ARBITRATION COURT CRISIS

Evening Star, Issue 17764, 12 September 1921, Page 7

ARBITRATION COURT CRISIS

THE PRESIDENT’S REPLY. ANY AGREEMENT DENIED. , » [Per United Pbkss Association] WELLINGTON, September 12. A statement in reply to the charges made by Mr M'Cullough (late employees’ assessor on the Arbitration Court) upon his resignation from that body has been prepared for the Minister of Labor by ,lho President of the court, Mr Justice Frazer, with the concurrence of the employers’ assessor (Mr W. Scott), His Honor stales emphatically that there was no breach of any “ gentlemen’s agreement ” arrived at by the three members of the court. He refers to, Mr M'Culhligh’s resignation as having arisen out of a misunderstanding. The "stabilisation pronouncement,” His Honor was intended to bo as far as possible of general application, and to remain unaltered unkss the general financial and industrial situation became such as to render reconsideration necessary from a Dominion standpoint ; but it was recognised that circumstances might justify the court in treating certain applications as special cases. “Me desire to refute emphatica!ly*-tho suggesttion that there was an agreement, written or unwritten,” says His Honor, “ that the members of the court yjould prejudge every application for nearly twelve months ahead, thereby reducing the functions of the court for that- period to the level of an empty farce.” «

LABOR’S RESOLUTION. CONFERENCE UNANIMOUS FOR MR M'CULLOUGH. [Per United Press Association.] WELLINGTON, September 11. Some misapprehension appears to have been created over the wording of the resolution passed by the recent conference of trade union representatives regarding the position of the workers’ representatives on tho Arbitration X'ouil rendered vacant by the resignation of Mr M'Cullough. Tho resolution stated : That this conference requests the deputy representative of Labor on the court not to occupy tho position vacated by Mr M'Cullough, and recommends organised Labor not to nominate any other person as the representative of the workers on the Arbitration Court.” On being asked to make a statement on the subject, Mr J. Roberts (secretary of the Alliance of Labor) said the resolution asked the workers not to nominate any other person ” for the position. It did not prevent them from renominating Mr M'Cullough, who had resigned. "As a matter of fact,” said Mr Roberts, “the conference was unanimously In favor of Mr M'Cullough being renominated. There is no doubt- about that whatever. **The Alliance of Labor is also in favor of Mr M'Cullongh’s renomination. _ All Die telegrams received since the passing of the resolution are in favor of his renominatiou.”