BRINGING THE LIGHT.

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 32, 8 February 1922, Page 7

BRINGING THE LIGHT.

There are one or two Ministers who must be well-nigh worth their weight in gold to the Government of the day. Mr. W. Downie Stewart is one of them, as was proved once again last night during the Committee consideration of tho Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Bill.

: The House has arrived at clause 4,1 which contained an amendment to ' se.ction 90 of the principal Act. Pointing out that section 90 refers to the term of awards, Mr. F. J. Howard (Christchurch South), asked the Minister of Labour if he would be good enough to explain what, the amendment meant. Mr. Anderson replied that this was one of the clauses asked for by the Court. The awards in some portions, ■he said, come into effect at one time and some at another. Thu clause was intended to . make them date from the earliest date on which they would come into force. Labour members-and not a few others appeared mystified. Labour members certainly gave expression to tiieir mys-. tificatiop onf after the other. They argued that the clause apparently meant nothing, whereupon Mr. A. D. M'Leod (Wairarapa) ventured the opinion 'that it would therefore do no harm. Then Sir John Luke (Wellington North) read clause 90 as amended, and amidst dissent claimed it was quite clear—pure machinery. Finally the Minister of Labour rose j once more to his feet to say that it was obvious that the Labour members did not want to understand . the clause. The thing was in plain English, but it was impossible for him to make them understand if they did not want to. Mr. P. Fraser (Wellington Central) took this as an admission that the Mm- . j ister, as far as this clause was conI cemed, wa3 "up against the ropes and practically down and out." It really seemed, he said, that the Government was working on the principle that j "another little clause won't do us any | harm." But that was beneath,the dig- ! nity of the House, and it v/as not treat- I ing members properly to bring down a clause which was not understood. The only thing the Minister could say, added Mr.. Fraser, was.that "the Court had asked for it." A Labour Chorus: -" And that's teaious repetition." Mr. Stewart, who had been in consultation during the episode with the head of the Labour Department, then rose, and was immediately greeted from the Labour benches with cries of " Mr. Stewart to the rescue " and " 8:0.o. Mr. Stewart maintained that the Labour members knew exactly what the clause

meant. | Mr. Howard: " You have just had a | whisper given you." j Mr. Stewart explained that in theM9oß ] Act it-was provided that awards should be framed as should" best express the | opinion of the Court, avoiding all .technicality where possible, and should j specify, among other things, the currency of the award, v/hich must not exceed three, years. That was in the Consolidated Statutes, and then, in the 1908 Amendment, in section 70, it was provided that the Court might direct that any provision of an award relating to wages should have effect as from «uch, date priov to the date 01 the a^crd us the Court thought fit. These Wo provisions, read together, complicated tae position. Although an awaird w&s to run for only three years, the last-mentioned clause, making wages daia back, might give an award which *ovid run for a greater period than three years. Therefore, the amendment then before the House provided thai the _ award period should be calculated, ::> the case which he had suggested, from the date of the change in tho wages. If this were not' done" there would be confusion —one part of an award would run out and another remain in force.

This seemed to satisfy most members. Mr. Howard jseomed prepared to admit that if was a reasonable explanation of the clause, but maintained that it only showed that the t-lauso was quite unnecessary, unless .'in extremely sillyJudge were appointed. Nowadays any change in rai award wr^s made for the currency of an award. He v then proceeded to move, his. amendments, which, he naively assured the House, 1( would make every tiling clear." ' . . ■