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APPENDIX.

LABOUR BILLS COMMITTEE.-REPORT OF SUB-COMMITTEE ON THE EVIDENCE SENT IN TO THE COMMITTEE. Your Committee has gone through a mass of written communications and telegrams which have been forwarded to the Chairman by parties who have been unable to attend and give oral evidence before the Committee. The great bulk of it is absolutely identical with the evidence taken by the Committee from witnesses engaged in the same occupations as followed by the writers, and it would only be useless repetition to print it. A few communications (which we annex) are printed chiefly because they extend the oral evidence, and deal with phases of the subject not brought prominently before the Committee. We must also mention that we have reviewed a number of letters and telegrams to the effect that the number of signatures attached to the petitions and representations of the clerks in banking-houses are not to be taken as the voluntary act of those signing. Some of the correspondents allege that coercion was used to increase the number of signatures, but we are under the disadvantage of suppressing this correspondence, in deference to the request that their names might be withheld. J. F. Arnold. W. W. Tanner. C. A. C. Hardy.

CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CHAIRMAN OF THE LABOUR BILLS COMMITTEE. Dunedin Florists. I beg respectfully to remind you, now you have this Shop Act before you, not to forget the florists. I am, perhaps, the oldest bona fide florist in New Zealand, having been in business in Dunedin for over forty years. Your new Shop Act closes us up at 6 p.m., and I would ask you to try and bring us, the florists, under the exempted shops. The greatest part of our business during the winter months is done for socials, concerts, and the theatre, which are called for between 7 and 8 p.m., on.their way to the several places of amusement. If we are compelled to close at 6we lose three parts of our business, as the public cannot get their flowers before, a great many living out of town and just calling on their way to the places of amusement. Flowers are a far more perishable commodity than fruit, as they are no good to-morrow ; yet you close us up at 6, and allow fruiterers to remain open and sell flowers against us. In no part of the world is the florist restricted, as our business comes as the occasion arises ; often for weddings we have to start working as soon as it is light, and for funerals till late at night. If we cannot make up our work for when it is wanted, it is no good for the next day. Trusting, dear sir, that you will try and get us exempted till 8 p.m., even if we do not open quite so early in the mornings. Yours, &c, W. Reid. Dunedin, 3rd July, 1905.

Dunedin Chamber of Commerce. I am instructed to inform you that, at a special meeting of this Chamber held to-day, the following resolution was carried, with only one dissentient voice, viz. :— " That, in the opinion of this meeting, all employers who give an annual holiday of not less than ten clear days for which salary is paid, in addition to the ordinary public holidays, and who pay sickleave to the extent of one month per annum, if necessary, to any individual, should be exempt from the provisions of the Act." Yours, &c, Peter Barr, Secretary.

Dunedin Retail Fruiterers. On behalf of the retail fruiterers of Dunedin and suburbs, we beg to acknowledge with thanks your telegram inviting us to send delegates to give evidence before your Committee re Shops and Offices Amendment Act. We regret being unable to respond to your invitation to send delegates, but we respectfully beg to place before your Committee our wish respecting that portion of the Act dealing with the hours of closing. First of all, we consider that the clause in the present Act now before Parliament, which denies us the right to employ our assistants after the hour of 6 p.m., will be most injurious to our business. Plainly stated, it means one man one shop. It will, in our opinion, be simply, handing over the retail fruit trade to Asiatics and Italians. At a large representative meeting of the fruit trade, it was unanimously resolved " to appeal to Parliament to give us the right to keep our shops open until 9 p.m. on five days of the week, and 10 p.m. on Saturday, retaining the present hours of labour for shopassistants." During the last six months a careful record has been made of our cash-takings, and we find that fully one-third comes in between the hours of 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. On Saturday, a large trade is done