282 KEPOKT— 1886. 



whethex' School Boards can legally expend in teaching such children any 

 sum beyond that of the fees and grants received. In the case of large 

 classes the income from these sources might be sufficient, but iu the 

 majority of cases this cannot be secured ; and it becomes a matter for 

 consideration whether distinct sanction should not be given by the legis- 

 lature to incurring the necessary expenses for this purpose. 



Report of the Committee, consisting of Professor Sidgwick, Professor 

 FoxwELL, the Rev. W. Cunningham, and Professor Munro {Secre- 

 tary), on the Regulation of Wages by means of Sliding Scales. 



With the object of obtaining definite information on the working of 

 sliding scales, your Committee issued a circular to associations of 

 mine-owners and miners in different parts of the country asking for 

 detailed answers on certain aspects of sliding scales. Owing to various 

 causes, as yet only a few replies have been received. These replies are, 

 however, very valuable, as they clearly show that each scale has special 

 characteristics of its own, and that no comparison can be instituted be- 

 tween the various scales without taking into account the exact circum- 

 stances under which each scale was framed. For instance, in some 

 districts special allowances in the way of a free house and coal are made 

 to miners, whilst in other districts no such allowances are made. The 

 replies received by your Committee tend to show that in the last-men- 

 tioned districts the non-allowance of a free house and coal was taken 

 into account when the standard rates of wages were fixed, and thus an 

 apparent inequality in two scales is definitely explained. 



1. The original standards seem all to have been fixed on a common prin- 

 ciple, viz., to take the price of coal then realised, and the wages then paid, 

 as representing a fair and equitable division of the produce between the 

 mine-owner and the miner, and as giving as high a wage as the industry 

 could then afford. Some districts adopted the price of all coal sold, 

 other districts the price of all coal raised, as the standard price. All 

 the coal that is raised from a mine is not necessarily sold, as out of every 

 100 tons raised, about twenty tons are not available for the market, part 

 being refuse, part being consumed by the engines that work the mine, 

 and in some cases part going to the miners. No attempt was made to 

 reduce wages to a level, the wages payable at every mine being taken as 

 the standard wage. The real economic difficulty in framing the scale 

 began when it had to be determined what proportion of a rise or fall in 

 price should go to the men and what to the mine-owners. Both parties 

 contemplated a rise rather than a fall in prices, and the changed condi- 

 tions of the coal and iron industry have exposed the scales to some oppo- 

 sition, but their wise revision from time to time has maintained their 

 influence with both masters and men. 



2. (a) Free house and firing are usually given in addition to the 

 wages mentioned in the scales, and in Cumberland, where there are no 

 such allowances, compensation is given by the scale itself in the form of 

 higher rates. 



Apart from this, local considerations may add to or diminish the 

 standard wages. For instance, if the working of the mine becomes more 



