H.—ll

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EXTRACTS FROM. REPORTS OF INSPECTORS OF SCAFFOLDING. mm Auckland. Mr. H. Gresham reports : — With the exception of a few weeks in November and December, 1913, the building trade has been active. The sum of over £360,000 has been expended in erection of buildings and improvements. Visits have been made to scaffolding on buildings in the following country districts: Whangarei, Cambridge, Hamilton, Rotorua, Morrinsville, Raglan, Ngaruawahia, Waiuku, and Pukekohe. During the period 364 notices have been received from builders and others of their intention to erect scaffolding exceeding 16 ft. high. The guarding of well-holes and openings in floors is a matter which required continual supervision. Forty-four accidents, mostly of a minor nature, have been reported. It was necessary to take proceedings against eleven contractors for failing to notify their intention to erect scaffolding. With the exception of one dismissal, a conviction was obtained and fine imposed in each case. Napier and Gisborne. Mr. J. Jackson reports : — The building trade has been active during the year, especially in the erection of large structures. Fifty-one notices of intention to erect scaffolding exceeding a height of 16 ft. were received from various parts of the district. Very few accidents have happened, and with the exception of one all were of a minor nature. New Plymouth. Mr. W. Slaughter reports: — The building trade has been brisk during the greater part of the year. Several large blocks in concrete buildings have been erected. Generally speaking, a decided improvement is shown in the construction of scaffolding owing to the requirements being more fully understood by employers and workers. Thirty-two notices of intention to erect scaffolding over 16 ft. in height were received and seventy-five visits of inspection were made. Two accidents have been reported, neither of which, however, actually occurred on scaffolds. In one case a carpenter who had been engaged in uncovering the well-hole for the purpose of erecting a staircase in the new Town Hall at Inglewood fell through to the stage below, a distance of 21 ft., and was killed. Wanganui. Mr. H. E. Moston reports : — Thirty-eight notices of intention to erect scaffolding over 16 ft. in height from the base have been received. In all eases inspections have been made while the buildings were in course of erection, and, where necessary, defects have been remedied. Three accidents were reported under this Act. One proved fatal; in this case the worker was employed in cutting a foundation ditch for concrete filling between two stacks of timber, the sides of the ditch gave way and the timber collapsed, falling upon the worker. A number of large brfildings has been erected during the year, some of them necessitating the erection of scaffolding, to a considerable height. It has not been found necessary to take proceedings for any offence under this Act. Wellington and Palmerston North. Mr. R. A. Bolland reports : — During the past year the state of the building trade has been normal in the Wellington District, with the exception that it was slack during the three months ending in December, during which the wharf labourers' strike was in progress. Very little friction has been experienced in the administration of the Act in the district. During the year 308 notices of intention to erect scaffolding were received. This is about half the number of structures inspected. In many cases alterations and additions were, on inspection, ordered to be made. A considerable amount of gear, such as ropes, poles, planks, and ladders, was condemned as unsound before being actually put into use. It was found necessary to take proceedings in three cases for failing to give notice of intention to erect scaffolding. A conviction was obtained and a fine imposed in each case. Thirteen accidents occurred on buildings in course of erection, and one ended fatally; in this case a labourer fell backwards from a ladder which he was ascending and sustained serious injury to his spine, from which he subsequently died.