In Melbourne, as in New Zealand, the first impulse towards the legal fixing of a minimum wage came from a newspaper. That powerful organ, the _Age_, for many years continued to print articles on the subject of underpayment and bad conditions of work. A Royal Commission was appointed and made a Report as early as 1884, but no practical reforms were attempted. The _Age_ continued its crusade. In 1893 a Board of Inquiry was appointed and the evidence taken by that body showed the state of the workers in several trades to be deplorable. In 1895 an Anti-Sweating League was formed and, finally, in 1896, a new Factory and Shops Act was passed, of which the most remarkable clauses were those dealing with the establishment of Wage Boards. Provision was made for the appointment of special boards “to fix wages and piece work rates for persons employed either inside or outside factories in making clothing or wearing apparel or furniture, or in bread making or baking, or in the business of a butcher or seller of meat.”[87] Permission was also given by the Act for the appointment of similar boards in other trades “provided a resolution has been passed by either House[88] declaring it is expedient to appoint such a Board.” These Boards consist of not less than four nor more than ten members, half of whom are elected by employers and half by employees, or, failing election, are appointed by the Governor in Council. The methods by which the members of Wage Boards are elected is extraordinarily cumbrous and could scarcely be imitated in any large industrial community. The latest regulations for such elections (dated Feb. 19, 1906) are embodied in no less than 28 clauses. In each specified trade two electoral rolls must be prepared by the factory inspectors, the one including names and addresses of all workers, the other those of all employers. In order to facilitate the compilation of this trade census, all employers are required to send to the inspectors lists of the workpeople employed by them. Candidates must be nominated by 10 employers or by 25 employees; and voting papers are printed containing the names of all the candidates.