H.—ll.

XXXVII

Shearing : The season finished well, and the clip was quite up to that of the previous year. The shortage of storage-accommodation experienced last year has been overcome by large additions which have been made to the already capacious stores of the brokers. Factories. Very little difficulty has been experienced in administering this Act. Factories visited this year have been found to be generally in good order, anil the few matters requiring attention have been seen to. There were 307 factories registered (luring the yt'e.w Fifty four certificates of fitness were issued to young persons under sixteen to work in factories to 22 boys and 32 to girls. lam pleased to be able to report that so many young persons have offered themselves for factory employment, which has, in a small measure, satisfied the growing demand for boys and girls Overtime. —During tho year 4,723 hours have been worked by females and boys under sixteen years. The total number of accidents reported during the year was 46. In all cases where the accident occurred in connection with machine! \ the latter was inspected, ami where necessaiw more protection was recommended, but it must be admitted that accidents sometimes occur in factories where the machinery is already well guarded, and in such cases nothing can be suggested to prevent a recurrence. There have been 9 prosecutions under this Act (luring the year. In each case the decision was in favour of Ihe Department. The lines inflicted amounted to £111, with costs £2 9s. The arrears of wages recovered by this office and paid to workers has been £8 9s. The amending Act of 1910 has brought about a very desirable alteration in respect to laundries, bringing the working-hours of Chinese laundries into line with those worked by Europeans; and, although most of the Chinese adopt the " no saver " attitude, they are now convinced that the law must be observed, and are accordingly making provision for their wages-books to be kept in English. The amendment to section 22, making the overtime restrictions more elastic, will, in my opinion, prove advantageous to all concerned. The ambiguity which has hitherto surrounded section 32, re minimum weekly wages of voting persons, has been completely removed by the insertion of subsection (aa.), placing restrictions on the deductions from the weekly wages for lost time. Speaking generally, the provisions of the Act are, on the whole, strictly adhered to. The majority of breaches occur on questions of interpretation. Shops and Offices Act. The number of shops carrying on business in this district is 304. The amount of overtime worked in shops has been 4,208 hours. There have been 17 prosecutions under this Act, with conviction recorded in each case. The total fines amounted to £35, and costs £5 Mis. The principal offences xvere for failing to close in accordance with the terms of various " requisitions," from shopkeepers fixing their own closinghours. Of the above prosecutions, 8 cases were heard in Napier, 7in Hastings, 1 in Dannevirke, and 1 in Wairoa. The 1910 amendment to this Act has considerably increased the responsibilities of Inspectors through hotels, 4c. being brought more definitely under its provisions, and also through the institution of wages and time-books for all shops. The ready compliance of shopkeepers with the latter requirement indicates that they are, as a whole, desirous of adhering to the provisions of the Act. Section 13 of the Amendment Act was the cause of a little comment, on account of partners other than the registered occupiers being placed on the same footing in regard to hours, 4c, as assistants, but when it was ascertained that the restriction would not apply to partners while working behind closed doors, any difficulty that was likely to occur appeared to be removed. Servants' Registry Offices Act. There are two offices registered in this town, and I am pleased to report that they are both well conducted. There was one prosecution under this Act, in which a man was charged with conducting a registry office without a license, and he was lined .£•'>. with costs £1. Wages Protection and Contractors' Liens Ait. During the year it has been necessary to take action against 2 employers under part 2 of the Act, for trucking with their workers, and in each case the employer was fined, with costs The total fines under the Act were £4, and costs £1. Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. The work necessitated by the administration of this Act showed a marked decrease in the number of prosecutions. This in a great measure is due to the number of agreements arrived at through the Conciliation Council, showing that where disputes can be settled amicably between the parties there is likely to be a more ready compliance by all concerned. There were 178 complaints of breaches of awards and industrial agreements, 4c, inquired into during the year. In 69 cases it was found that no breach had occurred, and 65 cases were referred to the Court. The 47 cases standing over from last year were also dealt with. Of the