THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1902.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11857, 8 January 1902, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1902.

The interview which the Hon. Mr. McGowan had with the president of the Thames Miners' Union and other members of that body, reported in our paper of .-Saturday, is so remarkable that it must not be allowed to pass without notice. It has an important bearing on the labour legislation of . the colony, on the position of the '~-. Government with 7 respect thereto, and also on how the Arbitration . Act is regarded by the unions. The award of Mr. Justice Cooper (on the claim brought by the Miners' Union for an increase on the rates of every man and boy employed in or about a mine did not please the Miners' Union, Judge Cooper having declined to grant the increases asked for. Therefore the union now frankly and straightly put before the Minister for Justice a demand that Mr. r Cooper shall "be removed from the presidency of the Court." Thil brings us at once face to face with one of the anomalies of this Act. It has ; always been one of - the arguments used in its favour that the president of the Court is a judge of the Supreme Court, and therefore far above political or popular" influence. That is scarcely the case. Mr. Justice Cooper is a judge of the Supreme Court, and cannot be removed in a summary manner. But as president of the Arbitration Court he could be shifted by the Ministry at any time, and deprived of any emoluments or privileges attaching to that position. He is not, therefore, so far as his position as president of the Arbitration ; Court is concerned, removed from political influence, and this is shown by the demand of the Thames Miners' Union. Mr. McGowan declined to grant the request made by the president of the Thames Miners' Union, but he argued the question and thus made Mr. Justice Cooper the centre of a political agitation.; Mr. McGowan . showed that .he appreciated the political pressure put upon him. We do not know what that may come to eventually. The Thames Miners' Union may t take means to oust Mr. McGowan, and if they obtain the aid of other unions they may compel Ministers to do as they want and to place in office such a president of the Court as they desire. Mr. McGowan says plaintively : "If there was one thing that should be kept free from j political influence it was the judij ciary of the colony." But the Arbii tration Court is quite different from any other Court.; In other Courts the judge is guided by the precise words of a statute in doing justice between man and man. It is difficult to say by what he is guided in the Arbitration Court. In the mining case there is no question from the evidence given and from the statements made in the judgment that the prime factor in the decision was the fact that if the judgment had been in accordance with the demands of the Miners' Union there would have been a large withdrawal of English capital from the industry and the miners and the country! would have suffered very greatly. The Court was largely .guided in its j judgment by threats from London. ■ We quite agree with all that Mr. McGowan said about'; Mr. Justice j Cooper— considered that in his decisions the judge was governed j by the highest motives, for he was one of the most experienced lawyers in New Zealand and was held in universal respect, both by members of the profession and the public generally.'' But his position cannot be dissociated from politics. Suppose he were to resign to-morrow, ; does anyone imagine that Ministers,> in looking out for a successor', would take into consideration . only the legal attainments of the man, as they would do if they had simply • to fill a place on the Bench of the Supreme Court ? They would not attempt to put in a man as president of the Arbitration Court whom the unions considered objectionable. We may here mention another argument to; show the impossibility of settling all questions of wages and hours by the decision of a • Court.' Judge Backhouse, in his'- report, pointed out that during the whole period of the operation of the Act things had been increasingly prosperous in •: New Zealand and that therefore it was only natural . that the awards should all, be in favour of the unions. But, it is argued, as a point in favour of ■ the Act, : that when times become bad, then' cases can be brought on the other side, so that the scale of wages may be reduced and other privileges curtailed. We do not believe ~ such a thing is possible. If any industry cannot stand the present; conditions it will have to; vanish;; altogether v and * the country will be" so much the poorer. Several such cases have occurred in New: Zealand. Factories have been closed, but no employer has had r the courage to bring ; his position before the Court.

We do not see how it is possible to keep political influence out of the Arbitration Court. The mere word of Mr. McGowan that it should be kept out will have very little effect. As a ; matter of fact : it has not been kept out. The power which brought

this Act into existence is strong enough to have a say in its -working. We have political-: pressure in the demand made on the Minister for Justice. We should be sorry to think that it had an;? influence upon His Honor. But he cannot ignore it. Even if he is not in any way affected by it people will Relieve'that he is, and that is just about as damaging to the estimation ot his decisions as if it were the ca^ e that this appeal had biassed hiinv At all events the demand has been made by the Thames Miners' Uiion that the Ministry shall supersede Mr. Justice Cooper as the president of the Arbitration Court. And course, the other particular of the' demand is quite understood, namely,' that they shall appoint a man ' who shall be satisfactory to Mr. O'Keeffe and the union. That demand will not be forgotten. It will make its appearance at the next general election when Mr. McGowan has: to come before his constituents, and ;it may be the means of his being defeated. And then we< will be told that the Arbitration Court is entirely free from political' influence. '