H.—ll.

It was predicted that great inconvenience would be experienced by the public if the chemists acted according to their requisition, but so far no complaints have boon made. A good deal of trouble has been experienced with the tobacconists and hairdressers' requisition, but no doubt this will come all right in time. There have been thirty-six prosecutions under the Act, resulting in thirty-three convictions and three dismissals. Two of those dismissed weie against Chinamen. In one case the defence was that they were all partners, and in the other failure to prove that the shop was open. The third case was against a tobacconist, and it was held that he was not a party bound by the hairdressers and tobacconists' requisition. Servants' Registry Offices Act. On the whole this Act continues to work satisfactorily. There have been several complaints made against registry-office keepers for having misrepresented the situations engaged for, but, when investigated, there seems to be little ground for complaints. lam stilll of the opinion that no fee ought to be charged to the applicant for employment, as in most cases the employee is unable to pay. This would make registry-office keepers more careful in selecting servants for their clients. Employers complain that they have great difficulty in obtaining suitable servants. As the Act is at present, there is an inducement for registry-office keepers to send on candidates that may be suitable or otherwise. It is now customary to make no charge to the employer for obtaining servants, so that the only fee paid is by the servants. A common result is that the servant proving unsuitable is dismissed in a week or two to find herself far from home among strangers and without means. There are now nineteen offices registered in this district, which is an increase of two on the previous period. In conclusion, I have to express my sincere thanks to all with whom my various duties have brought me in contact, and for the kindness and courtesy I have at all time received, both from employers and employees in the carrying-out of my duties. I have, &c, J. B. Lindsay, The Chief Inspector of Factories. Inspector of Factories, &c.

Sir, — Department of Labour, Wellington, 7th April, 1906. I have the honour to report on the breaches of the different awards and agreements under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act in force in the Wellington Industrial District investigated by me during the year ending 31st March, 1906. Eighty-five cases of breaches of awards and agreements filed by me have been dealt with by the Court, resulting in sixty-seven convictions ; six cases were withdrawn, and the remainder were dismissed. Penalties amounting to £129 14s. were inflicted. Two hundred and seventy-six complaints were received during the year from secretaries of unions and others, and, in addition to the case already dealt with by the Court, fifty-three have been filed, and are now waiting to be dealt with. The remainder were either settled without reference to the Court, or were found on inquiry not to be breaches. For the previous year the cases reported numbered ninety-six, and the cases taken to Court thirty-one. Therefore the figures for the year just ended show a great increase, and show to my mind that more severe penalties should be inflicted to check the continuance of the disregard of the provisions of the awards under which they work which is shown by a small section of the employers. The settling of cases in a conciliatory manner without reference to the Court has proved, as the above figures show, to have been a failure, and in future I would suggest that all breaches wilfully persevered in be referred to the Arbitration Court for settlement. The figures above referred to do not apply to Wellington City only, but cover almost the whole of the Wellington Industrial District, and include Masterton, Palmerston North, Foxton, Feilding, Dannevirke, Pahiatua, Woodville, Taihape, and Featherston. - I am experiencing the same difficulty as in previous years in obtaining information concerning breaches of award. Many employers do not "keep wages-books, and many employees while receiving under-rate pay will not state what they are receiving, presumably because, being also liable, they do not relish the prospect of being cited before the Court for breach of award. More particularly is this experienced among horse-drivers. Under the drivers' award, a driver of one horse receives £2 ss. per week of forty-seven hours and a half, and overtime rates for any time worked in excess of these hours. The men keep no record of the time worked, and, although complaints that the men are not being paid for the time worked are exceedingly numerous, no action can be taken, through the fault of the men in not keeping a record of time worked and wages received. The hours of drivers are usually totally different from those of tradesmen. A carpenter or painter starts work at, say, 8 a.m., and knocks off at 5 p.m. He knows that he puts in eight hours each day, and his time is easily computed. When a driver leaves his stables he does not know at what time he will return. His hours are irregular, and therefore it is very necessary, in order to see that he is fully paid for the time worked, that he should keep a record of his time. If a clause were in future inserted in the awards making it compulsory for an employee to keejD a correct record of his time from leaving the stable to returning, it would very materially assist the Inspector in carrying out his duties. Some difficulty has also been experienced in regard, to the preference clause of the various awards. Many employers think that so long as they pay award rates of pay and otherwise comply with the terms of the award, they are not bound to give preference to unionists, and although I have spent a large amount of time in explaining to employers their responsibility under this clause, many of them refuse to observe it. I have also found a number of employees who simply will not bother to acquaint themselves with the conditions of the award under which they are working, and through this neglect they are frequently found to be committing breaches of award, and are unaware that they are doing so.

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