had under consideration the question of the qualifications, recruitment. and status of home teachers. It is important that a high standard of efficiency should be maintained in the work of outdoor societies, and we have accordingly made arrangements with the College of Teachers of the Blind for the holding of examinations for certification of home teachers. In our circular, dated 27th March, intimating these arrangements to local authorities and voluntary agencies, we considered it desirable to lay down that all home teachers who may be appointed on or after 1st April, 1923, shall, as a condition of their appointment, be required to pass the examination within two years from the date of their appointment. It was, however, not made obligatory on existing home teachers to take the examination. During the year we approved the appointments of two wholetime teachers. TECHNICAL TRAINING. The Scottish Advisory Committee on the Welfare of the Blind made recommendations to us in regard to the training of blind persons. The recommendations were to the effect that (1) blind persons should be trained either in two of the less skilled trades or in one skilled trade; (2) there should be a uniform period of five years for technical training in all normal cases (the period of technical education between the ages of 16 and 18 to be included as part of the course of training), but that persons commencing training at a later period of life should normally be trained to one of the less skilled trades or be employed on unskilled work; and (3) the period of training should be five years in the skilled trades and three years in the less skilled trades. We concurred in the Advisory Committee's recommendations and forwarded them to the Scottish Education Department. We were pleased to learn that that Department communicated the recommendations to the education authorities for their information. MISCELLANEOUS. The Arthur Pearson Memorial Fund remitted to us for distribution among charities for the blind in Scotland a proportional share of their final balance amounting to £597, 12s. 11d., and we have at present under consideration the recommendation of the Scottish Advisory Committee as to the allocation of the money. The Advisory Committee have also made certain recommendations to us on the question of the medical certification of blind persons which are receiving our attention. By the South-West of Scotland Blind Asylum Order Confirmation Act, 1923, which received the Royal Assent on 18th July, 1923, the Royal Glasgow Asylum was, as from that date, transferred to and vested in the Corporation of the City of Glasgow for and on behalf of the local authorities in the Combination of Councils in the south-west of Scotland. Under the regulations governing grants in aid of the welfare of the blind, we have given our approval to a third scheme of assistance to home workers. We also approved the amalgamation of the Mission to the Outdoor Blind of Dumfries and Galloway with the Mission to the Outdoor Blind for Glasgow and the West of Scotland, and the transfer of West Lothian County area from the Society for Teaching the Blind in the Counties of Stirling, Clackmannan and Linlithgow to the Edinburgh Society (including the south-east of Scotland) for Promoting Reading among the Adult Blind. We have also approved, under Section 2 (1) of the Blind Persons Act, various miscellaneous services undertaken by local authorities for which no provision was made in their schemes. These services included payments in respect of the maintenance of blind persons undergoing industrial training and contributions to the funds of the National Library for the Blind. In an arbitration submitted to us we stated our opinion, in which the Scottish Education Department concurred, that the provisions of the Blind and Deaf Mute Children Act, 1890, are not abrogated by the Blind Persons Act, 1920. War Charities. During the year we received only two applications in terms of the War Charities (Scotland) Act, 1919, for our consent to schemes. for the disposal of the surplus funds of war charities. These schemes involved the sum of £1441, 14s. 2d. They were received towards the close of the year and had not been disposed of at the 31st December. VI. MISCELLANEOUS. Survey of Unemployment and its Effects. Towards the close of the year we instructed our inspecting staff, including our medical officers, to make special enquiries of representative persons in order that, as the central Department in charge of the administration of relief and of public health, we might have information as to (1) the present position of unemployment, (2) the probable outlook for the immediate future, (3) the effects of the prolonged period of unemployment on the physical welfare, morale and technical skill of the workers, and (4) the effect of idleness as reflected by increase in crime or social unrest. In attempting to describe the situation in the course of the pages which follow we may seem at times to trespass on ground more appropriate to other Departments. The persons consulted by our officers included representative employers, trade union officials, officials of local authorities (including medical officers of health, school medical officers, etc.), chief constables, ministers of religion and persons engaged in the administration of voluntary funds. Necessarily the views expressed by the persons consulted diverge at some points, but in essentials sufficient agreement was reached on most aspects to enable a reasonably true picture of the situation to be presented. We desire to express our appreciation of the willing assistance afforded to our officers by the various persons consulted in the course of the inquiry. Our thanks are also due to those Government Departments who furnished us with information. We propose to deal with various aspects of the problem under certain specified heads: NUMBER OF INSURED PERSONS IN SCOTLAND REGISTERED AS TOTALLY UNEMPLOYED AND AS WORKING SYSTEMATIC SHORT TIME. According to figures furnished by the Ministry of Labour the estimated number of workpeople in Scotland insured under the Unemployment Insurance Acts at 1st October, 1923 (the latest date at which information is available), was approximately 1,299,840, consisting of 893,100 men, 61,210 boys, 299,800 women and 45,730 girls. The average number of insured persons out of employment during the year was 181,491, equivalent to a percentage of nearly 14. The numbers unemployed have varied between a maximum of 214,727 in January and a minimum of 169,720 in December. In addition to those who were wholly unemployed, a number of insured persons have been working systematic short time, but the number concerned is comparatively small. The average number so employed during the year was 8798, representing a percentage of rather less than 0.7. The figures have varied between a maximum of 11,834 in January and a minimum of 6076 in May. The following table shows in detail the numbers and percentages of workpeople registered as totally unemployed and as working systematic short time at the end of each month during the year: * From June onwards the percentages are based on a revised estimate of the numbers of work people insured. 15.3 5.0 9.3 5.0 13.1 7,344 0.6 The following statement shows the estimated number of insured workpeople in the more important industries, together with the numbers and percentages of workpeople registered as totally unemployed at certain dates during the year 1923: Total over all Industries... 1,299,840 173,892 179,327 169,720 Shipbuilding and shiprepairing 160,020 10,495 11,630 11,649 6.6 7.3 7.3 3.2 3.2 20,841 25.0 23.8 22.5 71,780 38,531 38,446 28,319 53.7 53.6 39.5 Building ... Jute 40,520 4,481 4,347 29,470 8,342 7,353 5,387 28.3 25.0 18.3 It will be observed that employment in the coal industry has been particularly good during the whole of the year. The shipbuilding and engineering industries, important key industries affecting many allied trades, have suffered another year of acute depression. The position in the shipyards was, of course, adversely affected throughout the summer months by the shipyard boilermakers' dispute. Following on the settlement of this dispute some improvement was manifested, and at the end of the year the percentage of persons unemployed had fallen to 39.5, compared with. 537 and 536 at the end of June and September respectively. Unemployment in industries allied to the shipbuilding, e.g. marine |