ARBITRATION COURT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13489, 16 May 1907, Page 3

ARBITRATION COURT.

'; WATERSIDE WORKERS' ' DISPUTE. ] The Arbitration Court, consisting ofi Mr. Justice Sim (president) and / Messrs.: R. Slater ' and *S. - Brown, \ concluded its sittings in Auckland yesterday. ':'•/;;' The further hearing of the waterside workers' dispute was proceeded with. Mr. R. F. Way appeared : v in support of : tho men's demands, and Mr. W. G. Smith (secretary of ?the.;. Auckland 1 Shipmasters' Association) for; the employers. ■/•/'''• " ' Mr/ Smith, in concluding his case, stated , that the employers strongly - opposed any-;, "thing in the shape of preference to unionists ij Ibeing granted. If the men had to put half-;] la-crbwn and an application form for union '. j membership into a box on the wharf, as-] suggested, before j they could get employ- L ment, those who seemed to be doing such a:, tremendous amount of stealing round about , i the ; wharves would find out and the money | , ■ and-applications would- disappear. The em- } ployersthen would be liable to being charg-. Ed with committing a breach of the awards in employing non-unionists. ! i j Mr. Way, in replying to tho suggestions • made by Mr. Smith, said the experience in. , i Wellington was that with the growth of the | union' there"was pilfering and scheming ' ! on the wharves -than was the- case iormerly. < {The union was prepared to deal • very'scveretiy with members who were discovered misconducting themselves. They had the I honour of the union to keep up, and in- . ; tended to do it. What tho union was really ,' asking for was a rearrangement of the work'" on a satisfactory basis. Their demands, as- . ho had previously stated, wore extremely , moderate, ; and-he hoped that the Court would see its way to grant them. The-.- Court..reserved its -decision / 5- . x ; k SECURITY FOR COSTS. ' ' The Court gave its decision'on the application of respondents for security for costs,' j and stay" of. proceedings until such is given ; , in the case of Giovanni and his wife v. i 'John Henry Skinner and others. The Court, /stated that in this case tho claimants were:< foreigners residing permanently at Syracuse, ; ; in Sicily, and claimed compensation under jthe Workers' Compensation Jor Accideut-3 ! Act in, respect of tho death of their son, ; j who, it was alleged, .vas drowned at the j ; wreck of respondents' auxiliary sailing ves- 1 ;sel, the Aotea, oh July 17, 1906, at Waipiroj [Bay, New Zealand. VVhat they had to determine was whether the claimants ought to be ordered to give security for costs. : They thought that in ordinary "caees of ap- - plication., lor arbitration; in that Court a claimant' who was resident out of the colony should not be required to give so- , •curifcy'for, costs. The claimants in most of i such cases must be, of necessity, poor persons, and to require thom to give security, for costs before allowing them to prosecute' their claims would be rea,Ly to deprive them ,of the benefit, of-the Act. The statute was , I a r<--n<?dial measure, and although the (Legislature might not have had foreign defendants in view when passing it their Court ought not to establish a rule of practice that in effect would exclude that class of defendants from the operation of the Act. . They thought that foreign claimants in ; ' compensation cases should, not be required to give security for costs unless the respondent could satisfy the Court that there was reason for suspecting that the claimants had no reasonable ground, for coming to the Court. It had-hot been suggested that the present was such a case, and the application for security for costs would therefore be dismissed. His Honor said this decision would also apply to similar applications in • the cases of Olson and another v. Skinner! and others, and Karlsen ,and another'v.! I Caldwell and another. ''- ' '• • : ■ ' ; " „ EPSOM ROAD BOARD, -'

mm .monthly meeting of the Epsom Eoadi Board was held last evening. The following' members were present:—Messrs. W Bead Bloomfield. S. Hesketh, P.'■ 0. Jones, and A. ! .McDonald. It being the first meeting of the': .recently-elected Board, Mr. BloomfiSld was 1 elected chairman.. f. A ballot was taken to .decide wnich two members will retire at the' lend of , the year, the ; lot. falling, to Messrs.' i Hesketh and Granger.; Oh the motion of the 1 chairman,- seconded;by.Mr. Hesketh, a hearty . vote of thanks was:,parsed to Mr. John jiiageriey t&t his long and. faithful /services (rendered - MW^i&^i^ykTß. as ~ a rnemner. oi - tne .boar - waited upon uießoard;-Srl^'ueßtihg ; that various whma tie carried --. oati - wiiioii were referred- m tne Works Committee, the foreman in the meantime to carry, out,hecsasary »■ improvements, Mr. j • W. 1 Burton..also ~ waited apun aie Hoard on hehaill of - the Jipaom Bowiing Club, to. request the (formation of a foothpath and the erection oi ' a-gas lamp, which were referred to the Works Committee, tie* era* • requests for ..the formation of footpaths were considered, ~. and will receive -attention at "ah early date. In view of the urgent nature of several works required in the district, it was decidea to,, employ • two -; 'workmen. A fetter was...received from the •:■ town cierk Auckiandsf ericioshsg .copies/of," the • drainago report*-by. Messrs. Me'stayer and' Taylor and £»ons, and a preiimmar» report- t»y' the city^engineer, and Y requesting to informed if the>£oardiwili .consider: the advisability of forming:-alGreater Auckland for the carrying ; out .of >a ,' drainage scheme. It was - resolved mat the Board do not see any reason for .mining., a* Greater Auckland, ..but/wilUbe nrenared.to send delegates to*any.conference to discuss drainage scheme over' the- area [as outlined,.by the oity engineer, v. 1 ine'seWetary to/the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board' wrote making formal demand of the sum-of ; £249 12s 4d, being the amount due the-Board for the ensuing year. %■ Accounts ; amounting to £139 l'.'s-2d were passed for payment. " ' " : * " ( , ' .'.. .