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CHAPTER XXI. 
Preliminary Investigation. 
To sum up. The evidence before us discloses no practical diffi- 
culty that cannot be surmounted by a proper choice of the methods and 
due care in their application. We do not, however, suggest that wage- 
fixing machinery should be inaugurated without further enquiry and 
investigation, which may disclose other difficulties to be overcome. 
We would emphasise the importance of inviting the co-operation of the 
industry at this stage as their practical experience should minimise the 
difficulties and be of great assistance in the prosecution of the enquiry. 
In the present case, a substantial amount of the material necessary to 
reach a decision is already available, and the extent of the investigation 
necessary is eorrespondingly reduced. Inthe first place, adequate infor- 
mation is already at hand regarding the distribution of the industry, 
the extent of its organisation, the scale of the different establishments, 
the amount of combination among employers and workers and the extent 
of employment of men, women and children respectively. So far as 
wages are concerned, particulars are also available regarding the methods 
of remuneration, but there is not sufficient material regarding the actual 
rates paid, and particularly the variations in this respect between district 
and district and between garden and garden. The securing of this informa- 
tion is necessary not only as a basis for the ultimate rates, but in order 
to determine the precise form of the machinery which should be adopted. 
In particular, an analysis of the rates should indicate the form of wage- 
fixing machinery best suited to the requirements of the industry, 7.e., 
whether there should be one Board with representative advisory com- 
mittees in each district or whether there should be a number of separate 
Boards with a central co-ordinating link. Whichever course is ultimately 
adopted, there must be an assurance that the rates are everywhere fixed 
with close regard to local conditions. 
Collection of Returns. : 
The first necessity, the, is the securing of adequate material 
regarding the rates of remuneration. The existing wage statistics are 
inadequate for this purpose, owing chiefly to the lack of any correlation 
between the earnings of the worker and his hours of work. Some 
expert assistance will be essential, and, so far as we are aware, there are 
at present no specialists in the subject in Assam itself. It will be neces- 
sary, therefore, either to secure the services of some one with experience 
of the working of wage-fixing machinery, or to arrange for a selected 
officer in Assam to acquire the requisite experience. Thereafter, Gov- 
ernment should notify its intention to call for wage returns covering a 
period of at least twelve months, so as to include all classes of work under- 
taken in the different seasons. The form of the return to be submitted 
should be the same throughout Assam. To be of any value, the return 
must show the number of male, female and child workers employed 
each month, whether permanently or temporarily, the wages earned by 
each such group and as near an approximation as possible to the hours 
actually worked for those wages. It has been represented to us that a