S.I. No. 103/1933 - The Statistics (Census of Distributions) Order, 1933.

STATUTORY RULES AND ORDERS. 1933. No. 103.

THE STATISTICS (CENSUS OF DISTRIBUTIONS) ORDER, 1933.

THE STATISTICS (CENSUS OF DISTRIBUTION) ORDER, 1933, MADE BY THE MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE UNDER SUB-SECTION (1) OF SECTION 16 of THE STATISTICS ACT, 1926 .

WHEREAS it is provided by sub-section (1) of Section 16 of the Statistics Act, 1926 , that the Minister for Industry and Commerce may, by order, do all or any of the following things, that is to say :

(a) Prescribe the subject-matter, nature, character and periodicity of the statistics to be collected under this Act, and the time at or the occasion on which the same are to be collected ;

(b) prescribe, subject to the provisions of this section, the person or classes of persons by whom returns are to be made or information is to be given for the purpose of any statistics collected under this Act ;

(c) make regulations for the collection, compilation, abstraction, or publication of statistics generally or any particular class or classes of statistics under this Act ;

(d) prescribe the schedules, forms, instructions and other documents to be used in the collection, compilation, abstraction, or publication of statistics generally or of any particular class or classes of statistics under this Act ;

(e) prescribe any matter or thing which is referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed by regulations made under this Act.

NOW, therefore, the Minister for Industry and Commerce, in pursuance of the powers conferred on him by sub-section (1) of Section 16 of the Statistics Act, 1926 , and all other powers enabling him in that behalf, does hereby order :

1. Statistics in respect of the year 1933 shall be collected in the year 1934 of the following subject-matter, nature and character, that is to say, with respect to wholesale and retail distribution, the information, returns and particulars set out in the Schedule hereto.

2. The following are the persons or classes of persons by whom returns are to be made or information is to be given for the purpose of the said statistics, that is to say, every person carrying on a wholesale or retail distribution of goods or services.

3. The said statistics shall be collected by means of, and in the manner provided by, the form and instructions set out in the Schedule hereto.

4. The forms and instructions shall be transmitted by post on or before the 31st day of January in the year 1934 to all persons by whom returns are to be made or information is to be given in respect of the preceding year, and shall be returned duly filled up and completed by such persons by post, on or before the 15th day of March following.

5. The Interpretation Act, 1923 , applies to the interpretation of this Order in like manner as it applies to the interpretation of any Act of the Oireachtas.

6. This Order may be cited for all purposes as the Statistics (Census of Distribution) Order, 1933.

By Order of the Minister for Industry and Commerce. Dated this eighth day of September, 1933.

(Signed) JOHN LEYDON,

Secretary,

Department of Industry and Commerce.

SCHEDULE.

CENSUS OF DISTRIBUTION, 1933.

I. Description of Establishment :—

(a) Give approximate date (year) of original establishment of this business or branch, if known	.....................
(b) Give approximate date (year) when the business came under the present ownership	.....................
(c) Is business owned in Saorstát? (Yes or No.)	.....................
(If more than half the capital invested in the business is owned by a person or persons permanently residing in Saorstát Eireann the business will be regarded for the purpose of this return as " owned in Saorstát ")
(d) Does the proprietor of this establishment own or operate other establishments in the same line of business in the Saorstát? (Yes or No)	.....................

II. Description of Business :—

(a) Kind of business	...................
(Usual designation : for example, grocery, drapery, public-house, etc.)
(b) To help us to understand exactly the kind of business you are doing, state below the principal lines of goods sold or handled or services rendered, in order of their importance based on selling value.
(Lists of items of goodsdealt in should not be given,but only general descriptions of the business, see Instruction 6 on page 6. If your business is fully described at II(a) and you are not engaged in more than one of the descriptions of businesses listed at Instruction6, no entry whatever should be made here in Section II(b).)

1. ............................................	5. ............................................
2. ............................................	6. ............................................
3. ............................................	7. ............................................
4. ............................................	8. ............................................

III. Persons Engaged, and Salaries, Wages and Commissions Paid :—

(a) Persons engaged in the business in the week ended 14th October, 1933 :—	Male.	Female.	Total.
(1) Proprietors working in the business	............	............	............
(2) Members of proprietor's family working in the business	............	............	............
(3) Other persons engaged	............	............	............
(4) Total persons engaged	............	............	............
(In case of Limited Companies (1) and (2) should be left blank.)

(b) Wages, salaries and commissions paid during the year 1933	£................
(Stated or regular salaries of proprietors or firm members as well as salaries of managing directors, etc., for working in the business should be included. Profits drawn by proprietors or firm members should be excluded.)
(c) Number of persons (average for a year) to whom these wages, salaries and commissions were paid	........................................
(At (c) the figure should indicate the approximate average number, throughout the year, of paid employees and may be ascertained by averaging the figures for 12 representative weeks throughout the year, i.e. one week in each month.)

IV. Sales of Merchandise and Services :—

What were your total sales in the year 1933 ?
(a) For goods sold, retail	£......................................
(b) For goods sold, wholesale	£.....................................
(c) For services rendered	£......................................
(Restaurants should return sales of meals and sales of confectionery, etc., together at (a) : hotels should return receipts from hotel business proper as well as receipts from their restaurants and bars at (c), but all other retail sales, if any, at (a) : manufacturers' agents should return total sales on commission (and not commissions received) at (b) : garages should return retail sales of petrol, tyres, etc., at (a) and hire of vehicles at (c).)

V. Rent (Together with Rates) paid for premises during the year 1933	£...................
Does this figure include rent and rates of dwelling-house or part thereof attached to business premises ? (Yes or No)	.......................

VI. Stocks on Hand for Sale :—

(a) Values of merchandise on hand at end of year 1933	£.................
(b) Values of merchandise on hand at end of year 1932	£.................
(The values inserted should be based on the actual purchase prices or the replacement values, whichever are the lower, at the end of the respective years.)

CERTIFICATE.

I hereby declare that the information contained in this return is complete and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and belief. The return covers the period from....................to....................

............................................................ ....................

(Signature of person furnishing information.)

............................................................ ...........

(Description—Owner, Director,

Accountant, etc.)

............................................................ ...

(Date.)

Name of Establishment.......................................................

Address of Establishment.......................................................

.......................................................

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS.

1. Six weeks are allowed for the completion of this return which is to be forwarded in the enclosed envelope, post free. The earlier the results of this Census of Distribution become available the more valuable they will be. Accordingly, do not delay the furnishing of your return.

2. The returns are required for statistical purposes only. While the figures should be substantially accurate, absolute exactness, such as is essential in business accounts, is not required. If exact figures cannot be furnished, the best estimates practicable should be given.

3. All returns should relate to the calendar year 1933 or to the accounting year most nearly conforming to the calendar year. Reports should, if possible, cover the full year's operation even if ownership changed.

4. A separate return should be prepared for each shop or distributing agency. Combined returns for two or more establishment, even if owned by the same person, situated in the same town and conducting the same type of business, cannot be accepted.

5. Where a wholesale or retail distributing business is carried on in conjunction with a manufacturing business, the particulars furnished on this form should be confined to the distributing part of the business. Employees engaged exclusively on manufacturing should be excluded. Employees engaged partly in both branches of the business and the wages, salaries and commission paid to them should be apportioned as accurately as possible in Section III of the form.

6. Kind of Business.

When filling in Section II(b) of the return the following list of " lines of goods sold " may be of assistance as indicating the appropriate type of descriptions to be entered in the spaces provided ;—

Fish and dead poultry.	Tobacco and newspapers.
Eggs and live poultry.	Coal.
Fresh meat.	Drugs, druggists' sundries.
Milk and dairy products.	Metals, metal goods and tools.
Grain and forage.	Cycles and motors.
Bread and cakes.	Jewellery, watches and clocks.
Sweets.	General drapery.
Grocery and provisions.	Boots and shoes.
Vegetables and fruits.	Furniture.
Paper and stationery.

7. Sales of Merchandise and Services.

In Section IV should be reported the total receipts, less deductions for returned goods, for all goods sold during the year. If the business establishment reporting does not keep books of record, the total sales must be estimated on the most practical basis. It may be necessary to do this on the basis of average daily sales or daily bank deposits. No particulars of profits are required.