68—Babies' Shoes.

Rate paid.—1s. 6d. per dozen pair.

Remarks.—This price is for making a complete shoe—i.e., per dozen for uppers, 10d. soling, and 4d. for finishing. Wholesale price, 7½d. each; retail, l0½d.

In New Zealand very little of the class of work shown in the exhibit is done in the factories. Last year 411 factories were registered, in which 3,060 hands were employed—i.e., 2,314 males, and 746 females. The employees are working under an award of the Arbitration Court which fixes the minimum rates for competent hands at 1s. per hour. Apprentices eighteen years of age, in making and finishing departments, are to be paid not less than 15s. per week; nineteen years, £1; and twenty years, £1 5s. Hours per week are from forty-five to forty-seven. In Auckland the rate per hour is 11¼, slightly lower than in the other centres.