STATISTICS AND ADMINISTRATION. 453 
Labour and the Government of India. 
In the Government of India the bulk of the labour questions is 
dealt with by the Department of Industries and Labour, which is the 
charge of a Member of the Governor General’s Executive Council, and 
has as its administrative head a Secretary to Government. Here the or- 
ganisation is similar to that in the provinces. The Department deals 
with a great variety of subjects, such as Posts and Telegraphs, Public 
Works, Civil Aviation, Patents and Copyright and Broadcasting. Ques- 
Lions relating to labour in docks, in transport by sea or inland water 
are primarily the concern of the Commerce Department and railway 
labour questions go to the Railway Department. The Department of 
Education, Health and Lands is responsible for the emigration of labour 
outside India and questions of health. In the Chief Inspector of Mines, 
the Department of Industries and Labour has a source of adequate advice 
on all subjects relating to mining labour, butit hasno specialist to advise 
on such subjects as factories, workmen's compensation, trade unions, trade 
disputes, international labour matters and many other subjects that may 
arise. For guidance on many labour subjects, Government is dependent 
on the co-ordination of advice from the provinces, which is usually 
obtained in the manner described in the next chapter. 
Labour Commissioners. 
The gaps in the existing system are obvious and, in dealing with 
such subjects as workmen’s compensation, trade disputes and statistics, 
we have already made recommendations designed to remedy the defici- 
encies. But an equally serious defect is the lack of co-ordination of 
labour activities within most Governments. What is urgently required 
is for the administration of labour subjects everywhere to be brought 
bo a common point. At that point there should be expert advice and 
experience at the disposal of Government. The great majority of 
questions relating to labour administration can be best dealt with in 
each Government by a single office, and if this is suitably constituted, 
there will be a considerable saving in personnel, an efficient instrument 
for administration and a valuable adjunct for the evolution of policy. 
We recommend therefore that in every province, with the exception 
of Assam, there should be a Labour Commissioner. We except Assam 
because industrial labour here is unimportant apart from plantations, 
and for these we have recommended adequate provision in other ways. 
The Labour Commissioner should be a selected officer, and he should 
hold the appointment for a comparatively long period, preferably not 
less than five years. 
Duties of Provincial Labour Commissioner. 
In most provinces this officer, with a small office staff, should be 
able to undertake responsibility for the administration of all labour sub- 
jects, The scope of these subjects may be varied: by constitutional 
changes ; but we can illustrate our purpose by saying that, in the existing 
allocation of provincial subiects, the same officer might be responsible