H.—ll

IX

There were 66 accidents reported during the year, 2 of which proved fatal, as a result of falls from scaffolds. The following table shows particulars regarding the accidents in the different districts :—

Shops and Offices Act. There is presented herewith in Table 4 a detailed report of the position of shops, of employers in shops, and of shop-assistants. The following brief table showing the numbers of employers and employees in the different industrial districts will be found of interest : —

Summary.

The total number of persons engaged in retail distribution by means of shops was 34,169, of whom 26,456 were men and youths, and 7,713 were girls and women. There were 13,481 employers working in their shops, and 20,688 shop-assistants. Fifty more persons are included in the returns for this year (as working in shops) than last year, but as there are 535 more shops scheduled, many small establishments appear to have been opened, and to have drawn on the shop-assistants in the large businesses. Auckland City (£271,628) pays the largest wages-bill to shop-assistants ; Wellington City next with £238,680 ; then Christchurch City, £215,561 ; then Dunedin City, £197,856. If the cities with their surrounding industrial districts are compared, we find that the order of precedence is as follows : Wellington, £528,343; Auckland, £441,298; Otago and Southland, £344,362; Canterbury, £320,091. This probably arises through the presence of considerable-sized towns (Wanganui, Napier, Palmerston, Masterton, &c.) in the Wellington Industrial District; Dunedin also has a large surrounding district in Otago and Southland.

ii—H. 11.

Distriot. Slight, Moderate, j I Serious. Fatal. i Total. Auckland ... Wellington Nelson Canterbury Otago and Southland Totals 26 9 2 10 3 50 I 6 3 2 11 I 2 1 3 1 1 35 1.4 2 10 5 66

Number of Pe •sons Engaged. District. Employees. Employers. Total Persons engaged in Shops. Number of Shops. Total Wages paid during the Year. Male. Female. Male. Female. Auckland City .. Wellington City Christchurch City Dunedin City .. *Northern District Taranaki District * Wellington District Marlborough District Nelson District.. Westland District *Canterbury District % ( Otago District (Southland District 2,052 1,657 1,572 1,535 1,533 512 2,358 159 310 526 957 555 725 1,014 781 704 692 629 241 932 64 157 195 363 182 283 1,019 1,425 I 1,060 1,080 1,638 584 2,233 153 283 504 855 639 532 ! 191 202 163 220 155 40 165 11 34 84 82 65 64 4,276 4,065 3,499 3,527 3,955 1,377 5,688 387 784 1,309 2,257 1,441 1,604 1,222 1,538 1,213 1,244 1,830 596 2,371 151 298 566 933 680 582 271,628 238,680 215,561 197,856 169,670 55,486 289,663 18,865 41,356 62,253 104,530 59,013 87,493 Totals .. 14,451 6,237 12,005 I 1,476 34,169 13,224 1,812,054 * Excluding Auckland, ellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin Cities, n ■spectively.