Li.- 11

VII

The Workers' Dwellings Act is dealt with in a separate parliamentary report by Mr. Mackay, Chief Inspector of Factories, and by Mr. Kensington, Under-Secretary of Crown Lands, Mr. Kensington being the late Chairman of the Board and Mr. Mackay Chief Advisory Officer under the Act. The Kauri-gum Industry Act is adversely commented on among the gum-diggers of the North. They are very dissatisfied with the administration of the Act by local authorities. At a meeting of delegates to a conference held in Waipu at the end of March valuable suggestions were made for the amendment of the Act. Propositions of a business character were also made, such as that of obtaining small Government grants of money for swamp-drainage in order to remove gum during the winter, now a time of hardship and scant employment to the digger, and permit the agricultural use of the land at present in mud and water. This, together with a suggested tax on ungraded exports of poor gum, and other proposals are before the Government for consideration. The Exhibition at Christchurch occupied much of the time and attention of the Departmental officers in order to furnish an exhibit worthy of the work and aims of the Department. I consider that this attempt was successful. The charts displayed showed the rise and fall of wages, employment in different years, wages compared with other countries, growth of factories, number of factory-workers, &c. Hundreds of very fine photographs of New Zealand industries were exhibited, and in this matter we had the very generous support of the colony's manufacturers, who sent views of their establishments without regard to cost or trouble. Beautiful pictures of pastoral industries, of the co-operative works and workers (railway and road works) were also shown. By far the most interesting exhibit, however, in the departmental Court was that of the British Sweated Industries. So many thousands of people took notice of the contents of the cases that when the Christchurch Exhibition closed it was decided to exhibit the material in all the chief towns of the colony. This is now being done, and already tens of thousands of visitors have viewed this striking object-lesson of what colonial industries and colonial importers should avoid. The Department has continued to issue regularly once each month the Journal of the Department of Labour. It is found to be of special service in giving early publication to recommendations, awards, (fee, under the Arbitration Act, while its low price (2d.) enables any member of a union to obtain a copy of the award ruling his occupation. The annual volume (No. vii) of the awards, recommendations, agreements, (fee, under the Arbitration Act has also been issued. Two other publications —a "Handbook to the New Zealand Labour Laws" and "The New Zealand Department of Labour, its Organization and Work " —have been issued. These two latter booklets, with a catalogue of the British Sweated Industries Exhibits, were in much demand at Christchurch Exhibition. In the reports of Mr. Mackay, the Chief Inspector of Factories, and of local Inspectors of Factories will be found many topics of interest which T have not mentioned. I have to thank the officers of a fast-growing Department for their steady attention and effort in carrying out their duties. Edward Tregeah, Secretary for Labour.