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at Wellington the trade was busy and even short of skilled hands, at Ashburton overtime was occasionally worked, while at Dunedin, though business was at times inclined to be slack, skilled weavers were wanted. The flax-milling business was very prosperous, but many mills are closing down for the winter. Printing-works, laundries, dye-works, agricultural-implement works, coachbuilding, cabinetmaking, furniture, and sash and door factories, freezing-works, &c, have had a very successful year. Almost the only trade which keeps behind the general advance is that of the maker of saddlery and harness; for this the extension of the tram system and the introduction of motor-cars and cycles have probably to answer. Sawmill hands were in demand at Invercargill, but in Dannevirke and its neighbourhood the timber industry languishes through much of the available forest being cleared of timber. Unskilled labour has had a period of special activity, owing partly to the dry season already alluded to. The extension of the tram system in the cities, the active building operations, drainage works at Timaru, recreation-grounds at Wellington, Exhibition business at Christchurch, dec., together with the large numbers employed by Government on the Main Trunk Railway, absorbed all surplus labour. Invercargill in the South and Whangarei in the North equally complained of shortage of farm labourers, so that the large number of immigrants absorbed by New Zealand of late years has by no means filled the demands of farmers beyond requirements. The following table shows the number of men actually assisted by the Labour Department to proceed to employment.

Number of Men assisted by the Department since Institution to Date.

' We thus perceive that during sixteen years the Department of Labour has been of practical assistance to 141,295 persons, including the dependants of the workmen. The number sent to public works appears excessive when compared with those forwarded to private employers, but it must be remembered that large parties of men were required for railway-construction, and the number sent to private work this year is greatly in advance of the number sent to public works before the unusual pressure put on to finish the Main Trunk and other railway lines began. That the single men greatly outnumber the married ones shows (as preference of employment is given to married men) that married men have far- less need to apply to the Department for work than was the case some years ago. Taking the whole body of men assisted during last year, we find that of these 1,053 came lately from Great Britain, 485 from Australia, and 149 from foreign countries; the remainder were New-Zealanders. One hundred and forty-six wives (with their families) were forwarded to their husbands. Factories. This year has seen the largest increase of factories recorded for some years in the colony. There are 907 more factories and 4,907 more workers in evidence than were shown last year. In the last thirteen years (since which time there has been no alteration which widened the scope of definition of "factory") the factories have increased from 4,109 to 10,788; the factory-workers

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Year. Total. Married. Single. Dependants. Private Wirk. Government Work. 1891-92 1892-93 1893-94 1894-95 1895-96 1896-97 1897-98 1898-99 1899-1900 1900-1 1901-2 1902-3 1903-4 1904-5 1905-6 1906-7 . f. 2,593 3,874 3,341 3,030 2,871 1,718 2,035 2,115 2,147 3,124 1,830 3,704 2,860 3,130 6,712 7,393 1,054 1,808 1,836 2,007 1,880 1,084 1,163 1,178 1,115 1,326 713 1,492 777 953 2,027 1,427 1,539 2,066 1,505 1,023 991 634 872 937 1,032 1,798 1,117 2,212 2,083 2,177 4,685 5,966 4,729 7,802 7,942 8,883 8,424 4,719 4,928 4,759 | 4,471 5,432 2,747 5,934 3,085 3,425 7,351 4,187 1,730 2,518 1,019 894 708 652 544 638 486 519 396 580 1,216 1,960 1,929 2,718 863 1,356 2,322 2,136 2,163 1,066 1,491 1,477 1,661 2,605 1,434 3,124 1,644 1,170 4,783 4,675 21,840 30,637 88,818 18,507 33,970 52,477