when it became difficult to obtain domestic helps, more situations were offering than there were applicants to fill. In 1901–2, for instance, 631 employers applied for servants, and the branch only placed 219 women and girls. It was decided at the end of 1904 to close this branch, as the small number of servants who applied did not justify its further existence.
Mr. W. P. Reeves was the first Minister for Labour, and he remained in office from 1891 to 1896. When he went Home, in the latter year, Mr. Seddon took the portfolio, and held it until his death. From the date the department was established until Mr. Seddon’s death, it helped 45,084 men to obtain employment. These men had 84,631 dependants, and the department claims that it has given timely and practical help to 129,715 persons. The following table gives particulars of the department’s operations in this direction:—
| Year. | Total. | Married. | Single. | Dependants. | Private work. | Government Work. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1891–92 | 2,593 | 1,054 | 1,539 | 4,729 | 1,730 | 863 |
| 1892–93 | 3,874 | 1,808 | 2,066 | 7,842 | 2,518 | 1,356 |
| 1893–94 | 3,341 | 1,836 | 1,505 | 7,942 | 1,019 | 2,322 |
| 1894–95 | 3,030 | 2,007 | 1,023 | 8,883 | 894 | 2,136 |
| 1895–96 | 2,871 | 1,880 | 991 | 8,424 | 708 | 2,163 |
| 1896–97 | 1,718 | 1,084 | 634 | 4,719 | 652 | 1,066 |
| 1897–98 | 2,035 | 1,163 | 872 | 4,928 | 544 | 1,491 |
| 1898–99 | 2,115 | 1,178 | 937 | 4,759 | 638 | 1,477 |
| 1899–1900 | 2,147 | 1,115 | 1,032 | 4,471 | 486 | 1,661 |
| 1900–1 | 3,124 | 1,326 | 1,798 | 5,432 | 519 | 2,605 |
| 1901–2 | 1,830 | 713 | 1,117 | 2,747 | 396 | 1,434 |
| 1902–3 | 3,704 | 1,492 | 2,212 | 5,934 | 580 | 3,124 |
| 1903–4 | 2,860 | 777 | 2,083 | 3,085 | 1,216 | 1,644 |
| 1904–5 | 3,130 | 953 | 2,177 | 3,425 | 1,960 | 1,170 |
| 1905–6 | 6,712 | 2,027 | 4,685 | 7,351 | 1,929 | 4,783 |
| 45,084 | 20,413 | 24,671 | 84,631 | 15,789 | 29,295 |
The State in New Zealand has more power, is more inquisitive and interfering, and more insistent on its rights and privileges, in agricultural pursuits than in any other department of the colony’s industries. The first Dairy Act, passed in the second year of the Ballance Administration, established a standing army of experts and inspectors, who carry out a thorough system of inspection and investigation. They possess
