ARBITRATION COURT

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 13 September 1921, Page 5

ARBITRATION COURT

MR. McCULLOUGH'S RESIGNATION

ACCEPTED BY GOVERNMENT.

(BY TMJEQaAriI— PHE«B AgSOCIATION ) „.. 4 WELLINGTON, Sept. 12. llio Attorney-General to-day handed to the press a statement in which he discusses the constitution of the Arbi> Ms°n CW rt aud tile of Mr MeCulJough> resignation therefroa Alter reviewing the manner in wnich appamtments to the Court are made, Sir hrancm J3ell says it has devolved upon the Government to advise his Exdote from which Mr. McCullough's resignation shall take effect, and the only purpose of advising that the date of tit r r po + st Pon^ d the date pt the receipt of the resignation would be to keep the Court still constituted of three members, and to allow Mr. mSfil on \° Blt as .the acti "X nominated member during the interval. That means that the question before the Government was reduced to the sincle question of whether the terms of the Act would authorise an acting nominated member to sit under such circumstances. Sir Francis Bell adds: lhat is a question of Jaw upon which necessarily 1 have had to form a separate and individual opinion as the principal aw officer of the Crown, and I liave been unnbie to advise tho Government that during the period .since the date when Mr. McCullough sent in his resignation, and any date from « £i l &t ™Bignati6n s h ou id take effect, Mr. McCullough is unable by reason of illness or other cause, to attend any sitting of the Court on the clay fixed for same. Mr. McCullough is, m fact, able to sit, but is unwilling tq sit. Any other interpretation of the words of the statute would enable any nominated member to abstain during the whole term of his office from sitting, and to substitute for himself an acting nominated member, and I am qmte satisfied that such cannot be the true interpretation of the language of tho statute." b t>

Sir Francis Bel! proceeds: "In coriI sequence I have felt bound to further advise Cabinet that the postponement of the acceptance of Mr. MeCullough's resignation would have no effect other than to prolong the period of" dislocation of the Court until Mr. MeCullough's successor can be nominated and appointed, inasmuch as the Court cannot be constituted without the presence of Mr. McCullough himself, so long as Mr.. McCullough continues to bo tho nominated member, unless Mr. McCuHough is disabled from attendance. With great regret, therefore, tic Government have been forced to | the conclusion that Mr. MeCullough's i resignation must ho accepted as from the date when it was tendered, and that nominations from the industrial unions of workers must be taken, and' that ithe Governor-General must be | later advised to select two names from the persons so nominated, one to. be a member of the Court In place of Mr. McCullough, and the other to be acting nominated member. The casual vacancy creates a vacancy, not merely in his office as nominated member of the Court, but also in the tenure of the position of acting nominated member held at present by Mr. Reardon. The Act requires amendment in this respect. There should be due provision for the-continuity of the Court, and it must not be possible in future that the business of the Court should be delayed for a long period by thn death or resignation of one of its members.''