THE ARBITRATION LAW.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12211, 5 March 1903, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE ARBITRATION LAW.

VIEWS OF MR, J. H. UPTON. At the annual meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, held On Feb. 27, under i the presidency of Mr. J. H. Upton, the chairI matt * stated [ that." the great experiment of 1 industrial ° conciliation and * arbitration Continued to receive a good deal lof anxious attention. The principle of conciliation, which was the chief feature of the law at its inception, had now! definitely j ceased, to -• be -i a serious element in it.. It was thought that in case of material differences between employer and employed, if only they could be brought to;state their respective; views before an im-' partial Board of Conciliators, a give-and-take ! view of the matter in dispute would be taken, [ and under the guidance of the Board an amicable ' understanding would be come to, and I the relations of the parties placed on a better footing than ever, being founded on ; a frank and \ intelligent i recognition * of; each = : other's ' rights arid duties. V A truly noble ideal. But,, alas! conciliation in practice had been found to be an exasperation and a disappointment, and disputants had soon found the direct road '.to .the Arbitration-, Court, ; where the vital principle was not conciliation, but compulsion. That Court practically, controlled and ] regulated the industries of, the :. colony. It took ■ cognisance of all details of , management; arid; appeared to give effect to what was nothing short of an inverted statute of labourers, seeking to do in the interest of the Workman 1- what} was " once ■ attempted ,toi be done in the interest of the employer, ' and by the j identical means, * : . viz., the restriction by law 7 of tlfe 'inherent right, of the individual to manage his own affairs, the difference boing - that whereas ■' formerly :it Was the - labourer who was restricted, now it was' the employer. Whether the arbitration development would last much longer than the conciliation experiment was at least open to doubt. ; The Court had made one complete progress throughout the colony, : and it was now engaged in going over the same ground again, settling the artificial and often paltry " disputes,", got up to occupy itfor the arbitration appetite j grew in the act of eatingarid it Was ■ going a step further: it was f reopening \ its • own awards—a significant commentary on its Work. 1 ; The Court >displayed a disposition to base its awards on the profits of \ business, as shown in its requiring ■ the production of balance-sheets, and its claims to examine books. It seemed to think the profits governed wages, unmindful'of the fact that the : moment profits became excessive competition 'came in to qualify, the "excess and ■■ the Wages, like most things in this imperfect world, were governed by demand and supply;; and that neither Court - ; nor union could long override that principle. :. But where it could be arranged that all. surplus labour should be provided for out of the publio funds, 1 then a system of regulation of wages might go on for 'an indefinite period. ; Such an arrangement was in active operation here, and in the co-operative works of the colony the : safety-valve: >of compulsory arbitration was, to ;be found. ~ln 1891, when ; the plan was first adopted 788 men were employed; in 1902 the average: number, for the year was 4567.; If ■■ the r ' scheme were called I: upon' to dispose of so large a number at a time of exceptional '■ prosperity .like the present, what was likely to be required of it when we were being!. chastened by the sweet uses Of adversitywith low prices?-; < ;, Mi-. John Mitchell moved, " That this Chamber shall take the necessary steps to be heard at the Arbitration Court, in : order to fully and fairly represent the interests of ■ the community as a whole- in all trade disputes'." Giving a suppositious case, he remarked, that A would not mind much what wages he paid to B as long as he could" charge 0 , with the difference. ' Here' C would ; represent the ordinary buyers—the community. This made '. it necessary for the Chamber of Commerce to step in on behalf of the public. He considered it their duty to see, as, far as lay in their power, that the decisions arrived at were in the best interests of the community. In the long run the ; public had to } bear the brunt ;of ,' the decisions. They ; must,; in ':? liis opinion, either have this done, or else endeavour to have the present condition of things altered. . '-.'• _: Mr.;. &: Aicken suggested that it would be desirable to refer this matter ' to the new Chamber, with a view to reporting upon it at the next quarterly meeting.' >> : r ■ Mr. F. G. Ewington seconded the motion. He remarked that the" country would not long endure the present system. The Employers' Association were beginning; to i feel the , pinch. It was only in prosperous times that the employers could allow such a question to go by default. • ~Mr. S. Voile thought Mr. Aickeh's suggestion an admirable: one. ':;:-;-:; .". : . v ;; - ..».-.-,-. ■ Mr. Aicken said, that, the question having been ventilated, . he should be quite r; content for It to go to the council for consideration; with a view to the presentation of a report at the next quarterly meeting. ■■*■■'< ■■■■•'-. :■-'.'.-., The Chairman remarked that" the; general public were , already; considered in the House of Parliament. ' The members': of the House were the' persons to 'be looked aiter. The public returned .the'V men who created the Supreme Courts and the Arbitration Courts and what not. Nothing- but, an Unexampled prosperity—he had seen nothing of the kind in any other country—could have kept the thing going as had been the. case in this colony. ; The interests Of the general public would have to be looked after in Parliament. '■„, What was; wanted (■ was to sehd to Wellington men free from, the trammels and nonsense of wild socialistic ;, theories . that permeated the colony from - top to bottom. He agreed- that •it would be a good thing to let this question go before the council. The general : public were ; not ; represented at the Arbitration .Courts, but -'• 'they ■■• were ' represented 'in Parliament, and there it was that such bodies as the Arbitration Courts were brought into existence: It was no good giving ? a child' a sharp knife'• ahd telling him not to cut himself. It would be better not to give him the knife at a 11... (Laughter and applause). ; , ' - > .... Mr. Mitchell altered his motion so as to refer the.matter -to the council to report upon at the next quarterly meeting, i and in its amended form it was carried unanimously.