R.—ll

XVI

Councils of Conciliation. The results of the work of the Commissioners of Conciliation is summarized in the following table :—

It will be seen that the total number of cases fully settled this year is only 2 short of those for last year. Considering the total number of cases dealt with in the last two years (189). it appears to mc to be extremely satisfactory that 132 of the cases have been fully settled, whilst the cases referred to tin- Court i.e., in which no settlement has been come to by the Conciliation Commissioners and their assessors —for the two years, total but 20. The cases in which a partial settlement was come to total, for the two years, 37. The reports of the three Commissioners appear in this report. Moneys recovered kor Workers dndxb various Acts. Inspectors of the Department have recovered the total sum of £1,250 13s. Id. on behalf of workers, as detailed by the table given hereunder. The amounts consisted mainly of money due for backwages, payment for holidays, overtime. &<-. The cases were not considered serious enough for prosecution, as the lapses were found to be committed through inadvertence. The following table shows the amounts collected under the various Acts according to industrial districts : —

Workers' Compensation Act. There were 21 cases brought before the Arbitration Court under this Act. 17 less than last year. As a, result. 7 workers partially incapacitated by accident received various amounts, totalling £715 17s. lod. In one case a worker wholly incapacitated by accident received £335. In I eases the widows and relatives of fatally injured workers received various amounts, totalling £1,556 ss. In 2 additional cases arising out of fatal accidents the defendants admitted liability for the amounts claimed, and the Court had merely to apportion the totals between various dependents : the amounts thus apportioned totalled £608 ss. In 2 cases the Court decided that the plaintiffs were entitled to the benefits of the Act. but ordered the parties to come to a private agreement as to the amount of compensation. Five cases were dismissed. Undoubtedly the less number of cases brought before the Court is due to the fact that the majority are settled by private arrangement between the parties. Such settlements are rendered fairly easy of calculation, as tin- Second Schedule to the Act fixes the amount of compensation payable for certain classes of accidents. Then, too, the cases already decided by the Court itself form excellent precedents for cases that subsequently arise. 1. A widow, resident in Victoria, claimed compensation for the death of her husband, a coal miner who was killed on the West Coast. It was claimed on plaintiff's behalf that deceased was domiciled in New Zealand at the time of his death, and that, his wife must therefore be considered as being likewise domiciled in New Zealand. Evidence showed that deceased had come to New

■.. , Number in which ao r j , . - ... - Nuniln-i , . ,. Settlement was made. ,,, . fodustrtal Dbtrict. fully aettled. I** , ' , - v and whole Dispute 1,,,,J - Pel tied. ,. i , was referred to < ourt. Northern and Taranaki .. .. .. ; 17 7 2 26 Wellington, Marlborough, Nekon, and Weetland 19 5 1 25 Canterbury, and Otago and Southland .. 29 2 5 36 ! Grand totals .. .. .. 65 1-1 8 87 i I

Industrial Dial riot. Under the Industrial Conciliation and Ai bit rat ion Art. Under the Factories Act. I fader the Shops and (Ifficefl Acl. Under the Wagex Protection Aoi. Northern Taranaki Wellington Westland Canterbury . . Otago and Southland .. £ 8. 113 13 13 9 196 L2 43-1 7 272 3 <l. I 7 8 8 8 £ s. 17 3 54 !) 48 17 1 6 13 18 6 14 d. 8 0 r> o 3 3 E 8. 31 5 14 9 19 i (I. 2 6 I t B. 12 5 0 15 (I. I o I.OHO .030 6 6 11 11 142 142 8 8 7 7 64 17 3 13 t) I