THE ARBITRATION COURT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2523, 23 July 1902, Page 57

THE ARBITRATION COURT.

At a recent meeting of the exc-eutive of tho Wellington Industrial Association Mr S Brown, the employers' representative on. the Aibitration Court, read a paper, in wh-ii h ho referred to the recent attacks on the court by members of the Wellington Trade 9 Council. Mr Brown say 3 :— " If the court and the president arc to be abused every time a union is not pleased v ith the court's award, I see the possibility arising of not getting a judge to take office. The president now must bo a judge of the Supreme Court; as such, he is entitled to the usual vacation ; but let him become president of the Arbitration Court, he has to rush from one end of the co'ony to tho other — get no vacation — work early and lato — rweive not a shilling of extra pay. bnfc plenty of ahu«p. If this is to bo continued, T think, a? I said before, it is not milikely that a t.mo nviy rorao wl-en a Supremo Court judge will refuse to accept s.uch a position. '1 hat this m but a bald statement of fact is nhown from an official return. In 12 months' work the court dealt with 187 cases of all sorts, 7 arge and email. This entailed the court's travelling from end to end of the colony probably at least four times, besides numerous cioss journejs. Tl is lapnot be avoided, aa some awards are colonial a id cthe:? intermixed. Although 'omo ca c r3 hd\e tukfii about a month, it will bf sien that the average, including: Sundays and travelling, is under two days for each caie — Jiearmcr, sitting, and giving aw aid: yet people wonder mby tho court is, not able to take their case :. * soon as it ii filed It had been mooted m Pailiaine - Tfc that tho couit should hold miarterly ait--ting-, in the four centres. Suc'i a nlan is totally impiaeticable at present, a^ the result won'il be> that the court would not be ab!o to got thiough iis work at all; bosid<M, as there are seven labor./ districts whero the court must sit, where would Westlnnd. Neljon, and Tarrmaki come in? I think I am iu~tified in saying that sincn tho starting of tUc Arbitration Court there has always been a kindly feeling on the part of tho membois to help the wrok*»r«. where they could, whfn the workers fehowed that they n reded heir. ; but the court has to ha ju-,t before they are geperoue, and workers must remember that tli« Arbitration Court can r crate no wealth nor increa=e profits. I feel it necessary to mention this, though it should be self-evident, bec-aiwe one l.ibour leader recently twice repeated that the court wa-3 made to raise Mages, and this was .said in the Arbitration Court. The whole position was most admirably and tersely put _ by the president of tho court (Mr Justice Cooper) in a butchers' or feltmongers' case in Cbristehurch, when he said : ' There are. a great many tilings the Arbitration Court cannot do — it cannot regulate the lambingseason or the price of ur.ol and mutton "H the London market."