary factory hours—an hour a day less than the men, I think. 2037. I should say that when in constant employment a man earns from £2 ss. to £2 15s. per week. 2038. In our trade we get slack and busy seasons. During some parts of winter we might have six or seven weeks' half-time, and in that time a man would earn during the three days about 255. When busy I think we may average about £2 10s. a week for an ordinary man. 2039. The boys, I believe, start at 6s. per week, and get rises every year of about 2s. 6d. per week, I think, but will not say for certain. That continues from the first year to the last, and they are bound for five years, but, I think, not indentured. Some of them get as high as £1 a week: they can make their wages higher by sticking harder to the work. They can get a percentage of all they earn over a certain amount. 2040. I belong to the Union, and can say the Union is of great benefit to our trade. It has fixed a regular rate of wages for the town, and has therefore improved the positions of masters and men. 2041. The hours worked in New Zealand, so far as I know, are always fifty hours a week in our trade. 2042. There was at one time what is known as sweating —men taking work home—but not since the Society was formed, because it does not allow it. I know that the taking work home was done in Christchurch, but I do not know that it has been done here—at least, I only know it from hearsay. 2043. By " sweating " I mean that men used to take work home, get their wives to work at it, and teach their boys and give them so much for it. That was done in Christchurch. If I took work home and did it there myself I should not call that " sweating," but it would be a bad practice. I should only call it " sweating" when one man who takes work gives it out to another to do, and gives to the other, say, £2 for doing work that is worth £3. 2044. We have a grievance with reference to accommodation, but I do not wish to say anything about it. I think it is a matter for the Inspector of Factories. The Inspector does not properly do his work. If there is not a regulation providing that a certain space should be allowed for each man, there should be. Masters shove their men closer and closer together to compete with each other. I have seen shops condemned in England because they were not fit to be used as factories.

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2045. I would not say a boss did wrong if he stuck men so close together that they could not move, if there is no law to prevent his doing so. 2046. Our Society shouldunove in this matter, but they have not. They think, if they get the "statement" one year, overtime another, and settle the boy questions another, they do well. I think, if the Society found that the men were being crushed too close together, they would take the matter up. The Society has never yet interfered in the matter of overcrowding. If men are on piecework it would make no difference to the masters that the men through overcrowding could not earn as much as they would if they had plenty of room, and it saves the masters the expense of building. 2047. I would not make any complaints myself about the factories. I have no complaints as regards " sweating " or anything else. 2048. We have rules for the settlement of disputes. Disputes are to be settled by arbitration, if possible. Our rules state that. We elect one arbitrator and ask the employer to do the same. We have no organized Court, but we submit disputes to arbitration ; and I think when men have a fair grievance they have little to fear from arbitration. 2049. There are some matters I would not leave to arbitration : for instance, one is the recognised " statement," and if any employer tried to interfere with it I would advocate fighting it to the end. But, in the case of men asking for a rise, or a dispute arising from a misunderstanding, the matter would be submitted to arbitration. 2050. If there were an Arbitration Court properly organized, public opinion might be as efficacious for us as a strike; and we are making provision to stop strikes. 2051. Sometimes employers threaten to hang up different "statements." An employer says that the Auckland or the Christchurch " statement " is lower, and that, as he has to compete with those towns, he cannot do with a higher " statement," and that he will hang up the Auckland or the Christchurch " statement "in his shop to work to. Well, of course, if he does that we do not recognise this " statement," and we tell him he will have to pay the cost of the strike. If we were out six or seven weeks, then, in the event of our winning, he must pay all the wages spent as " strike pay " before we go back. We would not go to work till he did so. 2052. We are not the only ones who have done this. They did it in the Typographical Association's dispute, where they got 75 per cent, of all strike pay. I think the aggressor should always pay the cost. 2053. I think that, so far as our own Society goes, if there is any dispute, we would sooner have a man to advocate our side who understands it than that it should go to ordinary arbitration. 2054. I do not know the working of small shops, excepting that in some cases they employ nothing but boys—that is, where they mend boots for 2s. 6d. a pair, and make them for 7s. 6d. At those rates they could not afford to pay men. We do not recognise those shops. 2055. I think there should be regulations providing for proper accommodation for men and women in factories, for proper ventilation, and against overcrowding. Miss C. Z. examined. 2056. I work for Mrs. , and am employed on cotton shirts, machining only. I get 2s. 6d. a dozen. Sometimes I work the whole day, and I do a dozen in a day. I count from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. a whole day. I take the shirts back when I finish machining. I work at home. 2057. lam not satisfied with the price I get. I think it is very little. I could earn more than 2s. 6d. a day if I worked hard, but it would be very hard work, and I could not keep it up. I cannot account for the price being so low. I have not heard of anybody getting less than I do. 2058. I could not go to the factory to work. I am not depending upon this to keep me. I could not pay my board and clothe myself at this work. I live with my parents. 2059. I fancy Mrs. gets work from the warehouse. I worked for Mrs. . I did singlets for her. I think I got 3s. 6s. a dozen for them, but would not be sure ;it might have been 3s. I think I earned more at that than at the shirts. It was easier work than the shirts. 2060. I know that machining is not good for me. I went to a doctor, and he said I ought not to work the machine, I ought to give it up. 2061. I was working then at a place that was not very nicely ventilated. It was not a good place. I was then working at the tailoring at Devonport's, now Cathie's. The ventilation was very bad. They are not now occupying the same place. I never saw the Inspector there, and I think the regulations were not stuck up on the wall. I could not see them if they were. I had my meals on the premises in the workroom. 2062. I was on weekly wages there. The pieceworkers used to take work home. They took this work of their own accord. 2063. I am quite satisfied with the way Mrs. treats me ; but I am not satisfied with the price. I have not the least idea what price she gets. 2064. I have been shirt-making now for about five years, and consider myself an expert machinist. I was able to do a dozen a day three years ago. 2065. The attraction for doing work at home instead of in the factory is that I can now take a rest when I want to. If I went away from the machine occasionally I should not do a dozen a day. 2066. I consider myself a first-class machinist at shirt-making. A dozen a day is considered very good work. I have done more, but it is hard work to do it. The treddling is the hard work, and there is the making the shirts altogether. A small water-meter would relieve the work, if I went to the expense of getting one. If I had the machine driven by power Ido not think I could do more, because I do not understand it,

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2067. It would be a hardship to some if work was not allowed to be given out. I would sooner do without work than go into a factory. It would be a hardship to me. The fifteen shillings is of no consequence to me; I have it as pocket-money. If I had to pay my board I could not do it. 2068. I do not think that persons like myself taking work of this sort brings down the prices, by interfering with those who really want the work. I would not take prices down. I think 2s. 6d. a dozen for machining shirts is little enough : in fact it is too little. 2069. If the price was 3s. a dozen, I would do without work rather than take it up at 2s. 6d. Mr. D. A. examined. 2070. I am a shirtmaker, and do a little in the tailoring line, making duck trousers for sailors. 2071. I get the work from several of the merchants here ; from all the principal ones—Sargood, Son, and Ewen, and J. Nathan and Co. Ido not take work from the drapers. I have worked for these firms for six or seven years, and I get mixed work from both firms. Both pay the same prices. 2072. For shirts w-e get 6s. 6d. a dozen for the common, and 9s. 6d. for the better class. For dungaree trousers I get Is. 2d. per pair, and I pay lOd. for making. 2073. I employ girls ; part of them work on the premises, and part out. Sometimes I have two, three, or four girls working for me on the premises, and five or six outside hands. All those employed are on piecework. 2074. For shirts I pay 45., 4s. 6d., ss. 6d., and 6s. a dozen, and for the very common ones, boys', not less than 3s. 9d. For dungaree trousers I pay lOd. each, and for jumpers or jackets lOd. each, the same amount for both. 2075. Those employed on the premises come when they like. They start about 9 o'clock, go to dinner (with us generally an hour or an hour and a half), and then work till 5 or 5.30 p.m. and go away. 2076. I have never calculated what I make out of the trade. I pay different prices for different qualities of work. I pay for one 3s. 9d. per dozen, and for another 4s. for the worse quality of work. One is more carefully done than another, and there is an extra row of stitching in the better class of work. The flannel shirts are paid for at higher rates, and there is featherstitching on them. 2077. The worse the material the worse the work, and the less is paid for it. 2078. I employ Mrs. Blake, Mrs. Styles, Miss McGee, Mrs. Thomas, and plenty more. 2079. I have no work at 3s. 9d. now. I refuse the common work, as Ido not want it. Mrs. Hill took a lot of the work out of my hands some time ago at 3s. 9d. I have given 4s. to all the others for the same work; but they are a little more carefully done for 4s. than for 3s. 9d. 2080. The girls average £1 or £1 ss. per week—from 15s. upwards, working the ordinary hours. Ido not employ any under twenty-one. They do not work on Saturday afternoons. 2081. I have seen the Inspector at the factory, and we have a notice of the Factory Act stuck up in the place. 2082. I have to supply buttons, trimmings, and give the work out at 3s. 9d., and I get 6s. 6d. The total expenditure on a dozen would be about 25., leaving a profit of 7d. for supervision and getting the work. 2083. We get through about thirty-five dozen a week during busy times. 2084. The persons to whom I send work do not employ other persons to do it. 2085. Mrs. Hill was employing others, and I sent work to her. That was a class of work I did not care about. Mrs. Blake does not employ other people to do work I send; she does it herself, as no one is working for her. I have been in her place many times and never saw any one working there but herself. 2086. There is nothing to prevent the work I give to these people being given out again. If I give work to one I want it done by her, because I can rely on her work. If the work is done to my satisfaction Ido not care about whether it is given out or not: that has nothing to do with me. Harry Downing examined. 2087. lam a saddler, and work at Wiggins's. My hours are from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. lam at piecework, and have never worked after 6 o'clock, excepting when we were busy. 2088. I do not come to complain of anything about my employer, but to speak of what I have seen down South, in Auckland, and other places that I have been in. 2089. We are paid a certain price for a saddle, and we do not get more for its being made in overtime. We work at the same rate throughout, and in a full week the average wages would be £3. 2090. There are nine men employed in our place, and three boys, and I think Wiggins's is the only shop in New Zealand that is employing a fair proportion of men in the saddlery trade. 2091. There is no grievance in Wellington at the present time, but trouble is coming through the other places Mr. Wiggins has to compete with. The prices in other places are so low that it will end in the men having to leave, and in Mr. Wiggins employing boy-labour. 2092. Our only grievance is boy-labour in Wellington and elsewhere. 2093. I have nothing to complain of about the workshops in Wellington. 2094. The same complaint about boy-labour holds good in other places where I have worked in the colony. Mr. D. S. examined. 2095. The statement I have to make, gentlemen, is in reference to a branch of labour which has not, I think, been investigated at all by this Commission, and which appears to me to be by far the most important branch connected with the whole question, and, in fact, the only branch of labour

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which this Commission could profitably make any investigation into. I refer particularly to the branch of clerical workers connected with banks, the larger mercantile houses, and corporate bodies. These clerks represent a very large army of workers, who are as a rule very badly paid, and, I think, grossly overworked. I have in my possession some figures —some statistics which could show conclusively that the statement I have just made is not without foundation; but then the difficulty is this : If I were to give you these figures, the individual clerks whose cases these figures represent would be immediately identified and the source of my information would be discovered, and for certain a black mark would be entered against the names of the informants. The banking corporations appear to me to be great offenders, in fact enormous offenders. Bank clerks handling daily between £20,000 and £30,000 receive salaries varying from £100 to £175 per annum. They are kept at this rate of pay for sometimes as much as fourteen or fifteen years, without any prospect of a rise, and many of them have to keep families. It might be said that the scope of the Commission does not include this branch of labour. I read the Commission as published, and I admit I am not in a position to say whether it does or not. 2096. Mr. Blair thought that the scope of the Commission included the branch of employment referred to by the witness. 2097. Mr. Fulton intimated that the Commissioners sitting at Dunedin had felt that they could inquire into the clerical branch of labour, and had notified the public by advertisement of their willingness to accept evidence of the class referred to. 2098. Witness, continuing: What 1 wish is really this, assuming the Commissioners have the power to make such inquiry : that employers of clerical labour should be approached with reference to this matter, so that their employes might come forward and give evidence without fear of dismissal. It seems to me a most serious thing if these employers are able to dismiss a man at once simply because he goes before this Commission for the purpose of stating what his rate of wages is, and the number of hours he works—that is, of course, so long as he makes his statement truthfully, and is not palpably biassed in what he says. Clerks, however, were positively unable to come forward and make these statements. Any clerk in a bank or belonging to a mercantile house here or elsewhere would be afraid to come before the Commission, because he would know his office would not be worth more than three months' notice. What I should like —if I may so suggest —is that bank managers and heads of large mercantile firms should be communicated with by circular, asking them to give facilities for their clerks to attend before the Commission, so that evidence might be supplied which would enable statistics of importance to be collected, which have not as yet come to the knowledge of this Commission. I regret very much that I cannot give the Commissioners the information I have hinted at; but it is a fact that if I were to do so it would mean the loss of places to those persons who have supplied me with information. The Commissioners are, no doubt, aware that embezzlement is a crime very common in this colony, and the underpaying of employes clothed with heavy responsibilities acts largely as an incentive to this crime, and is the cause of the acquittal of many who have been guilty of it, as juries will not convict in such cases. 2099. Mr. Blair said the difficulty seemed to him to be that, although Mr. -appeared before the Commission as a friendly adviser of the clerks, the latter were afraid to come forward themselves, and the Commissioners were therefore really not cognisant of any facts connected with the institutions where the men were employed. He (Mr. Blair) would ask Mr. whether he could not give some facts which would help the Commissioners to arrive at some decision. 2100. Witness : If the persons whom I represent were protected they would have no hesitation in coming forward. 2101. Mr. Blair said that, as certain employers of labour were charged with working their employes long hours at small salaries, the Commission were almost forced to send them a circular, asking them to allow their clerks to attend and give evidence. 2102. Mr. Cherry pointed out that, if necessary, the reporters could be excluded during the time such clerks were giving evidence. 2103. Mr. Fulton said that in any case the evidence would come out in the official report of the proceedings, but names would be withheld. His opinion was that if such a circular as suggested by Mr. were sent to the bank managers a reply would be sent to the effect that their clerks could attend and give evidence if they wished. Those who gave evidence would not perhaps be dismissed for doing so, but it was very probable a black mark would be recorded against their names. 2104. Witness : I believe that in some of the business establishments of the city a record is kept of the number of years each employe has been in service, the rate of his pay, and other minor matters. This record is, no doubt, in the custody of one of the senior officers, and I would suggest that these gentlemen be asked to attend and give evidence, and produce this record. It is my opinion that if it were known that employes could give evidence without fear of dismissal the Commission would be deluged with a mass of evidence. 2105. The Chairman was afraid that if managers of banks and the larger mercantile houses were approached in the manner suggested they would turn round and say it was not within the scope of the Commission to inquire into the condition of their clerks. 2106. Witness : I think a circular such as I have suggested would bring the matter to an issue. 2107. Mr. Fulton said that no one could go through the streets without noticing the lights burning in the banks at all hours. Many people had acquaintances in banks, and knew what long hours they had to work. He had heard of a case in which a youth had been obliged to return to the bank every night for six weeks and remain there until 1 a.m., but no evidence could be brought before the Commission for fear the youth would be dismissed.

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2108. Witness : I am informed that it means dismissal to state publicly the salaries received by other employes. It is looked upon almost as an offence to give such information privately. Such facts as those mentioned by the Chairman I maintain ought to come out. 2109. Mr. Blair had a better opinion of bank managers than Mr. . Directors were a different class altogether, and did not care very much how their employes fared, so long as good dividends were forthcoming. As a rule he thought bank managers were actuated by a desire to ameliorate the condition of their subordinates. Increase of salary was to a large extent fixed by scale. His experience of bank managers was that they were men who had risen from the ranks and who realised the position of those under them, but he confessed he had but a poor opinion of directors. 2110. Witness : I would respectfully suggest to the Commission that, if they do not consider it desirable to send a circular to bank managers and heads of mercantile houses, they would insert a clause in their report to the effect that it was desirable to appoint another Commission to inquire into the condition of clerks. 2111. The Chairman thought the suggestion a good one, and promised to bring the subject before the whole of the Commission when they arrived in Wellington next week. Mrs. C. V. examined. 2112. I am a shirtmaker, and work for some of the largest warehouses in Wellington. 2113. I have five girls working for me in my house, and four girls outside, and two of these are married women. 2114. I make a dozen cotton shirts for 6s. 6d., union shirts 7s. 6d., and crimeans 9s. 6d., they finding buttons and silk feathering. About Is. 6d. would pay for all the extras. 2115. I give the inside hands 4s. a dozen for cotton shirts, supplying everything, unions 4s. 6d. and crimeans ss. 2116. I make two dozen crimeans a week for Te Aro House. 2117. I turn out fifteen dozen shirts a week altogether. 2118. I give my girls inside 10s., 125., 14s. a week, and those outside and the married women, less. 2119. I pay for finishing Is. 6d. for cotton aud 2s. for Crimean shirts. 2120. I have worked for , and I got there only 3s. 9d. for making and finishing cotton shirts, finding everything. He received 6s. 6d. a dozen for the same shirts. 2121. These girls of mine could altogether turn out twelve shirts in the day. One girl makes fourteen a day. 2122. I also make flannel pants and unders, and the girls earn from 15s. to 16s. if they are on the whole week, the price being 2s. 6d. a dozen, and Is. 3d. for finishing. 2123. I have never seen the Inspector in my premises. 2124. I have been at this work since June.

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APPENDIX.

Tables showing some Alterations effected in the Prices for Work by the Formation of the Dunedin Tailoresses' Union.

* All material to bo found by employer. All work to be done on the premises. Machinists' Weekly Wages. Current Wages. Former Wages. First class ... ... 255. per week. ... 20s. per week. Second class ... ... 20s. „ ... 15s. Third class ... ... 15s. „ ... 10s. „ Fourth class ... ... 10s.

Pressing Log. Slops. Orders. Current Former Current Former Prices.* Prices. Prices.* Prices. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Men's sacs, tweed ... 0 5 each 0 4 Men's sacs, worsted ... 0 9 each 0 8 Men's sacs, worsted ... 0 6 „ 0 4 Youths' sacs, worsted ... 0 7 „ 0 6 Youths' sacs, tweed ... 0 4 „ 0 3 Boys' sacs ... ... 0 6 „ 0 5 Youths' sacs, worsted ... 0 4A „ 0 3i Boys' overcoats ... ... 0 9 „ 0 6 Boys'sacs, tweed... ...0 0 2| Boys'and youths'capes ... 0 li „ 0 1 Boys'sacs, worsted ... 0 4 „ 0 2i Melville jackets ... ... 0 4 „ 0 3 Men's pagets ... ... 0 7 „ 05" Weekly (46 hours) ...50 0 „ Men's pagets, worsted ... 0 8 „ 0 5 Men's overcoats ... ... 0 7 „ 0 6 Men's overcoats, worsted ... 0 8 „ 06 Youths'overcoats... ... 0 6 „ 0 5 Boys' overcoats ... ... 0 5 „ 0 4 Juvenile overcoats ... 0 4 „ 03 Pleats and straps... ... 0 2| „ 02 Dress and frock coats ... 13 „ 10 Men's vests ... ... 2 0 doz. 1 6 Youths' vests ... ... 1 6 „ 10 Boys'vests ... ... 1 3 „ 10 Men's worsted and black-cloth vests ... ... ... 2 6 „ 16 Men's trousers ... ... 3 0 „ 26 Youths'trousers ... ... 2 9 „ 2 0 Youths' trousers, blocked ... 2 3 „ 20 Boys' trousers ... ... 2 6 „ 16 Boys' trousers, blocked ... 2 0 „ 16 Stable vests ... ... 2 6 „ 20 * Notk.—All work to be given out fully trimmed, and all material to be provided by the employer. Prices for any class of work not provided for in this list shall be arranged between the manufacturer and the Committee of he Union.

Prices for Shirts. Machining. Finishing. Current Prices.* Former Prices. Current Prices.* Former Pricos. 3est Crimean, silk-feathered ... per doz. Second Crimean, silk-feathered... „ Union cotton, no tab ... ... „ Union cotton, no tab, with pocket „ flannel unders, single seam ... „ flannel unders, double liong-sleeved, double ... ... „ D ants Pyjama suits ... ... „ 3oys' shirts ... ... ... „ den's night-shirts ... ... „ den's night-shirts with gussets... „ den's night-shirts without gussets „ shirts, lined backs, extra charge „ Shakespeare collar, extra charge ierseys ... ... ... „ 1 s. a. 3 9 3 0 2 6 2 9 2 6 2 6 2 6 2 6 10 0 2 3 6 9 0 3 0 6 6 0 s. d. 2 6 2 3 2 0 2 3 1 6 1 9 2 0 2 0 7 9 1 9 5 0 Nil Nil 5 0 s. a. 2 0 2 0 1 3 1 6 0 9 0 9 1 3 1 3 2 3 1 0 s. d. 1 6 1 6 1 0 1 0 0 6 0 6 0 9 1 0 2 0 0 10 8 0 I 1 6 U 3 2 0 1 3 1 0 2 6 2"6

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Hosiery Log. lamb machine. lamb machine — continued. Pants. Stockings. Current Former Current Former Prices. Prices. Prices. Prices. s. d, s. d. : s. d. s. d. 0 O.S. men's ... 7 0 per doz. \ I Plain stockings, 1, 2, 3 ... 2 0 per doz. i 9 ~ O.S. men's ... ... 6 6 „ - „ j Plain stockings, 4, 5, 6 ... 2 6 „ J Men's ... ... 6 0 „ ° v Plain stockings, 7, 8, 9 ... 3 0 „ 2 6 Small men's ... ... 5 6 „ ) All taken in at sides. Shirts. Men's (including skirts ") griswold machine. and tops) ... ... 7 0 per doz. fi ( . ~ , . Men's (without skirts and L„ ,- 3 - Stockings. tops) 6 0 „ ,2 cylinder o and 6 and r ' women s size ... 3 0 per doz. 2 3 Jerseys. 6 0 coarse cylinder, 4, 5, 6 2 9 „ ) Plain jersey (men's) mclud- \ ' 60 and 64 medium, 1, 2,3, -2 0 ing necks and cuffs ... 7 0 per doz. 4(5 and 6, 3d. extra) 2 6 „ J Striped jersey (with striper) 8 0 „ 48 fine 2 3 1 9 Striped jersey (without \ „ . striper) 12 0 „ Socks. Without necks and cuffs 0 6 doz. less i 84 cylinder ... ... 2 9 per doz. 2 1 Youths'jerseys (plain) ... 5 6 per doz. 72 3xl rib ... ... 2 3 „ j Boys'jerseys (plain) ... 5 0 „ / j 72 4xl rib ... ... 2 6 „ I 1 9 Finishing Pants. 72 plain ... ... 2 0 „ ) Sewing pants, in quarters 60 plain ... ...19 „ \ (not including putting 60 3x 1 rib ... ... 2 0 „ - 1 6 on buttons) ... ... 2 6 per doz. 2 0: 523x111b 2 ° > Banding pants 3 6 „ 36, Toeing and Sewing Socks. Sewing Shirts. 72 ... ... ... 0 4 pec doz. 0 3 Sewing shirts (including 84 ... ... ... 0 6 „ 04 putting on cuffs) ... 5 0 per doz. 4 0 Finishing neck (ordinary) 2 0 „ 1 6 WINDERS. These prices include men's, youths', and boys. ] 3 mo nths 5 0 per wk. 5 0 Socks. 2nd 3 months ... ...6 0 „ 6 0 Men's socks ... ... 2 3 per doz. 1 9 L After 6 months ...8 0 „ 7 0 Clothing Log. coats (men's). vests (men's) — continued. Stock. Orders —continued. Current Former Current Former Prices. Prici Prices. Prices. s. d. a. d. s. d. r. d. Sacs, lined ... ... ... 1 8 I. 4 j Tweed ... ... ... 2 0 10 Slop orders ... ... ... 2 0 161 Tweed, outside ... ... 2 3 10 Tweed pagets ... ... 2 9 Tweed walking ... ... 2 9 2' 6 trousers (men's) stock. Stable vests 12 10 Tacking and Finishing. Overcoats with cape .. ... 2 6 3 lst Class (per doz.) 12 0 10 0 Overcoats with cape and fly ... 2 9 3 2nd Class .10 0 9 0 vests (men's). Strapped 18 0 18 0 _V. ; Full falls 18 0 13 0 QTS .. „ Slock - , „ Black or blue cloth 18 0 10 0 S.B. without collar 0 1 Knickers (lined) 6 0 5 0 SB. bound 10 0 9 Knickers unlined) 5 6 4 0 S-B. with collar 011 0 9 Biding trousers, no straps ...15 0 10 6 S.B. bound ... ... ...12 10 (Black or blue cloth 2d. above the above prices.) trousers (men's) orders. Slop order vests, with collar ...13 09 „ , . ,_,..,. Mole vests 0 8 0 6 L. 3 . Tacking and Finishing K » icke - ° 5 ° 4 SSffSU ::: 2 6 20 Orders. Tweed trousers .. ... 2 0 18 Worsted, bound by hand ... 3 0 2 0 Knickers ... ... ...20 09 Worsted, felled ... ... 2 6 2 0 | Knickers, juveniles ... ... 1 3 0 9

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STATEMENTS AND COBRESPONDENCE RELATIVE TO ALLEGED GRIEVANCES OF RAILWAY EMPLOYES. Charles J. Rae appeared before the Commission and made the following statement: — lam Secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, Canterbury Branch. The railway servants are at present sitting in Conference, there being a meeting of delegates from all the branches; and it was yesterday decided that it would be desirable to place the grievances of which the railway servants generally complain before you, if it was competent for us so to do, and you kindly informed me yesterday you were prepared to hear anything of the kind. I am not myself a railway employe. I produce a written statement giving an analysis of the grievances complained of, and have here a large bundle of papers setting out particulars of the individual cases. This summary is what I read before the Committee, and it has been approved of by it. The statement is as follows :— Traffic Department. —(1.) Long hours; no overtime ; rise of pay not allowed when applied for ; length of service not recognised. (2.) Length of hours for Stationmasters and crossing-keepers; porters oppressively treated by head porter ; guards, long hours, no time for necessary refreshments ; holidays, when due, not granted; relief duty not provided for; no addition to pay during holiday season; Sunday work not remunerated. (3.) Shunters : Sunday work, extra duty cleaning carriages, long hours (thirteeen), low wages (7s. 6d. per day) ; week days—one man kept at work from two to three hours after 11 p.m.; the work could have been done in the morning ; two men do same work during day-time ; boy-labour, which is opposed to increase of pay after long service. (4.) Signalmen : Unfairly classified. In other colonies signalmen equal to guards, in Great Britain superior, in New Zealand much lower. Sunday work : Thirteen hours, no extra pay. In mechanical department, double pay for Sunday duty— i.e., time and a half. Crossing-keepers not equally paid ; Sunday duty badly arranged ; holidays, the whole of the department unfairly deprived ; no consideration shown to any one's claims. Locomotive Department. —(l.) Lodging accommodation not sufficient; huts not fit for the purpose. (2.) Present pay and condition of grades not equitably carried out; promotion indefinitely postponed. Some scale should be defined and acted upon. Permanent-way. —Time travelling distance to work not paid for; time allowance for returning not sufficient. General complaints as to difficulties in obtaining holidays. Platelayers finding own shovels unjust. Addington Workshops. —Piecework unfair and demoralising. Enforced holidays objectionable. Reduction of wages practically effected by introduction of boy-labour. General Remarks. —Several letters complaining of individual grievances, claims to increased pay overlooked and evaded, holidays refused, promotion unjustly delayed, corroboration of general statements. The Chairman said that his individual opinion was that the men should bring their grievances before Parliament independently, and that a Special Commission, or some other properly-consti-tuted body, possessing the requisite expert knowledge, should inquire into them. Any investigation by the present Commission would be necessarily incomplete, and therefore unsatisfactory, for it would take the Commission from the present time till the sitting of Parliament to investigate the railway grievances alone. He would suggest to them whether it would not be advisable to carry out their original intention of petitioning Parliament, and seeking complete investigation by that means. The fact that this deputation had been before the Commission would no doubt be placed on record, and it was possible that mention might be made in the report that grievances of the railway men were said to exist; but in saying this he was only speaking for himself and the two Commissioners present, and not for the members of the Commission as a whole. The members of the deputation agreed with Mr. Fulton's views, and, after thanking the Commission, withdrew.

Gentlemen, — Oddfellows' Chambers, Christchurch, 10th March, 1890. I am instructed by the Conference to thank you for the attention you have given to our application, and to respectfully inform you that, after serious consideration, the Conference has carried the following resolution: "That the Sweating Commission, at present sitting in Christchurch, be respectfully requested to take up the matter of the railway servants' grievances, and inquire into them as far, and as fully, as the time at their disposal will allow, and report the same to Parliament as early as possible, so that the matter may be dealt with as soon as possible, and, if they cannot do this, that they be requested to use their utmost endeavours to procure a Special Board of Inquiry to investigate railway servants' grievances at an early date." It was further resolved that the constitution of the Board be as follows : " Two members to be appointed by the Government, and two by the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants of New Zealand, and that the four members so appointed elect a fifth, who shall be outside of the Government service." I have, Ac, Charles J. Rae, Assistant Secretary to the Conference. To the Honourable the Members of the Sweating Commission sitting in Christchurch. Statement by George Lundon. I am Secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, Wellington Branch, and ex-railway employe of fifteen years' standing, having left six months ago. I am duly accredited from the Society, and I produce my authority, from the Chairman and members of the Committee of the Society, to appear before this Commission on their behalf.

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The first grievance is there being no pay for lodging-allowance for permanent hands on temporary work. The guards on ballast trains are provided with a box truck and with sleeping accommodation, but have to provide themselves with bedding, food, cooking utensils, &c. We think there should be a small money payment to meet this. At one time it was the rule to give it. In taking these articles away the man may be depriving those he has left at home. There are bridge gangs and others who spend their life in trucks : they think they should have some consideration in the way of money allowance for the inconvenience and discomfort of living in trucks. The men feel aggrieved at the disparity between themselves and the clerks who get from 7s. 6d. to 10s. travellingallowance per day. Be the employment of lads : 75 per cent, of the traffic hands on the platforms are lads. This tends to increase the responsibility of the few men who are employed. The adults are held responsible for the amount of work done by the boys. In consequence of this employment of boys, several accidents have occurred. In my opinion it is wonderful so few accidents occur, considering the amount of carelessness that takes place on the part of the boys. So much do the men resent this that they leave whenever they can get other employment. This employment of lads goes through the whole of the running department. I hold a circular issued by the Railway Commissioners : this provides that no persons in the running department shall in future enter the service over the age of nineteen years. In the locomotive department: The cleaners are employed under the same conditions as to wages as in the traffic department, and also as to age. The regulation provides twelve hours, and their work is during the night from the housing of the engine to its starting off in the morning. I say that these lads are unfit physically to do this work. The employment of lads has not yet extended to the permanent-way, for the reason that they cannot get the boys, but it is open for them to be employed. As regards guards : Their complaint is that the hours are too long. The guards on the two principal runs on the Wellington section, from Masterton and Eketahuna to Wellington, work 13i hours a day, and are allowed a day off every week in consideration of this. This makes twelve hours a day. The time-table does not allow these men any intermission to get their meals. These hours are surely too long for a man who is to give faithful service. The engine-drivers' grievance is that the regulations require work that is too severe. They think that a man ought to be allowed twelve hours' rest off his engine, unless under exceptional circumstances. On the Wellington-Lower Hutt section, on Wednesday and Saturday, the arrangements are such that the drivers only obtain an interval of five to six hours for sleep. The contention is that they should have at least eight consecutive hours. In the workshops if an artisan be laid up he must send a medical certificate for two or three days' absence, and he must pick up arrears and work throughout the night to make ordinarytime up before he can claim overtime. Forty-eight hours a week composes a week's work. I wish to bring under the notice of the Commission the condition of the privies for the men at Pitone. There are no divisions between them —only a long ridge, with not the slightest attempt at decency. As regards wages, I will mention first the workshops. The Government take advantage of being regular employers to give less wages than other employers. Joiners get 9s. a day—outside 10s. is the wage; fitters 9s. to 10s.—outside it is the same. Government give labourers and platelayers 6s. 6d., and outside they get 7s. to Bs. Now as regards the payment of lads : The fact that the Government give the boys only 3d. an hour, making a total of 3s. a week, is a proof that there is a wish to reduce wages. I wish to give it as my opinion—although I am myself colonially born and colonially taught, and my railway service has extended to fifteen years—that all the best servants in the railways have obtained their training out of the colony. I give this expression of opinion as against the regulation providing for the employment only of lads.

Gentlemen, — Sweating Commissioners' Office, Wellington, 23rd April, 1890. I beg to lay before you statements made before this Commission with reference to grievances said to exist in the working of the Government railways. It appears reasonable that these statements should not appear upon our records without giving you an opportunity of offering such remarks as you may think proper. The Commissioners will therefore be glad to bear anything you may have to say on the subject. I remain, &c, The Railway Commissioners, Wellington. James Fulton, Chairman.

Sir, — Railway Department, Head Office, Wellington, 25th April, 1890. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 22nd instant, forwarding copies of certain evidence taken in respect of employment on the New Zealand Government Railways, and, in reply, I am directed by the Railway Commissioners to forward for your information a copy of Parliamentary Paper D.-17, 1888, which briefly shows the rates of pay which had been in force for several years mi the Government railways, and which practically continue now. The Railway Commissioners also direct me to forward a copy of an additional regulation, regarding entry into the railway service, rendered necessary by "The Government Railways Act, 1887," which to a slight extent modifies the rates of pay for juniors. It will be observed that eight hours' continuous labour constitutes the day's work; but upon railways there is a very large proportion of the employes whose work cannot be made continuous, it being carried on intermittently, at various times and hours, to suit the exigencies of the public service. Many Statiomnasters, clerks, porters, guards, drivers, firemen, and various officers, are intermittent workers. So far as can be managed, such work is assigned so as to be equivalent to eight hours' continuous labour.

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The Commissioners do not propose to discuss the somewhat vague charges of individual grievances which are said to exist, because there is now. as there has been for a great many years, a rule, well known to all the employes in the service, which provides <;hat employes who feel aggrieved in any way can make their complaint to head-quarters. "The Government Railways Act, 1887," provides that such complaints shall be made to the Railway Commissioners. No employe would be justified in assuming that the act of forwarding such petitions or complaints could prejudice him with the heads of the Railway Department. All such complaints and petitions have always received the most careful attention and consideration, and will continue to do so. The practice; of engaging lads and training them for all branches of the service is one which has been in operation for some years, and is one which is essential for obtaining an efficientlytrained staff. The higher places in the service are filled by promotion from the lower grades. The proportion of lads taken on from time to time is not more than is necessary to fill the vacancies through deaths, resignations, &c. No practical change in the former practice has been made by the Commissioners in this respect. The engagement of unskilled labourers and artisans is effected both by taking on men when necessary, and by selection from lads or apprentices in the service. In conclusion, the Railway Commissioners have to thank you for your courtesy in affording them an opportunity of making this explanation. I have, &c, E. G. Pilcher, Secretary. The Chairman of the Sweating Commission, Wellington.

Scale of Pay for Working Railway-staff. The following scale of pay for the Working Railway-staff will apply to all employes engaged after the 23rd May, 1881, at which date it was introduced. It will not be applied to reduce the pay of those now paid above the scale. Pay below the scale will be arranged to work np to it gradually. It will not be applied to cancel privileges secured under previous arrangements. The classification of the present employes is not necessarily decided by the rates of pay received at the date hereof. Regular increases are to date from the end of the four-weekly period preceding the quarter-day next following the date of appointment last entered upon. Traffic Department. Stationmasters.— Stationmasters must be persons trained to a knowledge of station accounts, and having a thorough acquaintance with the duties laid down in the rules and regulations. Promotions will be made from the juniors among the traffic employes, and from lower to higher classes, according to the efficiency and good conduct of the officers, as vacancies occur. Stationmasters will be paid at the rate of —Sixth class, £130 per annum ; fifth class, £140 per annum ; fourth class, £150 per annum ; third class, £175 per annum ; second class, £200 per annum ; first class, £250 per annum. After ten years' service as First-class Stationmaster the pay to be £275 per year, and after fifteen years £300. When no house is provided house-allowance at the rate of £50 per year will be made to First- and Second-class Stationmasters, and £25 per year to others. Porters in charge of stations will be paid £2 Bs. per week, with house-allowance of 9s. 6d. per week where no house is provided. Stationmasters may be called upon to perform postal and telegraph duties in addition to the railway work; "in such cases the pay will be regulated according to circumstances. Outdoor Staff. —Wharfingers will rank as Stationmasters. Coaching and goods foremen will be paid from 10s. to 12s. per day. Guards (first class) will be paid—First year, 9s. per day : second year, 9s. 6d. per day ; after seven years' service, 10s. per day. Guards (second class) and brakesmen will be paid — First year, Bs. per day; second year, Bs. 6d. per day. Increases of pay to guards will depend upon good conduct and the careful and complete execution of the duties assigned to them. Increases are liable to be disallowed on account of insubordination, neglect, or incompetence. Promotions will be made from second to first class, according to efficiency and good conduct, as vacancies occur. Guards will be selected from the class of porters and shunters. Horse-drivers, shunters, signalmen, and storemen will be paid—Fourth class, 7s. per day ; third class, 7s. 6d. per day; second class, Bs. per day; first class, Bs. 6d. per day; head shunters and storemen, 10s. per day. Porters will be paid—Second class, first year, 6s. 6d. per day ; first class, first year 7s. per day, second year 7s. 6d. per day. Lad-porters not under sixteen years of age will be employed. They will be paid 3s. per day for the first year, increasing Is. per day each year. They will rank as porters after the third year. Increases of pay depend upon good conduct and careful attention to duties. Increases are liable to be disallowed for insubordination, neglect, or incompetence. Steam-crane drivers will be paid as locomotive firemen. Watchmen will be paid £2 2s. per week. Gatekeepers will be paid from £1 10s. to £1 16s. per week. Labourers will be paid 6s. 6d. per day. No one whose age exceeds thirty-five years, or who is unable to read and write, will be admitted into this department. Locomotive Department. Fitters, turners, and other tradesmen will be paid from Bs. to 10s. 6d. per day. Shop-foremen, lis. to 15s. per day. Machinists, strikers, and sailmakers, 7s. to Bs. per day. Apprentices will be taken into the Government shops, not under fourteen years of age, and not over seventeen years: Rates of pay—First year, ss. per week; Becond year, 7s. per week; third year, 9s. per week; fourth year, 12s. per week; fifth year, 15s. .: sixth year, 18s. per week; seventh year, £1 Is. per week. Any apprentice who before the age of eighteen shall pass the Junior Civil Service Examination, and before the age of twenty shall pass the senior examination, shall, so far as opportunities admit, be taught the business of a mechanical engineer. Cleaners.— Young men not under seventeen years of age and not over twenty-two years may be taken on as "cleaners." Cleaners will be paid—First year, ss. 6d. per day; second year, 6s.

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per day; third year, 6s. 6d. per day; fourth year, 7s. per day. Cleaners will be promoted to firemen, according to efficiency and good conduct, as vacancies occur. Firemen. —Every fireman must have served as cleaner. Firemen will be paid—Second class, first year 7s. 6d. per day, second year Bs. per day ; first class, third year Bs. 6d. per day, fourth year 9s. per day. Firemen after two years' service will be promoted to first class, according to efficiency and good conduct, and if in all respects eligible, as vacancies occur. Enginemen. —Every engineinan must have served the full term as fireman. He must pass an examination prescribed by the Locomotive Superintendent, to ascertain his fitness, before he takes charge of an engine. Enginemen will be paid—Second class, first year 10s. per day, second year 10s. 6d. per day, third year lis. per day; first class, fourth year lis. 6d. per day, fifth year 12s. per day. But they will not be entitled to receive more than 10s. per day until their period of service in all capacities has reached seven years, except in the case of men serving in the loco-motive-running department as firemen or drivers prior to the Ist August, 1880, who will be entitled to leceive 10s. 6d. per day when their total period of service in all capacities has reached six years. Leading drivers will be paid 13s. per day. Promotions of enginemen from second class to first class will be made as vacancies occur, according to efficiency and good conduct. Enginemen before promotion from second class to first class will be required to pass an examination prescribed by the Locomotive Superintendent respecting the working of the locomotive engine. Appointment of leading driver will be made as vacancies occur: only the most thoroughly trustworthy and skilled drivers will be promoted to that position. Increases of pay to cleaners, firemen, and drivers will depend upon their good conduct and careful attention to their duties. Promotion and increases are liable to be disallowed for insubordination, neglect, or incompetence. Running-shed foremen and shop-managers will be paid £4 to £6 per week. Permanent-way. Labourers will be paid 6s. Od. per day. Special hands will be paid 7s. per day. Gangers must be steady, trained men, able to read and write. They will be paid—Third class, Bs. per day ; second class, 9s. per day ; first class 10s. per day. Inspectors will be paid —Sub-inspectors, lis. to 13s. per day; bridge inspectors, lis. to 13s. per day ; inspectors permanent-way, and foremen of works, 14s. to 17s. per day. Promotions will be made from the lower to the higher classes of gangers, and from gangers to sub-inspectors, and from sub-inspectors to inspectors, according to ability and good conduct, and as vacancies occur. General. Cadets not under fourteen and not exceeding seventeen years of age will be taken into the Traffic Department and employed on the clerical staff. Cadets will be paid as follows : First year (on probation), £30 ; second year (on probation), £50; third year, £80; fourth year, £95; fifth year, £110. Cadets who pass the Junior Civil Service Examination will be allowed to count three months' service, and those who pass the senior examination a year's service in addition, and the dates for promotion will be earlier by those periods, and the period of cadetship correspondingly shortened. Cadets who have reached the age of twenty-one, and who are promoted to charge of stations, or to clerkships, shall take the scale-pay for those appointments. The same rule will apply to cadets, promoted as above, who may not have reached the age of twenty-one, but who have nevertheless served the full term of five years. Cadets living away from their homes wdien on duty, where house-accommodation is not found, will be paid 10s. a week lodging-allowance during the first year, 6s. a week during the second, and ss. a week during the third. The clerical and drafting staff will be classified and paid as follows : Third class, £120 per annum, rising £10 a year to £140 ; second class, £150 per annum, rising £10 a year to £180 ; first class, £190 per annum, rising £10 a year to £250 ; special, £250 to £300.

Regulations for Overtime Wages in the Permanent-way, Traffic, and Locomotive Departments. Permanent-way. —Workmen are required to work eight hours per day, or forty-eight hours per week, for the authorised daily wages. The regular hours of work are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on working-days, with one hour off. Extra pay will be allowed to labourers and tradesmen for time worked in excess of eight hours per day, subject to such regulations as may be from time to time issued. Locomotive-running. —Ten hours, or a hundred miles, at the option of the Locomotive Superintendent, to count as one day's work for a driver or fireman. Overtime to be counted at the rate of time and a quarter. Traffic. —Traffic employes will be required to work all trains on the advertised time-table without allowance for overtime ; but, as far as possible, duties to be arranged to avoid overtime. General. —Half-pay will be allowed to employes suffering accident when on duty, if from causes beyond their own control, for the first three months, and quarter-pay for an additional three months. As far as can be arranged consistently with economy and public convenience in the case of employes generally, the working-time is not to exceed eight hours per day, or forty-eight hours per week of six working-days. In the case of locomotive drivers and firemen the working-time is, as far as practicable, to be limited to ten hours a day, or sixty hours per week of six working-days. Men engaged on intermittent services who are paid extra for overtime, as in the case of drivers and firemen, will not have their whole time counted from first coming on duty until finally leaving, but only such time as the officer in charge may in each case determine may be fairly counted as workingtime.

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No. lll.—Regulations of the New Zealand Railway Commissioners. The New Zealand Railway Commissioners, in pursuance of the powers conferred by " The Government Railways Act, 1887," section 63, do hereby make the following regulations for the engagement, pay, and promotion of persons entering the service of the New Zealand Railway Commissioners as cadets, porters, shunters, labourers, cleaners, platelayers, and apprentices, that is to say,— Regulations. Applications must be made by the candidate in his own handwriting, on the form to be obtained from the Railway Commissioners, Wellington. Applications must state the date of the candidate's birth, of which such proof must be given as the Commissioners require. Applications should be accompanied by certificates of educational attainment and of character. When any candidate is selected by the Commissioners to fill any vacancy, before he can be appointed he will be required to undergo a medical examination, and may be rejected if found physically or mentally unfit. Applications must be addressed to the Railway Commissioners. They will be recorded in the Railway Commissioners' offices. When vacancies occur candidates will be selected from among those applicants who are then within the prescribed age. The candidate with the best qualifications will be selected for the vacancy, and, if the qualifications of any number of candidates appear to be equal, the Commissioners may require the candidates to undergo a competitive examination in such subjects as may be prescribed, and the Commissioners may select the candidates in order of merit. Selected candidates taken into the employment of the Commissioners will be taken on probation only (except apprentices) for the first three years of their service. They may be discharged at any time by a week's notice from any authorised officer of the Commissioners if they are found unsuitable. Upon completion of the three years' probation the Commissioners may discharge the candidate, or may appoint him permanently. The candidate must find such guarantee of fidelity as the Commissioners may require. No person will be eligible as porter, shunter, labourer, platelayer, or cleaner, who has not an education equal to the Fourth Standard of the Government schools, or as cadet who cannot pass an examination equivalent to the Sixth Standard of the Government schools. Increases in pay and promotion will in all cases depend upon good conduct and careful attention to duties. Increases in pay are liable to be disallowed on account of insubordination, neglect, or incompetence. Apprentices entering the Government railway-shops must not be under fourteen years, or exceed seventeen years of age last birthday. The apprenticeship will not run after the apprentice is twenty-one years old. The apprentice shall be indentured to such railway officer as the Commissioners direct, and the indentures will be transferred to such other officer as the Commissioners direct if the Commissioners remove the master during the currency of such indentures. Rates of pay, — Per week. First year ... ... ... ... ... ... ss. Second year ... ... ... ... ... ... 7s. Third year .. ... ... ... ... ... 9s. Fourth year ... ... ... ... ... ... 12s. Fifth year ... ... ... ... ... ... 15s. Sixth year ... ... ... ... ... ... 18s. Seventh year ... ... ... ... ...- ... 21s. Any apprentice who before the age of eighteen shall pass the Junior Civil Service Examination, and before the age of twenty shall pass the senior examination, shall, so far as opportunities admit, be taught the business of a mechanical engineer. Porters, shunters, labourers, platelayers, and cleaners—Age not to be under sixteen years nor over nineteen years last birthday. Rates of pay, — Per day. Sixteen years ... ... ... ... ... ... 3 0 Seventeen years ... ... ... ... ..3 6 Eighteen years... ... ... ... ... ... 4 0 Nineteen years... ... ... ... ... ... 4 6 Twenty years ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 0 Twenty-one years ... ... ... ... ... 5 6 Cadets' age not to be under fourteen, or over seventeen years last birthday. Rates of pay, — £ First year ... ... ... ... ... ... 30 Second year ... ... ... ... ... ... 50 Third year ... ... ... ... ... ... 80 Fourth year ... ... ... ... ... ... 95 Fifth year ... ... .. ... ... ... 110 Cadets who pass the Junior Civil Service Examination will be allowed to count three months' service for it, and cadets who pass the Senior Civil Service Examination will be allowed to count one year's service, and the dates of promotion will be earlier by those periods. The Common Seal of the New Zealand Railway Commissioners was hereunto affixed this twenty-first day of October, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine, in the presence of J. P. Maxwell. ) „ . . , W. M. Hannay, J Commiss i°ners. (^-)

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Memoranda made by Commissioners upon Visits of Inspection made fy them to several Establishments. Dunedin, 21st February, 1890. During Friday, the 21st February, the Commissioners visited and inspected factories and places of business, of which they record memoranda as follows :— Mr. Moore's Knitting-factory, Walker Street. —The building was unsuited for a factory, and too crowded. The openings for ventilation are all on one side. The room adjoins a yard, very dirty and very small; and there is one closet, foul smelling. The passages are narrow, and blocked up with material. No suitable place for meals for the eight girls who remain. Several girls seemed to be under fourteen years of age. Mr. Laidlaw's Knitting-factory, Maitland Street. —Altogether satisfactory. No room for meals. Light and ventilation good. No employes, apparently, under sixteen years of age. Closet clean. Employer seems anxious to treat employes well, and to make them comfortable. Mrs. Cuthill's Knitting-factory, Lee Street.— -Admirable workroom. Large, well lighted and ventilated. Good suitable room for meals. No young girls employed. Messrs. A. ami T. Inglis, Drapers, Ac, George Street. —Boot-factory first class. Lighting, ventilation, warming, and building highly satisfactory. Dressmaking rooms similar. No very young girls employed. Messrs. Simon Bros., Boot-manufacturers, George Street. —Factory crowded to excess. Badly lighted, and not ventilated. The building has three flats. In the upper one the sewing girls and clickers are in one room, and some of the employes are juvenile in appearance. The ground-floor is crowded with machinery and men, and the cellar is utilised as a workroom for a considerable number of men. The cellar from floor to ceiling is not more than 6ft. high, and two boys there are practically working in the dark (see Hulbert's evidence). Messrs. Burroio and Co., Boot-manufacturers, Stafford Street. —Building, an iron shanty, unsuitable for a factory. Arrangements otherwise as good as circumstances permitted. No crowding, fair lighting and ventilation. Dunedin, 24th February, 1890. Herbert Haynes, Dressmaking, Princes Street. —Rooms commodious, well lighted and ventilated. Sanitary arrangements adequate, and in good condition. One small girl just past fourteen years of age employed; all the others considerably older. Mrs. Searle s Hosiery-factory, Stuart Street. —Only two hands employed, log rates paid. Work given out, but at full factory rates. Mrs. E. Sheernan s Hosiery- and Shirt-manufactory, George Street. —Only hosiery work done on the premises. Two girls and Mrs. Sheernan's own son at work there in a room about 12ft. by 14ft. Hosiery log not adhered to. Mrs. S. pays her one machinist 2s. 6d. per dozen for socks and stockings all round. She has seven people working outside at shirts ; all married people. For machining she pays 3s. 3d. per dozen ; and for finishing, Is. 3d., Is. 6d., and Is. 9d., according to grade, Mrs. S. providing cotton, buttons, and everything. All she gets for cutting and pressing the shirts, and paying Is. for express, is Is. 9d. per dozen, the stitchers and finishers, in her opinion, getting the best of it. One widow woman to whom she gives work makes 355. a week machining, but no doubt works long hours, as she does two and a half dozen per day ; and one old woman only makes Bs. or 9s. a week. Mr. Clarke's Steam-laundry, North-east Valley. —About thirty hands employed; two men — machinist and driver—and the rest girls and women. Accommodation, ventilation, and lighting satisfactory. Comfortable room for meals, and proper sanitary arrangements. Hours of labour from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, Saturdays included, with half an hour for dinner. During the winter, and at other times, excepting during about two months —the busy season —no work on Saturday afternoons. Girls allowed to take holidays as they feel they require them, but at their own cost, as nearly all are paid by piecework. No objection is made to employes leaving for a few days, or a week or so, at any time, and they are taken on again as readily after this absence. Christmas is only holiday observed, but no work whatever is done on Sundays. Learners get 6s. a week, and, as soon as they are fit for it, get piecework. Two of the youngest girls are now getting 6s. per week. Girls make on an average £1 a week, and the women, who are on day-wages, get 4s. per day. All the employes seemed well and strong, and those questioned said they felt no ill effects from the standing and the work. As during the busy season the work has to be done without delay, Mr. Clarke said he had no option but to work late hours. If that were not done the work must go elsewhere. Mr. Henry Holmes, Hosiery-manufacturer, North-east Valley. —Only two girls working in this factory, besides the members of the family. Room about 12ft. square; not crowded or stuffy. Mr. H. does not w 7 ork according to log rates ; considers his place almost too small to be called a factory, but expresses his willingness to join and to co-operate with the Union, so as to provide against reckless competition. Dunedin, 25th February, 1890. "Star" Office. —Well adapted for its purpose. Every convenience necessary. Ventilation good. Girls employed in binding department. One of the girls just over fourteen years of age, but said she was in the Seventh Standard when she left school. Compositors all work in accordance with rules of Typographical Society. " Times " Office.— -Well adapted ; every convenience. No women or girls employed. Mrs. Gill, Dressmaker and Milliner. —Accommodation very good. Girls employed seemed healthy. Back premises very satisfactory. Complies with terms of Factory Act. Messrs. Guthrie and Levy's Dunedin Clothing-factory. —About seventy hands employed. Room large, and nicely ventilated. Closets provided. Proprietors complained that the Union would not

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allow them to pay competent hands, who were still apprentices, by piecework, and thus enable the employes to make higher wages. Considered this very unjust to those who from home-training or natural aptitude could learn their department of trade in much less time than the Union rules allot for term of apprenticeship. Phoenix Factory (Jam and Confectionery). —Average number of hands employed, about sixty —all on weekly wages. Minimum wage for girls and boys, 6s. weekly ; men's wages run as high as £3 10s. Boys not apprenticed, but a point is made of teaching them their trade, and the boys go on to be tradesmen. This is found to be to the advantage of the company, and most of the men in the factory were boys in the employment of Murray and Sons when the factory was in their hands. Inspector recently visited and inspected the premises. Three closets are provided. Hands work from 8 till 12.30 and from half-past 1 to half-past 5, and to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Overtime is always paid for —from half-past 6to 9 being paid for as half a day; girls are never employed overtime. Never allow 1 any boys to be employed after 1 o'clock on Saturdays, and overtime was not a regular thing, but only occasional, during the busy season, for if trade warranted it they put on more hands. There was always a spurt at Christmas time, and they were then compelled to work overtime. All statutory holidays were given, and the hands got an annual picnic, to which the directors contributed. Practically, the directors gave the picnic. Business was started on the profit-sharing principle, but manager could not say positively that it was on that basis at the present time. Directors were all local men—most of them Bond Street merchants. Messrs. Scoullar, MacKerras, G. L. Denniston, Neill and Co., and W. Gregg, of Gregg and Co., were the principal shareholders. Woods, Confectioner, dtc. —Bakehouse in a cellar. Fairly ventilated for a cellar, but very little light, and unclean. Drain at back not trapped. Hours, eight per day. Floor very uneven ; pool of water lying on it. Hopkins, Confectioner, <tc. —Bakehouse small, and in a cellar. Almost dark, and portion on a lower level quite dark ; men working by gaslight. Ventilation on lower level quite inadequate, and in the larger room moderate. No closets provided for workmen either at Woods's or Hopkins's. Hours of labour at Hopkins's from 7to 8. Overtime during busy times paid for. Wages for the lads, £1 ss. per week and found, and for men £2 15s. per week and found. No specified time for meals. Overtime meaus time worked after 8 p.m. Premises seem quite unfit for workmen. The Commissioners inserted twice in each of the local papers the following advertisement: — Sweating Commission. It is alleged that in Banks and Business Houses in this city Clerks have frequently very long hours. The Commissioners are prepared to receive evidence on this point, cither publicly or privately, on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. It is proposed to close the Commission as regards Dunedin this week. R, Leckie, Secretary. No evidence was forthcoming at the four subsequent sittings in Dunedin. Dunedin, 26th February, 1890. "Herald" Office. —The Commissioners visited the Herald office, but, after being kept waiting some time, left without inspecting it. Mills, Dick, and Co. —Inspected these premises and found them satisfactory. Jolly, Connor, aud Co., " Tablet." —Similar. Two women employed here as compositors. Auckland, 31st March, 1890. Mcßride, Tailor, Customs Street. —Good large room, well ventilated and lighted; no crowding. Operatives looked in good health. No very young persons engaged. Roof of building easily accessible from workroom. Large concrete underground cellar, of good height, and at present perfectly dry. Three girls working in front part of cellar. There was good light and ventilation where these girls were working, and, at the time of the visit, nothing objectionable in this portion of the building. The girls would sooner work there than upstairs. Partition between closets for men and women only a calico screen 4ft. high ; nothing to prevent access from one to the other. Mr. Mcßride mentioned that he was about to remove to other premises. Allen, Saddler, Beresford Street. —A number of comparatively small rooms. One man and about forty boys, and six or eight girls. One boy eleven years of age, one twelve, and three thirteen. Boys work overtime sometimes to 9 o'clock at night, even the boy who is only eleven years old. All have their meals in the factory, and work after hours. Tasks, not unreasonable if there are no hindrances, are set to the boys on wages, but they are sometimes stopped from various causes, such as the want of a supply of articles to carry on work with, and they have to make up this time somehow by working at night. When the Commissioners were present there were three days' work still due on the previous week in one room —that was, three days' work to make up owing to the sewingmachine having broken down, or to the inefficiency of the machinist. The wages of the boys range from ss. per week upwards. The statement made by a witness as to the girls having to take the clamps between their knees is untrue. They have an arrangement by means of which the clamp is worked by a stirrup. The statement about the roof being so close that they could not stand upright is also untrue. Its height from the floor would be nearly 6ft. at the wall. The rooms were fairly ventilated. Ehrman, Tailor. —A large and good room, well ventilated aud lighted. Mostly girls and women employed. The Commissioners w-ere present at the dinner-hour, and two-thirds of the employes were eating their meals in the workroom. There is a dining-room, but it would not accommodate more than twenty, and the number employed would be about sixty. No very young girls employed here.

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Auckland, Ist April, 1890. Furniss's Jam-factory. —Small establishment; but few hands employed. Adequate accommodation and ventilation for number employed. Neiu Zealand Fibre-factory. —Not at work, machinery having been stopped for alterations. About forty small boys employed, some not more than twelve. One boy unable to read; two others left school when in First Standard, three when in Second Standard, some when in Third, and one said he was in the Fifth. Premises large and airy. Yon Breda's Shirt-factory. —Fourteen girls, working in a room too small for the number. Thorough and effective ventilation. Place scrupulously clean and well ordered. Outhouse for meals convenient. Factory hours observed by employes. Premises as satisfactory as possible, considering the size of the house. Renshaw's Cordial-factory. —Large and airy premises. Six women and several men employed. Everything satisfactory so far as observable. Auckland, 2nd April, 1890. Waters, Baker and Confectioner. —Two men in bakehouse, which was sufficiently large and well ventilated. In restaurant, four girls and two men waiters. No complaints. Place satisfactory. Dalton, Tailor. —Proprietor not in. Assistant declined to admit without proprietor's order or presence. Beeham, Costumiers. —A large number of girls and women. Rooms rather crowded. Ventilation seems scarcely sufficient for number of workers. Sanitary arrangements good. Moran, Manufacturer of Clothing and Waterproofs. —Rooms large and well [ventilated. No very young people. Observed two patent gas-pressers easily worked by women. Le Setter, Millinery and Dressmaking. —Only six persons besides family, times being rather slack. Very large rooms. Hallenstein, Neiv Zealand Clothing-factory.— Only a few hands employed. Principal work done at head-quarters, Dunedin. Miln and Choycc, Milliners and Dressmakers. —About eighty girls and women employed at present; sometimes up to a hundred. Everything satisfactory. Wellington, Ist May, 1890. Kirkcaldie and Stains. —ln factory, about forty; all young women, except one thirteen and one or two about fifteen. Place well arranged and ventilated, both from top and side windows. Closets satisfactory. One girl stated she served one year for nothing, 6s. a week for next. Thompson, Clothing-factory. —Forty-three girls and seven boys in one room and over twenty in another. General appearance of the girls was very good. Conveniences good. Hannah and Co., Boot-factory. —Twenty-four girls and ten men and boys in one room and sixty men in another. One boy admitted he was only thirteen years of age :he said he had passed the Fourth Standard. Health of hands good. Workrooms were fairly well ventilated, but the men's room appeared rather overcrowded. Sanitary arrangements good. "Evening Press " Office. —Found rooms well ventilated and not overcrowded. James Smith, Draper, Te Aro House. —Considered the arrangements for both visitors and employes excellent, and one of the most perfect in the colony; also one of the largest. Wellington, 2nd May, 1890. Miss Rooney, Dressmaker, Adelaide Road. —Five girls employed. Only ventilation appeared to be from front door. Small premises. Mr. Dalton, Clothier, Cuba Street. —Sixteen girls and four men in one room, which was insufficiently ventilated and overcrowded. Only one closet for both sexes. Messrs. Crease and Co., Coffee Millers. —Refused to admit Commissioners, without any reason assigned. Messrs. Jones aud Ashdoion, Tailors. —There are twenty-eight girls and four men employed here. Separate closets. All hands on piecework. " Ncxo Zealand Times " Office. —Satisfactory. Messrs. Lyon and Blair. —Satisfactory.

Reports of Inspectors, and other Matter relating to the Employment of Females and Others Acts. Sir, — City Police-station, Dunedin, 20th February, 1890. At your request, I have the honour to furnish you with the attached list of proposed alterations in the Factory Act. I have, &c, J. Hanson, Inspector of Factories. James Fulton, Esq., M.H.R., Chairman Sweating Commission, Dunedin. Proposed Alterations in the Factory Act. Section 3. —"Ventilation :" The Act does not provide the means of compelling the employer or other person to provide proper ventilation, and it is doubted if even a penalty can be inflicted for neglect thereof. It might be amended by providing that no female, young person, or child shall be employed in any factory not properly ventilated. Section 4. —Would it not be advisable to raise the age to fourteen years ? Section 5 should be amended to include " young persons." Section G. —" Public holiday " should be properly and clearly defined. 13— H. 5.

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Section 7, Subsection (2). —Employer should be required to provide a suitable room or place wherein the employes may take their meals. Section 10. — He employment of saleswomen in " retail places of business where goods are exposed for sale : " The Act should be extended to include laundries, restaurants, and such places as confectioners' shops, &c, in which women are employed as waitresses, &c, and limit the hours of employment to eight hours per day. Section 11 should provide that any Inspector may, for the purpose of detecting or preventing the violation of any of the provisions of this Act which it is his duty to enforce, at all hours enter any factory or other place within the operation of the said Act, and that every person who, by himself or by any person in his employ, or acting by his directions or with his consent, refuses or fails to admit without any unnecessary delay any such Inspector demanding to enter shall be liable to the penalty hereinafter provided. Section 12 should be amended so as to read somewhat as follows : Any person who shall contravene, disobey, or neglect to observe and fulfil any of the provisions of this Act shall be deemed to have committed an offence, and shall be liable for every such offence to a penalty not exceeding £50. The Act should also provide that if any employes are found in any factory or other place under the operation of this Act before or after the hours defined by the Act, it shall prima facie be evidence of employment within the meaning of the Act (such as the provision in subsection (2) of section 7). The Act should also provide for working overtime in cases of necessity, whereby employers, by making an application in writing, accompanied by a guarantee that the persons so employed shall be paid for the overtime, can have authority to work overtime for a certain specified time. The Act should also compel the provision in every factory of urinals and water-closets for the separate use of males and females. The Act should make some provision as to the space in every factory to be allowed employes, to prevent overcrowding. Supplementary Statement of John Hanson, Inspector of Factories under " The Employment of Females and Others Act, 1881." I desire to contravert some of the statements made by persons who have given evidence before the Commissioners respecting my visiting the factories. Some of the witnesses are reported to have said that I have not to their knowledge visited the factories in which they are employed for lengthy periods, extending even to two years. It certainly may be that on occasions when I have visited those factories those persons may not have seen me, or become aware of my visit, but it is a fact for all that that I have visited every factory which I had knowledge of at least once every three months, and those whom I suspected of contravening the Act much more frequently. My visits have been principally at times shortly before or after working-hours, and when the employes had no right to be in the factories. I have also made it a point at irregular times to be present both when the employes are entering the factory to commence work or leaving it at the regular hour appointed for meal-taking or for ceasing work, my object in so doing being to satisfy myself that no person under the minimum age was being employed, and that the proper intervals were observed as required by the Act; and convictions which I have obtained for employing persons after hours go to show that I have visited factories after hours when I had suspicions anything was wrong. Complaint appears also to have been made respecting sanitary arrangements in factories. No provision is contained in the Employment of Females Act concerning that subject, and therefore I have no power of interference and no instructions as to inspection. The local Board of Health has power to regulate the matter under the provisions of " The Public Health Act, 1876," but I am not aware of that body having at any time interfered ; nor was there any report or complaint ever made to me respecting the sanitary arrangements of a factory. J. Hanson, Inspector of Factories.

Report of Sergeant Gamble, Inspector under the Employment of Females and Others Acts in Auckland, 25th March, 1890. I am of opinion that no person, male or female, should be allowed to work in any factory under thirteen years of age, and then they should be allowed to work full time. See the absurdity of the present position of things. An apprentice can be bound at the age of twelve years by " The Masters and Apprentice Act, 1865," section 7, but by "The Employment of Females Act, 1881," section 8, he is only allowed to work half-time until he is fourteen years. This is copied from " The English Factory and Workshops Act, 1878," and is intended that the child should attend school the other part of half-time; but our Common School Act only makes it compulsory to attend school until he is thirteen years of age, so that our law is mischievous enough to compel a youth or girl between thirteen and fourteen years of age to loaf about the streets half his time, and will not allow him to work (" Education Act, 1877," section 89). With respect to going into Court under the present Act against a person for employing a child (a boy or girl from twelve to fourteen years) in any unlawful way, it is necessary, firstly, to prove the age : that cannot be done by calling the child, so that the parent must be called. But by section 11 of the Employment of Females Act the parent is also liable to be prosecuted if he or she suffers or permits a child to be employed in contravention of the Act—say, allows him to work full time; so that the parent could refuse to answer any question that would have a tendency to convict himself. So, then, where is the proof to come from? You may not be able to get the child's certificate of birth; he may have been born in Australia, England, or even in Wellington or Dunedin : but say he may have been born in Auckland, who is to swear that is the boy whose name is in this certificate ? And the same partly applies to young persons (males and females between fourteen and eighteen years of age) —they are incompetent to give evidence re their own age ; and the same has been successfully upheld in the case of a woman

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twenty-five years of age, who, at the instance of a solicitor, refused to tell her age in tho Auckland Court, on the ground that no person is competent to sw y ear to his or her age. To meet the above a section should be introduced into the Act that the simple allegation of the person being a child, young person, or female should be sufficient for the prosecution, without being compelled to prove age. The distinction between females should be removed, and all persons of that sex be called females, and only males between the ages of thirteen and eighteen called young persons. Meals. —Some section that can be understood should be made with regard to remaining in the workroom during meal-time. At present no person (even Judge Gillies refused to give an opinion on it) can understand subsection (2) of section 7. The section says, "No person shall be employed or allowed to remain in any room in any factory in which any employment within the meaning of the Act is being carried on." Now, does that mean a room in which work is usually done, or in which work is being done by some other person at the time meals are being taken there? In the English Act it was intended that the room should be cleared at meal-time, so that the air could be renewed; for it is easy to understand that in a room where thirty or forty or more persons are for four or five hours the air cannot be very fresh, and some of the Auckland workrooms, and I suppose some in the south and elsewhere, at present have crammed into them about as many more as they ought to contain; but, again, it seems hard to turn out a lot of girls of a wet, inclement day into the streets during meal-time. Overtime. —l consider that a section should be enacted allowing overtime to be worked under certain restrictions, and I believe it would have a tendency to stop the present desire for occasionally breaking the law when there is a rush of work —which it would be absurd to deny is done. I have heard of cases (from a source I do not doubt) where they have worked to 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning, with the windows blinded, and doors locked to keep me out if I came. Sometimes clothiers get an order for making mourning or wedding outfits, which must be done at a certain time, and they would sooner pay any penalty than disappoint the customer, but of course take care not to be caught, if possible, at the expense of the employes, who are compelled to work at a disadvantage in cellars and close rooms. In Melbourne, if a person wants to work overtime, provision is made in the Act that he go before the Resident Magistrate, and make a declaration specifying the time, not exceeding hours, from — to — ; also the amount of wages he will pay for each hour during that time. The Resident Magistrate signs it, not giving more, under any circumstances, than four days a week. The paper signed, bearing the number of hours, date, amount of remuneration, &c, must be posted up in workroom same as any other hours of work, and a copy or notice supplied to the Inspector of Factories. Wages on Holidays. —At present that part of the Act is not workable, for no person in Auckland pays wages for any of the holidays in the Act, and there is no provision to compel them to do so except a person wdiose wages are stopped gives information ; and it can easily be understood, if he does so he will lose his situation. The Fotir Hours and a Half betiveen Meals. —l would recommend that the regulation in subsection (1) of section 7 be enlarged, so that in any factory they be allowed to work five hours at a time on Saturday only, provided no more hours are worked in that factory on that day. Locking Doors while Employes are Inside. —A very stringent section should be enacted that the door or doors of any factory or workshop should not be locked or fastened while any is in such factory or workroom, and that free access should be had to such place by the Inspector without having to wait or ask admission from any person. A section was introduced into an amended Act, which was brought before the House a session or two ago, which was utterly worthless for the purpose it was intended for, on the same lines as the Licensing Act, and which the police never attempt to enforce, as they know it is useless. It was to this effect: Any person who wilfully refuses, or neglects, or delays in giving admission to an Inspector, &c. Now, that iswherethe trouble comes in. How can you prove that he " wilfully " does either of those things? He can keep you out long enough to let his workers out at another door, or to have all work put away, and then come and express his regret that he did not hear you sooner—he was away in the back, &c. The proper remedy is fine him for fastening the door while any one is on the premises. Name of Act. —The name of the present Act has a tendency to mislead people, as people say, " I have nothing to do with it—l do not keep any females on my premises," even after I try to explain that it refers to males as well as females ; besides, it is a clumsy name in making out an information. It should be called the Factory Act. Sanitary Provisions. —No provision is made by the present Act to give effect to section 3, wdiich merely states " Every factory shall be properly ventilated." Now, if it is not, then who is to judge? or how can you compel the owner to do so? I know a factory where seven or eight fullgrown men and boys are working in a room of about 10ft. square, with an iron roof sloping over their heads, less than 9ft. high, and where the atmosphere when I was in it was like the sweatingroom in the Turkish baths. One of them called my attention to it, but I could do nothing but pity them. And that is only one of many in Auckland—not quite so bad, perhaps, but much too crowded for a hot climate like this. It is urgently required that proper provision be made re above, as such a number of places are getting up in Auckland that it will not be easy to remedy it after awhile. Also closet-accommodation : This has been hitherto very much neglected, and grievous and bitter complaints have been made to me respecting it; but the Act makes no provision in that respect. It comes under the business of the City Sanitary Inspector under the Municipal Corporations Act (and outside a municipality, where there is no Sanitary Inspector, it is no person's business but the employer's). I pass those complaints to Mr. Goldie, who attends to them ; but, of course, he has not the opportunity of knowing where those factories are sometimes situated, as I have, so that the evils go on sometimes for a long time. On visiting the factory above referred to a short time ago I found only one closet for about thirty men and boys and a couple of girls. It is about 2ft. square, indescribably filthy, and almost no door. I remonstrated with

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the owner as to how he could expect a girl to go in there before a lot of men. His reply was, there was an empty house next door belonging to him, and she could go in there if she liked. Of course, in a small place such as a tailor working in his own house and keeping a couple of girls, the Inspector should have the power to allow the use of the one closet to be sufficient; but in large establishments there should be separate places, and the females' place should be as well screened as possible. Complaints were made to me that the boys in a boot-factory annoyed the girls by going to the closet while they were in, and knocking. I complained to the owner, and he stopped it. Owner of Factory to be responsible. —Owner of factory should be responsible for all persons working therein (so far as hours of work are concerned), and all persons working therein should be deemed to be working in his employ. In a case against Mr. Mcßride, tailor, Customs Street, I found a girl at work after 2 p.m. on Saturday. Mcßride swore she was not working for him, that he did not know her at all: he let the work to the girl's mother, and he had nothing to do with it; so long as it was properly done, it did not matter to him who did it. The girl's mother confirmed this, and the case was dismissed. And another case of the same kind cropped up since : the elder sister swore she was working for the younger sister, and that she gave her what she liked for her work. This all took place in Mcßride's factory, and, as you can see, opens a wide door for sweating. Meaning of "Factory." —Should mean open air as well as a building. Half-holiday should be held on the same date in every town or district; otherwise how could the Inspector know when such-and-such a person's hands kept their holiday? Informations for Breaches of the Act. —Penalties should be cumulative (same as Sydney Act), as, suppose twenty persons of the female sex were found working after 2 p.m. on Saturday: ten would be over eighteen years of age—l would have to lay a separate information for each separate female, and there would have to be ten different convictions and ten separate fines imposed if the offender was charged with employing the ten; then, again, five would be "young persons"—it did not matter, males or females, five separate informations would have to be laid as above; and, again, five might be " children "—the same routine as above again. Of course, no matter how many I find employed, I am only allowed to lay one or two informations against the offender, and in giving evidence lam not allowed to tell that I found nineteen others at work. I am only allowed to tell that I found the person whose name is in the information at work, so that the Magistrate naturally thinks the offence is a trivial one, and perhaps thinks the offender is hardly dealt with for only one girl, as of course he does not know anything about the other nineteen, and fines him lightly accordingly; then, if more than two informations were laid it would be called persecution, and all but one would be dismissed. If an employer likes to take the opprobrium, he does not care for a small fine, for the labour of fifteen or twenty persons for a few hours would soon make it up ; but it would be a different thing if he could be fined a sum of money for each and every person working, or present in the room or factory with good reason to think they had been working, which no doubt they would be at 3 or 4 o'clock of a Saturday or at 8 or 9 o'clock on a week-day. Informations should not be upset, as they are at present, for want of form, provided the accused was not misled. The present Act is bristling with technicalities. To meet the foregoing the law should be made that an information could be laid something as follows : " That he did unlawfully employ in his factory or workroom, or allow or suffer to be employed, a certain female—to wic, Jane Brown—and divers other females, to the number of ; " and that on conviction he be fined the sum of not less than and not more than for each and every female so employed or in such workroom at the time; and it should be prima facie evidence if any one person is found at work in such factory or workroom during such prohibited time, that all the rest present should be deemed so employed ; and the same with young persons. As a reason for deeming all employed, I will state as follows : In going into a workroom where twenty or thirty or more females are tailoring, you can understand that all work at once ceases, and the girls all jump up and mix together : I am compelled to state in the Court what I found the female whose name is in the information doing, and of course it would be impossible to tell what all the rest were individually doing. Reporting to Resident Magistrate. —ln this case a policeman who is an Inspector of Factories is in a curious position. If he reports direct to the Resident Magistrate, as he is instructed to do by the Act, he is committing a breach of the police regulations in not reporting through his own officers ; then, if his own officer orders him to lay an information, he is committing a breach of this Act in not reporting to the Resident Magistrate first; and if, after reportiug to the Resident Magistrate, he is ordered by him to lay an information, he must first get permission from his own officer, who has to prosecute, and who may not agree with the information being laid. Hearing of Case. —The Resident Magistrate in Auckland will not sit to hear cases under this Act, in consequence of, in the first place, because he is the person who receives the Inspector's report, and, in the next, the Act states (section 12) " may be recovered before two Justices of the Peace " —no mention made of the Resident Magistrate—so that he reads it that the Resident Magistrate should not sit, or he would be mentioned in that section ; consequently there are all sorts of irregular sentences given—to-day one is fined Is. and costs, next day another is fined £1 and costs for an offence not half so serious as the first. The section should read, "before a Resident Magistrate or two Justices," &c. Child-labour.- —I should state, when dealing with the ages when children and young persons should work full-time, that no person in Auckland will employ a child half-time. That part of the Act is practically dead, and likely to be always so, so far as employing them half-time. When first I was appointed I went through the factories and told them that provision. They discharged over fifty hands at once, and caused a terrible uproar. I had all their mothers coming to me and wailing over their children being discharged ; but now you can ask any child, boy or girl, and you will be told by them, "Oh! lam over fourteen years." Of course I cannot say otherwise, whatever I think.

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If it is wanted to carry out that provision a certified copy of the registration of birth should be compulsorily produced, if required by Inspector, before the child is allowed to continue work; but I hold it is a mischievous provision to compel a boy between thirteen and fourteen years to loaf half his time about the streets. Notices posted and given. —ln section 9 notice of the hours of work must be posted up, but need not be signed. True copies of such notice, signed by employer, must be sent to the Resident Magistrate. Why " copies " ? Why require to send more than one to the Resident Magistrate? It cannot be to give one to the Inspector, because they must be filed by the Resident Magistrate in his office. Also, a copy to the Inspector or chief officer of Police, and none furnished to the principal person—viz., the person appointed to inspect factories. Supposing he is not a policeman, but a civilian, how is he to know where such a factory is situate, or what hours are worked in it ? and it is not contemplated that the Inspector should be a policeman, and no doubt in a few years will not be one. Then, what about the notices ? Why should not the Act require one to be sent to him ? Also, no person is compelled to give their name or any information to the Inspector when found working in a factory, say, after 2 p.m. on Saturday. Now, supposing the notices sent to the Resident Magistrate or Chief of Police are not true copies. Just fancy a constable laying an information and summoning the Resident Magistrate or his own officer as witnesses. Fancy me asking permission of Mr. Broham to call him as a witness against some person who sent him a false copy of notice, or who refused to send him a copy at all. How could he swear he never got a copy? How does he know, or how could he know, that "John Black " had a notice up in his factory in Ponsonby at all? Is it likely he would go look ? The section should read, "A copy of the working-hours, signed by employer, should be posted," &c, and a true copy of such notice sent to the Resident Magistrate, <tc, also to Inspector or Chief of Police, &c, and to the Inspector of Factories for the time being; then the Inspector could go on his own account for a prosecution. Finally, the present Acts and amendments should be repealed, and a comprehensive Act, on the lines of the Police Offences Act, passed, so plain that any person of ordinary intelligence could understand it, and get rid of the present phraseology, which opens the road for such an amount of legal quibbles. No amount of tinkering will make the present Act workable.

Report of D. O'Rourke, Inspector of Factories, Wellington. Sir,— Police-station, Wellington, 29th April, 1890. Having carefully read the reports of Sergeant Gamble and Mr. Hanson re proposed amendments, &c, of " The Employment of Females and Others Act, 1881," &c, received from you, I beg to inform you that, with one or two exceptions, I agree with the suggestions contained in them, especially Sergeant Gamble's report, as he very clearly illustrates the defects in the Act and the difficulties that are to be met with in trying to carry out its provisions in its present form. There is one part in which I do not quite agree with Sergeant Gamble, as I consider that such a provision as he proposes would give too much scope to the Act —viz., that " factory " should mean open air as well as building. There is also a proposed amendment to section 11, in Mr. Hanson's report, which I consider would be quite useless, as very clearly pointed out by Sergeant Gamble in his report—that it would be almost impossible to prove such an offence, and that excuses can always be found to evade it. I quite agree with the provision proposed by Sergeant Gamble to meet the case. I have, &c, D. O'Rourke, Inspector under Employment of Females, &c, Act. James Fulton, Esq., M.H.R., Chairman Sweating Commission, Wellington.

List of Factories and Other Places within the City of Wellington, wherein "Females" and "Young Persons" are employed within the meaning of "The Employment of Females and Others Act, 1881," and its Amendments; also the Names of Employers, and number employed by each of them. Miss Burns, Lambton Quay, dressmaking, &c, 12 females employed. Mrs. Snooks, Thorndon Quay, dressmaking, &c, 6 females. Mrs. Robin, Murphy Street, dressmaking, &c, 1 female. Mrs. McMahon, Molesworth Street, dressmaking, &c, 3 females. Mrs. L. Cole, Molesworth Street, dressmaking, &c, 2 females. Warnock, Kelly, and Adkin, Lambton Quay, dressmaking, 20 females; millinery, 3 females ; tailoring, &c, 2 females. Mrs. Whittaker, Manners Street, dressmaking, &c, 4 females. Miss Becker, Upper Willis Street, dressmaking, &c, 3 females. Mrs. Paul, Upper Willis Street, dressmaking, &c, 4 females. Mrs. Shewbridge, Cuba Street, dressmaking, &c, 2 females. Mrs. Payne, Ingestre Street, dressmaking, &c, 2 females. Veitch and Allen, Cuba Street, dressmaking, 16females; millinery, 3females; tailoring, &c, 5 females. Mrs. Leahy, Cuba Street, dressmaking, 2 females. Mrs. Edwards, Ghuznee Street, dressmaking, 4 females. Mrs. Skinner, Courtenay Place, dressmaking, 5 females. C. Stone, Cuba Street, dressmaking, 3 females. Miss Freeth, Ingestre Street, dressmaking, 1 female. Miss Waters, Sussex Square, dressmaking, 2 females. W. Murrell, Buckle Street, dressmaking, 3 females. C. Smith, Cuba Street, dressmaking, 7 females ; millinery, 2 females. James Smith, Cuba Street, dressmaking, <fee, 35 females ; millinery, 8 females; tailoring, Ac, 6 females. W. Hunt, Cuba Street, dressmaking, 8 females ; millinery, 2 females. Murray and Casey, Cuba Street, millinery, 2 females; dressmaking, Ac, 4 females. Mrs. Duff.Lambton Quay, dressmaking, Ac, 8 females. Mrs. Richardson, Lambton Quay, dressmaking, Ac, 10 females. Missßooney, Adelaide Road, dressmaking, Ac, 7 females. Mrs. Russell, Tinakori Road, dressmaking, 4 females. Kirkcaldie and Stains, Lambton Quay, dressmaking, Ac, 27 females; millinery, 9 females ; tailoring, &c, 1 male and 5 females. Jones and Ashdown, Lambton Quay, tailoring, Ac, 1 male and 20 females. Thompson and Co., Brandon Street, tailoring, Ac, 44 females. G. Cook, Lambton Quay, tailoring, &c, 1 female. J. H. Shine, Manners Street, tailoring, &c, 7 females, James

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Huxley, Lambton Quay, tailoring, Ac, 5 females. George Parker, Upper Willis Street, tailoring, Ac, 1 female. A. Lilly, Cuba Street, tailoring, Ac, 1 male. J. H. Dalton, Cuba Street, tailoring, Ac, 1 male and 17 females. J. Bock, Cuba Street, tailoring, Ac, 1 male. C. Cathie, Manners Street, tailoring, Ac, 4 males and 30 females. E. Simpson, Willis Street, tailoring, Ac, 1 female. J. Coogan, Willis Street, tailoring, Ac, 1 male and 1 female. W. Murphy, Willis Street, tailoring, Ac, 1 female. T. Gveen, Willis Street, tailoring, Ac, 1 male. G. Fiyger, Lambton Quay, tailoring, Ac, 4 females. W. Wilson, Lambton Quay, tailoring, Ac, 4 females. G. W. Clark, Lambton Quay, tailoring, Ac, 4 females. J. Mowat, Lambton Quay, tailoring, Ac, 1 female. M. Fosilla, Clayton's Lane, tailoring, Ac, 3 females. Davis and Clater, Lambton Quay, shirtmaking, 2 females. J. M. May, Cuba Street, shirtmaking, 4 females. Mrs. M. Hill, Taranaki Street, shirtmaking, 5 females. McEwen and Kitto, Willis Street, hat- and cap-making, 1 female. G. L. Cole, Lambton Quay, hat- and cap-making, 8 females. C. Hill and Sons, Lambton Quay, hat- and capmaking, 6 females. J. .Potter, Lambton Quay, bootmaking, 3 males and 6 females. Edwards and Emery, Courtenay Place, bootmaking, 2 males. J. Anslow, Cuba Street, bootmaking, 1 male. J. Jones, Upper Willis Street, bootmaking, 1 male. J. Morris, Taranaki Street, bootmaking, 2 males and 1 female. S. Startup, Cuba Street, bootmaking, 1 male and 1 female. E. Pearce, Cuba Street, bootmaking, 1 male and 2 females. R. Hannah and Co., Lambton Quay, bootmaking, 9 males and 22 females. W. and J. Staples, Ghuznee Street, bootmaking, 6 males and 9 females. W. Warcup, Lambton Quay, bootmaking, 1 male. A. Lindsay, Lambton Quay, bootmaking, 3 males and 2 females. R. McDonnell, Tory Street, bootmaking, 3 males and 1 female. M. Tracy, Willis Street, bootmaking, 1 male. Edwards and Green, Brandon Street, printing, Ac, 5 males and 3 females. F. Routh, Brandon Street, printing, Ac, 1 male and 2 females. Bock and Co., Brandon Street, printing, Ac, 6 males and 2 females. J. C. Harris, Lambton Quay, printing, Ac, 4 males. Wakefield and Roydhouse, Lambton Quay, printing, Ac, 9 males. Blundell Bros., Willis Street, printing, Ac, 2 males. Brown and Thompson, Lambton Quay, 3 males and 3 females. Lyon and Blair, Lambton Quay, printing, Ac, 17 males and 9 females. T. Dwan, Parish Street, printing, Ac, 2 males. Francis Redwood, Boulcott Street, printing, Ac, 2 males. W. J. Lankshear, Lambton Quay, printing, Ac, 1 male and 2 females. George Didsbury, Lambton Quay, printing, Ac, 31 males and 23 females. H. Fielder, Manners Street, cabinetmaking, 2 males and 1 female. Scoular and Chisholm, Lambton Quay, cabinetmaking, Ac, 4 males and 2 females. C. Johnston, Murphy Street, cabinetmaking, Ac, 1 male. C. Moeller, Manners Street, cabinetmaking, Ac, 3 males. Ballinger Bros., Waring Taylor Street, plumbers, tinsmiths, Ac, 1 male. S. Danks, Brandon Street, plumbers, tinsmiths, Ac, 6 males. G. Remington, Cuba Street, plumbers, tinsmiths, Ac, 5 males. T. Garland, Molesworth Street, plumber, tinsmith, Ac, 4 males. G. Snaddon, Tory Street, plumbers,tinsmiths, Ac, lmale. Cowan aud Hearn, St. Hill Street, plumbers, tinsmiths, Ac, 2 males. Smallwood and Gilchrist, Courtenay Place, plumbers, tinsmiths, Ac, 2 males. J. E. Hayes, Lambton Quay, plumbers, tinsmiths, Ac, 6 males. Thomas Ballinger, Willis Street, plumbers, tinsmiths, Ac, 9 males. C. Jackson, Manners Street, plumbers, tinsmiths, Ac, 2 males. Cameron and Plimmer, Featherston Street, tinsmiths, Ac, 7 males. George Luke, Taranaki Street, coachbuilding, 2 males. M. Bohan, Manners Street, coachbuilding, 3 males. Rouse and Hurrell, Courtenay Place, coachbuilding, 2 males. Cable and Co., Customhouse Quay, foundry, 12 males. S. Luke, Manners Street, foundry, 11 males. W. Crabtree, Eva Street, foundry, 4 males. J. T. Glover, Boulcott Street, foundry, 1 male. E. Seager, Manners Street, foundry, 7 males. D. Robertson, Old Customhouse Street, foundry, 4 males. J. Godber, Cuba Street, confectionery, 2 males. Wellington Biscuit Company, Farish Street, confectionery, 5 males. C. Bodley, Lambton Quay,confectionery, 1 male. J. H. Thornton, Manners Street, confectionery, 2 males. Simon Scott, Manners Street, confectionery, 1 male. R. G. Knight, Customhouse Quay, sailmaking, Ac, 1 male and 4 females. J. Kitchen and Son, Riddiford Street, soap- and candle-making, 4 males and 8 females. W. Littlejohn and Sons, Lambton Quay, watchmaking, Ac, 2 males. C. Ludwig, Lambton Quay, watchmaking, Ac, 1 male. Wrigglesworth and Binns, Willis Street, photography, 4 females. Pollard and Co., Courtenay Place, photography, 1 female. Price and O'Malley, Lambton Quay, photography, 2 females. Stewart and Co., Courtenay Place, sawmills, Ac, 6 males. Halley and Ewing, Courtenay Place, sawmills, Ac, 4 males. Waddell, McLeod, and Weir, Waring Taylor Street, sawmills, Ac, 2 males. A. Compton, Boulcott Street, sawmills, Ac, 1 male. W. and G. Turnbull, Customhouse Quay, tea- and coffee-packing, Ac, 14 males. J. Nathan and Co., Lambton Quay, tea- and coffee-packing, Ac, 8 males. J. Toomath, Manners Street, flaxdressing, Ac, 6 males. J. E.Evans, Lambton Quay, saddle- and harness-making, 2 males. G. Hill, Cuba Street, saddleand harness-making, 1 male. Edward Arnold, Willis Street, perambulator- and basket-making, 2 males. Daniel O'Rourke, Inspector under "The Employment of Females and Others Act, 1881."

Judgment of Mr. Justice Denniston on an Appeal from Decision of Resident Magistrate's Court re Employment of Females Act, 20th March, 1889. It will be remembered that at the last Banco sitting a case —Brown v. Kennedy—an appeal from the Resident Magistrate's Court, Christchurch—was argued before his Honour Mr. Justice Denniston The appellant, who was the defendant in the Court below, was summoned by the respondent, who is the Inspector under the Employment of Females Act, for having retained several saleswomen in his employ during prohibited hours. His Honour now delivered judgment as follows: The appellant was convicted on an information charging him that he, on the 18th day of December last, " did unlawfully retain at tho retail place of business, where goods were exposed for sale, known as the D. I. C, six saleswomen after the closing of such place of business to the public" The appellant's counsel contended that the facts did not disclose any offence under "The Employment of Females and Others Act, 1881;" that

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the definition of " employ " in the interpretation clause (section 2) of the Act did not apply to such work as was proved to have been done in this case, but was confined to factory work—work upon the substance or texture of a manufactured article. The words of the interpretation clause taken by themselves did not seem apt to meet the work and incidents of a retail shop, to which it is here sought to apply them. They were taken, as was pointed out by Mr. Stringer, from the definition of " manufacturing process " in " The Factories Act Extension Act, 1867," 30 and 31 Vict. c. 103, an Act which is confined to factories of certain specific kinds. Even in factories, however, work of the kind mentioned in the case—work outside the actual manufacturing, such as putting up, wrapping, marking, and such like—would certainly be " adapting " an article " by way of trade or for sale," and within the Act. Unless, therefore, retail shops are not within the New Zealand Act, I think persons doing the acts mentioned in the case would be " employed" in the sense used in that Act. The definition of factory in the New Zealand Act—" Any manufactory, workshop, workroom, or other establishment or place of business where any female child or young person shall be employed " —is very much wider than the similar definition in the English Act, and indicates, I think, that a wider scope is to be given to the New Zealand Act. But apart from the interpretation section of the Act we have section 10. That section, by subsection (1), while declaring that "nothing in this Act shall be deemed or taken to prevent the employment of saleswomen in retail places of business, where goods are exposed for sale, so long as such retail places are open to the public," adds, " but saleswomen or others employed or retained for work after the closing of such places of business to the public shall continue to be under the operation of this Act." This section seems to show clearly that the Legislature assumed that, but for the saving clause, the saleswomen or others employed in retail places of business, where goods are exposed for sale, would be subject to the Act, and that when employed or retained for work after the closing of such business they become, or as the Act puts it " continue," under the Act. Now, the only sense in which these persons can be held to be or continue under the operation of the Act is by treating their work as " employment " under section sof the Act. If the construction the appellant claims to put upon the Act is correct the saving clause in subsection (1) of section 10 would be unnecessary, and the provision following it inoperative. The use of the words " retained for work," after employed, in subsection (1) of section 10, might be taken to intend as to retail shops a more extensive prohibition of work than that given by the interpretation section and section 5. I think, therefore, that the language of the Act carries out, however artificially, the obvious intention of its framers—that saleswomen or others employed or retained for work in retail places of business after closing of such places of business to the public are " employed " within the meaning of section sof the Act. A point was raised, but not strongly pressed, by the appellant that the defendant did not " employ " the saleswomen. The case states him to be " the manager "of the company which carries on the business. It was, however, admitted that he was in charge of the establishment, and that the work complained of was done under his directions. I think this is sufficient to make him " a person employing " the saleswomen within the Act. A further point was suggested during the argument —that the information did not allege any offence, but only brings the persons within the Act, and that the specific offence alleged should be " employing" in contravention of the Act. Even if this is so, I think that as the facts show the commission of au offence the conviction is good. Cooper v. Hamilton (6, N.Z. L.R., S.C., page 598) shows that a Magistrate may convict without amendment, even where there is a defect in form, or a variance between the information and the evidence. I think that applies equally where no offence is specifically or formally shown in the information as where a different offence is shown from that proved. No amendment was asked for, and no objection taken, and, undoubtedly, if the Magistrate were now called upon to draw up a conviction, he could frame it on the offence proved. Appeal dismissed, with £7 7s. costs. Mr. Stringer for the appellant; Mr. Martin for the respondent. [Approximate Cost of Paper.— Preparation, Nil; printing (1,450 copies), £751

By Authority: George Didsbuky, Government Printer, Wellington.—lB9o.