INDUSTRIES CONNECTED WITH THE PRODUCTION OF Light, Industries connected with the production of fuel, heat, and light do not afford employment to many hands. The following table shows 3,716 hands, of whom 2,331 are employed in gas-works, 797 in electric-lighting works, 319 in coke-making, and 269 in manufacturing matches. Gassupply gives employment to far more persons than the table showspossibly to twice as many-but the additional hands are not employed in gas making, but in laying down pipes and other work connected with gas supply. Only in New South Wales is the number of hands employed in each industry specified. The coke-workers in Victoria are included with hands employed in gas-works, and coke workers and hands employed in electric-lighting are grouped together in Queensland. The number of hands employed in manufacturing candles is not included in the following table. The soap and candle industries are usually worked together, so that it is not possible to separate the hands employed, which are accordingly classified under the heading of soap and candle workers, in the last group of the series. In view of the magnitude attained by gas-works in the various states, the following particulars as to the quantity of coal used and gas made during 1901, may prove interesting:--- Under the heading of miscellaneous are grouped a very large number of manufactures, many of them small, but some of them of considerable importance; amongst the latter may be mentioned-tobacco manufactories, employing 3,017 hands; chaff-cutting and corn-crushing, 1,845 hands; chemical, drug, and patent medicine factories, 1,147 hands; glass-works, 1,108 hands; rope-works, 902 hands; and soap and candle works, 1,763 hands. Further particulars regarding these and the other industries included in the list will be found in the Statistical Registers of the various states. The incorporation of so many diverse trades in one class is not satisfactory, but the use of a general grouping of this kind could only have been avoided by minute sub-divisions of less utility than the table here presented. It will be observed that for many industries no employment is shown for Tasmania. It is hardly to be supposed that such is the case, but the statistics of the island do not furnish any details, probably owing to the fact that the returns were not collected. The greatest employment in this class is afforded by tobacco factories, and particulars regarding the quantity of tobacco, cigars, and cigarettes made will be found in the chapter on "Food Supply and Cost of Living." Another important industry is soap and candle-making; the following table shows the quantity of soap and candles manufactured in each state during 1901 :: The relative development of the industries of the states may be measured by the information shown in the following table, in which the industries are arranged in three classes, viz. :-First, those connected with the treatment of perishable products for domestic consumption; second, those dependent upon the natural resources of the country; and, third, those the production of which comes into competition with imported goods : PLANT EMPLOYED IN MANUFACTORIES. The character of the industry chiefly determines the horse-power required and the value of the plant. Thus, in the clothing industries, the average number of persons per 100 horse-power is 892; in industries connected with the preparation of food and drink, the average is only 61. The value of the plant, compared with the horse-power, also varies greatly as between the different industries. In industries associated with building materials, the value of plant is only about £71 per horse-power; in furniture trades, £90; while in gas-making it is about £1,610. The following is a statement of the amount of horse-power and value of plant employed in the various groups of industries, according to the classification used in the foregoing pages : Similar information for each state of the Commonwealth is given below: |
