D.—l

96

Section 18, subsection (2), of the, principal Act made it necessary for the, person undertaking to do any electrical wiring to notify the electrical-supply authority of the name of the wiremen who would be employed on the work. This was found to be unworkable, and was not applied by the electricalsupply authorities. It has now been made necessary for the person undertaking to do the work to give notice to the electrical-supply authority specifying the date on which it is proposed to begin such work, and giving details of the work. This amendment should remove the difficulty experienced by the electrical-supply authorities in obtaining the necessary information to enable progress inspections and tests to be carried out. The onus of seeing that only qualified men are employed has now been placed on the employer, as it was quite evident that certain employers were employing unregistered wiremen and relying on the fact that it was difficult to prove that a breach of the Act had been committed. The provision that stage-lighting and portable, apparatus shall be under the control of qualified persons will tend to remove any danger which may exist of a panic occurring through a fire on the stage. This portable, apparatus and its flexible leads are, subject to particularly hard wear in service. There has been one, appeal under section 23 of the Act against the decision of the Board, and, as the evidence was not complete, this has been adjourned. Forty-eight prosecutions for working contrary to the. Act have, been taken since the Ist April, 1927, and others are pending. Of the above prosecutions, twelve have been taken against wiremen who had neglected to become registered ; two cases were against registered wiremen for failing to return their certificates for endorsement; eleven cases were against employers for permitting apprentices to work without supervision ; and one case was against a carpenter for interfering with wiring during alterations to a building. Fines and costs totalling £109 were imjxised in the above cases. In the majority of cases only nominal fines were inflicted, but it is proposed to ask for heavier penalties in all future cases. Ninety-three reports of breaches of the Act were received during the period Ist April, 1927, to 30th June, 1928. Figures for the yearly periods since the Act came into force are as follows : Ist April, 1926, to 31st March, 1927, fifty-two reports ; Ist April, 1927, to 31st March, 1928, sixty-three reports. A number of cases were not taken, as the evidence was insufficient to secure a conviction. As the electrical-supply authorities become more familiar with the. Act the oases with insufficient evidence will gradually be eliminated. There were fifty-two reports of bad workmanship received during the period Ist April, 1927, to 30th June, 1928, and a comparison of the yearly figures shows that the electrical-supply authorities are beginning to tighten up on the inferior type of workman. The figures are as follows : Ist April. 1926, to 31st March, 1927, seventeen ; Ist April, 1927, to 31st March, 1928, forty-six. Of the cases reported during the period Ist April, 1927, to 30th June, 1928, the following action has been taken: One name was removed from the register, the certificates were endorsed for bad workmanship in thirteen cases, seven wiremen were censured, fifteen wiremen were cautioned, five satisfactory explanations were recehed, two were cases where the work had been done by unregistered persons, one was referred to the electrical-supply authority to take action, in three of the cases the offence occurred before the Act came into force and no action could be taken, and the other cases are of recent date and are still under review. Examinations were held in October, 1927, and March, 1928. Details of the examinations will be found in the following table,: —

Electrical Wiremen's Examination Results.

Written Part. Practical Part. °l C 92e er ' April, 1927. °<*$f- March, 1928. °f o ° 2^ r ' April, 1927. °'™™- March, 1928. w 03 dj d) d5 ' df oJ ■ <d MbfibPtiO Cβ bC ttt> 5) ( I —l Hj . i » , i , jj t ( I ~> ( • gT3 CI £J Plg'd ClgT3 fl £ ■ £ a ° g^'Ofl Auckland . . .. 29 20 69 41 22 54 55 28 51 53 37 70 23 19 83 37 31 84 44 39 89 35 23 66 Ohristuhurcli .. .. 22 10 45 35 21 60 29 17 59 31 20 651 21 15! 71 32 23 72 22 17 77 27 9 33 Dunedin .. . . 8 6 75 22 17 78 2(5 10 38 24 14 581 9 8 89 23 17 74 25 17 68 19 6 32 Gisbome .. 7 2 29 M 5 45 10 7 70 fi 4 67 5 4 80 6 117 Grcymouth .. .. 6 4 67 5 3 60 6 2 33 3Nil .. 6 4 67 6 3 50 5 5 100 2Nil .. Hamilton .. .. 18 13 72 28 13 46 20 11 55 14 8 57 20 18 1 90 28 14 50 20 5 25 13 6 46 Havclock South 1 1100 .. ! 1 1100 Hawera .. 2 Nil .. 5 2 401 ..I 5 5;100 3 2 67 Inveroargill .. .. 4 4 100 1 Nil .. 8 3 37 10 7 70 6 6100 1 Nil .. 8 7 87 6 3 50 Kaikoura .. .. 2 Nil .. 2 2100 2 2100 J Masterton .. .. 5 4 80 8 5 63 7 3 43 9 3 33 5 5100 8 8100 6 5 83 5 Nil .. Napier .. .. 8 7 87 7 2 29 15 6 40 14 11 79 8 7 87 8 7 87 12 9 75 11: 10 91 Nelson .. .. 5 2 40 6 3 50 6 1 17 4 2 50 6 5 83 5 4 80 4 4100 ..1 .... Now Plymouth 11 7 64 7 3 43 9 7 78 6 6 100 Palmers'ton North .. 13 10 77 20 13 65 15 9 60 16 10 63 14 12 86 19 17 90 12 11 92 10 5 50 Stratford .. .. 7 4 57 13 4 31 I Nil .. 7 4 57 15 9 60 Timaru .. 5 4 80 4 1 25 7 6 86 5 5 loo! 4 3 75 6 5 83 Wanganui .. .. 6 5 83j 9 1 11 12 2 17 6 4 67 7 6 86 6! 6100 Wellington .. .. 29 16 55 34 22 65 38 26 68 44 34 77 33 23 70 31 18 58j 37 28 76 39J 26 67 Westport 2 1 50 2 Nil .. 2 1 50 2 1 50 ( 2 2100 2 ] 50 Whangarei .. .. 5 4 80 3 2 67 ] 1100 I 1100 5 2 40 5 3 60 1 1100 1 1100 Total .. 167109 1 6523ojl36 57J265 131 49268169 63 171134 78231164 71J228 175 77198111 56 Highest marks obtained 91 86 80 89 94 111 91 96 The tendency of the Board will be to consistently raise the standard of future examinations to ensure that candidates passing have a good technical knowledge as well as being competent of maintaining a high grade of workmanship.