H.—6

present demand for labour. It had not come to his knowledge that manufacturers would employ union men and could not get them. He did not know that in Wellington the manufacturers wanted men and were unable to get them. At the present time there were more men working for them than for three years past. He had seen the union men refused work because there was none. To the Chairman : The employers might engage any men they chose, whether union or nonunion. By Mr. Turner : The man seeking work went to the foreman, and on getting employment and going to his bench the union representative would come on the scene. He never knew a man who did not join the union. He did not think it possible that a union officer elsewhere than in Wellington would go to a foreman and tell him to discharge a man taken on under threat of a strike. This could only occur in connection with what they in the union called a " bad egg." In his opinion skilled labour included clicking, benching, finishing, and rough stuff departments. That was as far as Wellington was concerned. He knew nothing of machinery. The union men working in non-union shops protected the Manufacturers' Association. So far as the union was concerned, when the union men went to work for a non-union employer, the third party did not come in as in the case of a non-union man working for a member of the Manufacturers' Association. By Mr. Frostick: The evidence given by witness as to machines used in factories was not from his own knowledge; it was by hearsay. He knew nothing about the team system working in connection with machines. It would surprise him to know that the team system had been obsolete for some twenty-five years, or that it was not worked in America. There was nothing said in the manufacturers' statement about the introduction of the team system. The clause in connection with the engagement of weekly hands without restriction seemed to him to point to the team system being introduced. He knew nothing about the team system which was worked in America in connection with the machine. In Wellington they had a set of local rules, but the federation rules applied to them. If a man had done anything to injure his union, he would not be allowed to go to work until he had complied with the demands of his union. It had not come to his knowledge that a union man had been prevented starting work because he had been fined by his union and not paid his fine. The case of a man named Clifford was before his time. In his opinion, in the present state of the trade in New Zealand, it was necessary that the trade should be conducted in the most modern style, and with up-to-date appliances. The Board, at 5 p.m., adjourned until 10.20 a.m. Tuesday. Second Day—Tuesday. The Board resumed at 10.20 a.m. on Tuesday, and went into committee to consider the matters brought before it at the previous day's sittings. After consultation until after 12 o'clock the representatives of the operatives and manufacturers were called in and the position laid before them. They were asked if they could agree or offer a compromise respecting skilled or unskilled labour, and in regard to Nos. 1 and 11 of the general rules, as the settlement of these points would clear the way for the consideration of the others. If nothing could be agreed upon, then it had been deemed advisable that the points in question should be referred to the Arbitration Court. The representatives were unable to offer any compromise, and the Board referred the questions on which consideration had been given to the Court of Arbitration. On the motion of Messrs. Turner and Arnold, a vote of thanks was accorded to the members, after which the Board adjourned.— Weekly Press, Christchurch, N.Z., 21st May, 1896.

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