LXXIX

H.—lB

Youths' Sixteen Years Old, and Men's, Size 6, upwards. (Duty, Is. 6d. per pair and 15 per cent, ad val. Preferential, 9d. per pair and 1\ per cent, in addition.) , r Duty. ■ , British. Foreign. Shoes or boots invoiced ss. per pair .. .. 2s. 4d. —47 per cent. 3s. 6d.—70 per cent. 6s. „ .. .. 2s. 6d.—42 „ 3s. 9d.—63 Imported Boots and Shoes worn by the Wealthy Classes. , Duty. , British. Foreign. Ladies, invoiced 15s. . . Is. and 15 per cent. —3s. 6d. and 23 per cent. 24 per cent. Men's, invoiced 20s. .. Is. 6d. and 15 „ —4s. 9d. and 24 „ 36 The latest census returns for 1910 give the following particulars relating to boot and shoe factories, viz. : Number of factories, 74. Hands employed —Male, 1,359 ; female, 913 : total, 2,272. Wages paid—Male, £154,044 (average, £113 45.) ; female, £43,549 (average, £47 75.). Leather used —Local, £190,396; imported, £86,854. Total cost all materials, £334,880. Boots, shoes, slippers, &c, manufactured, £604,872 (not including leggings or other products). Value of land occupied, 8 £61,602. Value of buildings, £74,751. Value of machinery and plant, £90,704. The value of imports for 1910 was £250,456 : add duty received £71,987, and cost of importation (15 per cent.) £37,568, gives a landed cost amounting to £360,011, which amount, together with the value of local manufactures (£604,872), shows the cost of boots locally produced and imported to be £964,883. When wholesale and retail profits are added, the approximate annual cost per head of the populalation is about 305., without repairs—a heavy charge to the breadwinners of large and growing families, where children are still at school. The cost of wages in production is one-third of the total cost of a pair of boots, and the Commission have evidence showing that a pair of boots locally made and retailed from 28s. to 30s. only cost to produce 12s. 9d. (wages ss. Id.). From the evidence collected, supported by exhibits, fraudulent boots and shoes made up with composition insoles faced with canvas and backed up with cardboard, with cardboard heels, are being sold to the public. There is some conflict in the opinion of experts as to the strict definition of " shoddy." In boot-linings, linen of good quality is considered a good substitute for leather. 6. For the purpose of estimating the whole number of workers employed in Stateprotected industries, and the extent of protection afforded to each separate industry, the Commission have compiled the following statement from the last returns available : —

Statistics of boot trade.

Branding,

Extent cf protection in New Zealand.

Table 55.—Workers employed in State-protected Industries, 1910.

Hands employed. Male. Female. Rates of Duty. Ham and bacon curing Fish curing and preserving Condensed milk Biscuit-factories Fruit-preserving and jam Sugar-boiling and confectionery .. Baking-powder factories Colonial wine Coffee and spice Sauces, pickles, and vinegar Soap and candles Glue .: Sausage-skins Woodware and turnery Paper-mills Paper bags and boxes .. Lime and cement Monumental masonry Glassworks Electroplating Tinware-factories Iron and brass foundries 210 103 38 379 174 304 18 50 66 115 215 13 151 304 87 18 280 117 14 17 469 14 3 20 208 137 267 7 1 54 104 23 2 2d. lb. 2d. „ 25 per cent. 2d. lb. 25 per cent, and 2d. lb. 2d. lb. 20 per cent. 6s. gallon. 3d. and 2d. lb. 4s., 3s., and 6d. gallon. 5s. cwt., ljd. lb. lid. lb. 3d. „ 20 per cent. 5s. cwt. 7s. 6d. cwt. and 25 per cent. 2s. barrel. 25 per cent. 20 20 25 29 82 1 4