EL—ll.

boot and shoe making, tailoring, clothing, printing, biscuit, and confectionery, and jam-making trades and laundering, in point of extra hours worked, were the busiest. The details, according to trades, are given in this report, page 85. Certificates of Fitness. During the year certificates were issued to 969 boys and 1,273 girls (fourteen to sixteen years of age) to work in factories. A return, giving details according to towns and standard of education, is given in this report (page 86). The number of certificates issued appears to be decreasing from year to year, especially in regard to those issued to boys. In 1911-12, 1,106 certificates were issued to boys, or 137 more than during the year just passed. The number of girls securing certificates is twenty less than the previous year. Accidents in Factories. There is a fair decrease in the total number of accidents recorded this year, and it is gratifying to note that the fatal and serious accidents in factories were very few compared with those happening in previous years. The following table compares the numbers reported for the past three years : —

The following is a- summary of the causes of the eight fatal accidents recorded : An engineer's machinist of Christchurch attempted, to effect repairs to a belt whilst the machinery was in motion :he was caught in the gearing and killed outright. A brickworks engine-driver in Auckland, while oiling machinery in motion, had his clothing gripped in the shaft and was carried round and killed. A tailor's presser, of Wellington, against instructions, used a passenger-lift, and was jammed between the elevator and the wall of the lift-well. An enginedriver in a Wellington plumbing establishment became entangled in a revolving shaft, his injuries resulting in death. A topman in a Christchurch brewery, while cleaning a vat, became overcome by the fumes, fell into the vat, and was drowned. An Auckland gasworks greaser was crushed in a coke-elevator, which was inadvertently set in motion whilst he was engaged in oiling same. A Christchurch gasworks engineer met his death under precisely similar circumstances. A sawmill hand in Westland was struck on the head by a log which fell off a trolly : he was killed instantly. The table hereunder shows the accidents for each industrial district : — Northern Industrial District ... ... ... ... 401 Taranaki Industrial District ... ... . ... 3 Wellington Industrial District ... ... ...' .. ... 204 Marlborough Industrial District ... ... ... ... ... 2 Nelson Industrial District ... ... ... ... ... 3 Westland Industrial District ... ... . . 12 Canterbury Industrial District ... ... ... ... ... 187 Otago and Southland Industrial District ... ... ... 149 A chart, illustrating the accidents in factories during the years 1903 to 1913 inclusive, is included at the end of the report. SHOPS AND OFFICES ACT. The statistics published annually in regard to the number of . shops, employees therein, wages paid, ore, are omitted this year, and, on account of the difficulty in obtaining reliable data, are not likely to be included in future. Other reasons for their non-inclusion are as follow : So many shops—mainly the smaller shops—change hands from time to time, either to different owners in the same trade or to owners in different trades. The shops not employing assistants cannot be compelled to furnish the returns required; and as a considerable number of small shops employ assistants at one time and none at another, a good deal of confusion is caused. A large number of shops carry on several classes of business, with the result that there is a great deal of overlapping—for example, groceries and fruit; groceries and stationery; fancy goods and stationery; and so on. In most cases the employees are engaged in the several classes of

VII

Slight. Moderate. Serious. Fatal. Total. 910-11 .911-12 912-13 638 792 837 145 167 84 77 50 32 12 11 8 872 1,020 961