public houses, restaurants, or eating houses may be allowed to commence their holiday at 2.30 P.M.

Women and young persons under 16 years of age must not be employed longer than nine hours a day or 53 hours per week.

A storekeeper is not liable if he can prove that the offence was committed by another person against his orders after exercising all reasonable care to see that the law is observed; penalties range from $25 for first offence to $250 for a second or any subsequent conviction.

Exempt stores are: Druggists, restaurants, eating houses, and places of refreshment, cooked meat stores, confectioners, butchers, fish and oyster stores, bakers, fruit stores, vegetable stores, dairies, hairdressers, tobacconists, newspaper and news agents, stationers and booksellers, railway bookstalls, florists, undertakers, and public houses.

Tasmania.

With the exception of the Women and Children Employment Act of 1884, the attempts which have been made to pass laws in Tasmania regulating the hours of labor in factories and stores have been unsuccessful. An Eight Hours Bill passed the Legislative Assembly on two occasions, but was rejected by the Legislative Council. An Early Closing Bill which was supported by the larger stores, and condemned by the smaller, was accepted by the Lower House, but was rejected when it reached the Council. A Conciliation and Arbitration Bill was also introduced in the Legislative Assembly, but owing to the lateness of the session it was withdrawn.

The Women and Children Employment Act provides that a woman shall mean any person of the female sex over 18 years of age, not a domestic servant. "Child" means any boy or girl under the age of 14 years. Persons under 12 years of age are not permitted to be employed in a factory. Women must not be employed for more than 10 hours in any one day, nor children for more than eight hours, with an interval of one hour for a meal. During the months of January, February, March, and December in each year, there is nothing to prevent the employment of children in jam factories for nine hours a day; neither is there anything to prevent the limit of employment of saleswomen in retail stores. on Saturday evenings.

Provision is made for sitting accommodation for saleswomen, and also for proper sanitary arrangements in the factories and stores. The enforcement of the Act is in the hands of the Superintendent or Chief Officer of Police. Penalties up to $150 may be imposed for violation. This Act has been allowed to fall into disuse.

There is a system of voluntary closing of stores on Wednesday afternoon at one P.M. in the larger towns, and it is well observed. The bulk close at six P.M. during the week, and 10 P.M. on Saturdays, but, the arrangement being of a voluntary nature, all do not observe these hours. Artisans and some other tradesmen usually work from 50 to 54 hours a week.

INDUSTRIAL STUDIES, No. 2.

PROPRIETORS.

In Labor Bulletin No. 28 the first of these Industrial Studies was presented, Agriculture being the industry considered. This second study relates to Proprietors. By the term "Proprietors" is meant manufacturers and other employers of labor engaged in productive industries.

The presentation is divided into two parts, one relating to male proprietors and the other to female. In each of these parts is specified the number of proprietors who are native born of native descent, native born of foreign descent, or foreign born. In that for male proprietors, two other specifications are given, one relating to foreign born, naturalized, and the other to foreign born, alien.

The column headed " Foreign Born," in the tables which follow, requires some explanation. In the case of males it includes all under 21 years of age, also those naturalized non-voters who had resided in the town in which they were enumerated less than six months or who had lived in the Commonwealth for less than one year. In the case of females, it includes all those of foreign birth, of whatever age.

The nativity classification of the proprietors, by sex, engaged in each industry or branch of industry can be seen easily from the table, but particular attention may be called to a number of representative industries in order to show the full bearing of the statistics contained in it.

We give our first consideration to the male proprietors. In the boot and shoe industry, we find 1,646 proprietors of native birth and 239 of foreign birth, out of a total of 1,885.

Of 8,210 proprietors in the building industries, 5,326 are of native birth and 2,884 of foreign birth; of the building contractors, 1,466 in number, 924 are of native birth and 542 of foreign birth; employing carpenters number 1,788, of whom 1,118 are of native birth and 670 are of foreign birth; the employing masons (including brick and stone masons) number 629, there being 424 of native birth and 205 of foreign birth; of the 1,354 employing painters, 933 are of native birth and 421 of foreign birth; the employing plumbers number 689, of whom 504 are of native birth and 185 of foreign birth; 217 masons (contractors) are of native birth and 139 of foreign birth, out of a total of 356.

Of the 770 manufacturers of carriages and wagons, 552 are of native birth and 218 of foreign birth.

There are 1,317 proprietors reported as being engaged in carrying on the clothing business, 879 being classed as employers, and 438 as manufacturers; the employers, probably, doing work largely by contract or sub-contract; of the 879 employers, 308 are of native birth and 571 of foreign birth; of the 438 manufacturers of clothing, those of native birth number 239 and those of foreign birth 199.

The cotton goods manufacturers number 152, of whom 129 are of native birth and 23 of foreign birth.

There are 101 employers of labor in the comparatively new industry called "Electrical Apparatus and Appliances," of whom 85 are of native birth and 16 of foreign birth.