APPENDIX. 367 



quantities of manufactured stock are imported from America. While there is a large 

 demand for the more useful kinds of vehicles, a good deal of very Huperior and highly- 

 finished work is turned out. 



Bootmakers.— T\\\% is a verylarije industry ; tlie manufacture of hoots and shoea in tliii 

 Colony exceeds 3,000,000 pairs per annum. Nearly tlie whole of the work iH done on 

 piece, and the rates paid vary very nuicii. Earnings are at al)out the following rates : — 

 Foremen, 50s. to 70s. ; nuichiue-operators, from 'J.ls. to COs. ; elickeri?, 308. to ."»0s. ; cutters 

 and pressmen, 30s. to 55s. ; makers, 30s. to 60s. ; blockers, 30s. to 40.s. ; liniHhera, ;{0«. to 

 55s. ; female macliinists, 15s. to 25s. ; apprentices (boys and girls), 58. to 15«. ppr week. 



Clothhuj Trades.— K large proportion of the tailoring work is done on piece work, or 

 at employes' own homes. When it is stated tliat a good business suit can be piirchaBt-d 

 retail at £1 10s. to £2 2s,, it goes without saying that very little is paid for the lalwur 

 which produces these goods. The same remark may be applied to women's clothing ; 

 " ready-made costumes" can be bought from 4s. 6d. each upwards, and other lines of 

 ready-made clothing are on the same scale. In the clothing trade the following are the 

 rates paid per week : — Cutters, 50s. to 70s. ; foremen, 60s. to 100s. ; coat hands, .308. to 

 60s. ; females, 15s. to 32s. 6d. ; trouser hands (males), 50s. to 60s. ; vest hands (males), 40s, 

 to 45s. ; females, 15s. to 20s. ; machinists, 15s. to 30s. ; macliiners, 50s. to 703. ; trimmera, 

 40s. to 60s. ; buttonhole finishers, 20s. to 25s. ; l)oys and assistants, 5s. to 20s. Dress- 

 making : A great deal of work is taken privately, and the rates for this class of work varies 

 considerably, according to style, cut, and finish. Articles are generally paid for at iK;r 

 garment, for whicli no fi.xed rates can Ije given. In lai'ge establishments, wliere weekly 

 wages are paid, the following are about the approximate rates :— Forewomen at the heads 

 of large houses are sometimes paid as much as £4 or £5 per week, but more often the 

 amount is consideraljly less. Tailoresses, from 20s. to 30s. ; bodice hands, from 12s. Gd. to 

 30s. ; while machinists and general dressmakers receive about similar amounts. Wages for 

 beginners and apprentices I'ange down to 2s. 6d. per week. Millinery forewomen arc 

 paid £2 or £3 per week ; milliners, 15s. to SOs. ; improvers, 5s. to 10s. ; and saleswomen 

 from 15s. or £1, up to £2 or £3 per week, according to age and experience, .'^hirt-making 

 is generally done by employes at their own homes on piece, and tlie results are about the 

 same as those quoted in the departments noted above. 



Metal Working Trades. — In this important constructive branch tlie remuneration given 

 in the various trades differs considerably. Classed as a whole, skilled labour commamls 

 from 50s. to 6O3. per week, although mechanics and engineers engaged in recpiiring more 

 than ordinary skill receive higher wages. .Second-class labour may be rated from liOa. to 

 40s. ; junior apprentices and boys from 5s. to 20s. per week. Persons engaged in ship- 

 building and repairs are paid rather better wages. 



Miscellaneous. — In the departments of joinery, wood-carving, and.tuniing, pottery, 

 brick-making, marble-working, saw mills, and the like, wages vary according to the 

 nature of the work. In constructive works it frequently happens that contracts are 

 accepted by tender at very low rates, which necessitates employers cutting wages to the 

 smallest possible level to enable them to finish their contracts satisfactorily. It is almost 

 always the rule to let work on piece if it will admit of it, and competition fre<iuentiy 

 reduces wages to a limit which employers are not anxious to follow. The current rate of 

 wages for journeymen is from £2 to £3 per week. 



A good tradesman in almost any ordinary branch of trade, no matter whether a 

 carpenter and joiner, cabinet-maker, saddle and harness maker, tinsmith, builder, watcli- 

 maker, plumber, printer, lithographer, book-binder, potter, tanner, biscuit-maker, or any 

 similar fixed occupation, may regard his labour as worth 50s. to 60s. per week. If he iias 

 more than ordinary ability, and shows a capacity for assisting the business witli which he 

 is assisted, he will probably earn more, while he may be pretty sure of gaining less if he 

 is not up to the general average. 



Unskilled labour is worth about 6s. per day. On the whar\ es and similar places, wliere 

 the hours of labour vary, overtime is allowed for at the rate of Is. per hour. 



Mining labour forms a considerable item in the total of those employed in the Colony ; 

 but it is°entirely bevond the scope and purpose of this work to give the smallest nidica- 

 tion of the different rates paid liy the dillerent mines. Those actually engaged in the 



