1.—9.

E. KENNEDY.

years ago, and are still there. Some are simply mud cabins with sheets of iron over them. As regards the inspection, the way to make this Act work to the satisfaction of the workers is to allow some representative of the union to go and see these places and report To the Inspector. Men working on stations and farms do not like to make complaints, as they may get dismissed for doing so. 66. Can they not write to the secretary of the union?— Yes. 67. And the secretary of the union could send on the notice to the Inspector when the accommodation is bad I —They could do that. 68. Then neither the employer nor any one else would know who sent the information : Would that not be satisfactory ?—lt would be if the men would do it, but they would not. The great majority of them are afraid the employer will hear of it and they will get dismissed. 69. It is a poor look-out for unionism if that is the spirit that exists?—lt is the opinion amongst the majority that the employers will get the information. 70. That is the general experience in the formation of all unions, but later on when a union becomes established there will not be the same fear ?—I heard a' man say only last Saturday night, in a sitting-room, that if another man went to the meeting at Rakaia he would get his cheque in the morning. 71. I suppose you are aware that under the existing law action could be taken against that man ?—I was not aware of that. 72. The Chairman.] Can you give us the name of that man? —Mr. Hardy could. I mentioned it to him in the train and I think he mentioned the name. 73. Which hotel was it at Rakaia?—Mr. Hardy said it was in the Railway Hotel. 74. Hon. Mr. Millar.] Do you consider that 240 cubic feet would be enough air-space for each man ?—Tf there was only that space for a single man I think it would be very small. 75. That would be 8 ft. by 6 ft. by 5 ft. I—Mr. Studholme supplies single rooms for each of his men. The whares are 7 ft. by 11 ft., and I think the roof about 8 ft. That is what he told me was the size of the single rooms. 76. You did not take any exception to the Bill until you came to clause 11, which gave you an idea that the employers could substitute a waterproof tent and so forth. Suppose a clause to this effect was put in : "11. (1) The Governor may from time to time by Order in Council gazetted make regulations prescribing the nature and extent of the accommodation that shall be deemed to be adequate for the purposes of this Act, and for the maintenance of the same in a cleanly and sanitary condition. Provided that no accommodation at a homestead shall be deemed to be adequate unless every room in which agricultural labourers are to be accommodated contains at least 240 cubic feet of air-space for every person to be so accommodated nor unless in ■ cases where two or more persons are to be accommodated separate rooms are provided for sleeping and for meals and each room provided for meals contains a fireplace or other sufficient means for warming the room. (2) Such regulations may vary for different parts of New Zealand and for different times of the year." Would that meet the case instead of having a hard and fast rule in the Act? Regulations could be gazetted stipulating the space under certain ' conditions that should be allowed. You would not expect permanent accommodation to be put up for musterers on each station I —No. 77. There must be some elasticity with regard to the regulations: We can fix the amount of the accommodation at the homesteads ?—But in a lot of these back farms the men are accommodated in shifting whares. 78. Provision might be made to give suitable accommodation where men are at a given class of work for a certain time, but that accommodation would not be wanted where the men are away for a few days only?—On the large places where there are twenty or thirty men employed we think there should be permanent camps in different parts of the station instead of the shifting whares. 79. That would be for the Inspector to decide when he saw the nature of the place. You could not classify in an Act of Parliament the places that should have that accommodation? —I do not know that. 80. The Inspector would say what was suitable and adequate under the provisions of the Act. If the accommodation were not adequate he would condemn it and have it altered ?—Yes, he should have that power. 81. Can you suggest any other means for insuring reasonable accommodation without compelling the employers to provide accommodation that is not absolutely necessary?— The only way would be to do away with the top bunks in the travelling whares. There should be no more than three bunks in them. 82. Are there more than three in the average travelling whare? —Yes, sometimes six and eight. lam speaking of camp whares where they are away three or four months. I was working in one myself in which there were six bunks. It was a new whare and looked well, but there was no vent at all except the door and one little window at the side that did not ventilate the place at all On one occasion one or two of the returned troopers from South Africa came up and brought enteric fever with them and all the men in the whare were laid up for a week or a fortnight. I was working at the homestead too and saw these men, and when we opened the whare-door the stench nearly knocked us down—-there were so many men sleeping in it. I walked in, and it was nearly three weeks before I could get out of bed again. 83. Owing to the varying conditions throughout New Zealand it will be necessary to give a certain amount of latitude to the Department in deciding on the accommodation required?— Where there are more than one or two whares in one camp there should not be more than three bunks in each whare. 84. That might 'be fixed by regulation, and then the Inspector would not allow any whare to travel if it carried more —it would be an offence?— There s-hould also be accommodation for a sitting-room and a stove.

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