STATISTICS AND ADMINISTRATION. 455 
in addition to his other duties, could assume responsibility (under the 
heads of the administration) for the enforcement of labour laws in these 
provinces. If the responsibility of the Government of India for the direct 
administration of labour matters is diminished, it would be possible to 
sive secretariat duties to the Labour Commissioner, and his post 
could thus be similar to that of the Educational Commissioner with the 
Government of India. Here, asin the provinces, much of the work that 
would fall on the Labour Commissioner is already discharged by other 
agencies, and the creation of the appointment should set free the time of 
other officers for other duties. Additional staff, however, would be re- 
quired for the statistical work. The central and provincial Commis- 
sioners should be able to travel about and should be encouraged to do so. 
Labour Ministers. 
The responsibility for policy naturally lies with Government and 
must remain there. We anticipate that in future Ministers will be respon- 
sible for labour questions, and suggestions have been made to us that, in 
some provinces at least, there should be actual Ministers of Labour, whose 
primary or sole concern would be with labour. We do not feel competent 
to advise on the question of the strength of the ministry in any 
province or in the Central Government. This must depend on con- 
siderations outside our scope. But we believe that the subject will 
require much more attention than it has received in the past, and 
it is doubtful if Ministers will be able to devote adequate attention to 
labour if it be combined with finance or the administration of law and 
order in one portfolio. We suggest that, at least in the more import- 
ant industrial provinces, labour should be mentioned in the designation of 
the Minister concerned. There is something in a name, and the fact that 
a Minister is designated as responsible for labour will encourage him to 
see and the public to expect that labour matters receive adequate atten- 
tion from his Department.