3

H.—4B

Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Bust and Cleworth, That the request be acceded to, and that Tuesday, the 23rd instant, be suggested as the day of the meeting. The discussion on the Factories Bill was resumed. Clauses 58 and 59 were passed as printed. Clause 60. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Judge and Bust, That the word " may," in marginal note, be altered to " shall." Subsection (1) : Proposed by Messrs. Judge and Slater, That the words " Labour Day, the 28th October," be added. Proposed, as an amendment, by Messrs. Bust and Simpson, That the words " Labour Day" only be added. The amendment was adopted. Mr. Tregear attended at 2.15 p.m., and explained at length what had been done by the Government, and what it proposed to do in the way of relieving congestion in the labour-market. He pointed out that the unemployed section of labour had a disastrous effect upon both employer and employed. He was unable, however, to suggest any plan whereby the large amount of unemployed labour could be ascertained, and he asked the Conference to try to suggest some way in which this object could be attained. He outlined the Government's scheme for finding employment for those out of work. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Judge and Bust, That Mr. Tregear be accorded a hearty vote of thanks for the information furnished by him, and that a reply to his request be furnished him in a few days. The consideration of the Factories Bill was then resumed. Clause 60, subsection (2). Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Judge and Kelly, That wherever the words " two o'clock " occur the words " one o'clock " be substituted. Clause 61. Proposed by Messrs. Judge and Slater, That certain words in the clause be struck out. Motion lost, and clause passed as printed. Clause 62. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Bust and Hadfield, That the word " or," in the first line, be struck out, and the words " or mortgagee " be inserted after the word " occupier," in the first line. Clauses 63 to 81, with schedules, passed as printed. The Factories Bill was adopted, with suggested amendments, on the motion of Messrs. Bust and Simpson. The Shop Hours Bill was next considered. Clauses 1 and 2 were passed as printed. Clause 3. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Judge and Kelly, That the word " tobacconist" be struck out. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Bust and Johnson, That "confectioners" be struck out. Mr. Simpson dissented. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Bust and Judge, That the words "fruit and vegetables" be struck out. Clause 3, subsection (3). Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Judge and Kelly, That the word " two" be struck out and the word " one " substituted. Clause 4. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Kelly and Slater, That the word " two," in the last line, be struck out, and the word "one" substituted. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Simpson and Cleworth, That the words " Town Board " be inserted wherever applicable throughout the Act. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Kelly and Slater, That the following paragraph be added to this section: "That the City or Borough Council shall have power to fix the hours at which the respective shops exempted shall be closed." Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Johnson and Simpson, That the Standing Orders be suspended in order to enable Mr. Johnson to move an addition to clause 3. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Johnson and Fisher, That " milk-shops " be included in the list of exemptions. Mr. Bust dissented. Mr. Bust moved to insert a new clause, but as the Standing Orders were suspended for only a specific purpose, the Chairman ruled Mr. Bust out of order. The Conference resumed discussion on the Shop Hours Bill. Clause 5 passed as printed. Clause 6. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Judge and Slater, That this clause be altered so as to read " A female shall not be employed longer than fifty-two hours in one week, or a youth, under eighteen years of age, shall not bo employed in or about any shop for a longer period than fifty-eight hours in one week, both including meal hours." Clauses 7 and 8 were passed as printed. Clauses 9 and 10. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Simpson and Johnson, That these clauses be struck out. Clauses 11 and 12 passed as printed. Clause 13. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Cloworth and Bust, That the words "or mortgagee " be inserted after the word " occupier," in the first line, and the word " or," in the same line, be struck out. Clauses 14 to 18 passed as printed. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Johnson and Hadfield, That the Shop Hours Bill, with suggested amendments, be adopted. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Cleworth and Simpson, That Sir George Grey be asked if he approves of the interview between him and the Conference delegates being made public. In accordance with notice of motion, Messrs. Simpson and Cleworth moved, That the minutes of the 18th instant be reconsidered. Motion lost. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Cleworth and Judge, That, in order to enable the delegation to confer together in reference to consulting Sir George Grey, this Conference do adjourn at 5 p.m. till 9 a.m. the next day. The Employers' Liability Act Amendment Bill was next considered. Besolved, on the motion of Messrs. Bust and Johnson, That this Bill be adopted, with the exception that, whenever the word "workman" occurs in the Bill, it be understood to mean " employe." At 5 p.m. the Comference adjourned till 9 a.m. the next morning.