The New Zealand Times. SATURDAY', OCTOBER 28, 1911. INDUSTRIAL ARBITRATION

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7943, 28 October 1911, Page 4

The New Zealand Times. SATURDAY', OCTOBER 28, 1911. INDUSTRIAL ARBITRATION

Tho appearance of a measure amending the Industrial Arbitration and Con-| ciliation Act gives an opportunity of referring to the position occupied in public opinion by that much-discussed statute. It has become the fashion of late among a section of the people of this country to decry the Act, to talk of it as a “ failure,” to even insist on its removal frotn the statute book as a thing played out. The appearance of an amending Bill is, of course, in no way a corroboration of this unsupported theory of condemnation. On the contrary such a Bill reminds us that the Government is true to the original intention of the framers of the Act to regard it as an experiment which they depended on to give material for reflection, and to suggest lines of amendment according to experience of its working. This reminds us that the greatest injury over done to the Act by some of its friends was the excessive use made of the favourable descriptions of other friends. Notably the late Mr Dumarest-Lloyd was once much quoted as a prophet who had given unqualified approval of the Act as a complete success. But attentive readers of the “Land Without Strikes” know that there was a considerable qualification in that book as to the experimental character of the measure, and many prudent phrases of doubt, tempered with strong hopes, but detracting from the impression of absolute perfection. Notwithstanding the book of this writer and several others, including the philosophical and well-reasoned work of the author of the Act, the adverse opinion to which we have referred has come to prevail to an extent which the attitude of some of the workers of the Dominion dees not, it must he admitted, tend to diminish. Under the] circumstances it is refreshing to read j the speech delivered,by the Hon. Mr! Barr in the Legislative Council yesterday on the second reading of thej amending Bill. Mr Barr is a worker—one who learnt his work in Scotland and saw many countries and studied their labour conditions before taking up his abode in the Dominnon. If there are men qualified to judge between the arbitrament of reason and tho ferocities of brute force, ho is certainly one of them. In the,speech in] question he gave his opinion with great, earnestness in favour of the Act. It, had, he said, been of the utmost benefit to the workers of the Dominion, it had done vast good to the industries ■ of the Dominion, and, therefore, must he held to have benefited the country generally. Above all things, it has benefited trades unionism since it was first put into operation in this country. I In support of this conclusion he gave abundance of facts and figures. Many of these, of course, remind us that others have lately taken up tho cudgels for tho Act. Tho Hon. Mr Paul has published a brochure in which all the points of attack aro exceedingly well met and a very large horizon extended, about the Act. The Attorney-General also, it will he \remembered, gave a very convincing' address two or three years ago in the Town Hall, in which he showed tho advantages of the Act, how it abolished “ sweating,” how it has increased tho scale of wages and: extended the area of protection. Both i he and the Hon. Mr Paul showed how; the Act never was intended for solving the deeper problems of the day. Both have defended its principles and methods, besides showing the futility of many suggestions made for its improve- j ment Some of this ground the Hon Mr! Barr covered yesterday in his speech | as a matter of course, Like his prede- I oessors in this sort of campaign ho did not forget to dwell on the vastness of tho industrial wars outside and tho comparative peace ruling in the Dominion since the Act came into force. Perhaps his most valuable contribution! was the table he gave of the growth of tho organisation of employers and employed effected by the operation of the Act with the good will, entirely without compulsion, of both sides. The period for which he has, partly by using returns and partly by his own efforts, collected figures is between 1897 and 1910. During that period the unions of employers have gone from 21, with a membership of 2497, to 118 with a membership of 4261; and tho unions of tho workers have gone from 111, with a membership of 11,800, to 308 with a membership of 57,091.. There have been fluctuations, which he noted and accounted for as due merely to methods of compilation, not in any way to failing belief in the Act. Nor is this ah. In addition to tho register of tho trades

unions there are rej<4>ercd also 8343 workers, making a total of 65,435, as against a total register in IS9S of 11,875. He wont ou to give particulars of some cases of amelioration, 'such as the hotel employees, who, from a rate of wages, descending in cases to a minimum of twelve shillings and working very long hours, have .been advanced by the operation of tho Act to 62 and 58 hours with a minimum of thirty and twentyfivo shillings. Ho instanced also the saddlers. No strike could have helped tho former class, for strikes aro in their circumstances impossible, and tho second but for their organisation would have got nothing. As to the cost of living, Mr Barr adduced figures proving that it has not so far as tho necessaries of life are concerned, gone up in accompaniment to the rise in wages. The figures he adduced of the increased confidence placed in tho Act since tho memorable change in 1908 aro very remarkable. Without quoting them wo may say that they show conclusively that while the Arbitration Court did nearly all the business before the change, tho Conciliation Councils now do by far the lion’s share. On tho whole Mr Barr made a concise presentment of tho advantages of the Act. The familiar things were stated on the other side freely. Tho Act was badly administered; tho president doesn’t take a broad view of things. Profit-sharing was mentioned "as a panacea, but tho subject is of great difficulty and far remote. Moreover, it was said that wages have been advanced by competition—which, of course, is a random shot and contrary to every fact. Nothing was said to controvert tho position taken up by Mr Barr. Let tho workers, bo said, stick by the Act and let tho torches of tho firebrands burn themselves out. That is sound advice.