"THE SPIRIT OF THE ACT"

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 35, 10 August 1921, Page 5

"THE SPIRIT OF THE ACT"

It is interesting to notice that the Arbitration Court has expressed its intention to disregard statute law when, it conflicts -with the ideas of-membersj of the Court In a case, at Invercavgill, on the 29th July, objection was tal*n to the.granting. of a bonus to .journalists on the ground that-the award was made since the granting 'of tihe- November bonus, and in fixing the wages in the award the increased cost |of living to 30th September," 1920, had been taken into consideration. The counsel for employers pointed out that section 18 of the War Legislation Act. 1918, was mandatory, and a clear restriction of the Court's discretion to' any,: increase of the cost of living since tba date of the award. When that section was re^ pealed by seotion' 8 of the Act of 1920, the phrase "siwCe the date of the award" was repeated, showing clearly that the intention-pf the Legislature was that awards should be altered by the Court in respect only to increases which occurred after the date of the": award. Mr. Justice Frnzer said there could be 1 no doubt as to the interpretation of the statute —it was as counsel had,stated it. Mr. M'Cnllough (worker's assessor) added that it might be of interest to know that the Supreme Court Judges to whom the point had been referred, agreed that the Court legally could only take into consideration increases in the cost of living since the date of the award. The Court considered, however, that if it consented to be bound by the letter of. the. Act very serkius, injustice to large bodies of workers would result, and it, therefore, interpreted the Act to mean any increase in the cost of living "ascertained" since the date of- the award. As this waf imparting a ,word and a meaning that were riot there, counsel's comment was: "In other words, the .(joiirt'has found a method of evading the Act," and his Honour said it might be put that way, but it was necessary for the Court to fulfil the spirit rather than the letter of the Act. The Court, therefore, awarded the bonus from Ist May, 1921, as the journalists lost six months of it in. consequence of their delay in making the application. 1