§ Mr. WILKIEasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that a complaint has been made to his Department that the firm of Messrs. Richards, Limited, Aberdeen, was not complying with the Fair-Wages Clause in the wages paid for hackling work; that the firm in question is the only one of its kind in 206 Aberdeen; that a firm in Dundee doing similar work pay wages four and five shillings more per week than the Aberdeen firm; whether he will state the grounds on which his Department came to the decision that the Fair-Wages Clause was not being violated; whether the reputation of the firm was taken into consideration in coming to a decision on the matter; and will he state why it took nine months for his Department to investigate the case and come to such decision?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThe reply to the first and second parts of the question is in the affirmative; to the third part, that the firm referred to appear to have gone out of business, and their successors are not at present working the hackling machines; to the fourth part, that a full investigation of rates and local conditions was made in the nearest industrial districts, and the conclusion was arrived at on a review of all the details, that there was no ground for intervention under the Fair-Wages Clause in the Aberdeen case; to the fifth part, that all material factors in the case were fully considered; to the sixth part, that the heavy pressure of other important inspection and investigation work made it impracticable to detach an investigating officer at an earlier date; but I may add that the adequacy of the inspecting staff is receiving our attention.