H.—44.

Salaries and Wages paid. Increases. —Electric supply, £64,999 ; meat-freezing, £52,454. Decreases.— Sawmilling, £280,456 ; flax-milling, £121,607 ; furniture, £89,859 ; engineering, £84,194 ; motor-engineering, £63,885 ; joinery and woodware, £55,205 ; clothing, £53,972. Added Value. Increases. —Grain-milling, £27,074. Decreases.— Sawmilling, £603,348 ; motor-engineering, £270,038 ; printing and publishing, £230,193 ; flax-milling, £195,343 ; engineering, £148,074 ; clothing, £140,895. Land, Buildings, Machinery, and Plant. Increases.— Electric supply, £1,133,792 ; electric tramways, £299,037 ; gasmaking, £145,961 ; printing and publishing, £85,370. Decreases. —Motor-engineering, £184,589 ; flax-milling, £178,588 ; meat-freezing, £163,682 ; chemical fertilizers, £115,963 ; woollen-milling, £81,094. NEW INDUSTRIES. The establishment of glass-works on a small scale is reported from Dunedin. Present operations are confined to hand-blown products. Orders have been coming in freely, and the quality, it is stated, has generally been of a good standard. Further capital to extend the present factory has been provided, and extensions to existing plant will shortly be undertaken. A small company has been formed in Dunedin for the manufacture of laundry blue, stove and boot polishes, &c. The erection of a kiln for the drying of timber has been undertaken by a new company in Dunedin, but owing to the deplorable state of the building industry no extensive trade has been recorded. The Snowflake Lime Co., Ltd., has recently been established at Milburn with up-to-date machinery for the production of carbonate of lime. The manufacture of radio receiving-sets has been undertaken by a number of companies in the Dominion, one company employing quite an appreciable number of employees. The quality and tone are of high standard and compare very favourably with imported sets of similar range capacity. Several industries report new lines being added to present factory products. Among these may be mentioned the canning of blue cod by the Stewart Island Canneries, Ltd. The quality of this product is excellent, and should find an extensive market not only in New Zealand, but also on the Australian and other export markets. The Zealandia Packing Co., Ltd., have opened a factory for the kippering and canning of fish. Shearing-machines are now being manufactured by M. J. Hooper and Co., under the name of " Kiwi." The selling-prices are stated to be below those of similar imported machines. Electric irons are now manufactured in the Dominion by Holton's Electro-plating Works, Ltd. A substantial quantity has been manufactured and sold, and the irons arc stated to be cheaper in price than imported lines of similar quality. DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRIES COMMITTEE. By amendment of the Scientific and Industrial Research Act, 1926, statutory authority was provided for the constitution of two committees, one for the purpose of investigating matters relating particularly to research in agriculture, and the other to investigate matters in regard to industry. This latter committee, of nine members, is commonly referred to as the Development of Industries Committee. This Department is represented on the committee by the Secretary for Industries and Commerce. The functions of the committee, which acts in an advisory capacity to the Government, might bo briefly summarized as follows : To advise the Government on the organization, conditions, prospects, difficulties, and needs of existing, new, or proposed industries ; the assistance and control which might be exercised by the State for the benefit of any industry ; to advise what steps those in control of industry might profitably and reasonably take for the better organization and development of industry ; other matters which might be recommended in order to develop or assist New Zealand industries generally. The first meeting of the committee was held on the 12th February, 1932, and several meetings have been held since that date. PRICE-INVESTIGATIONS. The Department has continued during the year under review to keep a close watch upon the prices of those commodities that enter largely into the cost of living, and every effort has been made to ensure that reasonable prices are being charged to the public. Numerous inquiries, covering a wide range of products, have been carried out in this connection. Special reference may perhaps be made to the investigations into the costs of production and prices of bread in various cities and towns throughout the Dominion. As a result of these inquiries reductions in prices have been effected in certain instances. It is not possible to detail all the commodities in regard to which such investigations have been made, but amongst them may be mentioned meat, butter, cheese, bacon, sugar, milk, coal, woollen goods, knitting-wool, &c.

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