COAL VEND CASE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1813, 28 July 1913, Page 9

COAL VEND CASE.

APPEAL DISMISSED,

PRIVY COUNCIL FINDS NO ILLEGALITY. INTERESTING JUDGMENT. By Telegraph—l'rofs Association—Copyright (Kcc. July 27, 5.5 p.m.) London, July 26. The Privy Council has dismissed tho appeal of tho Commonwealth in tho famous Coal Vend case, and sustained tho judgment of tho High Court that no offence had been proved against the forty shipping and colliery companies forming the Coal Vend. Tho particular case heard on appoal was that of the Commonwealth versus the Adelaide Steamship Company. Lord Justico Parker delivered tho reasons of the Privy Council for dismissing the appeal, and stated that a mere intention to raise prices did not prove any intention to injure the public. There was no trace in the Vend agreement of any intention to raise the price of coal to an unreasonable extent. There was still less justification for referring to tho alleged unlawful intention of tho shipping agreement, seeing that the; companies were still open to undersell each other. Their Lordships, amongst other points, 6tated that they were unable to accept tho Crown's proposition that all contracts and combinations were in restraint of trade and commerce. If this were true, tho effect of tho Act would bo that no trades union would be freo from the risk of being proceeded against. Their Lordships cannot believe that tho Legislature intended to make the existence of trado unions dependenton tho economic views of the Government for the timo being. They considered that some of the provisions of the agreement wero really advantageous to the consumers, and tended to ensure a reasonably sttady supply of coal. It was impossible to infer illegal intention from what had actually been done under tho agreements, though it mußt not be supposed that their Lordships approved everything that had been done in pursuance of tho agreements. The LoTd Chancellor, Lord Shaw, and Lord Moulton assented.

There 'wero in all 40 defendants in tTTo Coal Vend case, tho number comprising both colliery and shipping companies. The penalties imposed by Mr. Justice Isaacs aggregated ,£19,500, and tlio law costs, which tho defendants were ordered to pay, were estimated at over ,£30,000. Thus the total bill to bo discharged ran to ,£50,000 and over. Tho companies wero charged with having formed a trust in contravention to the law. In Mr. Justico Isaacs's opinion tho full amount of the penalty ivas not too much for tho least of tho offences proved, ami, accordingly, ho imposed a ixno of .£SOO on each and overy defendant proceeded against', except tho defendant called tho Associated Northern Collieries. He oxcepted {his defendant because, though in a sense it was a separate organisation and had appeared as such, yc-t in effect all its members were fined to tho statutory limit, and it would be unfair, and a virtual excess of Parliament's intentions, to fine them again indirectly through the association. The companies appealed from this decision to tho High Court, which gavo judgment in September last upsotting tlio decision of Mr. Justice Isaacs. The Court was unanimously of opinion that the Crown had failed to pravo intent on the part of tho members of tho Vend to cause ■detriment to tho public, nor was there any proof that detriment to the public had ocourrod.