In 47 cases, mostly relating to deaths, lump sums amounting to £5,764 1s. 6d. ($28,050.87) were awarded. In 53 cases, all of which related to disability, weekly payments were awarded. Of the 292 cases coming before the courts 76 related to deaths, 58 to total disability, and 158 to partial disability.

Of the 145 cases under the Employers' Liability Act coming before the sheriff courts during 1899, 5 were decided in favor of the plaintiff, 22 in favor of the defendant, 18 were removed to higher courts, and 100 were otherwise disposed of. Damages were awarded in 5 cases, aggregating £365 ($1,776.27). The solicitors' costs awarded amounted to £485 18s. 1d, ($2,364.65) in 90 cases under the Workmen's Compensation Act and to £186 6s. 9d. ($906.81) in 8 cases under the Employers' Liability Act.

In Ireland, of 59 cases under the Workmen's Compensation Act during 1899, coming before the county courts, 29 were decided by award of the judge, 5 by the acceptance of money paid into court, and 25 were withdrawn or otherwise settled out of court. Of the 34 cases settled in court, 10 were in favor of the defendant and 24 in favor of the plaintiff. In 10 cases mostly relating to deaths, lump sums aggregating £938 10s. (84,567.21) were awarded. In 14 cases of disability weekly payments were awarded. Of the 59 cases coming before the courts 12 related to deaths, 14 to total disability, and 33 to partial disability.

Of the 9 cases under the Employers' Liability Act coming before the county courts, 3 were decided in favor of the plaintiff, 3 in favor of the defendant, and 3 were otherwise disposed of. Damages were awarded in 3 cases, aggregating £58 6s. ($283.72). The solicitors' costs awarded amounted to £82 Ss. 9d. ($401.18) in 16 cases under the Workmen's Compensation Act and to £20 19s. 3d. ($102.01) in 6 cases under the Employers' Liability Act.

The following table shows the cases coming before the county or sheriff courts under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1897, and the Employers' Liability Act, 1880, during 1899, classified according to the nature of employment of the persons concerned:

CASES DURING 1899 COMING BEFORE THE COUNTY OR SHERIFF COURTS UNDER THE WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION ACT, 1897, AND THE EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY ACT, 1880, ACCORDING TO NATURE OF EMPLOYMENT.

There were 54 cases of appeal to the court of appeal under the Workmen's Compensation Act in England and Wales, 23 of which were by workmen and 31 by employers. Of the former 5 were allowed, 13 were dismissed, and 5 were otherwise disposed of, and of the latter 11 were allowed, 14 were dismissed, and 6 were otherwise disposed of. In Scotland there were 18 cases of appeal to the court of session under this act, 7 by workmen and 11 by employers. Of the former 3 were allowed and 4 were dismissed, and of the latter 4 were allowed, 6 were dismissed, and 1 was otherwise disposed of. In Ireland there were 4 cases, 3 by workmen and 1 by employers. The former were dismissed, the latter was allowed.

Under the Employers' Liability Act there were 21 cases appealed to the high court of justice in England and Wales, 8 of which were by workmen and 13 by employers. Of the former 4 were allowed, 3 were dismissed, and 1 was otherwise disposed of. Of the latter 4 were allowed, 7 were dismissed, and 2 were otherwise disposed of. In Scotland there were 51 cases of appeal to the court of session, 50 by workmen and 1 by employers, the latter being dismissed. Of the 50 appeals by workmen, a verdict was given for the workmen in 9 cases, for employers in 5 cases, 31 were otherwise disposed of, and 5 were dismissed. In Ireland there were 2 cases of appeal to the high court of justice, both of which were brought by workmen. One was allowed and the other dismissed.

While the Workmen's Compensation Act requires that memoranda of cases settled by committees, agreed arbitrators, or by agreement should be sent to the registrars of county courts for registration, the cases so reported represent but a very small proportion of the retual number. The cases registered in England and Wales in 1899 numbered 763, of which 651 were settled by agreement, 89 by committees, and 23 by agreed arbitrators. In 130 of these cases lump sums aggregating £14,301 17s. 3§d. ($69,600.02) were awarded, and in 633 cases the awards were for weekly payments. In Scotland 27 cases were registered, 24 of which were settled by agreement and 3 by agreed arbitrators. Lump sums aggregating £2,728 12s. 6d. ($13,278, 85) were awarded in 16 cases. In 11 cases the awards were for weekly payments. In Ireland 13 cases were registered, 11 of which were settled by agreement, and 2 by agreed arbitrators. In 9 cases lump sums aggregating £756 19s. 2d. (83,683.74) were awarded, and in 4 cases the awards were for weekly payments.

There are no statistics showing the actual number of cases in which compensation was paid or claimed under the Workmen's Compensation Act, and there are no official figures which would give even a rough idea of the number of accidents coming within this act. Official statistics of deaths by accident in railways, factories, mines, and quarries in England and Wales show a total of 2,053 during 1899, of which

number but 319, or 15,5 per cent, resulted in claims being carried before the courts for decision.

Up to December 31, 1899, 47 compensation schemes had been certified in England and Wales by the registrar of friendly societies, affecting 130,704 employees. These were distributed among the following industries: Railways, 2 schemes, affecting 41,174 employees; factories, 17 schemes, affecting 16,365 employees; mines, 27 schemes, affecting 72,695 employees; quarries, 1 scheme, affecting 470 employees. One scheme for Government employees was also certified in 1899. In Scotland 2 schemes have been certified, both in 1898. They were both for factories, and affected 2,750 employees.

ITALY.

Relazione sull'applicazione della legge 11 febbraio 1886 sul lavoro dei fanciulli nelle fabbriche e nelle miniere, dal 1° luglio 1896 al 31 dicembre 1898. Camera dei Deputati. Presentata dal Ministro di Agricoltura, Industria e Commercio. 51 pp.

The present report on child labor in Italy was made by the minister of agriculture, industry, and commerce to the Italian chamber of commerce, in accordance with the requirements of the law of February 11, 1886. (a) The information contained in this report is mainly such as is usually found in reports of factory and mine inspectors, showing the number of factories and mines visited, the cases of violation found and prosecuted, etc. It also contains statistics showing the extent of child labor employed in certain industrial establishments and in the mining and metal industries. The report covers the period from July 1, 1896, to December 31, 1898.

The following table gives statistics showing the number of children employed in the mines and factories inspected in 1896, 1897, and 1898:

CHILDREN EMPLOYED IN MINES AND FACTORIES, 1896-1898,

The above table shows an increase in the number of children employed in mining and metal industries during the period, although the proportion of children to total employees shows a decrease from 1896 to 1897. The number and proportion of children from 9 to 10 years, 28 compared with other age groups, show an increase each year. The number and proportion of children in the other industries considered show a considerable decrease from 1897 to 1898. The proportion of children from 9 to 10 and from 10 to 12 years of age shows a decided decrease, while the proportion from 12 to 15 years shows a corresponding increase from 1897 to 1898.

NETHERLANDS.

Verslagen der Kamers van Arbeid over 1899. 95 pp. (Published by the Ministry of Waterstaat, Commerce, and Industry.)

This is a compilation of the material contained in the first annual reports made by the local councils of labor established by royal decree in accordance with an act passed May 2, 1897. (a) It comprises a list of 60 councils of labor organized up to January 1, 1900, showing the date of the royal decree, the date of organization, and the industry for which organized, in each case. Lists and tables compiled from 27 councils reporting, show, in addition, the names and occupations of the members on December 31, 1899, an alphabetical arrangement of the industries represented, the number of persons on the voting lists and the number who voted at the elections, and the number of meetings held by the councils and by the governing boards. Extracts, in text form, from the individual reports are also given.

a For an account of this law showing the purposes, organization, etc., of the e councils of labor sce Bulletin No. 30, pp. 1046-1051.

DECISIONS OF COURTS AFFECTING LABOR.

[This subject, begun in Bulletin No. 2, has been continued in successive issues. All material parts of the decisions are reproduced in the words of the courts, indicated when short by quotation marks and when long by being printed solid. In order to save space, immaterial matter, needed simply by way of explanation, is given in the words of the editorial reviser.]

DECISIONS UNDER STATUTORY LAW.

an

CONSTITUTIONALITY OF CITY ORDINANCE, ETC.-CONTRACTOR TO EMPLOY NONE BUT MEMBERS OF LABOR UNIONS-EIGHT HOURS TO CONSTITUTE A DAY'S LABOR—Fiske v. People ex rel. Raymond, Supreme Court of Illinois, 58 Northeastern Reporter, page 985.-This was application by the people, on the relation of S. B. Raymond, against David E. Fiske, for a judgment of sale for a special assessment for a street improvement. From a judgment for relator, rendered in the county court of Cook County, Ill., the defendant appealed the case to the supreme court of the State which rendered its decision December 20, 1900, and affirmed the judgment of the lower court.

The question of the constitutionality of an ordinance of the city of Chicago, providing that the successful bidders for the doing of any public work or making of any public improvement must agree to hire no employees who were not members of labor unions, was raised in this case as was also a question as to the constitutionality of a provision in the specifications attached to the particular contract in the case to the effect that the contractor must not allow his employees to work more than eight hours in any one day, and that if he should do so his contract should be forfeited.

The court decided that, for certain reasons, these questions had no bearing upon the facts of the case and no influence upon the decision, yet it did state that both the ordinance and the provision of the specifications referred to were unconstitutional and void and on this point the language of the opinion of the court, delivered by Judge Magruder, is as follows:

Undoubtedly the ordinance of October 17, 1898, is unconstitutional and void. The requirement that the bidder for doing the work on a public improvement shall agree to hire only members of labor unions. in the performance of such work, and that, in all contracts executed by the commissioner of public works on behalf of the city, the contractor shall agree to hire only members of labor unions amounts to (a

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